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diff --git a/old/60316-0.txt b/old/60316-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 358439a..0000000 --- a/old/60316-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,7734 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook, The Bakhtyār Nāma, by Anonymous, Edited by -W. A. Clouston, Translated by Sir William Gore Ouseley - - -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: The Bakhtyār Nāma - A Persian Romance - - -Author: Anonymous - -Editor: W. A. Clouston - -Release Date: September 17, 2019 [eBook #60316] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - - -***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE BAKHTYĀR NĀMA*** - - -E-text prepared by Richard Tonsing, Barbara Tozier, Bill Tozier, and the -Online Distributed Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net) from page -images generously made available by Internet Archive (https://archive.org) - - - -Note: Images of the original pages are available through - Internet Archive. See - https://archive.org/details/cu31924026907646 - - -Transcriber’s note: - - Text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_). - - - - - -THE BAKHTYĀR NĀMA: - -A Persian Romance. - -Translated from a Manuscript Text, - -by - -SIR WILLIAM OUSELEY. - -Edited, with Introduction and Notes, - -by - -W. A. CLOUSTON, - -Editor of “Arabian Poetry for English Readers.” - - - Each order given by a reigning King - Should after long reflection be expressed; - For it may be that endless woe will spring - From a command he paused not to digest. - - _Anvār-i Suhailī._ - - - - - - -Privately Printed. -MDCCCLXXXIII. - -Edition: -330 Copies, of which 30 are printed on hand-made paper, and numbered. - -William Burns, Printer, Larkhall, Lanarkshire. - - - - - - TO - - GENERAL JAMES ABBOTT, C.B., - - MEMBER OF THE ROYAL ASIATIC SOCIETY OF GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND, - - A TRIBUTE OF RESPECT - - FROM - - THE EDITOR. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - PREFACE. - - -The Romance which forms the staple of this little volume is generally -considered as belonging to the _Sindibād_ cycle of tales. It has for -ages been popular in the East, though to the average English reader the -very name of Prince Bakhtyār is unknown. Many years ago the learned -Orientalist Sir W. Ouseley presented his countrymen with an English -translation of this romance, but copies of his work have now become -extremely scarce. Dr Johnson’s dictum, that the scarcity of a book is -evidence of its worthlessness, otherwise copies of it would have been -multiplied, is (like not a few of his other tea-table sayings) more -specious than true. Many causes, besides that of uselessness, may render -a book scarce. A book may be a very good book yet lack interest, -excepting for only a few readers; and such was doubtless the case of Sir -W. Ouseley’s translation; for, strange to say, considering our vast -Asiatic possessions, the cultivation of Oriental literature in this -country has hitherto met with little or no encouragement from the -English people generally. - -But among the more intelligent class of readers there has lately sprung -up considerable interest in the curious migrations and transformations -of popular tales, the tracing of which from country to country, and from -modern to remote times, is not only a fascinating, but a highly -instructive pursuit; and the idea occurred to me that a reprint of Sir -W. Ouseley’s translation of the Romance of Prince Bakhtyār, together -with explanatory and illustrative notes, and—by way of introduction—such -particulars as could be ascertained regarding its origin and that of -similar Oriental fictions, might now find “readers fit, though few.” My -little project has been supported by members of the Royal Asiatic -Society and the Folk-Lore Society. I have, moreover, been materially -assisted by several eminent scholars: amongst others, by Mr William -Platt, to whom I am indebted for the substance of many of the Notes; and -by Dr R. Rost, who not only very kindly supplied me with scarce and -valuable books and manuscripts from the India Office Library, but also -furnished me with much useful information on Eastern Fiction—a subject -upon which he is one of the highest authorities in this country. - -Of the present collection of Tales it is remarked by a learned and acute -writer that they are, for the most part, well wrought-out, probable, and -without anything magical or supernatural. And those readers who do _not_ -delight in the extravagant creations of Oriental fancy—enchanted groves -and fairy palaces beneath lakes, where carbuncles of immense size supply -the place of the sun—will find little in this romance to shock their -“common sense.” Nor are there—except one or two expressions in the -opening passages—any of those hyperbolical descriptions of female beauty -and the puissance of monarchs which are so characteristic of most of the -fictions of the East. These Tales are, indeed, singularly free from such -extravagancies, and may be considered as well adapted to check the often -fatal impetuosity of Eastern monarchs, which was doubtless the purpose -of the original author. - -The Notes and Illustrations may seem disproportionate in bulk to that of -the text. They are, however, designed, not only to explain and -illustrate allusions to Oriental manners and customs, but also to supply -deficiencies of Sir W. Ouseley’s translation, from a comparison of other -Persian texts, and furnish variants of the several tales as they are -found in other versions of the Romance. And while it is not impossible -that critics whose absurd shibboleth is “originality” may be disposed to -consider my little book as “a thing of mere industry, without wit or -invention—a very toy,” yet I venture to think that these Notes will -prove to most readers not the least interesting part of the work. In the -Introduction will be found some curious matter regarding this romance -and its congeners which has not before been presented to English -readers, the result of much research; for, however defective my share of -the work may be, I have spared no pains to render it as complete and -accurate as I could: in short, I would fain hope that, as a whole, the -volume will be accepted as a humble contribution to the still unwritten -History of Fiction; for even Dunlop’s meritorious work can now only be -regarded as a large contribution to this “research of olde antiquitie.” - - W. A. CLOUSTON. - - GLASGOW, _December, 1882_. - - - - - CONTENTS. - - - INTRODUCTION. _Page_ - - I—Oriental Fictions—The Arabian Nights—The Book of Sindibād xiii - - II—The Bakhtyār Nāma and its Versions xxxi - - THE BAKHTYĀR NĀMA. - - CHAPTER I. - - History of King Āzādbakht and the Vizier’s Daughter 3 - - CHAPTER II. - - Story of the Ill-Fated Merchant and his Adventures 22 - - CHAPTER III. - - Story of the Impatient Prince of Aleppo 33 - - CHAPTER IV. - - Story of Abū Saber; or, The Patient Man 45 - - CHAPTER V. - - Story of the King of Yemen and his Slave Abraha 55 - - CHAPTER VI. - - Story of King Dādīn and his Two Viziers 62 - - CHAPTER VII. - - Story of the King of Abyssinia; showing the Artifice of Women 73 - - CHAPTER VIII. - - Story of the Jewel-Merchant 86 - - CHAPTER IX. - - Story of Abū Temām 97 - - CHAPTER X. - - Story of the King of Persia 107 - - Conclusion 115 - - NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. - - PREFATORY 121 - - Chapter I—King Āzādbakht 123 - - Chapter II—Ill-Fated Merchant 146 - - Chapter III—Prince of Aleppo 156 - - Chapter IV—Abū Saber 163 - - Chapter V—King of Yemen 173 - - Chapter VI—King Dādīn 181 - - Chapter VII—King of Abyssinia 195 - - Chapter VIII—Jewel Merchant 201 - - Chapter IX—Abū Temām 209 - - Chapter X—King of Persia 216 - - Conclusion 227 - - Additional Notes 228 - - - - - INTRODUCTION. - - - - - IF THOU PERCEIVEST ERRORS, SUPPLY THE DEFECTS—GLORIOUS - IS HE IN WHOM IS NEITHER FAULT NOR BLEMISH. - - - - - INTRODUCTION. - - - - - I—ORIENTAL FICTIONS—THE ARABIAN NIGHTS—THE BOOK OF SINDIBĀD. - - -The Persians, like all Eastern nations, remarks Sir John Malcolm, -“delight in Tales, Fables, and Apothegms; the reason of which appears -obvious: for where liberty is unknown, and where power in all its shapes -is despotic, knowledge must be veiled to be useful.” The ancient -Persians also had their Tales and Romances, the substance of many of -which is probably embodied in the celebrated _Shāh Nāma_, or Book of -Kings, of Firdausī. And the fondness of the old pagan Arabs for the same -class of compositions seems to have threatened the success of Muhammad’s -great mission, to win them back from their vain idolatry to the worship -of the ONE God. For an Arabian merchant having brought from Persia the -marvellous stories of Rustam, Isfendiar, Feridūn, Zohāk, and other -famous heroes, which he recited to the tribe of Kuraysh, they were so -delighted with them, that they plainly told Muhammad that they much -preferred hearing such stories to his legends and moral exhortations; -upon which the Prophet promulgated some new passages of the Kur`ān -(chapter xxx), in which the merchant who had brought the idle tales and -all who listened to them were consigned to perdition. This had the -desired effect: the converts to Islām rejected Tales and Poetry; and it -was not until the brilliant series of Muslim conquests in all parts of -the then known world were almost completed that the Arabs began to turn -their attention to literature and science, and thus preserved to the -world the remains of the learning and philosophy of antiquity, during -the long period of intellectual darkness in Europe. And it is remarkable -that to a people distinguished for nearly two centuries by their -religious bigotry and intolerance, and contempt for every species of -literature outside the Kur`ān, Commentaries, and Traditions—that to the -descendants of the fanatical destroyers of the library at Alexandria and -of the literary treasures of ancient Persia are we indebted for many of -the pleasing fictions which have long been popular in Europe. For, while -India seems to have been the cradle-land of those folk-tales, yet they -came to us chiefly through an Arabian medium: brought to Europe, among -other ways by the Saracens who settled in Spain in the eighth century, -by crusaders and pilgrims returning from the Holy Land, and also, -perhaps, by Venetian merchants trading in the Levant and the Muslim -provinces of Northern Africa. However this may be, there can be no doubt -that, as Isaac D’Israeli remarks, “tales have wings, whether they come -from the East or the North, and they soon become denizens wherever they -alight. Thus it has happened, that the tale which charmed the wandering -Arab in his tent, or cheered the northern peasant by his winter’s -fireside, alike held on its journey towards England and Scotland.” - -Many of the Fabliaux of the Trouvères of northern France are evidently -of Oriental origin; and their prose imitators, the early Italian -Novelists, also drew much of their material—of course indirectly—from -similar sources. German folk-tales comprise variants of the -ever-charming Arabian story of `Alī Bābā and the Forty Robbers, as in -the tale of “The Dumberg,”[1] and of Aladdin (`Alā-`u-`d-Dīn) and the -Wonderful Lamp, as in the tale of “The Blue Light.”[2] Norse Tales, too, -abound in parallels to stories common to Arabia, Persia, and India. And -some of the incidents in one of them, “Big Peter and Little Peter,”[3] -apparently find their origin in the Hebrew Talmud. A very considerable -proportion of old European humorous stories ascribed to Arlotto, Tyl -Eulenspiegel, Rabelais, Scogin (Andrew Borde), Skelton, Mother Bunch, -George Peele, Dick Tarlton, etc., have somehow, and at some time or -another, winged their way from the Far East; since they are found, with -little modification save local colouring, in very old Indian works. -Galland, well-nigh two hundred years ago, pointed out that the story of -the fellow in a tavern (according to our version, a blundering Irishman -in a coffee-house), who impudently looked over a gentleman’s shoulder -while he was writing a letter, came from the East; and a version of it -is given in Gladwin’s _Persian Moonshee_. The prototype of the popular -Scottish song, “The Barrin’ o’ the Door,” is an Arabian anecdote. The -jest of the Irishman who dreamt that he was invited to drink punch, but -awoke before it was prepared, is identical with a Chinese anecdote -translated by M. Stanislas Julien in vol. iv of the _Journal Asiatique_, -and bears a close resemblance to one of the Turkish jests ascribed to -Khōja Nasru-`d-Dīn Efendī.[4] Of stories of simpletons, such as the one -last cited, perhaps the largest and oldest collection extant is -contained in a section of that vast storehouse of tales and apologues, -aptly entitled, _Kathá Sarit Ságara_, Ocean of the Rivers of Story, -where may be found parallels to the famous—the truly admirable!—exploits -of the _Wise_ Men of Gotham, and to a similar class of stories of fools -and their follies referred to in Mr Ralston’s _Russian Folk-Tales_. The -story of “The Elves and the Envious Neighbour,” in Mr Mitford’s _Tales -of Old Japan_, is practically identical with a fairy tale of a -hunchbacked minstrel in Mr Thoms’ _Lays and Legends of France_. In the -_Arabian Nights_ (Story of Abou Neeut and Abou Neeuteen, vol. vi of -Jonathan Scott’s edition) and in the Persian romance of the Seven Faces -(_Heft Paykar_), by Nizāmī, the reader will find parallels to the “Three -Crows” in Grimm’s German popular tales. Our favourite nursery story of -Whittington and his Cat (also common to the folk-tales of Scandinavia -and Russia, Italy and Spain) is related by the Persian historian Wasāf -in his “Events of Ages and Fates of Cities,” written A.H. 699 (A.D. -1299). The original of the Goose that laid Eggs of Gold is a legend in -the great Indian epic, _Mahábharata_, and variants exist in other Hindū -works; but _this_ may be a “primitive myth,” common to the whole Aryan -race. Largely, indeed, are popular European tales indebted to Eastern -sources. - -For several centuries previous to the publication of the first professed -translation of a work of Eastern fiction into a European language, there -existed two celebrated collections of Tales, written in Latin, mainly -derived from Oriental sources, to which may be traced many of the -popular fictions of Europe; these are, the _Clericali Disciplina_ of -Peter Alfonsus, a Spanish Jew, who was baptized in the twelfth century; -and the _Gesta Romanorum_, the authorship of which is doubtful, but it -is believed to have been composed in the 14th century. The latter work -greatly influenced the compositions of the early Italian Novelists, and -its effect on English Poetry is at least equally marked. It furnished to -Gower and Chaucer their history of _Constance_; to Shakspeare his _King -Lear_, and his _Merchant of Venice_, which is an Eastern story; to -Parnell the subject of his _Hermit_—primarily a Talmudic legend, -afterwards adopted in the Kur’ān. The _Clericali Disciplina_, -professedly a compilation from Eastern sources, contains a number of -stories of undoubted Indian origin, which Alfonsus must have obtained -through an Arabian medium in Spain, however they may have come thither. -These fictions of Oriental birth were, of course, filtered through the -clerical mind of mediæval Europe, and in the process they lost all their -native flavour. But on the publication of Galland’s _Les Mille et Une -Nuits_, the Thousand and One Nights, in the beginning of last century, -garbled and Frenchified as was his translation, the richness of the -Eastern fancy, as exhibited in these pleasing fictions, was at once -recognised, and, as the learned Baron de Sacy has remarked, in the -course of a few years this work filled Europe with its fame. And its -success has continued to increase, so that there is perhaps no work of -fiction, whether native or exotic, which is at the present day so -universally popular throughout Europe: it is at once the delight of the -school-boy and the recreation of the sage. Shortly after its appearance -in a French dress, Addison introduced it to English readers in the -_Spectator_, where he presented a translation—or adaptation—of the now -famous story of Alnaschar (according to Galland’s French transliteration -of the name) and his basket of brittle wares: a story which is not only -calculated to please the “rising generation,” but may also instruct -“children of larger growth.” - -When this work was first published in England it seems to have made its -way very rapidly into public favour; and Weber, in his Introduction to -the _Tales of the East_, relates, as follows, a singular instance of the -effects they produced soon after their first appearance: “Sir James -Stewart, Lord Advocate for Scotland, having one Saturday evening found -his daughters employed in reading the volumes, he seized them, with a -rebuke for spending the evening before the Sabbath in such worldly -amusements; but the grave advocate himself became a prey to the -fascination of these tales, being found on the morning of the Sabbath -itself employed upon their perusal, from which he had not risen during -the whole night!” The popularity of the _Arabian Nights_ is due, no -doubt, to the peculiar charm of its descriptions of scenes and incidents -which the reader is well aware could only exist and occur in the -imagination; but we like to be taken away from our hard, matter-of-fact -surroundings—away into a world where, if we cannot ourselves become -endowed with supernatural powers, at least we may summon mighty spirits -to do our will, to transport us whither we please, to bring us in an -instant the choicest fruits from the most distant regions, to construct -for us palaces of gold and silver, and precious gems, to supply us with -dainties in dishes made of single diamonds and rubies. In this very -outraging of probability, and even possibility, lies the strange -fascination which some of these Tales exercise over the reader’s mind. -He surrenders his judgment to the author, and such is the force of the -spell, that even when it has been partly removed by closing the book, he -will gravely ask himself: “And why may not such things be?” It has been -justly observed by Lord Bacon, that, “as the active world is inferior to -the rational soul, so Fiction gives to mankind what History denies, and -in some measure satisfies the mind with shadows when it cannot enjoy the -substance.” - -This famous work is, of course, a compilation, and not by a single hand -and at one time, or from a particular source, but from a variety of -sources. Many of the Tales are found in the oldest Indian collections; -probably the witty and humorous are purely Arabian, while the tender and -sentimental love-tales are derived from the Persian. The origin of the -Arabian Tales has long been (and perhaps needlessly) a vexed question -among the learned. Baron De Sacy has stoutly contended with M. Langles -and M. Von Hammer, on the questions of whether the work was a mere -translation or adaptation of an old Persian collection, entitled the -“Thousand Days,” and when and where it was composed. But the general -opinion of scholars at the present day is that the work was probably -compiled by different hands, in Egypt, about the 15th or 16th centuries, -though it is very probable that many additions were made at a later -date, by the insertion of romances, which formed no part of the original -collection, as we shall presently see.[5] - -A peculiarity of most collections of Eastern fictions is their being -enclosed within a frame, so to say, or leading story; as in the _Arabian -Nights_: a plan which appears to have been introduced into Europe by a -Latin translation of a romance of Indian origin, known in this country -by the title of _The Seven Sages_, and which was first adopted by -Boccaccio in his celebrated _Decameron_, where it is represented that a -party of ladies and gentlemen, during the prevalence of the great plague -in Florence, retire for safety to a mansion at some distance from the -city, and there amuse themselves by relating stories. And our English -poet Chaucer, after the same fashion, in his _Canterbury Tales_, -represents a number of pilgrims, of different classes, as bound for the -shrine of Thomas à Becket, and, to alleviate the tediousness of the -journey, reciting stories of varied character. But although this plan of -making a number of stories all subordinate to a leading story was -introduced into Europe in the 13th century, when the Latin version of -the “Seven Sages” was published, yet in the East it had been in vogue -many centuries previously. - -The oldest extant collection of Fables and Tales (excepting the Buddhist -Birth-Stories, recently made known to English readers by Mr T. W. Rhys -Davids’ translation of a portion) is that called in Europe _The Fables -of Pilpay_, or Bidpai, of which the Sanskrit prototype is entitled -_Panchatantra_, or Five Sections, with its abridgment, _Hitopadésa_, or -Friendly Instruction. This work, or one very similar, existed in India -and in the Sanskrit language as early at least as the 6th century of our -era, when it was translated into Pahlavi, the ancient language of -Persia, during the reign of Nushīrvān, surnamed the Just (A.D. 531–579). -This Pahlavi version—though no longer extant—escaped the general wreck -of Persian literature on the conquest of the country by the Arabs, and -was translated, during the reign of the Khalīf Mansur (A.D. 753–774), -into Arabic, from which several versions were made in modern Persian, -and also translations into Hebrew, Greek, Latin, and most of the -European languages. Perhaps no book of mere human composition ever had -such a remarkable literary history and enduring popularity. These -Fables, although arranged in sections, are sphered one within another in -a rather bewildering manner, yet all are subordinated to a leading story -or general frame.[6] It is worthy of note that, while there is no proof -that this work, in its present form, existed before the sixth century, -yet many, if not all, of the Fables themselves have been discovered in -Buddhistic works which were certainly written about or before the -commencement of our era. Their translation from the Pali, which the -learned Benfey seems to have conclusively proved, and their arrangement -in the form in which they exist in Sanskrit, may have been done any time -between the first and the sixth centuries. - -But there was another Indian work, now apparently lost, formed on the -same plan, which, if we may credit El-Mas’ūdī, the Arabian historian, -who lived in the tenth century, certainly dates before our era; namely, -the _Book of Sindibād_, of which there have been so many translations -and imitations in Asiatic and European languages, and to which the -Persian romance reproduced in the present volume is considered to bear -some relation. El-Mas’ūdi, in his famous historical work, “Meadows of -Gold and Mines of Gems,” states very plainly that “in the reign of -Khūrūsh (Cyrus) lived Es-Sondbād, who was the author of the Book of the -Seven Viziers, the Teacher, the Boy, and the Wife of the King.” -According to another Arabian writer, Sindibād was an Indian philosopher -who lived about a hundred years B.C. El-Mas’ūdī does not mention the -version through which the work was known in his time, but it was -probably either in Arabic or Persian. The oldest version known to exist -is in Hebrew, and is entitled _Mishlī Sindabar_, Parables of Sindabar; -the change of the name from Sindibād to Sindibar, Deslongchamps -conjectures to be a mistake of the copyist, the Hebrew letters D and R -being very similar in form. This Hebrew version has been proved to date -as far back as the end of the twelfth century. Under the title of -_Historia Septem Sapientum Romæ_, a Latin translation was made—from the -Hebrew, it is supposed—by Dam Jehans, a monk of the abbey of Haute -Selve, in the diocese of Nancy, early in the 13th century. A Greek -version, entitled _Syntipas_, the date of which is not known, was made -by a Christian named Andreopulus, who states in his prologue that he -translated it from the Syriac. Notwithstanding this very distinct -statement, several learned scholars—Senglemann, among others—have -contended that the _Syntipas_ was made from the Hebrew version; of late -years, however, a unique but unfortunately mutilated manuscript of the -Syriac version, transcribed about the year 1560, was discovered by -Rödiger, and reproduced in his Syriac Chrestomathie, in 1868; and a year -later Baethgens published, at Leipsic, this text, together with a German -translation, under the title of _Sindban, oder die Sieben wiesen -Meister_, from which it appears certain that the Greek version of -Andreopulus was made from the Syriac, the order of the stories being the -same in both. Besides the Hebrew and Syriac versions of the _Book of -Sindibād_, there exist translations or adaptations in at least two other -Oriental languages, the Arabic and the Persian. The Arabian version (to -which perhaps El-Mas’ūdī alluded in his mention of the work, as above) -now forms one of the romances comprised in the _Book of the Thousand -Nights and One Night_ (the “Arabian Nights’ Entertainments”), under the -title of “The Story of the King, his Son, his Concubine, and his Seven -Viziers;” and an English translation of it was published, in 1800, by Dr -Jonathan Scott, in his _Tales, Anecdotes, and Letters, from the Arabic -and Persian_.[7] Two poetical versions have been composed in Persian; -one of which, entitled _Sindibād Nama_,[8] by Azraki, who died, at -Herat, A.H. 527 (A.D. 1132–3), is mentioned by Daulet-Shāh, in his life -of Azraki, in these terms: “And they say the Book of Sindibād, on -precepts of practical philosophy, is one of his compositions.”[9] The -other Persian version is known in Europe, I believe, only through -Professor Forbes Falconer’s excellent analysis[10] of a unique -manuscript, entitled _Sindibād Nāma_, composed A.H. 776 (A.D. 1374). - -It was through the Latin version, _Historia Septem Sapientum Romæ_, that -this very remarkable work was communicated to nearly all the languages -of Western Europe; Herbers, or Hebers, an ecclesiastic of the 13th -century, made a translation, or rather imitation, of it in French verse, -under the title of _Dolopatos_. Many imitations in French prose -subsequently appeared, and from one of these the work was rendered into -English, under the title of _The Sevyn Sages_, and _The Seven Wise -Masters_, one of which is among the reprints for the Percy Society, and -of the other Ellis gives an analysis, with specimens in his _Early -English Metrical Romances_. In 1516 an Italian version, entitled “The -History of Prince Erastus,” was published, which was afterwards -translated into French. - -In all these works, a young prince is falsely accused by his step-mother -of having attempted to violate her, and the King, his father, condemns -him to death, but is induced to defer the execution of the sentence from -day to day, during seven days, by one of his seven counsellors, viziers, -or wise men, relating to the King one or more stories, designed to -caution him against the wicked wiles of women; while the Queen, every -night, urges the King to put his son to death, and, in her turn, tells -him a story, intended to show that men are faithless and treacherous, -and that fathers must not expect gratitude or consideration from their -sons. In the sequel, the innocence of the Prince is established, and the -wicked step-mother is duly punished for her gross iniquity. This is the -leading story of most of the romances which have been derived, or -imitated, from the _Book of Sindibād_; but the subordinate Tales vary -materially in the several translations or versions. - -Dunlop, in his _History of Fiction_, remarks that “the leading incident -of a disappointed woman accusing the object of her passion is as old as -the story of Joseph, and may thence be traced through the fables of -mythology to the Italian novelists.” But surely there was nothing so -very peculiar in the conduct of Zulaykha (as Muslims name the wife of -Potiphar)—nothing very different from human (or woman) nature in -general, that should lead us to conclude, with Dunlop, that all the -numerous stories based upon a similar incident had their common origin -in the celebrated tale of Joseph and Potiphar’s wife. We have no reason -to suppose a Hebrew origin for the well-known classical legend of -Phædra, who was enamoured of Hippolytus, and, unable to suppress her -passion, made overtures to him, which were disdainfully rejected; upon -which Phædra accused Hippolytus to her husband Theseus of attempting to -dishonour her. And although the work ascribed to the Indian sage -Sindibād now appears to be lost, yet this “leading incident” of works of -the Sindibād-cycle forms the subject of several Indian romances, one of -which is a story in verse of a Prince named Sárangdhara, whose -step-mother Chitrángí falls in love with him. He rejects her advances, -on which she accuses him to the King of attempting to violate her, and -the King orders him to have his feet cut off and to be exposed to wild -beasts in the forest. The innocence of the Prince is afterwards proved, -and the wicked Queen is put to death. - -There is yet another work usually considered as belonging to the -_Sindibād_ class of romances, namely, the Turkish Tales of the _Forty -Viziers_, which is said to have been composed, during the reign of -Sultān Murād II, in 1421, after an Arabian romance entitled “Tales of -the Forty Mornings and Forty Evenings,” composed by Shaikh Zāda. But the -author of this work, as M. Deslongchamps has justly remarked, has -borrowed little from the _Book of Sindibād_ besides the frame. The -tales—which are eighty in number, forty of which are told by the -Viziers, and forty by the Queen—are quite different from, yet no whit -inferior to, those of any version of the King and his Seven Counsellors. -M. Petit de Lacroix, last century, made a French translation of this -work as far as the story of the Tenth Vizier, which was soon afterwards -rendered into English, but divested of much of the Oriental costume and -colour. In 1851 Behrnauer issued a German rendering of the Turkish text. -And it may interest some readers to know that Mr E. J. W. Gibb—whose -recently published translations of Ottoman Poems, with Introduction, -Biographical Notices, and Notes, have received the approbation of -competent judges—is at present engaged on a complete English translation -of this highly entertaining romance. - - - - - II—THE BAKHTYĀR NĀMA AND ITS VERSIONS. - - -Having in the preceding section glanced at the various works of fiction -in different languages which have been derived or imitated from the -_Book of Sindibād_, let us now proceed to examine the degree of -relationship which the _Bakhtyār Nāma_ bears to the same work. The -learned writer of an able and interesting analysis, in the _Asiatic -Journal_, vol. xxx, 1839, of two different manuscripts of the _Thousand -and One Nights_, preserved in the British Museum, has fallen into a -singular mistake when he says: “It is curious enough that in each of the -two MSS. a tale is interpolated on the plan of the _Bakhtyār Nāma_. A -King wishes to destroy his son, and his Viziers relate stories to prove -the malice of women, alternately with the King’s concubine, who has -falsely accused the young man, and who tells stories of the subtlety of -men.” This is the frame of the _Sindibād Nāma_, not that of the -_Bakhtyār Nāma_, since in the former the Viziers are the defenders of -the innocent, and relate stories on his behalf; while the case is -precisely reversed in the _Bakhytār Nāma_, where the Viziers are the -accusers, eager for the death of the innocent young man, and it is the -accused youth himself who relates the stories. The only resemblance -which the Romance of Prince Bakhtyār bears to the leading story of the -_Book of Sindibād_ (and its offspring) is the incident of a youth being -falsely accused of attempting to violate the Queen, as will be seen from -the following outline of the Bakhtyār Story. - -A King, flying from his own kingdom, with his Queen, is obliged to -abandon in the desert a new-born male infant, close to a well. This -infant is discovered by a band of robbers, the chief of whom, struck -with his beauty and the richness of his clothes, carries him to his -house, adopts him as his own son and gives him an excellent education. -At the age of fifteen years the youth accompanies all the banditti on a -plundering expedition, in which they attack a caravan, but are defeated, -and many of their number, including the adopted son of their chief, are -taken prisoners and brought before the King—the father of the youth, who -had in the meanwhile recovered his kingdom. The young man’s grace and -beauty so win the King’s heart, that he not only pardons the whole -company, but takes the youth into his service, changing his name from -Khudādād (God-given) to Bakhtyār (Befriended by Fortune). Bakhtyār -acquits himself of his new duties so well that the King promotes him to -a more important position—that of keeper of the royal treasury, and his -own intimate friend and counsellor. These distinguished favours excite -the envy of the King’s Ten Viziers, who become eager for some -opportunity of bringing the favourite to disgrace and ruin. And it so -chances, one evening, that Bakhtyār, being muddled with wine, straggles -into one of the chambers of the harem, and throws himself upon the royal -couch, where he falls asleep. Shortly afterwards, the King enters, and, -discovering his favourite in the forbidden part of the palace, his -jealousy is aroused, and he orders the attendants to seize the unhappy -young man, then sends for the Queen, and accuses her of having -introduced Bakhtyār into the harem. The Queen protests that she is -entirely innocent of the charge, and at her suggestion the King causes -them both to be confined for that night in separate apartments, -resolving to investigate the affair in the morning. Next day, the first -of the Viziers, waiting on the King, is informed of the supposed -violation of the harem by Bakhtyār, upon which the Vizier obtains leave -to visit the Queen, and ascertain from her the particulars of the -affair. The Queen, on being questioned by the Vizier, denies all -knowledge of Bakhtyār’s presence in the King’s chamber (it does not -appear, indeed, that she had ever seen him before); but the Vizier -assures her that the King would not credit her assertion, and counsels -her, if she would save her own life, to accuse Bakhtyār to the King of -having presumed to make dishonourable proposals to her, which she had, -of course, rejected with indignation. After much persuasion, she at -length consents, and accordingly accuses the young man of this capital -offence. The King immediately commands Bakhtyār to be brought before -him, and after bitterly reproaching him with ingratitude for the many -and unprecedented favours which he had bestowed upon him, in the -meantime sends him back to prison. On the following day, the second -Vizier urges the King to put him to death; and the King causes him to be -brought into his presence, and tells him that he must forfeit his life. -Bakhtyār, however, in eloquent terms, protests that he is perfectly -innocent of the crime of which he is accused, but expresses his -submission to the will of Providence, like a certain unlucky merchant, -with whom no affair prospered. This arouses the King’s curiosity, and -Bakhtyār is permitted to relate the story, after which the King sends -him back to prison for that day. Every morning of the eight following -days one of the Viziers, in turn, presents himself before the King, and -urges that Bakhtyār’s execution should be no longer delayed; but when -the youth is brought into the King’s presence, as on the first day, he -pleads his own cause so well, and excites the King’s curiosity by -reference to some remarkable story, which he is allowed to relate, that -his execution is deferred from day to day, until at length the King is -reluctantly compelled by the Viziers’ complaints to give orders for the -public execution of the young man. It happens, however, that the -robber-chief who had found the royal infant at the well, and brought him -up, is, with a party of his men, among the crowd assembled round the -scaffold, and recognising in Bakhtyār his adopted son, rescues him from -the guard, and hastens to the palace, where, obtaining audience of the -King, the secret of Bakhtyār’s birth is discovered; and the King resigns -the throne in favour of his son, and causes the Ten envious Viziers to -be put to death. - -Such is the frame within which nine different stories are inserted; and -although it was doubtless imitated from, it has but a faint likeness to, -that of the _Book of Sindibād_. The work which appears most closely to -resemble the Romance of Prince Bakhtyār, in the frame, is a collection -of Tales in the Tamul language, entitled, _Alakeswara Kathá_, in which -four ministers of the King of Alakapur are falsely accused of violating -the King’s private apartments, and vindicate their innocence, and disarm -the King’s wrath, by relating a number of stories.[11] - -According to M. Deslongchamps, in his learned and elaborate _Essai sur -les Fables Indiennes_, there exist in Oriental languages three versions -of the _Bakhtyār Nāma_—Persian, Arabic, and Turkī (_i.e._, Eastern -Turkish—Uygur). Of the Persian version it is said there are numerous -manuscripts in the great libraries of England and France; and besides -the printed text appended to Sir William Ouseley’s English translation, -published in 1800, a lithographed text was issued, at Paris, in 1839, -probably from a manuscript in the Royal Library. The Arabian version, -under the title of “The History of the Ten Viziers,” forms part of the -text of the _Thousand and One Nights_, in 12 volumes, of which Dr -Maximilian Habicht edited vols. 1 to 8, published at uncertain -intervals, at Breslau, from 1825 to 1838 inclusive, when the work was -stopped by Habicht’s death. In 1842–3 Professor H. L. Fleischer issued -the remaining vols., 9 to 12. The same year when Habicht began the -publication of his Arabian text he issued a complete German translation, -also at Breslau, in 15 small square volumes, under the title of _Tausend -und Eine Nacht: Arabische Erzählungen_. _Zum erstenmal aus einer -Tunesischen Handschrift, ergänzt und vollständig übersetzt_, von Max. -Habicht, F. H. Von der Hagen, und Karl Schall.[12] But both the number -and the order of the tales of our romance are quite different in the -translation and the text: the sixth volume of the latter, which contains -the romance, was not published till 1834, or nine years after the first -issue of the translation; and it would seem that Habicht, in editing his -Tunisian manuscript, compared it with other texts, and made very -considerable changes. The romance is found in a dislocated form in a -work, published at Paris in 1788, entitled, _Nouveaux Contes Arabice, ou -Supplement aux Mille et Une Nuits_, &c., par M. l’Abbè * * * In this -book (which is of little or no value) the several tales are not placed -within the frame, or leading story, which, however, appears in -connection with one of them. It is also included in the French -Continuation of the _Thousand and One Nights_, translated by Dom Chavis -and edited by M. Cazotte,[13] “but singularly disfigured,” says -Deslongchamps, “like the other Oriental Tales published by Cazotte;” in -Caussin de Perceval’s excellent edition of the _Nights_, published, at -Paris, in 1806, vol. viii, and in Gauttier’s edition, vol. vi. The -learned Swede Gustav Knös published, at Gœtingen, in 1806, a -dissertation on the Romance of Prince Bakhtyār, and the year following -the Arabic text, with a Latin translation, under the title of _Historia -Decem Vizirorum et filii Regis Azād-bacht_. He also issued a translation -in the Swedish language, at Upsal, in two parts, the second of which -appeared in 1814. Of the Turkī version M. Amédée Jaubert has furnished, -in the _Journal Asiatique_, Mars 1827, t. x, an interesting account, -together with a translation of one of the stories,[14] from the unique -manuscript preserved in the Bodleian Library at Oxford, which he -describes as very beautifully written, the titles of the several tales -and the names of the principal characters being in red ink. -Unfortunately the manuscript is imperfect; at present it comprises 294 -folia. M. Jaubert remarks that this Turkī version is characterised by -“great sobriety of ornament and extreme simplicity of style, and the -evident intention on the part of the translator to suppress all that may -not have appeared to him sufficiently probable, and all that might -justly be taxed with exaggeration.” - -There is another Oriental rendering, of which M. Deslongchamps was -ignorant, in the language of the Malays, with whom the romance is said -to be a great favourite, indeed they have at least two very different -versions of its frame, if not of the subordinate stories. In Newbold’s -work on Malacca,[15] vol. ii, an outline is given of the leading story, -or frame, of one Malay version, which exactly corresponds with that of -the Persian original, excepting that for Āzād-bakht we find Zād-bokhtin, -and that the minister’s daughter, who is carried to the city by the King -and in our version is nameless, is called Mahrwat. I am indebted to the -courtesy of the learned Dr R. Rost, Librarian to the India Office, for -the following particulars regarding two other Malay versions, from Van -den Berg’s account of Malay, Arabic, Javanese and other MSS., published -at Batavia, 1877. One of these (p. 21, No. 132) is entitled “The History -of Ghulām, son of Zād-bokhtān, King of Adān, in Persia,” and the frame -agrees with that of our version, as already sketched in the present -section, excepting that the robber-chief who had brought up Ghulām (our -Bakhtyār),[16] “learning that he had become a person of consequence,” -says Van den Berg, “came to his residence to visit him, but finding him -imprisoned, he was much concerned, and asked the King’s pardon on his -behalf, telling him at the same time how he had formerly found Ghulām in -the jungle; from which the King knew that Ghulām was his son,” and so -on. The other version (p. 32, No. 179), though similar in title to the -Persian original, “History of Prince Bakhtyār,” differs very -considerably in the frame, which is thus analysed by Van den Berg: “This -Prince, when his father was put to flight by a younger brother, who -wished to dethrone him, was born in a jungle and abandoned by his -parents. A merchant, Idrīs (Enoch), took charge of him and brought him -up. Later on he became one of the officers of state with his own father, -who had in the meanwhile found another kingdom, and decided with -fairness the cases laid before him. He was, however, put in prison, on -account of a supposed attempt upon the King’s life, and he would have -been put to death had he not stayed the execution by telling various -beautiful stories. Even the King came repeatedly to listen to him. At -one of these visits Bakhtyār’s foster-father Idrīs was likewise present, -who related to his adopted son how he had found him in the jungle. The -King, on hearing this, now perceived that it was his son who had been -brought up by Idrīs, recognised Bakhtyār as such, and made over to him -his kingdom.” - -So far as I am aware, there are but two translations of the Persian -version in European languages; one in English, by Sir William -Ouseley,[17] which is reproduced in the present volume; the other in -French, by M. Lescallier.[18] In his Preface, Sir William Ouseley states -that he selected for translation a text composed in the least ornate -style, and he seems to have contented himself with a rather free -rendering (see prefatory remarks, Notes and Illustrations, page 121 of -the present work). M. Lescallier takes care to inform his reader that he -adopted another plan: picking out passages from two different -manuscripts, and amalgamating his selections into a work which, it is -safe to say, does not find its original in any single Persian text -extant: his object, indeed, seems to have been to present an -entertaining romance to French readers, rather than to produce a -translation of any particular Persian original; and it must be admitted -that many of the lengthy conversations which occur in his volume are -quite as well omitted by Ouseley. - -The name of the author of this romance and the precise time when it was -composed are not known. Ouseley states that none of the manuscripts of -the work which he had seen appeared to be much older than the end of the -17th century. But we are now able to place the date of its composition -at least three centuries earlier, since the manuscript of the Turkī -version, already referred to, bears to have been transcribed A.H. 838, -or A.D. 1434; and it is not unlikely that the translation was made -several years before that date. And as well-known or popular works are -usually selected for translation, we may reasonably conclude that the -Persian Romance of Prince Bakhtyār was composed not later than the end -of the 14th century. That it is posterior to the end of the 13th century -might be supposed from the circumstance that the author in two -instances[19] employs maxims which are found in the writings of the -great Persian poet Sa`dī, if we were sure that these maxims are really -Sa`dī’s own.[20] It has struck me as rather singular that I can -recognise only two of the nine stories which Bakhtyār relates as -existing in another Eastern work, namely, the _Tūtī Nāma_, or Tales of a -Parrot, of Nakshabī. This work, according to Pertsch, was written in -A.D. 1330, and was preceded by another Persian book on the same subject, -by an unknown writer, which was based on an older Sanskrit book (now -lost), of which the _Suka Saptati_, or Seventy Tales of a Parrot, is -only an abstract. Nakshabī’s work (adds Pertsch), copies of which are -rare, has been greatly superseded by Kāderī’s abridgment, which was -written in India, probably about the middle of the 17th century.[21] The -“Story of the King of Abyssinia” (pp. 74–85 of the present work) is -identical with the story told by the Parrot on the 50th Night in the -_Tūtī Nāma_ of Nakshabī (India Office MS. 2573), where it bears the -title of “Story of the Daughter of the Kaisar of Rūm, and her trouble by -reason of her Son;” and the “Story of the King of Abyssinia” (pp. 62–72) -corresponds with the 51st Night, “Story of the Daughter of the Vizier -Khāssa, and how she found safety through the blessing of her own purity” -(for King Dādīn, and his Viziers Kāmkār and Kārdār of our story, -Nakshabī has King Bahrām, and the Viziers Khāssa and Khalāssa). Here the -question naturally suggests itself: did Nakshabī take these two stories -from the _Bakhtyār Nāma_, or did the author of the latter borrow them -from Nakshabī? It is at least a rather curious coincidence that in the -Persian romance of the “Four Dervishes” (_Chehār Darvīsh_), ascribed to -Amīr Khusrū (about A.D. 1300), a work which is best known by its -Hindustanī version, _Bāgh o Bāhar_, or Garden and Spring, occur the -names of three of the persons who figure in the Bakhtyār romance: the -King, as in our work, is called Āzādbakht, his son Bakhtyār, and Bihzād -is the name of a third. - -Lescallier, in the Preface to his translation, makes a very -extraordinary statement: he says that although nothing is known -regarding the authorship and date of the romance, yet the work appears -to be very ancient; and remarks that there is nothing found in the book -to announce the institution of Muhammadanism—the invocation of the Deity -and salutation of the Prophet, at the opening of the work, he thought -likely to be an interpolation of the copyists. Now the fact is, that -even in his own translation allusions to the rites of Islām, if they are -not of frequent occurrence, are yet sufficiently numerous to prove -beyond question that the _Bakhtyār Nāma_, as it exists at present in -Persian, has been written, or modified, by a Muslim. To cite a few -instances: At page 17 of Lescallier’s volume, we find the King, when he -had abandoned his child in the desert, represented as comparing his -condition to that of Jacob the Hebrew patriarch when he believed that -his son Joseph was dead. M. Lescallier could never suppose that the -romance was written either by a Jew or a Christian; therefore this -passage clearly came from a Muslim pen. At page 27 mention is made of -the “hour of mid-day prayer,” one of the five times of obligatory prayer -prescribed to Muslims. At page 94 (p. 52 of the present volume) the two -sons of Abū Saber are represented as having said to the merchant who -purchased them of the robbers: “We are free-born and Mussulmans.” At -page 140 (p. 70 of this work) the cameleer and the lady reach the city -“at the hour of evening prayer.” Nevertheless M. Lescallier could not -find anything in the work “qui annonce l’établissement du Mahométisme!” - -Since the Arabian version of the Romance of the Ten Viziers given in the -French Continuation of the _Thousand and One Nights_, translated, as -already stated, by Dom Chavis and edited by M. Cazotte, is not mentioned -by M. Lescallier, we must conclude, either that he did not know of it, -or that he deemed it beneath his notice. Dom Chavis and M. Cazotte have, -in truth, received rather hard treatment at the hands of their critics. -Dr Jonathan Scott, amongst others, must gird at Cazotte, though without -the shadow of reason. In his edition of the _Arabian Nights_, published -in 1811,[22] Appendix to vol. vi, referring to the English translation -of the “Continuation” (see foot-note, page xxxvii), he says that “the -twelve first stories in the third volume had undoubtedly an Oriental -foundation: they exist, among many others, in a Persian manuscript, -lately in my possession, entitled _Jamī’u-’l-Hikāyāt_, or a Collection -of Narratives. Sir William Ouseley has published a liberal[23] -translation of them, with the Persian text, by reading which the -liberties M. Cazotte has taken in the tale of ‘Bohetzād and his Ten -Viziers’ may be fairly seen, and a reasonable conjecture formed of his -amplification of all others. Sir William Ouseley’s hero is named -Bakht-yār, _i.e._, Befriended by Destiny, as in my manuscript, in that -of M. Cazotte it is probably Bakht-zād, _i.e._, Born under a Fortunate -Planet.” In this last sentence Scott has strangely blundered: the _hero_ -of the Persian Tale is certainly called Bakhtyār, but in Cazotte’s -version it is the King who is called Bohetzād (or Bakht-zād), and the -hero, Aladdin. From these strictures of his it is very obvious that he -was not aware of the existence of an Arabian version of this romance. -According to Lowndes’ _Bibliographer’s Manual_, “a valuable edition of -the Arabian Nights was published, in 1798, by Richard Gough, -considerably enlarged, from the Paris edition, with notes of -illustration, and a preface, in which the supplementary tales published -by Dom Chavis are proved to be a palpable forgery.” Gough’s name has not -come down to us in connection with the _Arabian Nights_—except through -Lowndes, where it is but a name. And Habicht’s Arabian text has very -conclusively disproved all Gough’s absurd “proofs;” and, what is more, a -comparison of the Romance as given by M. Cazotte with Habicht’s text -will not only show that in both are the Tales of the same number and -placed in the same order, but the incidents are almost invariably -identical. The following is a comparative table of the order of the -Tales in the “History of the Ten Viziers,” as they are found in -Habicht’s Arabian text, Cazotte, Caussin de Perceval, the German -translation, and the Persian version—of the last the order and number of -the tales are alike in Ouseley, Lescallier, and the lithographed text: - - ┌─────────────────────────────────┬────────────┬─────────┬────────────┬───────┐ - │ HABICHT’S ARABIAN TEXT. │ Cazotte’s │ C. de │ German │Persian│ - │ │Translation.│Perceval.│Translation.│Texts. │ - ├──┬──────────────────────────────┼────────────┼─────────┼────────────┼───────┤ - │ 1│Introductory Story (King │ │ │ │ │ - │ │ Āzādbakht) │ 1│ 1│ 1│ 1│ - │ 2│History of the Merchant │ │ │ │ │ - │ │ pursued by Ill-Fortune │ 2│ 4│ 2│ 2│ - │ 3│History of the Jewel Merchant │ 3│ 8│ 8│ 8│ - │ 4│History of Abū Saber │ 4│ 7│ 4│ 4│ - │ 5│History of Prince Bihzād │ 5│ 3│ 3│ 3│ - │ 6│History of King Dādbīn and his│ │ │ │ │ - │ │ Two Viziers │ 6│ 10│ 6│ 6│ - │ 7│History of Bakhtzamān │ 7│ 6│ │ │ - │ 8│History of King Bīhkard │ 8│ 5│ 5│ 5│ - │ 9│History of Īlan Shāh and Abū │ │ │ │ │ - │ │ Temām │ 9│ [24]│ 9│ 9│ - │10│History of King Ibrahīm and │ │ │ │ │ - │ │ his Son │ 10│ 9│ │ 10│ - │11│History of Sulaymān Shāh, his │ │ │ │ │ - │ │ Sons, his Niece, and their │ │ │ │ │ - │ │ Children │ 11│ 2│ 7│ 7│ - └──┴──────────────────────────────┴────────────┴─────────┴────────────┴───────┘ - -It will be observed from this table that in Habicht’s Arabian text, in -Cazotte, and C. de Perceval there are eleven stories, including the -Introductory Tale, which forms part of the frame; and this arrangement -is more in accordance with what was evidently the original plan of the -romance than is our Persian version, in which there is no story to -counteract the arguments employed by the First Vizier against Bakhtyār. -In all other romances of the Sindibād cycle, where the sages, or -counsellors, relate stories in behalf of the accused, the narrators -appear in regular succession, from the first to the seventh (or, in the -case of the _Forty Viziers_, from the first to the fortieth); and there -can be little doubt, I think, that in the original Persian -romance—probably no longer extant—the First Vizier, as in the Arabian -version, was represented as appearing before the King on the first day -after Bakhtyār was committed to prison, urging his immediate execution, -and the youth, on being brought into the King’s presence, as relating -one of the tales included in Habicht’s text, but omitted in our present -version. On the Eleventh Day in Cazotte (reckoning the day of our hero’s -unhappy adventure as one) the young man relates two stories, that of -“Sulaymān Shāh and his Family,” which exactly agrees with Habicht’s -text; and a rather pointless story, entitled “The King of Haram and his -Slave,” which is probably identical with the eleventh tale in C. de -Perceval, entitled “The Freed Slave,” which takes the place of the story -of Abū Temām, omitted. The titles of the several stories as given in the -above table are those in Habicht’s text. No. 3 in Cazotte is entitled -“Ilage Mahomet and his Sons.” No. 8 is “Baharkan, or the Intemperate -(_i.e._, hasty-tempered) Man”—our “King of Yemen” and in the German -translation “The Prince of Zanzībār.” No. 10 is in Cazotte also “Ibrahīm -and his Son,” and the incidents are the same in both. No. 7, “The -History of Bakht-zamān,” also in Cazotte and C. de Perceval, but omitted -in the Persian version, treats of the vain attempts of a man to succeed -in war or peace without God’s help—utterly vain, unless prayers are -offered up for His assistance. No. 11 (our “King of Abyssinia”) has the -same title in Cazotte, and in both the story is very differently told -from the Persian narrative; it is, however, an excellent tale, and I -regret that I have not space here for an analysis of it. In the German -translation our tenth story (“King of Persia”) is omitted, although it -is found in the Arabian text. - -To conclude: I am disposed to believe that the Turkī translation was -made from the Arabic, because the story of “King Dādīn and his Two -Viziers,” given in pages 189–194, corresponds with Habicht’s text and -with Cazotte’s translation, but varies materially from the Persian text, -in which the cameleer, who discovers the pious daughter of the murdered -Vizier, is represented as being in the service of King Dādīn, who, when -informed of the lady’s wonderful sanctity, visits her at the cameleer’s -house and becomes reconciled to her; while in the Turkī version, in -Habicht’s text, and in Cazotte (who probably knew nothing of the Turkī -translation) the cameleer is in the service of the King of Persia, who -visits the maiden, marries her, and punishes King Dādīn and the wicked -Vizier. If, then, the Turkī version, which dates as far back as A.D. -1434, was made from the Arabic, and if the latter was translated, or -adapted, from the Persian, it is not unlikely that the History of the -Ten Viziers in its Arabian dress existed some time before the _Book of -the Thousand Nights and One Night_ was composed in its present form; and -therefore the Persian version may be, as Lescallier conjectured, “very -ancient.” And since we have discovered that two of the stories exist in -a work which is of Sanskrit origin (see pp. xliii and xliv—and in line 6 -of the latter _for_ “King of Abyssinia” _read_ “King Dādīn,”), we may go -a step farther, and suppose the other stories in the Romance of Bakhtyār -to have been also derived from Indian sources. - - - - - THE BAKHTYĀR NĀMA. - - - - - THE BAKHTYĀR NĀMA. - - - - - CHAPTER I. - - - HISTORY OF KING ĀZĀDBAKHT AND THE VIZIER’S DAUGHTER. - -Thus it is recorded by the authors of remarkable histories, and the -narrators of delightful tales, that there was once in the country of -Sīstān, a certain King, possessing a crown and a throne, whose name was -Āzādbakht; and he had a Vizier entitled Sipahsālār, a person of such -bravery and skill that the moon concealed herself among the clouds from -fear of his scimitar. This Vizier had a daughter endowed with such -exquisite beauty that the rose of the garden and the moon of the -heavenly spheres were confounded at the superior lustre of her cheeks. -Sipahsālār loved this daughter with excessive fondness, so that he could -scarcely exist an hour without her. Having gone on an expedition to -inspect the state of the country, it happened that he found himself -under a necessity of passing some time from home. He immediately -despatched confidential persons with orders to bring his daughter to him -from the capital. These persons, having arrived at the Vizier’s palace, -paid their obeisance to the damsel, who ordered her attendants to -prepare for the journey to her father. The horses were instantly -caparisoned, and a litter provided with magnificence suitable to a -princely traveller. The damsel, seated in this, commenced her journey, -and went forth from the city. - -It happened that the King, who had gone on a hunting-party, was at that -moment returning from the chase. He beheld the litter with its ornaments -and splendid decorations; and, whilst he gazed, it was borne quite out -of the town. He sent to inquire about it; and the attendants said that -it belonged to the daughter of Sipahsālār, who was going to her father. -When the King’s servants returned and reported to him this intelligence, -he rode up to the litter that he might send his compliments to -Sipahsālār. On his approach the attendants alighted from their horses, -and kissed the ground of respectful obedience. The King, having desired -that they would bear his salutations to the Vizier, and they having -promised punctually to do so, was preparing to turn back, when suddenly, -the wind lifting up a corner of the hangings which covered the litter, -his eyes were fixed by the fascinating beauty of the damsel; and he who -in the chase had sought for game became now the captive prey of this -lovely maid, and fell into the snares of love. At length he ordered the -attendants to despatch a messenger to the north, where Sipahsālār was, -and to inform him that the King would accept his daughter as a wife, -hoping that he might not be esteemed an unworthy son-in-law. - -When the attendants heard this, they kissed the ground of obedience, -saying: “Long be the King’s life!—the sovereign of the earth and of the -age, and the ruler of the world! If Sipahsālār could even dream of this -honour, he would be supreme in happiness. But, if the King permit, we -will proceed with the damsel to her father, and inform him of what has -happened, that he may prepare everything necessary for the occasion, and -then send her back to the city.” When the servant of the damsel had thus -spoken, the King, who was displeased with his discourse, exclaimed: “How -darest thou presume to counsel or advise me?” He would have punished the -servant on the spot, but he feared lest the tender heart of his fair -mistress should be distressed thereby. He accordingly remitted the -punishment; and taking the reins into his own hands, he conducted the -litter back towards the city, which he entered at the time when the -shades of evening began to fall. - -The next day he assembled the magistrates and chief men; and, having -asked the damsel’s consent to the marriage, he caused the necessary -ceremonies to be performed. The secretaries were employed in writing -letters of congratulation; and Sipahsālār was informed of the insult -offered to him during his absence, which caused the tears to flow from -his eyes whilst he perused the letters of congratulation. He dissembled, -however; and, concealing his vexation, wrote letters to the King, and -addressed him in language of the strongest gratitude, declaring himself -at a loss for words whereby to express his sense of the honour conferred -upon him. - -Such was the purport of his letters; but in his mind he cherished hopes -of revenge, and day and night were employed in devising stratagems by -means of which he might obtain it. - -After two or three months spent in this manner, Sipahsālār assembled all -the chief officers of the army, and informed them that, confiding in -their secrecy and fidelity, he would communicate to them an affair of -considerable importance. They all assured him of their attachment and -regard; and declared that the flourishing state of the empire was the -result of his wisdom, prudent management, and bravery. To this -Sipahsālār replied: “You all know what actions I have performed, and -what troubles I have undergone, to raise the empire to its present state -of glory and prosperity: but what has been my recompense? You have seen -how the ungrateful monarch carried off my daughter.” Having thus spoken, -a shower of tears fell from his eyes; and the chiefs who were assembled -about him said: “We have been acquainted with this matter for some time, -and it has given us great concern. But now the moment is arrived when we -may depose this king.” - -Then Sipahsālār threw open the doors of his treasury, and distributed -considerable sums of money amongst the soldiers; so that in a little -time he assembled a multitude of troops, almost innumerable. He then -resolved to attack the King, and, with that intention, seized, during -the night, upon all the avenues of the city, both on the right hand and -on the left. - -The King, astonished and alarmed at the tumult, consulted with the -Queen, saying: “What can we do in this misfortune? For it is a night to -which no morning shall succeed, and a war in which there is not any hope -of peace.”—The Queen replied: “Our only remedy for this evil is to fly -and seek protection in the dominions of some other prince, and solicit -his assistance.”—Āzādbakht approved of this counsel, and resolved to -seek an asylum from the King of Kirmān, who was renowned for his -generosity throughout the world. - -In the palace there was a certain door which opened into a subterraneous -passage leading towards the desert. The King gave orders that two horses -should be instantly saddled; and having put on his armour, and taken -from the royal treasury many precious jewels and fastened them in his -girdle, he placed the Queen on one of the horses, and mounting the other -himself, they went forth privately through the door above-mentioned, and -directed their course towards the desert. - -Now it happened that the Queen had been for nine months in a state of -pregnancy; and, after travelling during a whole day and night in the -desert, they arrived at the side of a well, whose waters were more -bitter than poison, and unpleasant as the revolutions of inconstant -Fortune. Here the Queen was affected by the pains of labour; whilst heat -and thirst reduced both the King and her to despair: their mouths were -parched up for want of water, and they had no hopes of saving their -lives; for the sword of the enemy was behind them, and before them the -sand of the desert. In this forlorn situation the Queen said: “As it is -impossible for me to proceed any farther, I entreat you to save your own -life, and find out some place where water may be obtained. Though I must -perish here, you may be saved; and a hundred thousand lives such as mine -are not in value equal to a single hair of the King’s head.”—Āzādbakht -replied: “Soul of the world! I can relinquish riches and resign a -throne; but it is impossible to abandon my beloved: her who is dearer to -me than existence itself.” - -Thus were they engaged in conversation, when suddenly the Queen brought -forth a son; in beauty he was lovely as the moon, and from the lustre of -his eyes the dreary desert was illumined. The Queen, pressing the infant -to her bosom, began to perform the duties of a mother, when the King -told her that she must not fix her affections on the child, as it would -be impossible to take him with them: “We must, therefore,” added the -King, “leave the infant on the brink of this well, and commit him to the -providence of the Almighty, whose infinite kindness will save him from -destruction.”—They accordingly wrapped up the child in a cloak -embroidered with gold and fastened a bracelet of ten large pearls round -his shoulders; then, leaving him on the brink of the well, they both -proceeded on their journey to Kirmān, whilst their hearts were afflicted -with anguish on account of their helpless infant. When they approached -the capital of Kirmān, the King of that place was informed of their -arrival. He sent his servants to welcome them, and received them with -the greatest respect and hospitality; he provided a princely banquet, -and assembled all the minstrels, and sent his own son and two attendants -to wait on Āzādbakht. - -During the feast, whilst the musicians were employed in singing and -playing, and the guests in drinking, whenever the wine came round to -Āzādbakht, his eyes were filled with tears. The King of Kirmān, -perceiving this, desired him to banish sorrow, and to entertain a hope -that Heaven might yet be propitious to him. Āzādbakht replied: “O King -of the world! how can I be cheerful, whilst thus an exile from my home, -and whilst my kingdom and my treasures are in the possession of my -enemies?” - -The King of Kirmān then inquired into the particulars of Āzādbakht’s -misfortunes, which he related from beginning to end. The heart of the -King of Kirmān was moved with compassion; and during that whole day he -endeavoured, by every sort of amusement, to divert the mind of his guest -from dwelling on the past misfortunes. The next day he ordered a -powerful army to be led forth, and placed it under the command of -Āzādbakht, who marched immediately towards the capital of his own -dominions. On the King’s approach, Sipahsālār, who had usurped his -authority, fled in confusion, and all the troops, the peasants, and -other inhabitants paid homage to Āzādbakht, and entreated his -forgiveness. He pardoned them; and again ascending the royal throne, -governed his people with justice and generosity; and having liberally -rewarded the King of Kirmān’s soldiers, he sent them back with many rare -and valuable presents for that monarch. - -After these transactions, Āzādbakht and his Queen passed their time in a -state of tranquillity, interrupted only by the remembrance of the child -whom they had left in the desert, and whom, they were persuaded, wild -beasts must have devoured the same hour in which they abandoned him: but -they little knew the kindness which Providence had shown him. - -It happened that the desert in which they had left the infant was -frequented by a gang of robbers, the chief of whom was named -Farrukhsuwār; and very soon after the King and Queen had departed, these -robbers came to the well; there they discovered a beautiful infant -crying bitterly. Farrukhsuwār alighted from his horse and took up the -child; and his extraordinary beauty induced them to believe him the son -of some prince or illustrious personage. In this opinion they were -confirmed by the ten valuable pearls which were fastened on his -shoulders. As Farrukhsuwār had not any child, he resolved to adopt this -infant as his own, and accordingly bestowed on him the name of Khudādād; -and having taken him to his home, committed him to the care of a nurse. -When he was of a proper age, Farrukhsuwār instructed him in all -necessary accomplishments, and in horsemanship and the use of arms, -which rendered him, with his natural bravery, when fifteen years of age, -able to fight, alone, five hundred men. Farrukhsuwār loved this youth -with such affection that he could not exist one moment without him, and -took him along with him wheresoever he went. Whenever it happened that -the robbers were proceeding to attack a caravan, Khudādād, who felt -compassion for the merchants and travellers, and at all times disliked -the profession of a robber, requested that Farrukhsuwār might dispense -with his attendance, and leave him to guard the castle. Farrukhsuwār -consented that he should not join in attacking the caravan; but -entreated him to accompany the robbers to the scene of action. It -happened, however, one day, that they attacked a caravan consisting of -superior numbers, and of such brave men that they fought against the -robbers with success, and took several of them prisoners. In this action -Farrukhsuwār received a wound, and was near falling into the hands of -his enemies, when Khudādād, mounting his charger, galloped into the -midst of the battle, and put many of them to death. - -But it was so ordained that he should fall from his horse; in -consequence of which, he was taken prisoner, and with many of the -robbers, led in chains to the capital. - -The chief of the caravan having brought them all before the tribunal of -Āzādbakht, the King’s eyes were no sooner fixed upon the countenance of -Khudādād, than paternal affection began to stir his heart: he wept, and -said: “Alas! if the infant whom I abandoned in the desert were now -alive, he would probably appear such a youth as this!” He continued to -gaze involuntarily upon him, and, desiring him to approach, inquired his -name, and said: “Art thou not ashamed to have abused the favours of -Heaven, which has endowed thee with so much beauty and strength, by -plundering travellers, and seizing on the property to which thou hadst -not any right?”—Khudādād, with tears, replied: “The Lord knows my -innocence, and that I have never partaken of the plunder.”—Āzādbakht -then granted him a free pardon, and took him into his service, desiring -that his chains might be taken off; he also put on him his own robe, and -said: “I now give you the name of Bakhtyār; from this time forth Fortune -shall be your friend.”[25] The King then dismissed the other robbers; to -whom, on condition that they would never again commit any depredations, -he granted not only their lives, but a pension, by which he engaged them -in his service. - -After this Bakhtyār continued day and night in attendance on the King, -whose affection for him hourly increased. To his care were entrusted the -royal stables, which he superintended with such skill and good -management that in a few months the horses became fat and sleek; and the -King, one day remarking their improved condition, understood that it was -the result of Bakhtyār’s care and attention, and conceiving that a -person who evinced such abilities was capable of managing more important -matters, he sent for Bakhtyār, at his return to the palace, and ordered -that the keys of the treasury should be presented to him, and thus -constituted him keeper of the treasures. Bakhtyār, having kissed the -ground, was invested with a splendid robe of honour. He discharged the -duties of his high station with such fidelity and attention that he -every day increased in favour with the King, and at length was consulted -on every measure, and entrusted with every secret of his royal master. -If on any day it happened that Bakhtyār absented himself from the -palace, on that day the King would not give audience to any person: and -the advice of Bakhtyār was followed on every occasion of importance. In -short, he was next in power to the King, and his conduct was discreet -and skilful. - -But there were Ten Viziers, who became envious of his exaltation, and -conspired against him, resolving to devise some stratagem whereby they -might deprive him of the King’s esteem, and effect his degradation. - -It happened one day that Bakhtyār, having indulged in the pleasures of -wine beyond the bounds of moderation, lost the power of his reason, and -continued in a state of sleepy intoxication until night came on and the -world became dark; the porters fastened the gates, and the sentinels -repaired to their respective stations. Bakhtyār, after some time, came -forth from the treasury, but knew not whither he went, so completely had -the wine deprived him of recollection: he wandered on, however, until he -found himself in one of the King’s private apartments, where he saw -tapers burning, a couch with pillows and cushions, a splendid throne, or -seat, and various embroidered robes and silken coverings. This was the -apartment in which the King used to sleep. Here, from excessive -intoxication, Bakhtyār flung himself upon the throne: after a little -while the King entered, and discovering the unfortunate young man, -inquired, with violent anger, his business in that place. Bakhtyār, -roused by the noise, threw himself from the throne, and crept beneath -it, where again he fell asleep. - -The King, having called some attendants, ordered them to seize him, and, -drawing his sword, hastened to the Queen, of whom he asked how Bakhtyār -found admittance to the private apartments of the palace; and added, -that he could not have come there without her knowledge. The Queen, -shocked at such an imputation, declared herself ignorant of the whole -transaction but desired the King, if he still entertained any -suspicions, to confine her that night, and inquire into the matter on -the next morning, when her innocence would appear, and the guilty might -be punished. The King accordingly ordered her to be confined, and -suspended the execution of vengeance during that night. - -When morning came, being seated on the royal throne, he gave audience to -his ten Viziers. The first of these, having paid his respects to the -King, inquired into the transactions of the preceding night, and was -informed of all that had occurred. The enmity which this Vizier had long -cherished in his heart against Bakhtyār induced him to conceive that a -fair opportunity now offered of destroying that unfortunate young man; -and he said within himself: “Though he may have a thousand lives, he -shall not be able to save one of them.” He then addressed the King, and -said: “How could a person bred up in the desert, and by profession a -robber and assassin, be fit for the service of a King? I well knew that -his wickedness would appear, but durst not say so; now, however, that it -is manifest, let the King ordain for him such a punishment as may be a -lesson to all the world.”—The King gave orders that Bakhtyār should be -brought before him. “Ungrateful wretch!” said he, “I forgave your -offences; I spared your life; I raised you to dignities almost equal to -my own; and you requite these favours by treason and perfidy: you have -entered into the recesses of my harem, and have presumed to occupy my -place.”—Bakhtyār on hearing this began to weep; declared himself -ignorant of all those transactions, and that if he had been found in the -royal apartments, he must have wandered there unconsciously. - -The first Vizier solicited the King’s permission that he might go to the -harem, and inquire from the Queen all that she knew concerning this -affair. Having obtained permission, he went to the Queen, and told her, -that there were various reports on the subject of that young robber -Bakhtyār, in which she was implicated; that, as the King was exceedingly -enraged against her, the only means whereby she could appease his anger -would be to accuse Bakhtyār, and to say,—“O King! thou hast brought -hither the son of a robber; thou hast bestowed on him the name of -‘Fortune’s Favourite,’ and hast exalted him to honours; but his baseness -has at length appeared: he has presumed to make amorous proposals to me, -and has threatened, should I not comply with his licentious desires, to -use violence with me, to kill the King, and to seize upon the throne.” - -“This declaration,” said the Vizier to the Queen, “will induce the King -to order the immediate execution of Bakhtyār, and you will at the same -time reestablish yourself in his good opinion.”—The Queen was -astonished, and replied: “How can I, even to save myself, thus destroy -the life of an innocent person by a false testimony?” - -“The life of Bakhtyār,” said the Vizier, “has long been forfeited to the -laws, since he exercised the profession of a robber and a murderer; -therefore, any scruples on that subject are vain; and I’ll answer at the -day of judgment for your share in this transaction.” - -The Queen at last consented to follow the Vizier’s advice; and he -returned to the presence of the King, who desired to know the result of -his conference with the Queen. The artful Vizier replied: “That which I -have heard, I have not the power of relating; but the Queen herself will -tell it.” The King, having retired, sent for the Queen, and she repeated -to him all that the Vizier had instructed her to say. The King, -acknowledging that he was himself to blame, as having bestowed favours -on the base-born son of a robber, gave orders that heavy irons should be -put on the feet of Bakhtyār, and sent him to prison; declaring that in -due time he should suffer such a punishment as would strike terror into -all men. - -In the meantime, Bakhtyār languished in the prison, appealing to God for -relief; and the Viziers returned to their homes, devising means whereby -they might induce the King to hasten the execution of the young man. - - - - - CHAPTER II. - - -On the following day the second Vizier came before the King, and, having -paid his respects, recommended that Bakhtyār should be no longer kept in -prison, but led out to execution. The King approved of this advice, and -gave orders that Bakhtyār and the executioner should be brought before -him. When they were come, he addressed the young man, and told him that -he had directed the tree of his existence to be rooted out from the soil -of his empire. Bakhtyār replied: “Long be the King’s life! Such is my -prayer, as I stand here on the eve of departure from this world; yet, as -it is every man’s duty to endeavour by honest means to save himself, I -appeal to the Almighty, who knows my innocence. But alas! my situation -is like that of the Merchant, whom good fortune constantly avoided, and -evil fortune incessantly pursued, so that all his exertions ended in -disappointment, and all his projects failed of success.”—The King -desired to hear the story of this ill-fated Merchant, and Bakhtyār, -after the usual compliments, began to relate it as follows: - - - STORY OF THE ILL-FATED MERCHANT, AND HIS ADVENTURES. - -In the city of Basra there was a certain man, a merchant, who possessed -immense riches; but it was decreed that the light of prosperity should -be changed into the darkness of misfortune, so that in a short space of -time very little of all his wealth remained, and whatsoever commercial -projects he tried invariably terminated in loss. - -It happened one year, that the price of corn was increased, and the -Merchant thought that, by laying out what remained of his money in -purchasing some loads of corn and keeping it till the next year, he -might profit considerably. He therefore hired a granary, purchased some -corn, and laid it by, in expectation that the price would rise. - -But corn became more abundant, and consequently more cheap, the -following season. When the Merchant perceived this, he resolved to keep -that which he had in store until the next year, thinking it probable -that a barren season might succeed a plentiful one. But it happened that -the next year, so much rain fell, that most of the houses were washed -away, and the water found its way into the Merchant’s granary, where it -spoiled all his corn, and caused it to send forth a smell so -intolerable, that the people of the city compelled him to throw it away. - -He was confounded by this misfortune; but after some time, finding that -he could not derive any profit from idleness or inactivity, he sold his -house, and joined a company of merchants, who were setting out on a -voyage by sea. With them, he embarked on board a vessel, and after three -days and three nights, the world became dark, the tempest arose, the -billows rolled: at length the ship was wrecked, and many of the crew -perished. The Merchant, with a few others, was saved on a plank, and -cast on dry land. - -Hungry and naked, he wandered into a desert, when, after advancing some -leagues, he discovered a man at a little distance. Delighted to find -that the country was inhabited, and hoping to be relieved from hunger -and thirst, which had now become almost insupportable, he directed his -course towards that man, and soon perceived an extensive and populous -village, with trees and running streams. At the entrance to this village -he stopped. The chief man, or _dihkān_, of the place was a person of -considerable wealth, and of great generosity; he had erected in the -outlets of this village, a summer-house, in which he happened to be when -the Merchant arrived. As soon as he discovered the stranger, he ordered -his servants to bring him into the summer-house. The stranger paid his -respects, and was entertained by the dihkān with politeness and -hospitality. Having satisfied his hunger and thirst, he related, at the -desire of his host, all the circumstances of his past life, and all the -misfortunes he had undergone. The story excited compassion in the breast -of the generous dihkān, who gave the Merchant a suit of his own clothes, -and bade him not despair, for he would keep him with himself until his -affairs should be again in a prosperous condition. - -After this, the dihkān gave into the Merchant’s charge the account of -his property and possessions, and said that he would allow him, for his -own share, the eleventh part of all the corn. The Merchant, much -delighted, was very diligent in superintending the concerns of his -employer; and as the harvest proved very abundant, when the corn was -gathered in, he found his portion so considerable, that he said within -himself: “The dihkān most probably will not consent to allow me such a -share; I shall therefore take it and conceal it, until the settlement of -accounts, when, if he think proper to bestow so much on me, I shall give -back this.” He accordingly took this quantity of the corn, and concealed -it in a cavern; but it happened that a thief discovered what he had -done, and stole the corn away by night. - -When the dihkān inspected the accounts of the harvest, and had made his -calculation of the produce, he assigned to the Merchant the eleventh -part of the corn. The Merchant returned him thanks, and acknowledged the -doubts which he had entertained, and told him how he had set apart a -certain portion of the corn, “which,” said he, “I shall now go and cause -to be deposited in the granary.” The dihkān sent two of his people with -him to the place where he had concealed the corn, but none could be -found. They were astonished, and bit the finger of amazement. When the -dihkān was informed of this circumstance, he became angry, and ordered -that the Merchant should be driven forth out of the village. - -In melancholy plight, the unlucky Merchant turned his face towards the -road which led to the sea-shore. There he chanced to meet six of those -persons who gain a livelihood by diving for pearls. They knew him, and -inquired into his situation. He related to them all that had happened, -and his story so much excited their compassion that they agreed to -bestow on him, for the sake of God, whatsoever their next descent to the -bottom of the sea should produce. They accordingly, with this charitable -intention, plunged all six into the sea, and each brought up from the -bottom a pearl of such exquisite beauty that its equal could not be -found amongst the treasures of any monarch. The Merchant received from -the divers those six precious pearls, and set forward with a joyful -heart. - -It happened that after some time he fell into company with certain -robbers, whom he much feared, and he resolved to save part, at least, of -his property, by concealing three of the pearls in his mouth, and the -other three among his clothes; hoping that, if they should search him, -they might be contented with these, and that he might save those -concealed within his mouth. He accordingly put three of the pearls among -his clothes, and the other three into his mouth, and went on for some -time without exciting any suspicion, or attracting the notice of the -robbers. But unluckily opening his mouth to address them, the pearls -fell on the ground; and when the robbers saw them, they seized the -Merchant, and so terrified him with their threats and violence that he -became senseless. The robbers, perceiving this, took up the three pearls -and went away. After some time the Merchant recovered his senses, and -was overjoyed to find that he had still three of the pearls left. - -Proceeding on his journey, he arrived by night at a certain city, where -he slept; and next morning went to the shop of a jeweller, to whom he -offered the pearls for sale. The jeweller, on beholding them, was -astonished; for they far exceeded anything he had ever seen: then -casting his eyes on the mean and squalid garments of the Merchant, he -immediately seized him by the collar, and exclaimed with a loud voice, -accusing the unfortunate stranger of having stolen the pearls from his -shop: a violent struggle and dispute ensued, and at length they both -proceeded to the tribunal of the King. - -The jeweller was a man of some repute in the city, and that which he -said was believed by the inhabitants. He accused the Merchant of having -contrived a hole through which he stole away a casket of gold and jewels -from his shop, and those three pearls were part of the contents of the -casket. The Merchant declared himself innocent; but the King ordered him -to deliver the pearls to the jeweller, and he was loaded with chains and -thrown into prison. - -There he pined in misery and affliction, until after some time those -divers who had given him the pearls arrived in that city; and going to -visit the prison, that they might benefit by seeing the punishment of -vice and wickedness, they distributed some money among those who were -confined, and at last discovered the Merchant in a corner, loaded with -chains. They were astonished, and inquired into the occasion of his -disgrace. He related the whole affair, and they, feeling great -indignation on account of the injurious treatment which their friend had -suffered, desired him not to despair, as they would soon procure him his -liberty. They immediately hastened from the prison to the palace. The -chief of them was a man whom the King much respected; and when he had -related the story of the Merchant, and of the pearls which they had -given him, the King became convinced of the jeweller’s guilt, and -instantly ordered him to be seized and brought before him, and at the -same time that the Merchant should be released from prison. When the -jeweller appeared before the King, his confusion and trembling betrayed -his guilt. The King asked him why he had thus injured a stranger; but he -remained silent; and was then led away to execution. The King caused to -be proclaimed throughout the city: “Such is to be the punishment of -those who shall injure or do wrong to strangers.” - -He directed also, that the property of the jeweller should be -transferred to the Merchant. Supposing that a man who had seen so much -of the world, both of prosperity and adversity, must be well qualified -for the service of a King, he ordered a splendid robe to be given to the -Merchant; and desired that he should be purified from the filth of a -prison in a warm bath, and appointed him keeper of the treasury. - -The Merchant employed himself diligently in the duties of his station; -but there was a vizier who became envious of his good fortune, and -resolved to devise some stratagem whereby to effect his ruin. - -The King’s daughter had a summer-house adjoining the treasury, and it -was her custom to visit this summer-house during six months of the year, -once every month. It happened that a mouse had made a hole quite through -the wall of the treasury; and one day the Merchant having reason to -drive a nail into the wall, it entered into the hole which the mouse had -made, and went through and caused a brick to fall out on the road which -led to the Princess’s summer-house. The Merchant went immediately and -stopped up the hole with clay. - -The malicious vizier, having discovered this circumstance, hastened to -the King, and informed him that he had seen the Merchant making a hole -through the wall of the summer-house, and that, when he had found -himself detected, he had, in shame and confusion, stopped it up with -clay. The King was astonished at this information: he arose and -proceeded to the treasury, where finding the Merchant’s hands yet dirty -from the clay, he believed what the vizier had told him; and on -returning to his palace, ordered his attendants to put out the -Merchant’s eyes, and to turn him out at the palace-gate. After this the -King went to the summer-house, that he might pay a visit to his -daughter; but he found that she had not been there for some time, having -gone to amuse herself in the gardens. On proceeding to the treasury, the -King discovered the hole, which had evidently been the work of a mouse. -From these circumstances he began to suspect the truth of the vizier’s -information, and at last being convinced that the Merchant was innocent, -he ordered the vizier to be punished. He lamented exceedingly the hard -fate of the Merchant, and was much grieved at his own precipitancy; but -his condolence and his sorrow were of no avail. - - * * * * * - -Having related this story, Bakhtyār observed, that the King would have -prevented all this distress had he taken some time to inquire into the -affair, and entreated a further respite, that he might be enabled to -prove his innocence.—The King, being pleased with the recital of this -story, complied with Bakhtyār’s request, and ordered him to be taken -back to prison for that day. - - - - - CHAPTER III. - - -On the following morning the third Vizier presented himself before the -King, and, having paid his respects, expressed many apprehensions that -the indulgence shown to Bakhtyār might prove of dangerous consequences, -by encouraging other criminals, and strongly advised his speedy -execution. The King, having sent for Bakhtyār, the executioner prepared -to blindfold him; but he petitioned for mercy, and said: “The -imprisonment of suspected persons is certainly a just measure, as the -guilt or innocence of the prisoner will probably be ascertained in the -course of time; but if a King will not have patience, but punish without -due investigation of the offence, what can result from such precipitancy -but affliction and repentance? Thus it happened to a son of the King of -Aleppo, whose impatience occasioned the loss of that kingdom, and -infinite misery.” - -The King’s curiosity being excited, he desired Bakhtyār to relate the -story of the Impatient Prince of Aleppo; and Bakhtyār, having kissed the -ground of obedience, thus began: - - - STORY OF THE IMPATIENT PRINCE OF ALEPPO. - -The King of Aleppo was an upright and generous monarch, who protected -strangers and permitted not any person to oppress or insult another; and -he had a son named Bihzād, a young man of excellent genius, polite -accomplishments, and many good qualities; but so very impatient, that he -would not admit a moment’s delay in the gratification of any desire, -whatsoever might be the consequences of his rash haste. - -It happened once, that, being seated with several of his companions, he -desired one of them to relate his adventures. The young man accordingly -began his story in the following words: - -“About two years ago, being in possession of considerable wealth, I -purchased several beasts of burthen, and, having loaded them with -various commodities, I undertook a journey, but on the way was attacked -by robbers, who plundered me of all my property, and I proceeded with a -disconsolate heart until night came on, and I found myself in a place -without any vestige of inhabitants. I took shelter beneath a great tree, -and had remained there for some time, when I perceived a light, and -several persons who passed by with much festivity and mirth. After them -came some who held vessels full of burning incense, so very fragrant, -that the desert was perfumed by its delightful odour. When they had -passed on, a magnificent litter appeared, before which walked several -damsels holding torches, scented with ambergris. In this litter was -seated a fair one, of such exquisite beauty, that the radiance of her -charms far exceeded the light of the torches, and quite dazzled my -fascinated eyes.” - -When the young man had advanced thus far in his narrative, Bihzād began -to show symptoms of impatience, having fallen in love with the lady, -though unseen. The young man continued his story, and said: - -“The next morning I proceeded on my journey, and arrived at the city of -Rūm, the capital and residence of the Kaisar, or Greek Emperor; and -having made inquiries, I was informed that the beautiful damsel whom I -had seen was the Princess Nigārīn, daughter of the Kaisar, who had a -villa at a little distance from the city, to which she sometimes went -for recreation.” - -Here the young man concluded his narrative, and Prince Bihzād -immediately arose and hastened to the house of the vizier, and said: -“You must go this moment to my father, and tell him that if he is -solicitous about my happiness, he will provide me a wife without delay.” -The vizier accordingly went to the palace and informed the King of -Bihzād’s wishes. The King desired the vizier to assure the Prince that -he only waited to find a suitable match for him; but that, if he had -fixed his affections on any fair object, he would do everything in his -power to obtain her for him. - -This being reported to Bihzād, he sent back the vizier with another -message to the King, informing him that the object of his choice was the -Princess Nigārīn, the lovely daughter of the Kaisar of Rūm, and -requesting that ambassadors might be sent to ask her in marriage for -him. The King replied to this message, and said: “Tell Bihzād that it -were in vain for me to send ambassadors on such an errand to the Kaisar: -he is the powerful Emperor of Rūm, and I am only a petty sovereign of -Aleppo; we are of different religions and of different manners; and -there is not any probability that he would comply with our demand.” - -The vizier returned to Bihzād, and delivered him this message from his -father. The impatient Prince immediately declared that, if the King -would not send ambassadors to solicit the Kaisar’s daughter in marriage -for him, he would set out on that errand himself. - -The King, being informed of his son’s resolution, sent for the Prince, -whom he loved with a tender affection, and at last consented that -ambassadors should be despatched to Rūm. The Kaisar received with due -respect the ambassadors from the King of Aleppo; but when they disclosed -the object of their mission, he replied, with great indignation, and -informed them, that no one should obtain his daughter without paying the -sum of one hundred lacs of dīnars (or pieces of gold); and that whoever -should consent to pay that sum might become her husband. - -The ambassadors returned to Aleppo, and related to the King all that the -Kaisar had said. “Did I not tell you,” said the King to Bihzād, “that -the Greek Emperor would refuse his consent to so unequal a match?”—“He -has not refused his consent,” replied Bihzād; “but he requires money, -which must be immediately sent.”—The King declared that he could not -make up so considerable a sum; but, at Bihzād’s request, having -collected all his wealth, he found he possessed thirty lacs. Bihzād then -urged him to sell his male and female slaves, and all his household -goods. Having done so, he found that they produced twenty lacs. - -Then Bihzād advised the King to make up the requisite sum, by compelling -his subjects to contribute their money; but the King was not willing to -distress his people. However, by the persuasion of Bihzād, he extorted -from them an additional sum of twenty lacs. Having thus collected -seventy lacs of dīnars, Bihzād proposed that they should be immediately -transmitted to the Kaisar of Rūm. Letters were accordingly written, and -messengers despatched with the money, who were instructed to say, that -the remaining sum of thirty lacs should speedily be sent after. When -these messengers arrived at Rūm, they presented the letters and gifts to -the Kaisar, with the money. He treated the messengers with great -respect, accepted the money, and agreed to the proposed conditions; -after which they returned to Aleppo, and reported their success. Bihzād -then urged his father to collect by any means the thirty lacs of dīnars -still deficient, either by a forced loan from the merchants, or by -taxing the peasants of the country; but the King advised him to be -patient, and wait until they should recover from the effects of the late -exactions; and said: “You have already rendered me poor, and now you -wish to complete my ruin, and occasion the loss of my kingdom.” - -Bihzād desired his father to keep his kingdom, and declared his -intention of setting out immediately. The King, much afflicted at the -thought of his son’s departure, entreated him to wait one year, that the -people might forget the sums they had already paid; but Bihzād would not -consent. The King then begged that he would be patient for six months; -this also he refused.—“Wait even three months,” said his father.—“I -cannot wait three days,” said the impatient youth. On which the King, -disgusted with such obstinacy, desired his son to go wherever he -pleased. Bihzād immediately retired; and, having clothed himself in -armour, with two confidential servants set out upon his journey. - -It happened that one morning they overtook a caravan, consisting of a -hundred camels loaded with valuable commodities, proceeding on the way -to Rūm. The chief of this caravan was a man of considerable wealth, with -a numerous train of attendants, and he was held in great esteem by the -Kaisar. When Bihzād and his two companions espied the caravan, they -rushed forward with loud shouts, but were instantly seized, and their -hands and feet bound: they were then brought before the chief, who -ordered that they should be flung upon a camel. When they arrived at -Rūm, the chief took Bihzād to his own house, and kept him confined for -three days. - -On the third day, having looked attentively at his prisoner, he -discovered in his air and manner something that bespoke his princely -origin and education. He inquired into the circumstances of his -adventure, but Bihzād answered only with tears. The chief then said: “If -you tell me the truth of this affair, I will set you free; and if you do -not, I shall inform the Kaisar of your offence, and he will cause you to -be hanged.” - -Bihzād, not knowing what else to do, related his whole history to the -chief of the caravan, who, moved with compassion, desired him not to -despair, for he would lend him the thirty lacs of dīnars, and procure -him the Kaisar’s daughter, on condition of his being repaid whenever -Bihzād should become king. - -To this Bihzād gladly consented; and the chief, having unloosed his -fetters, clothed him in royal garments, and dressed his servants also in -splendid attire; and having given him thirty lacs of dīnars, he led him -to the palace: then he left Bihzād at the door, whilst he himself went -in and informed the Kaisar that the Prince of Aleppo was waiting for the -honour of presenting to his Majesty the thirty lacs of dīnars, which he -had brought sealed up. - -The Kaisar consented to receive Bihzād, who, on being introduced, paid -due homage, and was treated with great kindness, and placed by the -Kaisar’s side. After much conversation, the Kaisar desired him to -declare the object of his wishes, and promised that, whatever it might -be, he would endeavour to procure it for him. Bihzād replied, that his -only desire in this world was to obtain the Princess for his wife. The -Kaisar begged that he would wait ten days; but to this delay he would -not consent. The Kaisar then entreated that he would be patient for five -days; and this also he refused to do.—“At least,” said the Kaisar, “wait -three days, that the women may have time to make the necessary -preparations.” But Bihzād would not consent.—“This one day, however,” -then said the Kaisar, “you must be patient, and to-morrow you shall -espouse my daughter.”—“Since it must be so,” replied Bihzād, “I’ll wait -this day, but no longer.” - -The Kaisar gave orders that the Princess should be brought to the garden -of the palace, and all the nobles assembled, and banquets provided for -the entertainment of Bihzād. When night came, Bihzād, having indulged in -wine, became impatient to behold the Princess, and, going to the -summer-house, in which she was, he discovered an aperture in the wall, -to which he applied his eye. The Princess at that moment happened to -perceive the aperture, and found that some person was looking at her -through it. She immediately ordered her attendants to burn out his eyes -with red-hot irons. - -This order was put in execution without delay. The unhappy Bihzād, -crying aloud, fell on the ground, deprived of sight. His voice being at -length recognised, the servants ran out and beheld him rolling in agony -on the ground. They exclaimed, and tore their hair, but all in vain. The -news was brought to the Kaisar, who said: “What can be done? This silly -youth has brought the evil on himself by his own impatience, and has -occasioned the loss of his own eyes.” He then directed that Bihzād -should be sent back to Aleppo, as he could not give his daughter to a -person deprived of sight. - -When the unhappy youth returned to Aleppo, his father and mother, and -the inhabitants of the city, all wept at his misfortunes; but their -compassion was of no avail. After some time the King died; but the -people introduced a stranger, and placed him on the throne, saying that -a blind man was not capable of governing. And the remainder of Bihzād’s -life passed away in misery, and in repentance for his rashness and -impatience. - -“Now,” added Bakhtyār, “had that unfortunate young man waited until -night, the Princess Nigārīn would have been his, and he would have saved -his eyes and his kingdom, and not have had occasion to repent of -impatience. If the King will send me back to prison, he will not be -sorry for the delay, as my innocence will hereafter appear; and if he -hasten my execution, any future repentance will not avail.” - -The King ordered Bakhtyār to go back to prison for that day. - - - - - CHAPTER IV. - - -On the following day, the fourth Vizier presented himself before the -King, and, having paid his respects, advised him not to defer any longer -the execution of Bakhtyār. The King immediately gave orders that the -young man should be brought from the prison; the executioner with a -drawn sword stood ready to perform his part, when Bakhtyār exclaimed: -“Long be the King’s life! Let him not be precipitate in putting me to -death; but as I have, in the story of Bihzād, described the fatal -consequences of rashness, let me be permitted to celebrate the blessings -attendant on forbearance, and recount the adventures of Abū Saber, the -Patient Man.” - -The King’s curiosity being excited, he desired Bakhtyār to relate the -story, which he accordingly began in the following words: - - - STORY OF ABŪ SABER; OR, THE PATIENT MAN. - -There lived in a certain village, a worthy man, whose principal riches -consisted in a good understanding and an inexhaustible stock of -patience. On account of those qualifications he was so much respected by -all his neighbours, that his advice was followed on every occasion of -importance. - -It happened once that a tax-gatherer came to this village, and extorted -from the poor peasants their miserable pittance, with such circumstances -of cruelty and injustice that they could not any longer submit to the -oppression: a number of the young men, having assembled in a body, slew -the tax-gatherer and fled. - -The other inhabitants, who had not been concerned in this transaction, -came to Abū Saber, and begged that he would accompany them to the King, -and relate to his Majesty the circumstances as they had happened; but -Abū Saber told them, that he had drank of the sherbet of patience, and -would not intermeddle in such affairs. When the King was informed of the -tax-gatherer’s death, he ordered his servants to punish the people of -that village, and to strip them of all their property. - -After two years it happened that a lion took up his abode in the -neighbourhood, and destroyed so many children that no person would -venture to cultivate the ground, or attend the harvest, from fear of -being devoured. In this distress the villagers went to Abū Saber, and -entreated him to associate with them in some measure for their relief; -but he replied, that patience was his only remedy. - -It happened soon after, that the King, being on a hunting-party, arrived -in the vicinity of this place; and the inhabitants, presenting -themselves before him, related the story of the tax-gatherer, the -consequences of the King’s anger, and their dread of the lion. The King -pitying them, asked why they had not sent some person to inform him of -their distresses. They replied, that Abū Saber, the chief man of the -village, whose assistance they solicited, had declined interfering in -the matter. The King, hearing this, was enraged, and gave orders that -Abū Saber should be driven forth from the village. These orders were -instantly put in execution, and the King sent people to destroy the -lion. - -With a heavy heart, Abū Saber commenced his journey, accompanied by his -wife and two sons. It happened that they were soon overtaken by some -robbers, who, not perceiving any thing more valuable of which they might -strip him, resolved to carry off the two boys and sell them; they -accordingly seized the poor children and bore them away. The wife began -to cry and weep most bitterly; but Abū Saber recommended patience. They -then proceeded on their journey, and travelled all night and all day, -till, faint from hunger and thirst, weary and fatigued, they at length -approached a village, in the outlets of which Abū Saber left his wife, -whilst he went to procure some food. He was employed on this business in -the village, when a robber happened to discover the woman, and seeing -that she was a stranger, handsome, and unprotected, he seized her with -violence, and declared that he would take her as his wife. After many -tears and supplications, finding the robber determined to carry her -away, she contrived to write upon the ground with blood, which she had -procured by biting her own finger. When Abū Saber returned from the -village, and sought his wife in the spot where he had left her, the -words which she had written sufficiently explained the occasion of her -absence. - -He wept at this new misfortune, and implored the Almighty to bestow -patience on his wife, and enable her to bear whatever should befall her. - -With a disconsolate heart, Abū Saber proceeded on his solitary journey, -until he came to the gate of a certain city where a King resided, who -was very tyrannical and impious. And it happened at this time that he -had ordered a summer-house to be erected, and every stranger who -approached the city was by his command seized and compelled to work, -guarded day and night, and fed with a scanty portion of coarse black -bread. - -Abū Saber was immediately seized and dragged to the building; when a -heavy load was placed upon his shoulders, and he was obliged to ascend a -ladder of seventy steps. In this distress he consoled himself by -reflections on the advantages of patience, the only remedy within his -power, for the evils which had occurred. - -It happened on this day, that the King was sitting in a corner of the -building, superintending the work, when he overheard Abū Saber inquire -of another man, what time they might expect to be relieved from this -excessive fatigue. The man informed Abū Saber that it was three months -since he had been thus laboriously employed, and languishing for a sight -of his beloved wife and children. “During this space of time,” added he, -“I have not had any intelligence of them; and I long for permission to -visit them, were it but for one night.” Abū Saber desired him to be -patient; for Providence would relieve him at last from the oppression -under which he suffered. - -All this conversation the King overheard. After some time Abū Saber, -being faint from excessive fatigue, fell senseless from the steps of the -ladder, by which accident his legs and arms were dislocated. The King, -however, provoked to anger by what he had heard, ordered that Abū Saber -should be brought before him, and, having upbraided him with -inconsistency in recommending patience to another person, when he -himself could not practise it, he ordered him to be punished with fifty -stripes and thrown into prison. This sentence was immediately put into -execution, and Abū Saber, supporting his head on the knees of patience, -implored the protection of the Almighty, with perfect submission to His -divine dispensations. - -After some time had elapsed, it happened that the King was affected one -night by a violent cholic, of which he died in excessive agony; and as -he did not leave any heir to the crown, the people of the city assembled -in order to elect a King. - -It was resolved that they should go to the prison, and propose three -questions to the criminals confined there; and that whoever gave the -best answer should be chosen King. In consequence of this resolution, -they proceeded to the prison, and asked the three questions, to which -none of the prisoners replied, except Abū Saber, whose answers were so -ingenious, that he was borne triumphantly away, washed in a warm bath, -clothed in royal garments, and placed upon the throne; after which all -the inhabitants came and paid him homage. And he governed with such -mildness and wisdom, that the people night and day offered up their -prayers for him; and the fame of his justice and liberality was spread -all over the world. - -One day it happened that two men attended at his tribunal and demanded -an audience. Abū Saber caused them to be brought before him. One of -those men was a merchant, and the other the robber who had carried off -the sons of Abū Saber. The robber he immediately recognised, but was -silent. The merchant then addressed him, and said: “Long be the King’s -life! This man sold to me two boys; and after some time these boys began -to say, ‘We are freemen—we are the sons of a Mussulman; and that man -carried us away by force, and sold us, at which time, from fear of him, -we were afraid to say that we were freemen.’ Now,” added the merchant, -“let the King order this man to return me the money, and take back the -boys.” - -Abū Saber then asked the robber what he had to say. The man answered, -that it was the merchant’s fault, who had not taken good care of the -boys; but that for his own part he had always treated them well, which -induced them to make this complaint, in order that he might take them -back. Abū Saber then sent for the two boys, who proved to be his own -sons. He knew them, but they had not any recollection of him. He desired -them to explain this matter; and they declared that the robber had -carried them away from their father and mother to his own dwelling, and -had desired them not to say, on any account, that they were freemen; but -that when sold as slaves they could not any longer suppress their -complaints. Abū Saber, much affected by their story, ordered them to -tell their names, and then sent them to his own apartments; after which -he caused the robber to be imprisoned, and the merchant’s money to be -deposited in the public treasury. - -On another day it happened that two persons in like manner solicited an -audience of the King. When they were admitted, one proved to be the wife -of Abū Saber, and the other the man who had taken her away by force. But -Abū Saber did not know his wife, because she wore her veil. The robber, -having paid his respects, informed the King that this woman, who had -lived with him for some time, would not consent to perform the duties of -a wife. Abū Saber addressed the woman, and asked her why she refused to -obey her husband. She immediately answered, that this man was not her -husband; that she was the wife of a person named Abū Saber; and that -this man had taken her to his house against her inclination. - -Abū Saber ordered his servants to take the woman to his harem; and, -having made a proclamation and assembled all the inhabitants of the -city, caused the robber who had taken away his sons and the man who had -carried off his wife to be brought before them; and, having explained -the nature of their offences and related the circumstances of his own -story, he gave orders for their execution. - -After this he passed the remainder of his life in peaceful enjoyment of -the supreme power, which at his death devolved upon his son, and -continued for many generations in the family, as the reward of his -patience. - - * * * * * - -Here Bakhtyār concluded his story, and by order of the King was sent -back to prison. - - - - - CHAPTER V. - - -When the next morning arrived, the fifth Vizier waited upon the King, -and represented the danger that might attend any further delay in the -execution of Bakhtyār, as the indulgence which had been shown to him -would be an encouragement to others, and induce them to commit offences, -by giving them hopes of impunity. In consequence of this, the King -ordered everything to be prepared for the execution of the young man, -who, being brought before him, entreated his Majesty for a longer -respite, and assured him that he would, on a future day, be as rejoiced -at having spared his life, as a certain King of Yemen was at having -pardoned the offence of his slave. - -The King desired Bakhtyār to relate the particular circumstances of this -story; and he accordingly began it in the following manner: - - - STORY OF THE KING OF YEMEN AND HIS SLAVE ABRAHA. - -In former times the kingdom of Yemen was governed by a very powerful but -tyrannical Prince, who, for the slightest offences, inflicted the most -severe punishments. He had, however, a certain slave, named Abraha, of -whom he was very fond. This young man was the son of the King of -Zangībār, who by chance had fallen into slavery, and never disclosed the -secret of his birth. - -Abraha used frequently to attend the King of Yemen on his hunting -parties. During one of these excursions, it happened that a deer bounded -before the King’s horse: he discharged some arrows at it without effect; -when Abraha, who was close behind him, spurred on his horse, and aimed a -broad-bladed arrow at the deer; but it so happened that the arrow passed -by the side of the King’s head, and cut off one of his ears. The King, -in the first impulse of anger, ordered his attendants to seize Abraha; -but afterwards declared that he pardoned his offence. - -They then returned to the city; and, after some time had elapsed, having -gone on board a vessel and sailed into the ocean, a tempest arose, and -the ship was wrecked, and the King saved himself by clinging to a plank, -and was driven on the coast of Zangībār. - -Having returned thanks to Providence for his preservation, he proceeded -till he reached the chief city of that country. As it was night, the -doors of the houses and all the shops were shut; and, not knowing where -he might find a better place of repose, he sheltered himself under the -shade of a merchant’s house. It happened that some thieves, in the -course of the night, broke open the house, and having murdered the -merchant and his servants, plundered it of everything that was valuable. -The King of Yemen, overcome by fatigue, had slept the whole time, -unconscious of this transaction; but some of the blood had by accident -fallen on his clothes. - -When morning came, everybody was employed in endeavouring to discover -the murderers of the merchant; and the stranger, being found so near the -house, with blood upon his clothes, was immediately seized and dragged -before the tribunal of the King. - -The King of Zangībār asked him why he had chosen his capital as the -scene of such an infamous murder; and desired him to acknowledge who -were his accomplices, and how he had disposed of the merchant’s -property. The King of Yemen declared that he was innocent, and perfectly -ignorant of the whole transaction; that he was of a princely family; -and, having been shipwrecked, was driven on the coast, and had by -accident reposed himself under the shade of that house when the murder -was committed. The King of Zangībār then inquired of him by what means -his clothes had become stained with blood, and finding that the stranger -could not account for that circumstance, he ordered the officers of -justice to lead him away to execution. The unfortunate King of Yemen -entreated for mercy, and asserted that his innocence would on some -future day become apparent. The King consented to defer his execution -for a while, and he was sent to prison. - -On one side of the prison there was an extensive plain, with a running -stream, to which every day the prisoners were brought, that they might -wash themselves; and it was the custom that once every week the King -resorted to that plain, where he gave public audience to persons of all -ranks. On one of those days the King of Zangībār was on the plain, -surrounded by his troops, and the prisoners were sitting by the side of -the stream, along which ran a wall of the prison. It happened that -Abraha, who had been the King of Yemen’s slave, was standing near this -wall, but his former master did not recognise him, as they had been -separated for some time, Abraha having found means to return to -Zangībār, his native country. - -At this moment a crow chanced to light upon the wall, which the King of -Yemen perceived, and taking up a large flat bone, he threw it with his -utmost strength, and exclaimed, “If I succeed in hitting that crow, I -shall obtain my liberty,” but he missed his aim; the bone passed by the -crow, and striking the cheek of Abraha, cut off one of his ears. Abraha -immediately caused an inquiry to be made, and the person who had thrown -the bone to be brought before the King, who called him a base-born dog, -and ordered the executioner to cut off his head. The King of Yemen sued -for mercy, and requested that at most he might be punished according to -the law of retaliation, which would not award a head for an ear. The -King gave orders that one of his ears should be cut off; and the -executioner was preparing to fulfil this sentence when he perceived that -the prisoner had already lost an ear. - -This circumstance occasioned much surprise, and excited the King’s -curiosity. He told the prisoner that he would pardon him, on condition -of his relating the true story of his adventures. - -The King of Yemen immediately disclosed his real name and rank, -described the accident by which he lost his ear, the shipwreck which he -suffered, and the circumstances which occasioned his imprisonment. - -At the conclusion of his narrative, Abraha, having recognised his former -master, fell at his feet, embraced him, and wept. They mutually forgave -each other; and the King of Yemen, being taken to a warm bath, was -clothed in royal garments, mounted on a noble charger, and conducted to -the palace; after which he was furnished with a variety of splendid -robes and suits of armour, horses, slaves, and damsels. During two -months he was feasted and entertained with the utmost hospitality and -magnificence, attended constantly by Abraha. In the course of this time, -the robbers who had murdered the merchant were discovered and punished; -and after that the King of Yemen returned to his own country. - - * * * * * - -Bakhtyār having thus demonstrated that appearances might be very strong -against an innocent person, the King resolved to defer his execution for -another day, and he was accordingly led back to prison. - - - - - CHAPTER VI. - - -On the following day the sixth Vizier, having paid his respects to the -King, represented the danger of letting an enemy live when in one’s -power, and, by many artful speeches, induced his Majesty to order the -execution of Bakhtyār, who was immediately brought from the prison. When -he came before the King, he persisted in declaring his innocence, and -advised him not to be precipitate, like King Dādīn, in putting to death -a person on the malicious accusation of an enemy. The King, desirous of -hearing the story to which Bakhtyār alluded, ordered him to relate it; -and he began as follows: - - - STORY OF KING DĀDĪN AND HIS TWO VIZIERS. - -There was a certain King named Dādīn, who had two viziers, Kārdār and -Kāmgār; and the daughter of Kāmgār was the most lovely creature of the -age. It happened that the King, proceeding on a hunting excursion, took -along with him the father of this beautiful damsel, and left the charge -of government in the hands of Kārdār. - -One day, during the warm season, Kārdār, passing near the palace of -Kāmgār, beheld this fair damsel walking in the garden, and became -enamoured of her beauty; but having reason to believe that her father -would not consent to bestow her on him, he resolved to devise some -stratagem whereby he might obtain the object of his desires. “At the -King’s return from the chase,” said he, “I’ll represent the charms of -this damsel in such glowing colours, that he will not fail to demand her -in marriage; and I’ll then contrive to excite his anger against her, in -consequence of which he shall deliver her to me for punishment; and thus -my designs shall be accomplished.” - -One day after the King’s return from the hunting party, he desired -Kārdār to inform him of the principal events which had occurred during -his absence. Kārdār replied that his Majesty’s subjects had all been -solicitous for his prosperity; but that he had himself seen one of the -most astonishing objects of the universe. The King’s curiosity being -thus excited, he ordered Kārdār to describe what he had seen; and Kārdār -dwelt with such praises on the fascinating charms of Kāmgār’s daughter, -that the King became enamoured of her, and said: “But how is this damsel -to be obtained?”—Kārdār replied: “There is not any difficulty in this -business; it is not necessary to employ either money or messengers: your -Majesty needs only to acquaint her father with your wishes.” - -The King approved of this counsel, and having sent for Kāmgār, mentioned -the affair to him accordingly. Kāmgār, with due submission, declared -that if he possessed a hundred daughters they should all be at his -Majesty’s command; but begged permission to retire and inform the damsel -of the honour designed for her. Having obtained leave, he hastened to -his daughter, and related to her all that had passed between the King -and him. The damsel expressed her dislike to the proposed connection; -and her father, dreading the King’s anger in case of a refusal, knew not -how to act. “Contrive some delay,” said she; “solicit leave of absence -for a few days, and let us fly from this country!” Kāmgār approved of -this advice; and having waited on the King, obtained leave to absent -himself from court for ten days, under pretence of making the -preparations necessary for a female on the eve of matrimony; and when -night came on, he fled from the city with his daughter. - -Next day the King was informed of their flight; in consequence of which -he sent off two hundred servants to seek them in various directions, and -the officious Kārdār set out also in pursuit of them. After ten days -they were surprised by the side of a well, taken and bound, and brought -before the King, who, in his anger, dashed out the brains of Kāmgār; -then looking on the daughter of the unfortunate man, her beauty so much -affected him, that he sent her to his palace, and appointed servants to -attend her, besides a cook, who, at his own request, was added to her -establishment. After some time Kārdār became impatient, and enraged at -the failure of his project; but he resolved to try the success of -another scheme. - -It happened that the encroachments of a powerful enemy rendered the -King’s presence necessary among the troops; and on setting out to join -the army, he committed the management of affairs and the government of -the city to Kārdār, whose mind was wholly filled with stratagems for -getting the daughter of Kāmgār into his power. - -One day he was passing near the palace, and discovered her sitting alone -on the balcony; to attract her attention, he threw up a piece of brick -or tile, and on her looking down to see from whence it came she beheld -Kārdār. He addressed her with the usual salutation, which she returned. -He then began to declare his admiration of her beauty, and the violence -of his love, which deprived him of repose both day and night; and -concluded by urging her to elope with him, saying that he would take as -much money as they could possibly want; or, if she would consent, he was -ready to destroy the King by poison, and seize upon the throne himself. - -The daughter of Kāmgār replied to this proposal by upbraiding Kārdār -with his baseness and perfidy. When he asked her how she could ever fix -her affections on the man who had killed her father, she answered, that -such had been the will of God, and she was resolved to submit -accordingly. Having spoken thus, she retired. Kārdār, fearing lest she -should relate to the King what had passed between them, hastened to meet -him as he returned in triumph after conquering his enemies; and whilst -walking along by the side of the King’s horse, began to inform his -Majesty of all that had happened in his absence. Having mentioned -several occurrences, he added, that one circumstance was of such a -nature that he could not prevail on himself to relate it, for it was -such as the King would be very much displeased at hearing. - -The King’s curiosity being thus excited, he ordered Kārdār to relate -this occurrence; and he, declaring that it was a most ungrateful task, -informed him that it was a maxim of the wise men: “When you have killed -the serpent, you should also kill its young.” He then proceeded to -relate that, one day during the warm season, being seated near the door -of the harem, he overheard some voices, and his suspicions being -excited, he concealed himself behind the hangings, and listened -attentively, when he heard the daughter of Kāmgār express her affection -for the cook, who, in return, declared his attachment; and they spoke of -poisoning the King in revenge for his having killed her father. “I had -not patience,” added Kārdār, “to listen any longer.”—At this -intelligence the King changed colour with rage and indignation, and on -arriving at the palace, ordered the unfortunate cook to be instantly cut -in two. He then sent for the daughter of Kāmgār, and upbraided her with -the intention of destroying him by poison. She immediately perceived -that this accusation proceeded from the malevolence of Kārdār, and was -going to speak in vindication of herself, when the King ordered her to -be put to death; but being dissuaded by an attendant from killing a -woman, he revoked the sentence of death; and she was tied hands and -feet, and placed upon a camel, which was turned into a dreary -wilderness, where there was neither water nor shade, nor any trace of -cultivation. - -Here she suffered from the intense heat and thirst, to such a degree -that, expecting every moment to be her last, she resigned herself to the -will of Providence, conscious of her own innocence. Just then the camel -lay down, and on that spot where they were a fountain of delicious water -sprang forth; the cords which bound her hands and feet dropped off: she -refreshed herself by a hearty draught of the water, and fervently -returned thanks to Heaven for this blessing and her wonderful -preservation. On this the most verdant and fragrant herbage appeared -around the borders of the fountain; it became a blooming and delightful -spot, and the camel placed himself so as to afford his lovely companion -a shade and shelter from the sunbeams. - -It happened that one of the King’s camel-keepers was at this time in -pursuit of some camels which had wandered into the desert, and without -which he dared not return to the city. He had sought them for several -days amidst hills and forests without any success. At length on coming -to this spot he beheld the daughter of Kāmgār and the camel, which at -first he thought was one of those he sought, and the clear fountain with -the verdant banks, where neither grass nor water had ever been seen -before. Astonished at this discovery, he resolved not to interrupt the -lady, who was engaged in prayer; but when she had finished, he addressed -her, and was so charmed by her gentleness and piety, that he offered to -adopt her as his child, and expressed his belief that, through the -efficacy of her prayers, he should recover the strayed camels. - -This good man’s offer she thankfully accepted; and having partaken of a -fowl and some bread which he had with him, at his request she prayed for -the recovery of his camels. As soon as she had concluded her prayer, the -camels appeared on the skirts of the wilderness, and of their own accord -approached the camel-keeper. - -He then represented to the daughter of Kāmgār the danger of remaining -all night in the wilderness, which was the haunt of many wild beasts; -and proposed that she should return with him to the city, and dwell with -him in his house, where he would provide for her a retired apartment, in -which she might perform her devotions without interruption. To this -proposal she consented, and being mounted on her camel, she returned to -the city, and arrived at the house of her companion at the time of -evening prayer. Here she resided for some time, employing herself in -exercises of piety and devotion. - -One day the camel-keeper, being desired by the King to relate his past -adventures, mentioned, among other circumstances, the losing of his -camels, the finding them through the efficacy of a young woman’s -prayers, the discovery of a spring where none had been before, and his -adopting the damsel as his daughter: he concluded by telling the King -that she was now at his house, and employed day and night in acts of -devotion. - -The King, on hearing this, expressed an earnest wish that he might be -allowed to see this young woman, and prevail on her to intercede with -Providence in his behalf. The camel-keeper, having consented, returned -at once to his house accompanied by the King, who waited at the door of -the apartment where the daughter of Kāmgār was engaged in prayer. When -she had concluded he approached, and with astonishment recognised her. -Having tenderly embraced her, he wept, and entreated her forgiveness. -This she readily granted, but begged that he would conceal himself in -the apartment whilst she should converse with Kārdār, whom she sent for. - -When he arrived, and beheld her with a thousand expressions of fondness, -he inquired the means whereby she had escaped; and he told her that on -the day when the King had banished her into the wilderness, he had sent -people to seek her, and to bring her to him. “How much better would it -have been,” added he, “had you followed my advice, and agreed to my -proposal of poisoning the King, who, I said, would endeavour to destroy -you, as he had killed your father! But you rejected my advice, and -declared yourself ready to submit to whatsoever Providence should -decree. Hereafter,” continued he, “you will pay more attention to my -words. But now let us not think of what is past: I am your slave, and -you are dearer to me than my own eyes!” So saying, he attempted to clasp -the daughter of Kāmgār in his arms, when the King, who was concealed -behind the hangings, rushed furiously on him, and put him to death. -After this he conducted the damsel to his palace, and constantly -lamented his precipitancy in having killed her father. - - * * * * * - -Here Bakhtyār concluded the story; and having requested a further -respite, that he might have an opportunity of proving his innocence, he -was sent back to prison by order of the King. - - - - - CHAPTER VII. - - -The Seventh Vizier, on the following day, approached the King, and -having told him that his lenity towards Bakhtyār was made the subject of -public conversation, added many arguments to procure an order for the -execution of that unfortunate young man. The King, changing colour with -anger, sent immediately for the Queen, and asked her advice concerning -Bakhtyār. She declared that he deserved death; in consequence of which -the King ordered his attendants to bring him from the prison. When he -came into the royal presence, he begged for mercy, saying: “My innocence -will appear hereafter; and though your Majesty can easily put to death a -living man, you cannot restore a dead man to life.”—“How,” said the -King, “can you deny your guilt, since the women of the harem all bear -witness against you?”—Bakhtyār replied: “Women, for their own purposes, -often devise falsehoods, and are very expert in artifice and fraud, as -appears from the story of the daughter of the King of `Irāk and her -adventures with the King of Abyssinia, which, if your Majesty permit, I -shall briefly relate.”—Having obtained permission, he began the story as -follows: - - - STORY OF THE KING OF ABYSSINIA, SHOWING THE ARTIFICE OF WOMEN. - -It is related that Abyssinia was once governed by a certain monarch, -whose armies were very numerous, and his treasury well filled; but not -having any enemy to engage him in war, he neglected his troops, and -withheld their pay, so that they were reduced to great distress, and -began to murmur, and at last made their complaints to the Vizier. He, -pitying their situation, promised that he would take measures for their -relief, and desired them to be patient for a little while. He then -considered within himself what steps he should take; and at length, -knowing the King’s inclination to women, and understanding that the -Princess of `Irāk was uncommonly beautiful, he resolved to praise her -charms in such extravagant language before the King, as to induce him to -demand her from her father, who, from his excessive fondness, would not -probably consent to bestow her on him, and thus a war would ensue, in -which case the troops should be employed, and their arrears paid off. - -Pleased with the ingenuity of this stratagem, the vizier hastened to the -King, and after conversing for some time on various subjects, he -contrived to mention the King of `Irāk, and immediately described the -beauty of his daughter in such glowing colours, that the King became -enamoured, and consulted the vizier on the means whereby he might hope -to obtain possession of that lovely Princess. The vizier replied, that -the first step was to send ambassadors to the King of `Irāk, soliciting -his daughter in marriage. In consequence of this advice, some able and -discreet persons were despatched as ambassadors to `Irāk. On their -arrival in that country, the King received them courteously; but when -they disclosed the object of their mission he became angry, and declared -that he would not comply with their demand. - -The ambassadors returned to Abyssinia, and having reported to the King -the unsuccessful result of their negotiation, he vowed that he would -send an army into `Irāk, and lay that country waste, unless his demands -were complied with. - -In consequence of this resolution, he ordered the doors of his treasury -to be thrown open, and caused so much money to be distributed among the -soldiers that they were satisfied. From all quarters the troops -assembled, and zealously prepared for war. On the other hand, the King -of `Irāk levied his forces, and sent them to oppose the Abyssinians, who -invaded his dominions; but he did not lead them to the field himself, -and they were defeated and put to flight. When the account of this -disaster reached the King of `Irāk, he consulted his vizier, and asked -what was next to be done. The vizier candidly declared that he did not -think it necessary to prolong the war on account of a woman, and advised -his Majesty to send ambassadors with overtures of peace, and an offer of -giving the Princess to the King of Abyssinia. This advice the King of -`Irāk followed, although reluctantly. Ambassadors were despatched to the -enemy with offers of peace, and a declaration of the King’s consent to -the marriage of his daughter. - -These terms being accepted, the Princess was sent with confidential -attendants to the King of Abyssinia, who retired with her to his own -dominions, where he espoused her; and some time passed away in festivity -and pleasure. But it happened that the King of `Irāk had some years -before given his daughter in marriage to another man, by whom she had a -son; and this boy was now grown up, and accomplished in all sciences, -and such a favourite with the King of `Irāk, that he would never permit -him to be one hour absent from him. The Princess, when obliged to leave -him, felt all the anxiety of a mother, and resolved to devise some -stratagem whereby she might enjoy his society in Abyssinia. - -One day the King of Abyssinia, on some occasion, behaved harshly to the -Queen, and spoke disrespectfully of her father. She in return said: -“Your kingdom, it is true, is most fertile and abundant; but my father -possesses such a treasure as no other monarch can boast of—a youth sent -to him by the kindness of Heaven, skilled in every profound science, and -accomplished in every manly exercise; so that he rather seems to be one -of the inhabitants of Paradise than of this earth.” These praises so -excited the curiosity of the King, that he vowed he would bring this boy -to his court, were he even obliged to go himself for him. The Queen -replied: “My father would be like a distracted person were he deprived, -even for an hour, of this boy’s society; but some intelligent person -must be sent to `Irāk in the character of a merchant, and endeavour by -every means to steal him away.” - -The King approved of this advice, and chose a person well skilled in -business, who had experienced many reverses of fortune, and seen much of -the world. To this man he promised a reward of a hundred male slaves and -a hundred beautiful damsels, if he should succeed in bringing away this -boy from the King of `Irāk’s court. The man inquired the name of the -boy, which was Farrukhzād, and, disguised as a merchant, set out -immediately for `Irāk. - -Having arrived there, he presented various offerings to the King; and -one day found an opportunity of conversing with the boy. At last he -said: “With such accomplishments as you possess, were you in Abyssinia -for one day, you would be rendered master of slaves and damsels, and -riches of every kind.” He then described the delights of that country, -which made such an impression on Farrukhzād, that he became disgusted -with `Irāk, and attached himself to the merchant, and said: “I have -often heard of Abyssinia, and have long wished to enjoy the pleasures -which it yields. The King’s daughter is now in that country, and if I -could contrive to go there, my happiness would be complete. But I know -not how to escape from this place, as the King will not permit me to be -one hour absent from him.” - -The merchant gladly undertook to devise some means for the escape of -Farrukhzād; and at last having put him into a chest, and placed him upon -a camel, he contrived one evening to carry him off unnoticed. The next -day the King of `Irāk sent messengers in all directions to seek him. -They inquired of all the caravans and travellers, but could not obtain -any intelligence concerning him. At last the merchant brought him to -Abyssinia, and the King, finding that his accomplishments and talents -had not been over-rated, was much delighted with his society; and as he -had not any child, he bestowed on him a royal robe and crown, a horse, a -sword, and a shield, and adopted him as his son, and brought him into -the harem. - -When the Queen beheld Farrukhzād, she wept for joy, embraced him, and -kissed him with all the fondness of a mother. It happened that one of -the servants was a witness, unperceived, of this interview. He -immediately hastened to the King, and represented the transaction in -such a manner as to excite all his jealousy and rage. However, he -resolved to inquire into the matter; but Farrukhzād did not acknowledge -that the Queen was his mother; and when he sent for her she answered his -questions only by her tears. From these circumstances he concluded that -they were guilty; and accordingly he ordered one of his attendants to -take away the young man to a burying-ground without the city, and there -to cut off his head. - -The attendant led Farrukhzād away, and was preparing to put the King’s -sentence into execution, but when he looked in the youth’s face, his -heart was moved with compassion, and he said, “It must have been the -woman’s fault, and not his crime;” and he resolved to save him. When he -told Farrukhzād that he would conceal him in his own house, the boy was -delighted, and promised that if ever it was in his power he would reward -him for his kindness. Having taken him to his house, the man waited on -the King, and told him that he had, in obedience to his orders, put -Farrukhzād to death. - -After this the King treated his wife with the utmost coldness; and she -sat melancholy, lamenting the absence of her son. It happened that an -old woman beheld the Queen as she sat alone, weeping, in her chamber. -Pitying her situation, she approached, and humbly inquired the occasion -of her grief. The Queen made no reply; but when the old woman promised, -not only to observe the utmost secrecy, if entrusted with the story of -her misfortunes, but to find a remedy for them, she related at length -all that had happened, and disclosed the mystery of Farrukhzād’s birth. - -The old woman desired the Queen to comfort herself, and said: “This -night, before the King retires to rest, you must lay yourself down, and -close your eyes, as if asleep; he will then place something, which I -shall give him, on your bosom, and will command you, by the power of the -writing contained in that, to reveal the truth. You must then begin to -speak, and, without any apprehension, repeat all that you have now told -me.” - -The old woman, having then found that the King was alone in his -summer-house, presented herself before him, and said: “O King, this -solitary life occasions melancholy and sadness!” The King replied that -it was not solitude which rendered him melancholy, but vexation on -account of the Queen’s infidelity, and the ingratitude of Farrukhzād, on -whom he had heaped so many favours, and whom he had adopted as his own -son. “Yet,” added he, “I am not convinced of his guilt; and since the -day that I caused him to be killed, I have not enjoyed repose, nor am I -certain whether the fault was his or the Queen’s.” - -“Let not the King be longer in suspense on this subject,” said the old -woman, “I have a certain talisman, one of the talismans of Solomon, -written in Grecian characters, and in the Syrian language; if your -Majesty will watch an opportunity when the Queen shall be asleep, and -lay it on her breast, and say: ‘O thou that sleepest! by virtue of the -talisman, and of the name of God, which it contains, I conjure thee to -speak to me, and to reveal all the secrets of thy heart,’ she will -immediately begin to speak, and will declare everything that she knows, -both true and false.” - -The King, delighted at the hopes of discovering the truth by means of -this talisman, desired the old woman to fetch it. She accordingly went -home, and taking a piece of paper, scrawled on it some unmeaning -characters, folded it up, and tied it with a cord, and sealed it with -wax; then hastened to the King, and desired him to preserve it carefully -till night should afford an opportunity of trying its efficacy. - -When it was night, the King watched until he found that the Queen was in -bed; then gently approaching, and believing her to be asleep, he laid -the talisman on her breast, and repeated the words which the old woman -had taught him. The Queen, who had also received her lesson, still -affecting the appearance of one asleep, immediately began to speak, and -related all the circumstances of her story. - -On hearing this the King was much affected, and tenderly embraced the -Queen, who started from her bed as if perfectly unconscious of having -revealed the secrets of her breast. He then blamed her for not having -candidly acknowledged the circumstance of Farrukhzād’s birth, who, he -said, should have been considered as his own son. - -All that night they passed in mutual condolence, and on the next morning -the King sent for the person to whom he had delivered Farrukhzād, and -desired him to point out the spot where his body lay, that he might -perform the last duty to that unfortunate youth, and ask forgiveness -from his departed spirit. The man replied: “It appears that your Majesty -is ignorant of Farrukhzād’s situation: he is at present in a place of -safety; for although you ordered me to kill him, I ventured to disobey, -and have concealed him in my house, from whence, if you permit, I shall -immediately bring him.” At this information the King was so delighted -that he rewarded the man with a splendid robe, and sent with him several -attendants to bring Farrukhzād to the palace. - -On arriving in his presence, Farrukhzād threw himself at the King’s -feet, but he raised him in his arms and asked his forgiveness, and thus -the affair ended in rejoicing and festivity. - - * * * * * - -“Now,” said Bakhtyār, having concluded his story, “it appears that women -are expert in stratagems; and if Farrukhzād had been put to death, -according to the King’s command, what grief and sorrow would have been -the consequence! To avoid such,” added he, “let not your Majesty be -precipitate in ordering my execution.” - -The King resolved to wait another day, and Bakhtyār was sent back to -prison. - - - - - CHAPTER VIII. - - -On the next morning, the Eighth Vizier, having paid his compliments to -the King, addressed him on the subject of Bakhtyār, and said: -“Government resembles a tree, the root of which is legal punishment. -Now, if the root of a tree become dry, the leaves will wither: why then -should the punishment of Bakhtyār be any longer deferred?” - -In consequence of this discourse, the King ordered the executioner to -prepare himself, and Bakhtyār was brought from prison. When the -unfortunate young man came before the King, he addressed him, and said: -“If your Majesty will consider the consequences of haste and -precipitancy, it will appear that they are invariably sorrow and -repentance; as we find confirmed in the Story of the Jewel-Merchant.” - -The King expressed his desire of hearing the story to which he alluded; -and Bakhtyār began it accordingly, in the following manner: - - - STORY OF THE JEWEL-MERCHANT. - -There was a certain jewel-merchant, a very wealthy man, and eminently -skilled in the knowledge of precious stones. His wife, a very prudent -and amiable woman, was in a state of pregnancy when it happened that the -King sent a messenger to her husband, desiring his attendance at court, -that he might consult him in the choice of jewels. The merchant received -the King’s messenger with all due respect, and immediately prepared to -set out on his journey to the capital. When taking leave of his wife, he -desired her to remember him in her prayers; and, in case she should -bring forth a boy, to call his name Bihrūz. - -After this injunction he departed from his house, and at length arrived -in the capital, where he waited on the King, and having paid his -respects, was employed in selecting from a box of pearls those that were -most valuable. The King was so much pleased with his skill and -ingenuity, that he kept him constantly near his own person, and -entrusted to him the making of various royal ornaments, crowns, and -girdles studded with jewels. - -At length the wife of this jewel-merchant was delivered of two boys; one -of whom, in compliance with her husband’s desire, she called Bihrūz, the -other Rūzbih; and she sent intelligence of this event to the father, who -solicited permission from the King that he might return home for a while -and visit his family; but the King would not grant him this indulgence. -The next year he made the same request, and with the same success. Thus -during eight years he as often solicited leave to visit his wife and -sons, but could not obtain it. - -In the course of this time the boys had learned to read the Qur’ān, and -were instructed in the art of penmanship and other accomplishments; and -they wrote a letter to their father, expressing their sorrow and anxiety -on account of his absence. The jewel-merchant, no longer able to resist -his desire of seeing his family, represented his situation to the King -in such strong colours that he desired him to send for his wife and -children, and allowed him an ample sum of money to defray the expenses -of their journey. - -A trusty messenger was immediately despatched to the jewel-merchant’s -wife, who, on receipt of her husband’s letter, set out with her two sons -on their way to the capital. One evening, after a journey of a month, -they arrived at the sea-side. Here they resolved to wait until morning; -and, being refreshed with a slight repast, the boys amused themselves in -wandering along the shore. - -It happened that the jewel-merchant, in expectation of meeting his wife -and children, had come thus far on the way; and having left his clothes -and money concealed in different places, he bathed himself in the sea, -and on returning to the shore put on his clothes, but forgot his gold. -Having taken some refreshment, he was proceeding on his journey, when he -thought of his money, and went back to seek it, but could not find it. -At this moment he perceived the two boys, who had wandered thus far, -amusing themselves playing along the shore. He immediately suspected -that these boys had discovered and taken the gold, and accused them -accordingly. They declared their ignorance of the matter, which so -enraged the jewel-merchant, that he seized them both, and cast them -headlong into the sea. - -After this he proceeded on his way; whilst the wife was so unhappy at -the long absence of her sons, that the world became dark in her eyes, -and she raised her voice and called upon the boys. When the -jewel-merchant heard the voice of his wife, he hastened to meet her, and -inquired after his two sons, expressing his eager desire of seeing them. -The wife told him that they had left her some time before, and had -wandered along the sea-side. At this intelligence the jewel-merchant -began to lament, and tore his clothes, and exclaimed: “Alas, alas, I -have drowned my sons!” He then related what had happened, and proceeded -with his wife along the shore in search of the boys, but they sought in -vain. Then they smote their breasts and wept. And when the next morning -came, they said: “From this time forth, whatsoever happens must be to us -a matter of indifference;” and they set out on their journey towards the -city, with afflicted bosoms and bleeding hearts, being persuaded that -their sons had perished in the water. - -But they were ignorant of the wonderful kindness of Providence, which -rescued the two boys from destruction; for it happened that the King of -that country, being on a hunting excursion, passed along the shore on -that side where Bihrūz had fallen. When he perceived the boy, he ordered -his attendants to take him up, and finding him of a pleasing -countenance, although pale from the terror of the water and the danger -he had escaped, he inquired into the circumstances which had befallen -him. The boy informed him, that with his brother he had been walking on -the shore, when a stranger seized upon them, and flung them into the -water. The King, not having any child, inquired the name of the boy; and -when he answered, that his name was Bihrūz, he exclaimed: “I accept it -as a favourable omen,[26] and adopt you as my own son.” After this, -Bihrūz, mounted on a horse, accompanied the King to his capital, and all -the subjects were enjoined to obey him as heir to the crown. After some -time the King died, and Bihrūz reigned in his place, with such wisdom, -liberality, and uprightness, that his fame resounded through all -quarters of the world. - -It happened in the meantime, that the other boy, whose name was Rūzbih, -had been rescued from the water by some robbers, who agreed to sell him -as a slave, and divide the price amongst them. The jewel-merchant and -his wife had reached the city and purchased a house, where they resolved -to pass the remainder of their lives in prayer and exercises of -devotion. But finding it necessary to procure an attendant, the -jewel-merchant purchased a young boy at the slave-market, whom he did -not know, but whom natural affection prompted him to choose. On bringing -home the young slave, his wife fainted away, and exclaimed: “This is -your son Rūzbih!” The parents as well as the child wept with joy, and -returned thanks to Heaven for such an unexpected blessing. - -After this the jewel-merchant instructed Rūzbih in his own profession, -so that in a little time he became perfectly skilled in the value of -precious stones; and having collected a very considerable number, he -expressed a wish of turning them to profit, by selling them to a certain -King in a distant country, one who was celebrated for his generosity and -kindness to strangers. - -The father consented that he should visit the court of this monarch, on -condition that he would not afflict his parents by too long an absence. -Rūzbih accordingly set out, and arrived at the capital of that King, who -happened to be his own brother Bihrūz. Him, however, after the lapse of -many years, he did not recognise. The King, having graciously received -the present which Rūzbih offered, purchased of him all the jewels, and -conceived such an affection for him that he kept him constantly in the -palace, day and night. - -At this time a foreign enemy invaded the country; but the King thought -the matter of so little importance, that he contented himself with -sending some troops to the field, and remained at home carousing and -drinking with Rūzbih. At length, one night, at a very late hour, all the -servants being absent, the King became intoxicated, and fell asleep. -Rūzbih, not perceiving any of the guards or attendants, resolved that he -would watch the King until morning; and accordingly, taking a sword, he -stationed himself near the King’s pillow. - -After some time had elapsed, several of the soldiers who had gone to -oppose the enemy returned, and, entering the palace, discovered Rūzbih -and the King in this situation. They immediately seized Rūzbih; and when -the King awoke, they told him that, by their coming, they had saved his -Majesty from assassination, which the jeweller, with a drawn sword, had -been ready to perpetrate. The King, at first, ordered his immediate -execution; and as day was beginning to dawn, and the approach of the -enemy required his presence at the head of his troops, he sent for the -executioner, who, having bound the eyes of Rūzbih and drawn his sword, -exclaimed: “Say, King of the world, shall I strike or not?” - -The King, considering that it would be better to inquire more -particularly into the affair, and, knowing that, although it is easy to -kill, it is impossible to restore a man to life, resolved to defer the -punishment until his return, and sent Rūzbih to prison. - -After this he proceeded to join the army, and having subdued his -enemies, returned to the capital; but, during the space of two years, -forgot the unfortunate Rūzbih, who lingered away his life in -confinement. In the meantime his father and mother, grieving on account -of his absence, and, ignorant of what had befallen him, sent a letter of -inquiry by a confidential messenger to the money-changers (or bankers) -of that city. Having read this, they wrote back, in answer, that Rūzbih -had been in prison for two years. - -On receiving this information, the jewel-merchant and his wife resolved -to set out and throw themselves at the feet of this King, and endeavour -to obtain from him the pardon and liberty of their son. With heavy -hearts they accordingly proceeded on their journey, and having arrived -at the capital, presented themselves before the King, and said: “Be it -known unto your exalted Majesty, that we are two wretched strangers, -oppressed by the infirmities of age, and overwhelmed by misfortune. We -were blessed with two sons, one named Bihrūz, the other Rūzbih; but it -was the will of Heaven that they should fall into the sea, where one of -them perished, but the other was restored to us. The fame of your -Majesty’s generosity and greatness induced our son to visit this -imperial court; and we are informed that, by your orders, he is now in -prison. The object of our petition is, that your Majesty might take -compassion on our helpless situation, and restore to us our long-lost -son.” - -The King on hearing this was astonished, and for a while imagined that -it was all a dream. At length, when convinced that the old man and woman -were his own parents, and that Rūzbih was his own brother, he sent for -him to the prison, embraced them and wept, and placed them beside him on -the throne; and for the sake of Rūzbih, set at liberty all those who had -been confined with him. After this he divided the empire with his -brother, and their time passed away in pleasure and tranquillity. - - * * * * * - -This story being concluded, Bakhtyār observed, that the jewel-merchant, -by his precipitancy, had nearly occasioned the death of his two sons; -and that Bihrūz, by deferring the execution of his brother, had -prevented an infinity of distress to himself and his parents. This -observation induced the King to grant Bakhtyār another day’s reprieve, -and he was taken back to prison. - - - - - CHAPTER IX. - - -When the next morning came, the Ninth Vizier appeared before the King -and said, that his extraordinary forbearance and lenity in respect to -Bakhtyār had given occasion to much scandal; as every criminal, however -heinous his offence, began to think that he might escape punishment by -amusing the King with idle stories. - -The King, on hearing this, sent to the prison for Bakhtyār, and desired -the executioner to attend. When the unfortunate young man came before -the King, he requested a respite only of two days, in the course of -which he hoped his innocence might be proved; “although,” said he, “I -know that the malice of one’s enemies is a flame from which it is almost -impossible to escape: as appears from the story of Abū Temām, who, on -the strength of a false accusation, was put to death by the King, and -his innocence acknowledged when too late.” - -“Who was that Abū Temām?” demanded the King, “and what were those -malicious accusations which prevailed against him?” - - - STORY OF ABŪ TEMĀM. - -ABŪ TEMĀM (said Bakhtyār) was a very wealthy man, who resided in a city, -the King of which was so tyrannical and unjust, that whatever money any -one possessed above five direms he seized on for his own use. Abū Temām -was so disgusted and terrified by the oppressions and cruelties of this -King, that he never enjoyed one meal in peace or comfort, until he had -collected all his property together and contrived to escape from that -place. After some time he settled in the capital of another King, a city -adorned with gardens, and well supplied with running streams. This King -was a man of upright and virtuous principles, renowned for hospitality -and kindness to strangers. In this capital Abū Temām purchased a -magnificent mansion, in which he sumptuously entertained the people of -the city, presenting each of them, at his departure, with a handsome -dress suited to his rank. The inhabitants were delighted with his -generosity, and his hospitality was daily celebrated by the strangers -who resorted to his house. He also expended considerable sums in the -erection of bridges, caravanseries, and mosques. At last the fame of his -liberality and munificence reached the King, who sent to him two -servants with a very flattering message and an invitation to court. This -Abū Temām thankfully accepted; and having prepared the necessary -presents for the King, he hastened to the palace, where he kissed the -ground of obedience and was graciously received. - -In a short time he became so great a favourite that the King would not -permit him to be one day absent, and heaped on him so many favours that -he was next in power to his royal master; and his advice was followed in -all matters of importance. - -But this King had ten viziers, who conceived a mortal hatred against Abū -Temām, and said, one to another: “He has robbed us of all dignity and -power, and we must devise some means whereby we may banish him from this -country.” The chief vizier proposed that, as the King was a very -passionate admirer of beauty, and the Princess of Turkestān one of the -loveliest creatures of the age, they should so praise her charms before -him as to induce him to send Abū Temām to ask her in marriage; and as it -was the custom of the King of Turkestān to send all ambassadors who came -on that errand to his daughter, who always caused their heads to be cut -off, so the destruction of Abū Temām would be certain. - -This advice all the other viziers approved of; and, having proceeded to -the palace, they took an opportunity of talking on various subjects, -until the King of Turkestān was mentioned, when the chief vizier began -to celebrate the charms of the lovely Princess. - -When the King heard the extravagant praises of her beauty, he became -enamoured, and declared his intention of despatching an ambassador to -the court of Turkestān, and demanding the Princess in marriage. The -viziers immediately said, that no person was so properly qualified for -such an embassy as Abū Temām. The King accordingly sent for him, and, -addressing him as his father and friend, informed him that he had now -occasion for his assistance in the accomplishment of a matter on which -his heart was bent. Abū Temām desired to know what his Majesty’s -commands might be, and declared himself ready to obey them. The King -having communicated his design, all the necessary preparations were -made, and Abū Temām set out on his journey to the court of Turkestān. In -the meantime the viziers congratulated one another on the success of -their stratagem. - -When the King of Turkestān heard of Abū Temām’s arrival, he sent proper -officers to receive and compliment him, and on the following day gave -him a public audience; and when the palace was cleared of the crowd, and -Abū Temām had an opportunity of speaking with the King in private, he -disclosed the object of his mission, and demanded the Princess for his -master. The King acknowledged himself highly honoured by the proposal of -such an alliance, and said: “I fear that my daughter is not qualified -for so exalted a station as you offer; but if you will visit her in the -harem, and converse with her, you may form an opinion of her beauty and -accomplishments; and if you approve of her, preparations for the -marriage shall be made without delay.” - -Abū Temām thanked his Majesty for this readiness in complying with his -demands; but said that he could not think of profaning the beauty of her -who was destined for his sovereign by gazing on her, or of allowing his -ears to hear the forbidden sounds of her voice;—besides, his King never -entertained a doubt on the subject of her charms and qualifications: the -daughter of such a monarch must be worthy of any King, but he was not -sent to make any inquiry as to her merits, but to demand her in -marriage. - -The King of Turkestān, on hearing this reply, embraced Abū Temām, and -said: “Within this hour I meditated thy destruction; for of all the -ambassadors who have hitherto come to solicit my daughter, I have tried -the wisdom and talents, and have judged by them of the Kings who -employed them, and finding them deficient, I have caused their heads to -be cut off.” On saying this, he took from under his robe a key, with -which he opened a lock, and going into another part of the palace, he -exhibited to Abū Temām the heads of four hundred ambassadors. - -After this the King directed the necessary preparations for the -departure of his daughter, and invested Abū Temām with a splendid robe -of honour, who, when ten days had elapsed, embarked in a ship with the -Princess, her damsels, and other attendants. The news of his arrival -with the fair Princess of Turkestān being announced, the King, his -master, was delighted, and the viziers, his mortal enemies, were -confounded at the failure of their stratagems. The King, accompanied by -all the people, great and small, went two stages to meet Abū Temām and -the Princess, and, having led her into the city, after three days -celebrated their marriage by the most sumptuous feasts and rejoicings, -and bestowed a thousand thanks on Abū Temām, who every day became a -greater favourite. - -The ten viziers, finding, in consequence of this, their own importance -and dignity gradually reduced, consulted one with another, saying: “All -that we have hitherto done only tends to the exaltation of Abū Temām; we -must devise some other means of disgracing him in the King’s esteem, and -procuring his banishment from this country.” - -After this they concerted together, and at length resolved to bribe two -boys, whose office was to rub the King’s feet every night after he lay -down on his bed; and they accordingly instructed these boys to take an -opportunity, when the King should close his eyes, of saying that Abū -Temām had been ungrateful for the favours bestowed on him; that he had -violated the harem, and aspired to the Queen’s affections, and had -boasted that she would not have come from Turkestān had she not been -enamoured of himself. This lesson the viziers taught the boys, giving -them a thousand dīnars, and promising five hundred more. - -When it was night the boys were employed as usual in their office of -rubbing the King’s feet; and when they perceived his eyes to be closed, -they began to repeat all that the viziers had taught them to say -concerning Abū Temām. - -The King, hearing this, started up, and dismissing the boys, sent -immediately for Abū Temām, and said to him: “A certain matter has -occurred, on the subject of which I must consult you; and I expect that -you will relieve my mind by answering the question that I shall -ask.”—Abū Temām declared himself ready to obey.—“What, then,” demanded -the King, “does that servant merit, who, in return for various favours, -ungratefully attempts to violate the harem of his sovereign?”—“Such a -servant,” answered Abū Temām, “should be punished with death: his blood -should expiate his offence.” When Abū Temām had said this, the King drew -his scimitar, and cut off his head, and ordered his body to be cast into -a pit. - -For some days he gave not audience to any person, and the viziers began -to exult in the success of their stratagem; but the King was melancholy, -and loved to sit alone, and was constantly thinking of the unfortunate -Abū Temām. - -It happened, however, that one day the two boys who had been bribed by -the viziers were engaged in a dispute one with the other on the division -of the money, each claiming for himself the larger share. In the course -of their dispute they mentioned the innocence of Abū Temām, and the -bribe which they had received for defaming him in the King’s hearing. - -All this conversation the King overheard; and trembling with vexation, -rage, and sorrow, he compelled the boys to relate all the circumstances -of the affair; in consequence of which the ten viziers were immediately -seized and put to death, and their houses levelled with the ground; -after which the King passed his time in fruitless lamentation for the -loss of Abū Temām. - - * * * * * - -“Thus,” said Bakhtyār, “does unrelenting malice persecute unto -destruction; but if the King had not been so hasty in killing Abū Temām, -he would have spared himself all his subsequent sorrow.” - -The King, affected by this observation, resolved to indulge Bakhtyār -with another day, and accordingly sent him back to prison. - - - - - CHAPTER X. - - -Early on the next morning the Tenth Vizier sent a woman to the Queen -with a message, urging her to exert her influence over the King, and -induce him to give orders for the execution of Bakhtyār. The Queen, in -consequence of this, addressed the King on the subject before he left -the palace, and he replied, that Bakhtyār’s fate was now decided, and -that his execution should not be any longer deferred. The King then went -forth, and the Viziers attended in their proper places. The Tenth Vizier -was rising to speak, when the King informed him of his resolution to -terminate the affair of Bakhtyār by putting him to death on that day. - -He was brought accordingly from the prison; and the King on seeing him -said: “You have spoken a great deal of your innocence, yet have not been -able to make it appear; therefore no longer entertain any hopes of -mercy, for I have given orders for your execution.”—On hearing this, -Bakhtyār began to weep, and said: “I have hitherto endeavoured to gain -time, conscious of my innocence, and hoping that it might be proved, and -a guiltless person saved from an ignominious death; but I now find it -vain to struggle against the decrees of Heaven. Thus the King of Persia -foolishly attempted to counteract his destiny, and triumph over the will -of Providence, but in vain.” - -The King expressed a desire of hearing the story to which Bakhtyār -alluded, and the young man began to relate it as follows: - - - STORY OF THE KING OF PERSIA. - -There was a certain King of Persia, a very powerful and wealthy monarch, -who, not having any child, employed all the influence of prayers and of -alms to procure the blessing of a son from Heaven. At length one of his -handmaids became pregnant, and the King was transported with joy; but -one night, in a dream, he was addressed by an old man, who said: “The -Lord has complied with your request, and to-morrow you shall have a son; -but in his seventh year a lion shall seize and carry off this son to the -top of a mountain, from which he shall fall, rolling in blood and clay.” -When the King awoke, he assembled the viziers, and related to them the -horrors of his dream. They replied: “Long be the King’s life! If Heaven -has decreed such a calamity who can oppose or control it?”—The King -presumptuously declared that he would struggle against and counteract -it; but one of his viziers, eminently skilled in astrology, discovered -one day, by the power of his science, that the King would, after twenty -years, perish by the hand of his own son. In consequence of this, he -immediately waited on the King, and informed him that he had to -communicate a certain matter, for the truth and certainty of which he -would answer with his life. The King desired him to reveal it; and he, -falling on the knees of obedience, related all that he had discovered in -the stars. “If it happens not according to what you predict,” said the -King, “I shall certainly put you to death.” - -In the meantime, however, he caused a subterraneous dwelling to be -constructed, to which he sent the boy, with a nurse. There they remained -during the space of seven years, when, in compliance with the heavenly -decree, a lion suddenly rushed into the cave, and devoured the nurse, -and having wounded the child, carried him up to the summit of a -neighbouring mountain, from which he let him fall to the bottom, covered -with blood and earth. It happened that one of the King’s secretaries -came by, in pursuit of game, and perceived the boy in this situation, -and the lion standing on the summit of the mountain. He immediately -resolved to save the child; and having taken him to his own house, he -healed his wounds, and instructed him in various accomplishments. - -On the day after the nurse had been devoured and the child carried away -by the lion, the King resolved to visit the cave, and finding it -deserted, he concluded that the nurse had escaped to some other place. -He instantly despatched messengers to seek her in every quarter, but in -vain. - -In process of time the boy grew up, and acted as keeper [of pen and ink] -to the secretary. In this situation, having been employed at the palace, -it happened that the King saw and was much pleased with him, and felt -within his bosom the force of paternal affection. In consequence of this -he demanded him of the secretary, and clothed him in splendid garments; -and after some time, when an enemy invaded the country, and required the -King’s presence with his army, he appointed the young man to be his -armour-bearer; and, accompanied by him, proceeded to battle. - -After a bloody conflict, the troops of the enemy were victorious, and -those of the King began to fly; but he, in the impulse of rage and fury, -threw himself into the midst of his adversaries, fighting with the most -desperate valour. In this state of confusion it was impossible to know -one person from another; the young armour-bearer, who fought also with -the utmost bravery, no longer distinguishing the King, rushed into a -crowd of combatants, and striking furiously on all sides, cut off the -hand of one man whom he supposed to be of the enemy’s side; but this -person was the King, who, on recognising the armour-bearer, upbraided -him with this attempt upon his life, and being unable to remain any -longer in the field, he retired, with his troops, to the capital, and -the next day concluded a peace with the enemy, on condition of paying a -considerable sum of money. He then gave orders that the armour-bearer -should be arrested, and although he persevered in declarations of -innocence, they availed him not; he was thrown into prison, and loaded -with chains. - -In the meantime the King was reposing on the pillow of death; and when -he found that all hopes of recovery were vain, he resolved to punish the -vizier who had told him that his son should be torn by a lion, and that -he should fall by the hand of that son. “Now,” said the King, “my son -has been carried away to some other country by his nurse, and I have -been wounded by the hand of a different person.” Having said this, he -sent for the vizier, and desired him to prepare for death. “This -armour-bearer,” added he, “and not my own son, has wounded me, contrary -to your prediction; and, as you consented to be punished in case your -prediction should not be accomplished, I have resolved to put you to -death.”—“Be it so,” replied the vizier; “but let us first inquire into -the birth of this young armour-bearer.” - -The King immediately sent for the young man, and asked him concerning -his parents and his country. He answered that of the country which gave -him birth he was ignorant; but that he had been with his mother in a -subterraneous place, and that she had informed him of his father’s being -a king, but he had never seen his father; that one day a lion carried -him away to the summit of a mountain, from which he fell, and was taken -up by the secretary, by whom he was instructed in various -accomplishments, and from whose service he passed into that of the King. - -When the King heard this, he was amazed, and his hair stood on end; and -he sent for the viziers and secretary, who confirmed what the young man -had said. - -Having thus ascertained that the armour-bearer was his own son, he -resigned to him the crown and throne; and having invested the vizier -with the robe of prime-minister, he expired in the course of three days. - - * * * * * - -Here Bakhtyār concluded his narrative, and observed, that he had -struggled against his evil destiny, like that king, but in vain. Having -said this, the King wished to send him back to prison; but the Ten -Viziers unanimously declared that they would leave the country if -Bakhtyār’s punishment was any longer deferred. - -The King then acknowledged that he could not bear to behold the -execution of the young man; in consequence of which the Viziers led him -away, and assembled all the people by proclamation, that they might see -him put to death. - - - - - CONCLUSION. - - -It happened at this time that Farrukhsuwār, who had found Bakhtyār at -the side of the well, came, with some of his companions, to the city, -and was wrapped in that embroidered cloak which the King and Queen had -left with the infant. In passing by the place of execution he beheld the -guards leading out Bakhtyār to punishment, on which he rushed amongst -them with his companions, and rescued the young man from their hands, -and then solicited an audience of the King. - -On coming into the royal presence Farrukhsuwār exclaimed: “This young -man is my son; I cannot bear to see him executed: if he must perish, let -me also be put to death.”—“Your wish in this respect,” said the King, -“may be easily gratified.”—“Alas!” cried Farrukhsuwār, “if the father of -this youth, who was a king, or his mother, who was a queen, were -informed of his situation, they would save him from this ignominious -death!” The King laughed at the seeming inconsistency of Farrukhsuwār, -and said: “You told me at one time that Bakhtyār was your son, yet now -you describe him as the child of royal parents.” - -Farrukhsuwār, in reply, told all the circumstances of his finding -Bakhtyār near the well, and showed the cloak in which he had been -wrapped. The King immediately knew it to be the same which he had left -with the infant, and asked whether Farrukhsuwār had found anything -besides. He produced the bracelet of pearls, and the King, now convinced -that Bakhtyār was not the son of Farrukhsuwār, but his own, took the -cloak and the bracelets to the Queen, and asked her if she had ever -before seen them. She instantly exclaimed: “They were my child’s!—what -tidings do you bring of him?”—“I shall bring himself,” replied the King; -and he immediately sent an order to the Viziers that they should conduct -Bakhtyār to the palace. - -When he arrived, the King, with his own hands, took off his chains, -placed a royal turban on his head, and covered him with the embroidered -cloak, and then led him to the Queen, saying: “This is our son, whom we -left on the brink of the well.” When the Queen heard this, and beheld -Bakhtyār, the tears gushed forth from her eyes, and she embraced him -with the greatest emotion. Bakhtyār then asked the Queen why she had -endeavoured to destroy him by a false accusation, and she confessed that -the Viziers had induced her; on which the King ordered their immediate -execution, and then resigned the throne to Bakhtyār, who was -acknowledged sovereign by all the people. Farrukhsuwār was invested with -the dignity of chief Vizier, and his companions rewarded with honourable -appointments; and Bakhtyār continued for many years to govern with -justice, wisdom, and generosity. - - - - - NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. - - -⁂ In the Preface to his translation and text of the _Bakhtyār Nāma_, Sir -William Ouseley states, that “as this work is chiefly designed for the -use of those who begin to study the Persian language,” he selected for -translation, from among three manuscripts in his own possession and five -or six others in the collections of several friends, “that which seemed -written in the most pure and simple style; for several copies, in -passing through the hands of ignorant or conceited transcribers, have -suffered a considerable depravation of the original text, and one, in -particular, is so disguised by the alterations and augmented by the -additions of some Indian Munshī, that it appears almost a different -work. These additions, however, are only turgid amplifications and -florid exuberancies, according to the modern corrupt style of Hindūstān, -which distinguishes the compositions of that country from the chaste and -classical productions of Īrān.” Regarding his own translation, he says -that, while it will be found sufficiently literal, he has “not retained -those idioms which would not only be uncouth, but perhaps -unintelligible, in English: some repetitions I have taken the liberty of -omitting; and as most of the stories begin and end nearly in the same -manner, I have on such occasions compressed into a few lines the subject -of a page.” But since the translation was mainly designed to aid -learners of Persian, it seems strange that he should have deemed it -advisable to take any “liberties” such as he mentions; and an -examination of the text appended to his translation shows that he has -occasionally done something more than omit mere “repetitions”: in -several instances he has omitted whole passages, of which many are -requisite to the proper connection of the incidents related in the -stories; and this, too, in dealing with a text which is itself evidently -abridged from “the original”—if indeed an original Persian text now -exists. - -The more important deficiencies of Sir William Ouseley’s -translation—arising, as has been already explained, from his imperfect -text as well as from his own omissions—which will be found included in -the following Notes, have been supplied by my obliging friend Mr William -Platt, the veteran scholar, who has taken the trouble of comparing the -translation with the carefully edited lithographed text of the _Bakhtyār -Nāma_, published, at Paris, in 1839; and has, besides these notes of -omissions, &c., kindly furnished me with other valuable materials, of -which I have gladly availed myself, with the view of rendering this -curious and in many respects unique work more complete and interesting -to general English readers. - - W. A. C. - - - NOTES ON CHAPTER I. - -It is customary for Muslim authors to place at the beginning of all -their compositions the Arabic invocation— - - _bi ’smi ’llāhi ’r-rahmānī ’r-rahīmī_ - -which Sale renders: “In the name of the most merciful God!” but which is -more correctly translated: “In the name of God, the Merciful, the -Compassionate!” The _`Ulama_, or professors of religion and law, -interpret “the merciful” to signify “merciful in small things,” and “the -compassionate,” as “merciful in great things.” This invocation, which is -placed at the head of each chapter of the Kur’ān, except the ninth, is -not only also prefixed to every Muhammadan book or writing, but is -pronounced by Muslims on their undertaking every lawful act. It is said -that Muhammad borrowed it from a similar practice of the Magians and -Rabbins. Following the invocation are usually praise and blessings on -the Prophet, his Family, and his Companions. In Sir William Ouseley’s -printed text only the customary invocation appears, which he does not -give in his English version. The following is a translation of the -introduction as given in the lithographed text: - - - “IN THE NAME OF GOD, THE MERCIFUL, THE COMPASSIONATE! - -Thanksgiving and praise without end, and salutation and eulogium without -stint, to the Supreme Benefactor, who is above all commendation—the -Holy-One, beyond our imagination! May He be ever exalted on high, the -well-furnished table of whose generosity is spread over the surface of -the earth, and on the table of whose bounty every ant finds its food in -safety! And salutation and praise to all the prophets, and, above all, -to our Prophet, who is the Apostle, and the Director of the Path [of -God], and the Prince of Creation, and the purest of created -beings—Muhammad, the Elect! May God be propitious and vouchsafe -salvation to him, his Family, and Companions, one and all!—After this -introduction [be it known], this work and composition is divided into -ten chapters [gates], and each chapter affords to the intelligent moral -examples, and to the wise recognised forewarnings.” - - -_Page 3._ “The country of Sīstān,” or Sijistān (the ancient Drangiana), -lies to the east of Farsistān, or Persia proper. The Governor is -entitled Shah-i-nīmrūz (Sa`dī’s _Gulistān_, iii, 27). The famous Rustam, -the Hercules of Persia, held this country as a fief under the Kings of -Persia (see Ranking’s _Wars and Sports of the Mongols_, p. 93). - -_Page 3._ Āzād-bakht: “Free-Fortune”—“Fortunate.” - -_Page 3._ Sipah-sālār, here employed as a proper name, signifies a -general, a commander of an army, especially a chief of cavalry: from -asp, a horse, and _sālār_, a leader. _Sālār-i-jung_, a leader in war, is -one of the titles given by Eastern princes to their nobles. - -_Page 3._ “The rose of the garden and the moon of the heavenly spheres -were confounded at the superior lustre of her cheeks.”—The comparison of -a beautiful woman’s face to the moon, however absurd it may appear to -some readers, is a very favourite one with Orientals, from Solomon -downwards; it is, moreover, employed by several of our own admired -English poets, as Spenser, Shakspeare, and Pope. In the Notes to my -_Arabian Poetry for English Readers_ many parallel passages on this -similitude are cited from Eastern and Western poets. - -_Page 4._ “A litter was provided.”—Several kinds of litters are used in -Persia and India. Garcin de Tassy, in a note to his French translation -of the Persian romance of _Kāmarupa_ (chap. xxiii), quotes the following -interesting account of the palanquins and carriages of India, from the -_Arāish-i-Mahfil_: - -“It is known that the _gāri_ is an invention of the people of India. -They who use them are sheltered from heat, cold, wind, or rain. The -Bayadīres [or dancing-girls], who employ these carriages drawn by oxen, -put silver ornaments on their horns, hang small bells on the axle-tree, -and place negroes on the pole. In this sumptuous carriage they frequent -fairs, the shrines visited by pilgrims, and public gardens. The -astonished lookers-on are inclined to regard them as strolling fairies, -travelling on thrones to the sound of cymbals; ... but the carriages of -discreet females, named _rath_, are covered with awnings, so closely -fastened that the opening of the breadth of a hair cannot be seen. -Unfortunately the wheeled carriages jolt, yet in other respects are -comfortable. Three or four men seated can travel without fatigue, -chatting the meanwhile, and perform the journey, enjoying the advantage -of repose. Some of the _gāri_ have curtains, some are without. The small -and light are called _manjhalī_, the very light and diminutive, _gainī_, -and the oxen drawing them are of a peculiarly small breed, and are -distinguished by the name of _gaina_. These small carriages are -preferable to the _rath_, which has four wheels. In fact, they jolt but -little, and are of sufficient importance to carry the Amīr. There are -some so well constructed, and adorned with such beautiful paintings, -that they throw into a frenzy those who behold them; and the blinds are -to such a degree pleasing and elegant that, if the Sun shone as they -were passing along, he would descend from his car and mount thereon; and -if the god Indra [King of Heaven] should see them, he would quit his -throne and place himself therein. So that persons of high rank, who do -not disdain to use them, vary the furniture according to the seasons: -during hot weather the blinds are made of veti-ver;[27] in the rainy -season, of oiled silk; and in winter, of wool. Those, however, who use -them most frequently are traders, bankers, government servants, and -Muslim and Hindū women.—Besides the carriages just described there is a -kind of throne, called _nālkī_, for sovereigns; and for the Amīr, -palanquins with trimmings of fringe, termed _pālkī_. The palanquins of -ladies are the _mahādol_, _chāndol_, _sukhpūl_, and _miāna_; and for the -female poor, _dolī_. So that a lady, _comme il faut_, need never walk, -and no individual who is not _mahram_ [who is not privileged to visit -the harem] can ever see her figure.” - -Among the other kinds of litters or carriages used in the East are: the -_imari_, carried by elephants and camels, so named from Imar, the -inventor, also called _hodaj_, or _hawdaj_ (howdah), made of wood, or -cloth stretched over a frame, and either open or covered at the top; and -the _takht-i-ravan_, usually carried by mules within shafts before and -behind: it is the Armamaxa, in which the children of Darius and their -attendants were carried. (_Quintus Curtius_, b. iii, c. 3.) - -_Page 4._ “The King ... was at that moment returning from the -chase.”—Hunting the antelope, wild-ass, &c., has been the favourite -pastime of the kings and nobles of Persia from the most ancient times. -The modern kings of Persia have palaces in many parts of their -dominions, whither they resort for the climate or for the chase. To -these palaces are attached villages, in which provisions are collected -for the use of the court as soon as the motions of the King are -decided.[28]—For a graphic description of the Persian mode of hunting -the antelope, with hawks as well as dogs, see Sir John Malcolm’s -_Sketches of Persia_. - -_Page 4._ “Kissed the ground of respectful obedience.”—The Persians in -their salutations and acts of submission so prostrate themselves as -almost to place their faces on the ground. This prostration, called _rūy -zamīn_ (“the face on the ground”), is made by bowing the body at right -angles, the hands placed on the knees, and the legs a little apart.—In -allusion to this mode of salutation, the Persian poet Hāfiz declares -that, in the presence of his fair enslaver, he would _make besoms of his -eyelashes_; as Richardson paraphrases it: - - O for one heavenly glance of that dear maid, - How would my raptured heart with joy rebound! - Down to her feet I’d lowly bend my head, - And with my eyebrows sweep the hallowed ground.[29] - -Lane, in the Notes to his translation of the _Thousand and One Nights_, -thus describes the Arabian (or modern Egyptian) mode of paying respect -to superiors: touching the ground, and then the lips and forehead, or -turban, with the right hand.—The Khalif Hakim Biamri ’llah (11th -century) issued an order that no one in future should kiss the ground in -his presence, or salute him in the highway, or kiss his hand or stirrup; -because to prostrate oneself before a human being was an act of worship -introduced by the Greeks; and the only formula of salutation should be: -“May protection be vouchsafed to the Prince of the Faithful! May the -mercy and blessings of God rest upon him!” - -_Page 5._ “Fixed by the fascinating beauty of the damsel,” &c.—The -lithographed text says: “From the effect of her glance the heart became -lost, and the bird of his soul began to take flight in the atmosphere of -love.... He pushed forward his courser, and recited this _gazal_ [or -ode]: - - My heart has fallen into the hand of a sprightly lover, of marvellous - beauty; - This intelligent countenance, bright as the moon, has stolen my heart - from the hand of the Creator; - So that when I beheld the cypress form my unhappy heart began to bleed. - Her rose-like countenance has placed in a sorrowful soul a rankling - thorn!” - -_Page 5._ “Ruler of the world.” The text gives the address of the -litter-attendants to the King as follows: - -“Whatever may be the advice of the Pādishāh who adorns the world, it is -the eye [_i.e._ the essence] of correct judgment. - - _Quatrain._ - - O mighty King of the chief city, - Thy counsel is always good; - How can any one oppose thy command— - Who would dare to express himself otherwise? - -Thy command [will be] the support of the life and the happiness of the -father and the daughter. If they had seen in a dream this happiness, -they would not be able to contain themselves in this world, especially -in a state of wakefulness. But for every transaction there is custom and -propriety, [so that] if they [_i.e._ the litter attendants] escort at -this moment the daughter to the city, people will raise doubts, and -foster a suspicion touching the King, [on the score] of undue haste and -impatience, and will assert that the King had carried off this lady by -force and abuse of power, and [thus] would arise [tittle-tattle -respecting] the question and answer of the lovers, and the exulting -triumph[30] of the enemies. This is the right course to pursue: if the -King grant permission, we will convoy the daughter to Sipahsālār, that -he may do for this discharge of duty whatever is the custom; and, having -provided suitable paraphernalia, send back the daughter to the Pādishāh; -and thus both the vizier’s dignity would be maintained, and also the -[love] affair of the Pādishāh be accomplished in a becoming manner.” - -The giving of a dowry is indispensable, and without it no marriage is -legal. According to the rank in life of the bride, it consists of a -wardrobe, jewels, furniture, slaves, eunuchs, and a sum of money varying -in amount. No portion of the dowry can be taken away by the husband -against the wife’s wish. She remains absolute mistress of the whole of -her own property, inherited, or otherwise acquired. (_Voyages de M. -Chardin en Perse, &c.; Lane’s Modern Egyptians._) - -_Page 6._ “He caused the necessary ceremonies to be performed.”—Here -again the text is fuller than our translation: - - -“And the marriage-knot was tied in strict conformity with the law. And -when the ceremony was concluded, all the secretaries of the government -wrote letters of congratulation, and apprised Sipahsālār of the -submission to this insult. When Sipahsālār read the letters a flood of -tears poured down from his eyes, and the fire of enmity kindled a flame -in his heart. And although the King had settled the matter religiously -and according to the law, yet when all that had transpired reached his -ears, his heart bled to overflowing, by reason of the excess of -affection for his daughter. Sipahsālār, considering it good policy, -wrote a letter of thanks to his Excellency the Pādishāh, replete with -all kinds of expressions, evincing joy and felicity: ‘This is indeed -happiness, that such powerful support should be extended towards me! I -am utterly unable to quit myself of the obligation I am under for this -high honour, now that his Majesty has placed this crown of glory on the -head of his slave. As soon as I arrive in the royal presence, I will -kiss the ground of felicity.’ - -“Dissembling, he penned these phrases, and concealed the [evil] -intention of his wrath, and day and night was devising deceit and -stratagem.” - - -The Vizier of Āzādbakht could ill brook his rights as a father being set -at naught. The parent, or nearest adult relation, is always the deputy -of the future bride to effect the marriage contract. Moreover, -Sipahsālār considered this tyrannical proceeding as an ungrateful return -for his services with the army. Notwithstanding the King’s rather -brusque manner of wooing, however, the lady is represented as being -devotedly attached to him, and she braved the perils of the desert for -his sake. - -_Page 8._ “To seek an asylum from the King of Kirmān.”—The text has also -the following quatrain: - - The King of Kirmān is a great dispenser of justice; - On our behalf he will bestow a look of indulgence - He will furnish troops, gold, and silver: - Unless this course be pursued, there is no other remedy. - -Kirmān (Carmania) is a province of Persia (the ancient Gedrasia), having -to the north Khurasan, to the east Afghanistān and Bilūchistān, to the -south the Persian Gulf, to the west Fars and Luristān. _Carmanicus -Sinus_: the Gulf of Ormuz. Kirmān is the plural of _kirm_, a worm, and -the province where silkworms were originally bred. It is celebrated for -the cultivation of the white rose, from which _`itr-i-gul_ (attar of -roses) is distilled; and also for a peculiar breed of sheep, called -_dumbadār_, small, short-legged, with a long bushy tail. - -_Page 9._ “Directed their course towards the desert,” _i.e._ of -Kirmān.—The text has this quatrain: - - Behold to what misery misfortune has thrown me! - Owing to breach of good faith, she has cast me into a sea of troubles; - For adverse Fortune has devised an evil design against me, - Inasmuch as she has separated friends from each other. - -_Page 9._ “A hundred thousand lives such as mine are not in value equal -to a single hair of the King’s head.”—In less extravagant terms does a -distressed damsel in another romance express herself: “Of a truth, noble -man, you have displayed your compassionate nature; but I cannot consent -to save my body at the cost of yours: for who ought to save a common -stone by the sacrifice of a gem?”—_Vetāla Panchavinsati_, or Twenty-five -Tales of a Demon. - -_Page 10._ “The Queen brought forth a son; in beauty he was lovely as -the moon,” &c.—The Orientals compare beautiful youths, as well as -damsels, to the moon: Hafiz styles Joseph the Hebrew patriarch—who is -throughout the Muhammadan world regarded as the type of youthful -beauty—“the Moon of Canaan.” Morier remarks, in his _Second Journey to -Persia, &c._: “The Eastern women suffer little from parturition, for the -better sort of them are frequently on foot the day after delivery, and -out of all confinement on the third day [this on the authority of -Harmer, vol. iv, p. 434]. They are sometimes ‘delivered ere the midwives -come in unto them’: Exodus, i, 19; and the lower orders often deliver -themselves. I knew an instance where a peasant’s wife, in Turkey, who -was at work in a vineyard, stepped behind the hedge, delivered herself, -and carried the child home slung behind her back.” - -_Page 10._ “They wrapped up the child in a cloak embroidered with gold, -and fastened a bracelet of large pearls,” &c.—In the legend of Pope -Gregory, the child is exposed with gold at his head and silver at his -feet (see the English _Gesta Romanorum_, chapter 51; edited by -Herrtage); and in one of the Tales of the _Vetāla_, a child is similarly -exposed, with a sum of gold, at the gate of a royal palace, and the King -adopts him as his son and successor (_Kathā Sarit Sāgara_, Ocean of the -Rivers of Narrative). - -_Page 10._ “He sent his servants to welcome them, and received them with -the greatest respect and hospitality;” that is, by a deputation -(_istikbāl_), one of the principal modes among the Persians of doing -honour to their guests. Those sent in advance to meet the guests are -called _pīsh vāz_, “openers of the way.” In the ninth chapter we find -the approaching guests met at the distance of two days’ journey[31] from -the city. “On the day of our entry,” says Morier, in his _Second -Journey_, “we were met by the youngest son of the Amīnu-’d-Dawla, a boy -of about thirteen years of age, who received the ambassador [Sir Gore -Ouseley] with all the ease of an old courtier.” So, too, the King of -Kirmān “sent his own son and two attendants to wait on Āzādbakht.” - -_Page 11._ “The musicians singing and playing, and the guests -drinking.”—Music contributes as much as wine to the pleasures of an -Eastern carousal. “Wine,” they say, “is as the body, music is the soul, -and joy is their offspring.” The gamut, or scale of musical notes, is -called in the East, _durr-imafassal_, “separate pearls.” The musical -instruments commonly employed are: the _Kānūn_, the dulcimer or harp; -the _sitār_, a three-stringed instrument (from _si_, three, and _tār_, -string), whence cithara and guitar; and the _arghān_ or _orghanūn_, the -organ. Old Persian writers describe the _arghān_ as invented by -_Iflatūn_ (Plato), and as superior to all psalteries (_mazamīr_), and -used in Yūnan (Ionia or Greece) and in Rūm (Iconium). Also the _chang_ -(Arabic, _junk_), the harp; the _rabāb_, rebeck; the _tambūr_, -tambourine; and the _barbat_, or barbitan.—Morier, in his Second Journey -(p. 92), was treated with a concert of four musicians; “one of whom -played on the _Kamāncha_ [viol]; a second sang, fanning his mouth with a -piece of paper to aid the undulations of his voice; the third was a -tambourine-player; and the last beat two little drums placed on the -ground before him.” Gentius, in a note to the _Gulistān_ of Sa`dī, says -that “music is in such consideration [in Persia], that it is a maxim of -their sages, that when a king is about to die, if he leaves for his -successor a very young son, his aptitude for reigning should be proved -by some agreeable songs; and if the child is pleasurably affected, then -it is a sign of his capacity and genius, but if the contrary, he should -be declared unfit.”—It would appear that the old Persian musicians, like -Timotheus, know the secret art of swaying the passions. The celebrated -philosopher Alfarabi (who died about the middle of the tenth century), -among his other accomplishments, excelled in music, in proof of which a -curious anecdote is told. Returning from the pilgrimage to Mecca, he -introduced himself, though a stranger, at the court of Sayfu-’d-Dawla, -Sultan of Syria, when a party of musicians chanced to be performing, and -he joined them. The prince admired his skill, and desiring to hear -something of his own, Alfarabi unfolded a composition, and distributed -the parts among the band. The first movement threw the prince and his -courtiers into violent and inextinguishable laughter, the next melted -all into tears, and the last lulled even the performers to sleep.—At the -retaking of Bagdād by the Turks, in 1638, when the springing of a mine, -whereby eight hundred janissaries perished, was the signal for a general -massacre, and thirty thousand Persians were put to the sword, “a Persian -musician, named Shāh Kūlī, who was brought before Murād, played and sang -so sweetly, first a song of triumph, and then a dirge, that the Sultan, -moved to pity by his music, gave orders to stop the massacre.”[32] - -_Page 11._ “His eyes were filled with tears.”—Although Muslims are -remarkably calm and resigned under the heaviest afflictions, yet they do -not consider the shedding of tears as either evidence of effeminacy or -inconsistent with a heroic mind.—_Lane._ In the old Badawī _Romance of -`Antar_ (of which an epitome is given in my _Arabian Poetry for English -Readers_) the hero is frequently represented as weeping. - -_Page 11._ “The King of Kirmān then inquired into the particulars of -Āzādbakht’s misfortunes.”—It thus appears that, in accordance with the -time-honoured rules of Eastern hospitality, the King received Āzādbakht -as his guest without subjecting him to any preliminary questioning; and -only diffidently “inquired into the particulars” after the unhappy -monarch had informed him that he was a fugitive from his kingdom. The -old Arabs, like the old Scottish Highlanders, were scrupulous in -abstaining from inquiring the name and tribe of a chance guest, lest he -should prove an enemy; and if, after the guest had eaten of their bread -and salt, he was found to belong to a hostile tribe or clan, he would be -entertained during three days, should he so desire, and then be -dismissed unharmed. - -_Page 12._ Farrukhsuwār: from _farrukh_, fortunate, happy, and _suwār_, -a cavalier, a horseman; especially a Persian chief, as being skilled in -horsemanship and archery. Suwār-i-Sīstān: Rustam, the famous Persian -hero. - -_Page 13._ “He resolved to adopt the infant as his own.”—The Muhammadan -law (says Lane) allows the adoption of sons, provided that the person to -be adopted consents to the act, if of age to judge for himself; also -that he has been deprived of his parents by death or other means; and -that there be such a difference of age between the two parties as might -subsist between a natural father and son. The adopted son enjoys the -same right of inheritance as the natural son.—Farrukhsuwār, we see, -though a chief of banditti, yet took care that his adopted son should be -“instructed in all the necessary accomplishments.” The adoption of sons -is universal throughout the East—in Persia, India, Japan; in the latter -country, “the principle of adoption,” says Mr Mitford, in his _Tales of -Old Japan_, “prevails among all classes, from the Emperor down to his -meanest subject; nor is the family line considered to have been broken -because an adopted son has succeeded to the estate.” - -_Page 13._ Khudā-dād, _i.e._, “granted by God”: Deodatus; Theodore. - -_Page 13._ “Able to fight, alone, five hundred men.” This is one of the -few instances of Oriental hyperbole which occur in the work; and since -we do not find our hero represented subsequently as distinguishing -himself by his prowess, except on the occasion which led to his capture, -it must be considered as introduced by the author conventionally, or by -way of embellishment. The heroes of Eastern romance, for the most part, -are not only beautiful as the moon, and accomplished in all the arts and -sciences, but also strong and courageous as a lion. In the romance of -_Dūshwanta and Sakūntalā_, an episode of the great Indian epic poem, -_Mahābharata_, the son of the beautiful heroine is thus described: -“Sakūntalā was delivered of a son, of inconceivable strength, bright as -the God of Fire, the image of Dūshwanta, endowed with personal beauty -and generosity of soul.... This mighty child seemed as if he could -destroy lions with the points of his white teeth. He bore on his hand -the mark of a wheel, which is the sign of sovereignty. His person was -beautiful, his head capacious, he possessed great bodily strength, and -his appearance was that of a celestial. During the short time that he -remained under the care of Kanwa, he grew exceedingly; and when he was -only six years old, his strength was so great that he was wont to bind -such beasts as lions, tigers, elephants, wild boars, and buffaloes to -the trees about the hermitage. He would even mount them, ride them -about, and play with them to tame them; whence the inhabitants of -Kanwa’s hermitage gave him a name: ‘Let him,’ said they, ‘be called -Sarva-damana, because he tameth all;’ and thus the child obtained the -name of Sarva-damana.”—And the Arabian hero `Antar, while yet a mere -stripling, slew a wolf, and carried home its paws to his slave-mother as -a trophy. (Compare with this the youthful exploit of David with a lion -and a bear, 1 Sam. xvii, 34, 35.) So, too, in the Early English Romance -of Sir Bevis of Hampton;—when only seven years old, Bevis knocked down -two stout men with his cudgel; and while still in his “teens” he slew -single-handed sixty Saracen knights. - -_Page 14._ “The chief of the caravan.”—The _Mihtar Kārwān_, or _Kārwān -Bash_, held a position of responsibility and importance. By the payment -of armed attendants he took precautions against the attack of brigands, -as the merchants who formed a caravan were, it is said, on most -occasions, so devoid of courage that they cried “quarter” at the mere -sight of a drawn sword. - -_Page 15._ “He also put on him his own robe” (_Kabā-i Khāss_).—The -_Kabā_ is a tunic, or long cloth coat, of any colour, quite open in -front, and worn over the shirt, and is the special garment of the rich, -and so distinguished by Sa`dī (_Gulistān_, ch. ii, story 17) from the -_aba_, or _abaya_, a kind of woollen cloak, either black or striped -brown and white, the garment of the poor. - -_Page 15._ “The name of Bakhtyār,” that is, “he whom Fortune assists,” -or, “Fortune-befriended.” - -_Page 16._ “The keys of the treasury” were of gold. - -_Page 16._ “A splendid robe of honour.”—A _Khil`at_, or dress of honour, -is bestowed by Eastern monarchs on men of learning and genius, as well -as on tributary princes on their accession to their principalities, and -on viceroys and governors of provinces. The custom is very ancient; see -Esther vi, 8, 9. “A common _Khil`at_,” says Morier, “consists of a Kāba, -or coat; a _Kemerbend_, or zone; a _gūch pīch_, or shawl for the head: -when it is intended to be more distinguishing, a sword or a dagger is -superadded. To persons of distinction rich furs are given, such as a -_Katabī_, or a _Koordī_; but when the _Khal`at_ is complete it consists -exactly of the same articles as the present which Cyrus made to -Syennesis, namely: a horse with a golden bridle; a golden chain; a -golden sword[33]; besides the dress, which is complete in all its -parts.”[34]—In India an elephant and a palanquin splendidly decorated -are added to the dress, sword, &c. Dr Forbes, in a note to his -translation of the _Bāgh o Bahār_ (Garden and Spring), the Hindustani -version of the entertaining Persian romance, _Kissa Chehar Dervish_, or -Tale of the Four Dervishes, remarks that “in the zenith of the Mogul -empire Khil`ats were expensive honours, as the receivers were obliged to -make presents for the Khil`ats they received. The perfection of these -Oriental dresses,” he adds, “is to be so stiff with embroidery as to -stand on the floor unsupported.”—After Rustam’s Seven Adventures in -releasing Kai Kaus from the power of the White Giant, we read in -Firdausī’s _Shāh Nāma_ (or Book of Kings) that he received from Kaus a -splendid Khil`at besides other magnificent presents. And in the _Romance -of `Antar_, King Zuhayr causes a great feast to be prepared to celebrate -the defeat of the tribe of Taï, which was chiefly due to the hero; at -which he presents `Antar with a robe worked with gold, girds on him a -trusty sword, and placing in his hand a pike of Khāta, and mounting him -on a fine Arab horse, proclaims him champion of the tribes of `Abs and -`Adnān. - -_Page 16._ “There were Ten Viziers.”—“Wezeer,” says Lane, “is an Arabic -word, and is pronounced by the Arabs as I have written it, but the Turks -and Persians pronounce the first letter _V_. There are three opinions -respecting the etymology of this word. Some derive it from _wizr_ (a -burden), because the Wezeer bears the burden of the King; others, from -_wezer_ (a refuge), because the King has recourse to the counsels of his -Wezeer, and his knowledge and prudence; others, again, from _azr_ (back, -or strength), because the King is strengthened by his Wezeer, as the -human frame is strengthened by the back. The proper and chief duties of -a Wezeer are explained by the above, and by a saying of the Prophet: -‘Whosoever is in authority over Muslims, if God would prosper him, He -giveth him a virtuous Wezeer, who when he forgetteth his duty remindeth -him, and when he remembereth assisteth him; but if He would do -otherwise, He giveth him an evil Wezeer, who when he forgetteth doth not -remind him, and when he remembereth doth not assist him.’”—The Kur’ān -and the Sūnna (or Traditions) both distinctly authorise a sovereign to -select a Vizier to assist him in the government. The Prophet makes Moses -say (_Kur._ xx, 30): “Give me a counsellor [Ar. _Wezeer_] of my family, -namely Aaron my brother;” and again, in ch. xxv, 37: “We appointed him -[Moses] Aaron his brother for a counsellor.” Wahidi, in his commentary -on the Kur’ān, says: “Wezeer signifies _refuge_ and _assistance_.” In -the fourth year of his mission Muhammad assumed the prophetic office, -when “he prepared a banquet, a lamb, as it is said, and a bowl of milk, -for the entertainment of forty guests of the race of Hashem. ‘Friends -and kinsmen,’ said Muhammad to the assembly, ‘I offer you, and I alone -can offer, the most precious of gifts, the treasures of this world and -of the world to come. God has commanded me to call you to His service. -Who among you will _support my burthen_? Who among you will _be my -companion and my vizier_?’”—_Gibbon_, chap. 1. - -King Āzādbakht, we see, had no fewer than _ten_ of such -“burden-bearers”; in chapter ix there is another King with ten viziers; -and in an ancient Indian romance referred to by El-Mas’ūdī in his -_Meadows of Gold and Mines of Gems_, the same number of viziers is given -to a king: “Shelkand and Shimas, or the Story of an Indian King and his -Ten Viziers”; in what is probably a modernised version of the same -romance, included in the _Thousand and One Nights_, under the title of -“King Jilāa, the Vizier Shimas, and their Sons,” there are however but -Seven Viziers—the number in most of the romances of the _Sindibād_ -cycle. According to the learned Imam El-Jara’ī, cited by Lane, _ten_ is -the proper number of counsellors for any man: “It is desirable,” says -he, “for a man, before he enters upon any important undertaking, to -consult ten intelligent persons among his particular friends; or if he -have not more than five such friends, let him consult each of them -twice; or if he have not more than one friend, he should consult him ten -times, at ten different visits[35];—if he have not one to consult, let -him return to his wife and consult her, and whatever she advises him to -do, _let him do the contrary_, so shall he proceed rightly in his affair -and attain his object.”—This reminds me of a story told of Khōja -Nasru-’d-Dīn Efendī, the Turkish joker, who, wishing to make Timūr a -present of some fruit, consulted his wife as to whether he should take -him figs or quinces, and on her answering, “Oh, quinces, of course,” the -Khōja, reflecting that a woman’s advice is never good, took Timūr a -basket of figs; and when the emperor ordered his attendants to pelt the -Khōja on his bald pate with the ripe, juicy figs, he thanked Heaven that -he had not taken his wife’s advice: “for had I, as she advised, brought -quinces instead of figs, my head had surely been broken!”[36] This most -unjust estimate of women, so generally held by Muslims and giving rise -to such proverbial sayings as “women have long hair and short wits,” is -in accordance with the atrocious saying ascribed (falsely, let us hope) -to the Prophet: “I stood at the gate of Paradise, and lo! most of its -inmates were poor; and I stood at the gate of Hell, and lo! most of its -inmates were _women_!” Contrast this with the following passage from the -_Mahābharata_: “The wife is half the man; a wife is man’s dearest -friend; a wife is the source of his religion, his worldly profit, and -his love. He who hath a wife maketh offerings in his house. Those who -have wives are blest with good fortune. Wives are friends, who by their -gentle speech soothe ye in your retirement. In the performance of -religious duties they are as fathers; in your distresses they are as -mothers[37]; and they are a refreshment to those who are travellers in -the rugged paths of life.” - -_Page 16._ “Indulged in the pleasures of wine.”—The Kur’ān prohibits the -use of wine and all other intoxicating liquors: “They will ask thee -concerning wine and lots; answer, in both there is great sin” (ch. ii, -216). Some of the early followers of the Prophet held this text as -doubtful, and continued to indulge in wine; but another text enjoins -them not to come to prayer while they are drunk, until they know what -they would say (ch. iv, 46). From this it would appear that Muhammad -“meant merely to restrain his followers from unbecoming behaviour, and -other evil effects of intoxication;” serious quarrels, however, -resulting from drinking wine, a text in condemnation of the practice was -issued: “Ye who have become believers! verily wine, and lots, and -images, and divining arrows are an abomination of the work of the Devil; -therefore avoid them that ye may prosper” (ch. v, 92).—Mills was -certainly in error in stating that “for ages before the preaching of the -Prophet of Mecca, wine was but little drunk either in Egypt or -Arabia.”[38] In the _Mu`allaqāt_, or Seven Poems suspended in the Temple -at Mecca, which present true pictures of Arabian manners and customs -during the century immediately preceding the time of Muhammad, -wine-drinking is frequently mentioned. Thus the poet `Amru calls for his -morning draught of rich hoarded wine, saying that it is the liquor which -diverts the lover from his passion, and even causes the miser to forget -his pelf; Lebeid says that he often goes to the shop of the -wine-merchant, when he spreads his flag in the air, and sells his wine -at a high price; and the poet-hero `Antar quaffs old wine when the -noontide heat is abated. However this may be, the law of the Kur’ān is -clear—believers are not allowed to drink intoxicating liquors. Yet it -would appear, from the tales of the _Thousand and One Nights_, that wine -was extensively drunk by the higher classes of Muslims in all countries -until a comparatively recent date; and assuredly the wine there -mentioned was not the harmless beverage which the Prophet indulged in -and permitted to his followers—“prepared by putting grapes or dry dates -in water to extract their sweetness, and suffering the liquor to ferment -slightly until it acquired a little sharpness or pungency”—since we read -in the story, for instance, of “The Three Ladies of Bagdād and the -Porter,” that wine was drunk to intoxication. The modern Persians -justify their occasional excessive wine-drinking by the remark: “there -is as much sin in a flagon as in a glass;”[39] and the Turks despise the -small glasses commonly used by Europeans in their potations.[40] -Cantemir, in his _History of the Othman Empire_, relates a curious story -of how Murād IV, the seventeenth Turkish Sultan (1622–1639), became a -drunkard: - - -Not content to drink wine in private, Murād compelled even the Muftis -and other ministers to drink with him, and also, by a public edict, -allowed wine to be sold and drunk by men of all ranks. It is said Murād -was led into this degrading vice by a man named Bakrī Mustafa. As the -Sultan was one day going about the market-place in disguise, he chanced -to see this man wallowing in the mud, almost dead drunk. Wondering at -the novelty of the thing, he inquired of his attendants what was the -matter with the man, who seemed to him a lunatic. Being told that the -fellow was drunk with wine, he wanted to know what sort of liquor that -was, of whose effects he was yet ignorant. Meanwhile Mustafa gets up, -and with opprobrious words bids the Sultan stand off. Astonished at the -man’s boldness, “Rascal!” he exclaimed, “dost thou bid me, who am the -Sultan Murād, be gone?”—“And I,” answered the fellow, “am Bakrī [_i.e._ -the Drunkard] Mustafa, and if thou wilt sell me this city, I will buy -it, and then I shall be Sultan Murād, and thou Bakrī Mustafa.”—Murād -demanding where he would get the money to purchase such a city, Mustafa -replied: “Don’t trouble thyself about that; for, what is more, I will -buy, too, the son of a bond-woman.”[41] Murād agreed to this, and -ordered Mustafa to be taken to the palace. After some hours, the fumes -of the wine being dispersed, Mustafa came to his senses, and finding -himself in a gilded and sumptuous room, he inquired of those who -attended him: “What does this mean?—am I dreaming?—or do I taste of the -pleasures of Paradise?” They told him of what had passed, and of his -bargain with the Sultan. Upon this he fell into a great fright, well -knowing Murād’s fierce disposition. But necessity abetting his -invention, he declared himself on the point of death, unless he could -have some wine to restore his spirits. The keepers, that he might not -die before being brought into the Sultan’s presence, gave him a pot full -of wine, which he concealed in his bosom. On being ushered into the -audience-chamber, the Sultan commanded him to pay so many millions as -the price of the city. Taking the pot of wine from his bosom, Mustafa -said: “This, O Sultan, is what would yesterday have purchased Istambol. -And were you likewise possessed of this wealth, you would think it -preferable to the sovereignty of the universe.” Murād asked how that -could be. “By drinking of this divine liquor,” answered Mustafa, -offering the cup to the Sultan, who, from curiosity, took a large -draught, which, as he was unused to wine, immediately made him so drunk -that he fancied the world could not contain him. Afterwards growing -giddy, he was seized with sleep, and in a few hours waking with a -headache, sent for Mustafa, in a great passion. Mustafa instantly -appeared, and perceiving the case, “Here,” said he, “is your remedy,” -and gave him a cup of wine, by which his headache was presently removed, -and his former gladness restored. When this had been repeated two or -three times, Murād was by degrees so addicted to wine that he was drunk -almost every day. Bakrī Mustafa, his tutor in drunkenness, was admitted -among the privy-counsellors, and was always near the Sultan. At his -death Murād ordered the whole court to go into mourning, but caused his -body to be buried with great pomp in a tavern among the wine-casks. -After his decease the Sultan declared he never enjoyed one merry day; -and when Mustafa chanced to be mentioned he was often seen to burst into -tears, and to sigh from the bottom of his heart. “Seldom, if ever,” -moralises Cantemir, “has so much favour been obtained by the precepts of -virtue as Mustafa acquired by the dictates of vice.” - - -To return to the quotation at the beginning of this long note; that the -wine in which our young hero Bakhtyār indulged to such an extent as to -deprive him of his senses was _not_ a mild beverage, admits of no -question: again, in chapter viii, page 93, we find a King and his -favourite companion carousing together, until the former falls into a -drunken sleep. - -_Page 18._ “How could a person bred up in a desert, and by profession a -robber, be fit for the society of a king?”—Sa`dī, the celebrated Persian -poet, in his _Gulistān_, or Rose-Garden, says: “No one whose origin is -bad ever catches the reflection of the good” (ch. i, tale 4); and again: -“How can we make a good sword out of bad iron? A worthless person cannot -by education become a person of worth;” and yet again: “Evil habits, -which have taken root in one’s nature, will only be got rid of at the -hour of death.” Firdausī, the Homer of Persia, in his scathing satire on -the Sultan Mahmūd of Ghazni, has the following remarks on the same -subject: - - To exalt the head of the unworthy, - To look for anything of good from them, - Is to lose the thread which guideth your purpose, - And to nourish a serpent in your bosom. - The tree which is by nature bitter, - Though thou shouldst plant it in the Garden of Paradise, - And spread honey about its roots—yea the purest honey-comb, - And water it in its season from the Fountain of Eternity, - Would in the end betray its nature, - And would still produce bitter fruit. - If thou shouldst pass through the shop of the seller of amber - Thy garments will retain its odour; - If thou shouldst enter the forge of the blacksmith, - Thou wilt there see nothing but blackness. - That evil should come of an evil disposition is no wonder, - For thou canst not sponge out the darkness from the night. - Of the son of the impure man entertain no hope, - For the Ethiopian by washing will never become white.[42] - -_Page 19._ “You have entered the recesses of my harem.”—Only husbands, -fathers, brothers, uncles, fathers-in-law, and very young boys are -_mahram_, or privileged to enter the apartments of women in Muslim -countries. The fact of the chief Vizier visiting the Queen in the harem -(page 19) should lead us to conclude, either that the story is of Indian -origin, or that the worthy minister was “a neutral personage”—not to put -too fine a point on it. - -_Page 20._ “By a false testimony.”—Among the Muslims falsehood in -certain cases is not only allowed but commended. Even oaths of different -kinds are more or less binding. Expiation is permitted by law for an -inconsiderate oath, and, according to some, even for the violation of a -deliberate oath. The expiation consists in once feeding or clothing ten -poor men, liberating a slave or captive, or fasting three days. An -unintentional oath requires no expiation; but the swearing to a -falsehood can only be expiated by deep repentance.—_Lane._ - - * * * * * - -In Cazotte’s French rendering—or rather, adaptation—of the Arabian -version of this work, under the title of “The Story of King Bohetzad and -his Ten Viziers,” the name of the young hero is not Bakhtyār, but -Aladdin—properly, `Ala`u-’d-Dīn, “Exaltation of the Faith”; for -Sipahsālār there is a prime minister whose name is Asphand, and his -daughter, Baherjoa, was being conveyed, not to the Vizier, as in our -version, but to the Prince of Babylon, to whom she was to be married. -The order of the tales varies from that in the Persian work and two -additional tales are interpolated. There is one point, however, in which -this rendering, or version, is, I think, superior to the Persian, -namely, that while in the Bakhtyār-story we are told that after the King -recovered his throne and kingdom, he and the Queen “passed their days in -tranquillity, interrupted only by the remembrance of their child, whom -they had left in the desert, and whom, they were persuaded, wild beasts -must have devoured the same hour in which they abandoned him,” but they -do not appear to have taken any steps to ascertain his fate;—in -Cazotte’s version trusty messengers are despatched far and wide to -learn, if possible, tidings of the child, though without success. This -is but natural, and what we should expect, particularly on the part of -an Eastern monarch, from the well-known affection of Asiatics for their -male offspring, which are considered as the light or splendour of the -house; and if it be an interpolation by Cazotte—one of the -“disfigurements” of which he is accused by Deslongchamps[43]—it is very -decidedly an improvement on his original.—Bohetzād’s kingdom is called -Dineroux, “which comprehends all Syria, and the Isles of India lying at -the mouth of the Persian Gulf;” his capital is Issessara. One or two -other points of difference may also find a place here. In our -translation, when the royal fugitives abandoned their infant in the -desert, “their hearts were afflicted with anguish;” but in Lescallier’s -French rendering, the King is represented as exclaiming, on this -occasion: “O my dear infant! thy father sheds rivers of tears from his -eyes, because of thy absence, like the father of Joseph the Egyptian, -when his son was departed from the land of Canaan!”—while according to -Cazotte: “Great God!” cried the afflicted mother, bedewing her babe with -her tears, “who didst watch over the safety of young Ishmael, preserve -this innocent babe!” The reference to Ishmael is possibly an alteration -by the Arabian translator.—It is not, as in the Persian work, the King -of Kirmān of whom the fugitive pair seek protection and assistance, but -Kassera, King of Persia—no doubt, meaning Khusrū (called by the Greeks -Chosroes), the general title of the Persian Kings of the Sassanian -dynasty, thus, Khusrū Parvīz, Khusrū Nushirvān. He furnishes Bohetzād -with an immense army for the recovery of his kingdom, and the Queen -(Baherjoa) remains under his protection until Bohetzād should have -punished his rebellious Vizier. But meanwhile the King of Persia becomes -deeply enamoured of the beauteous Baherjoa; and when envoys arrive from -Bohetzād to bring back the Queen, Khusrū’s first impulse is to refuse to -deliver her up, but at length better feelings prevail over his passion, -and he restores her to the envoys in a magnificent litter, and with -numerous female attendants. - - - NOTES ON CHAPTER II. - -_Page 22._ “Rooted out of the soil of his empire;” the text adds, “as an -example to evil-doers.” - -_Page 22._ “On the eve of my departure from this world,” &c. The text -reads: “But the law of God hath commanded that an innocent person should -exculpate and exert himself in his own defence. God, the Most Holy and -the Most High (_hakk subhānāhu wa ta`āla_), knows that I am innocent of -these suspicions” [or allegations]. - -_Page 23._ Bakhtyār saluted the Pādishāh, and spoke out with fluency and -eloquence. - -_Page 23._ Basra.—Situated on the Shattu-’l-`Arab (the river of the -Arabs—the united stream of the Tigris and the Euphrates), Basra is the -principal port in the Persian Gulf, and is so named from the white -stones (_basra_) near and around it. Renowned for its school of grammar, -the Arabic dual _al-basratān_ (the Two Basras) denotes the rival seats -of learning, Basra and Kūfa.—See D’Herbelot, art. _Coufeh._—Built by the -command of the pious Khalif `Omar, A.H. 15 (A.D. 636), it was called -“the land of purity,” never having been polluted by any idolatrous -worship. Irrigated by the river Ayla, which falls into the Tigris close -to it, its gardens are so fruitful that it is reckoned one of the four -earthly paradises of Asia—the other three being the valleys of Shīrāz, -Damascus, and Samarkand. - -_Page 23._ “And the Merchant thought”—the text has “that a voyage by sea -and land might jeopardise life and property, but by laying out what -remained,” &c.—The antipathy of the Persians to a sea-voyage is well -known, and very distinctly professed by the poet Hāfiz. “He had heard of -the munificent encouragement which Sultan Mahmūd Shāh Bahamī, an -accomplished prince then reigning in the Dek’han, afforded to poets and -learned men, and became desirous of visiting his court. Hearing of this -wish, and desirous himself of forming an acquaintance with Hāfiz, Sultān -Mahmūd sent him, through the hands of his vizier, Mīr Fazlu’llāh Anjū, -an invitation and a handsome sum of money to defray the expenses of his -journey. Thereupon he set out and advanced on his expedition as far as -Lār. There he encountered a friend who had been plundered by robbers, on -whom he bestowed a part of his money, and not having left himself -sufficient to prosecute his journey, was compelled to accept the -assistance of two merchants whom he fortunately met with there, and who -kindly took him with them to Hurmuz. There he found a ship ready to sail -to the Dek’han, and took his passage in her. But a storm having arisen, -he was so terrified by it, that he abandoned his intention, and sending -a letter of excuse to the vizier, with an ode to the King, returned -himself to Shīrāz. He says: - - “The splendour of a Sultan’s diadem, within which, like a casket - enclosed, are fears for one’s life, - May be heart-attracting as a cap, but is not worth the loss of the head - it covers. - - · · · · · - - The sufferings of the sea may appear easy to bear in the prospect of its - pearls; - But I have erred, for its waves are not worth one hundred munns of - gold.”[44] - -_Page 24._ “Most of the houses were washed away.”—Probably owing to the -non-adhesive qualities of the mortar generally employed in the -construction of Persian houses: a mixture, half of mud, one fourth of -lime, and the rest ashes of burnt straw and rubbish. - -_Page 25._ “Trees and running streams.”—The dryness of the Persian -climate and the deficiency of rivers have exercised in ancient -(_Polybius_, lib. 10, 25) as in modern times the ingenuity of the -natives in the discovery of springs.—In the Story of Abū Temām (page 98) -a city is also described as “adorned with gardens and running streams.” -It was a saying of Muhammad that “three things fortify the sight: -looking at verdure, at running water, and at a handsome face.” - -_Page 25._ Dihkān is a compound word, from _dih_, a village, and _khān_, -lord, or chief. - -_Page 25._ “Erected a summer-house”—the text adds, “and on it a lofty -watch-tower.” - -_Page 25._ “The stranger was entertained with politeness and -hospitality.”—The Kur’ān (iv, 40) enjoins the believer to “serve God ... -and show kindness unto ... your neighbour who is a _stranger_ ... and -the traveller” (_ibnu-’s sabīl_: son of the road). The practice of -hospitality among the pre-Islamite Arabs is too well known to require -more than passing mention, and reference to Professor Lee’s note on Job -xxi, 16. - -_Page 25._ “A suit of his clothes”; his own _jubba_ and _dastār_. The -_jubba_ is a vest with cotton quilted between the outside and the -lining; the _dastār_ is the sash, or fine muslin cloth, wrapped round -the turban. - -_Page 25._ “Account of his property” &c.—signet, chattels, and -ledger—“and said, ‘you must manifest your zeal in the seasons of sowing -and of harvest, and become the _mushrif_ of my property.’” A _mushrif_ -is an officer of the treasury, who authenticates accounts and writings. -The _dihkān_ gave him his signet, in order that he might transact his -business with full authority. “Seals, or signets,” says Dr H. H. Wilson, -“were from the earliest periods commonly used in the East. Ahasuerus -takes his signet off his hand and gives it, first to Haman, and again to -Mordecai; and Herodotus notices that each of the Babylonians wore a -seal-ring. The Greeks and Romans had their rings curiously engraved with -devices, and that cast by Polycrates into the sea was the work of an -engraver whose name the historian has thought not unworthy of -commemoration. The use of the seal amongst the Orientals at the present -day is not, as with us, to secure an envelope, but to verify letters and -documents in place of a written signature. Amongst the natives of -Hindūstān, both Muhammadan and Hindū, the seal is engraved with the name -of the wearer, and the surface being smeared superficially only with -ink, the application of the seal to the paper leaves the letters which -are cut in the stone white on a black ground. Such also was the manner -in which the seals of the Greeks and Romans were applied.” Lane, in his -_Modern Egyptians_, says: “On the little finger of the right hand is -worn a seal-ring (_Khātim_), which is generally of silver, with a -cornelian, or other stone, upon which is engraved the wearer’s name; the -name is accompanied by the words ‘his servant’—signifying the servant, -or worshipper, of God—and often by other words expressive of the -person’s trust in God, &c. (see St. John’s Gospel iii, 33, and Exodus -xxxix, 30). The Prophet disapproved of gold; therefore few Muslims wear -gold rings; but the women have various ornaments (rings, bracelets &c.) -of that precious metal. The impression of the seal-ring is considered as -more valid than the sign-manual. Therefore giving the ring to another -person is the utmost mark of confidence.—See Genesis xli, 42.” - -_Page 27._ “Bit the finger of amazement.”—Biting the hand or finger is a -common mode in the East of manifesting surprise, grief, or anger. Thus -in the Kur’ān, xxv, 29: “On that day the unjust person shall bite his -hands for anguish;” and iii, 119: “When they assemble together privately -they bite their fingers’-ends out of wrath against you.” In the -_Gulistān_ of Sa`dī, i, 4: “The King seized the hand of amazement with -his teeth;” again, v, 19: “Thine enemy bites the back of his hand -through vexation;” and again, vii, 19: “The fingers of astonishment were -between their teeth.” In one of the beautiful poems of Bahāu-’d-Dīn -Zuhayr, of Egypt (A.D. 1186–1258), elegantly translated by Professor E. -H. Palmer: - - When she passed me without speaking, I declare, - I could almost bite my hand off with despair. - -And in the Turkish poem of _Khusrev and Shīrīn_, by Shayki, _ob._ A.D. -1426 (Mr Gibb’s _Ottoman Poems_, p. 6): - - No power was left him, neither sport nor pleasure, - He bit his finger, wildered beyond measure. - -_Page 27._ “Driven forth from the village”; the text adds; “and they -deprived him of whatever they had given.” - -_Page 27._ “For the sake of God:” a common phrase among Muslims. A -rather humorous example of its use occurs in the _Gulistān_ (chap, iv, -tale 14): A harsh-voiced man was reading the Kur’ān in a loud tone. A -pious man passed by him, and said: “What is thy monthly -stipend?”—“Nothing,” he replied.—“Why then,” he inquired, “dost thou -give thyself all this trouble?”—“I read _for the sake of God_,” he -replied.—“For God sake, then, _don’t read_,” said he. - -_Page 27._ “A pearl of such exquisite beauty,” &c.—In the East it is -popularly believed that the pearl is formed in the oyster from a -rain-drop: Sa’dī, in the fourth book of his _Bustān_, has some beautiful -verses on this notion, in which he inculcates the practice of humility. -Pearls are called _marvārīd_, “production of light,” and, usually when -they are unpierced, _lū’lū’_, “luminous,” “brilliant.” They are divided -into twelve classes, each having a distinctive name, according to their -“water” or lustre; the first class being called _shahvār_, “the regal,” -the clearest, purest, and most lustrous. Pearls are also divided into -twelve classes, according to shape. They are further divided, in respect -of size, into fifteen classes, according to the number of holes in the -different sieves through which they are passed, from the smallest, of -which twelve hundred weigh a _miskal_, up to the largest, of which forty -weigh a _miskal_. The best pearl-fisheries are at Ceylon, and in the -Persian Gulf, at Bahrayn, Kīsh, and Sharak; but the Arabian pearls are -less prized than the Indian. Their colour and quality are said to depend -on the bottom of the sea where they are produced: in black slime they -are dark; in shallow waters, yellowish.—Tavernier mentions a remarkable -pearl found at Katifa, in Arabia, the fishery probably alluded to by -Pliny (_Nat. Hist._ b. ix, c. 54), which he purchased for £10,000 of our -money! It is said to be now in the possession of the Shah of Persia. - -_Page 28._ “He put three of the pearls into his mouth and the other -three among his clothes.”—It is customary for travellers and others in -the East to conceal their money and valuables about their clothes and in -the folds of their turbans. Many Oriental stories illustrate this -practice. For example, in the tale of the Poor Ropemaker (_Arabian -Nights_—vol. vi, of Jonathan Scott’s edition), he receives a sum of -money from a benevolent stranger, and having laid out a moiety of it in -material for his trade, he places the remainder within the folds of his -turban-cloth, but unluckily a bird snatches it off his head and flies -away with it. And in the Talmud there is a story of a poor Hebrew, named -Joseph, who paid great respect to the Sabbath. This man had a wealthy -neighbour, who was a firm believer in judicial astrology, and having -been told by a sagacious professor of the science that all his riches -should one day become the property of the Sabbath-observing Joseph, he -straightway sold his estate and invested the proceeds in a large -diamond, which he secretly sewed within his turban, and departed in a -vessel for some distant country—thus preventing, as he fondly imagined, -the verification of the astrologer’s prediction. But his precautions -were of no avail, for while standing on the deck of the vessel, a sudden -gust of wind carried his turban, with all his wealth, into the sea. What -became of the ruined man after this misfortune we are not informed. But -we are told that, some time after this accident, the pious Joseph went -to the market and bought a fish to furnish his table on the Sabbath eve. -On opening the fish, the diamond which his old neighbour had lost with -his turban was found in its stomach—and thus was the good man’s strict -observance of the Sabbath rewarded, and the astrologer’s prediction -fulfilled to the letter. - -_Page 28._ The unlucky Merchant’s adventure with the covetous and -dishonest jeweller finds a curious parallel in an incident in the “Story -of the Jackal, the Barber, and the Brāhman,” one of the charming fairy -tales in Miss Frere’s _Old Deccan Days_. The poor Brāhman, however, -though robbed of the precious stones he offers to the jeweller for sale, -escapes home all safe, unlike the Merchant of our story. Possibly the -incident in both tales had a common origin;—yet the “roguery of -villanous man” (to employ _honest_ Jack Falstaff’s phrase) is pretty -much alike in all ages and countries! - -_Page 29._ “They distributed some money among those who were -confined.”—Alms are recommended in many passages of the Kur’ān: “Pay -your legal alms,” ii, 43; “alms are to be distributed to the poor and -the needy ... for the redemption of captives, insolvent debtors, and, -for religion’s sake, unto the traveller,” ix, 53, 60. Alms are of two -kinds: (1) obligatory (or _zakāt_), ii, 172; and (2) voluntary (or -_sadakāt_), as in the present instance. In scripture we find a trace of -the same doctrine: see Daniel iv, 27. The Khalif `Omar Ibn -`Abdu-’l-`Azīz used to say: “_Prayer_ carries us half-way to God; -_Fasting_ brings us to the door of the palace; and _Alms_ procure us -admission.” And assuredly no Eastern moralist has more frequently or -more impressively and beautifully inculcated the duty of alms-giving and -of liberality than Sa`dī. He tells us in the _Gulistān_, ii, 49, that on -the monument of Bahrām Gūr, a famous Persian King, was written: “The -liberal hand is better than the strong arm;” and adds: “Distribute in -alms the tithe of thy wealth; for the more the husbandman loppeth off -the exuberance of the vine, the more it will yield of grapes.” And in -his _Bustān_, or Fruit-Garden, b. ii, he says: “Bestow thy gold and thy -wealth while they are thine; for when thou art gone they will be no -longer in thy power.... Distribute thy treasure readily to-day, for -to-morrow the key may no longer be in thy hand.... Exert thyself to cast -a covering over the poor, that God’s own veil may be a covering for -thee.”[45] - -_Page 30._ “When he had related the story of the Merchant and of the -pearls which they had given him”—the text adds, “and the other five -divers had confirmed what he said.” - -_Page 30._ “He was then led away to execution; and the King caused to be -proclaimed throughout the city,” &c. So, too, in the _Thousand and One -Nights_, the Barber relates how his Fourth Brother was punished with a -hundred lashes, “after which they mounted him upon a camel, and -proclaimed before him: ‘This is the recompense of him who breaketh into -men’s houses.’” Morier, in his _Second Journey_, gives a graphic -description of the punishment of Muhammad Zamān Khān, governor of -Astrābād, who, in 1814, “entered into a league with the Turkmāns, -disavowed the King’s authority, and even made pretensions to the royal -power and prerogative.” The King offered a reward for his capture; and -the people of Astrābād surrounded the traitor’s palace, forced their way -into the room where he was seated, seized and bound him, and carried him -before the King. “When he had reached the camp, the King ordered the -chief of his camel-artillery to put a mock-crown upon the rebel’s head, -armlets on his arms, a sword by his side; to mount him upon an ass, with -his face towards the tail and the tail in his hand; then to parade him -throughout the camp, and to proclaim: ‘This is he who wished to be -King!’ After this was over, and the people had mocked and insulted him, -he was brought before the King, who called for the looties and ordered -them to turn him into ridicule by making him dance and perform antics -against his will. He then ordered that whoever chose might spit in his -face. After this he received the bastinado on the soles of his feet, -which was administered by the chiefs of his own tribe; and some time -after he had his eyes put out.—The strong coincidence,” adds Morier, -“between these details and the most awfully affecting part of our own -scripture history is a striking illustration of the permanence of -Eastern manners.” - -_Page 30._ “Appointed him keeper of the treasury.”—The sudden elevation -of persons from a humble and even distressed condition to places of -great dignity and wealth has ever been a characteristic of the absolute -monarchs of Eastern countries, as well as the degradation and ruin, -frequently from mere caprice, and seldom with any justification, of men -of the highest rank. The most remarkable instance of the many which -Oriental history presents is the execrable conduct of the Khalif -Hārūnu-’r-Rāshīd, so undeservedly celebrated in the _Thousand and One -Nights_, in murdering his principal Vizier Ja`far and utterly ruining -the other members of the noble house of Barmak (the Barmecides of our -common translation of the _Arabian Nights_), all of whom were as famed -for their unbounded liberality as for their brilliant abilities. An -interesting account of the Barmakis and their ruin is given in Dr -Jonathan Scott’s _Tales, Anecdotes, &c., from the Arabic and Persian_. - -_Page 32._ “Put out the Merchant’s eyes.”—A too common and barbarous -punishment in the East. In Turkey a needle was used for this purpose in -the case of state prisoners. The Arabian poet-hero `Antar is said to -have blinded his implacable and treacherous enemy Wezār by passing a -red-hot sword-blade close before his eyes. Years afterwards the blinded -chief executed poetical justice by slaying `Antar with a poisoned arrow, -which he shot at him on the bank of the Euphrates. - - * * * * * - -In Cazotte’s version this story is entitled “The Obstinate Man,” perhaps -more appropriately than our “Ill-fated Merchant,” since his own -wrong-headedness was the main cause of his misfortunes. His place of -abode is Bagdād, not Basra. The divers give him _ten_ pearls. The -jeweller, having been lately robbed of some pearls, believes Kaskas -(such is the man’s name) to be the thief, and accordingly he accuses -him; and when the latter is proved to be innocent, the jeweller is -punished with two hundred blows of the bastinado. The catastrophe is -very differently related: One day he observed in the apartment which had -been assigned to him, a door walled-up and concealed by a slight -covering of mastic, which was now so much wasted by the effects of time -that it crumbled into dust on the slightest touch. Without any exertion -of strength, he opened this door and entered unthinkingly into a rich -apartment entirely unknown to him, but which he found to be in the -interior of the palace. Hardly had he advanced two or three steps when -he was perceived by the chief of the eunuchs, who instantly reported -what he had seen to the King. The monarch came immediately to the spot. -The fragments of the mastic remained upon the ground to show that the -door had been forced open, and the stupid amazement of Kaskas completed -the appearance of his guilt. “Wretch!” said the King, “dost thou thus -repay my favours? My justice saved thee, when I believed thee innocent; -now thou art guilty, and I condemn thee to lose thy sight.” The -imprudent Kaskas durst not even attempt to justify himself, but was -immediately delivered into the hands of the executioner, of whom the -only favour he asked was, that he would give him his eyes when he had -torn them from their sockets.[46] He went groping through the streets of -the capital with them in his hands, crying: “Behold, all ye good people -who hear me, what the unfortunate Kaskas has gained by striving against -the decrees of Destiny, and despising the advice of his friends!” - - - NOTES ON CHAPTER III. - -_Page 33._ “Expressed many apprehensions.”—The text gives the address of -the Third Vizier as follows: “I am apprehensive lest the affair of -Bakhtyār should be known in the out-lying provinces of the world -[kingdom], and reaching the ears of sovereigns, occasion scandal, an -evil repute arise therefrom. Before this story of Bakhtyār become the -common talk, it is expedient to put him to death.” - -_Page 33._ “He petitioned for mercy:” he cried, -_al-amān!_—quarter!—pardon! Byron’s couplet in the _Giaour_ has rendered -this word familiar to English readers: - - Resigned carbine or ataghān, - Nor ever raised the craven cry, _Amaun!_ - -_Page 33._ “If a king punish without due investigation.”—A Hindū -dramatist says: - - Though the commands of royalty pervade - The world, yet sovereigns should remember, - The light of justice must direct their path. - -And Sa`di, in his _Bustān_, b. I, regarding the duties of a king, says: -“If thou sheddest blood, it must not be done without a decree.” But -there is too much reason to believe that Eastern monarchs have seldom -been guided by the law in administering punishment. Many of the Muslim -princes of Northern Africa, in particular, have slain even favourite -attendants, from sheer wantonness and love of bloodshed. - -_Page 34._ Aleppo.—The Berica of the Greeks; Aleppo is the Italian form -of _Hālab_, the native name. On the fall of Palmyra, Hālabu-’s-Shabha -(Hālab the ash-coloured) became the grand emporium for the productions -of Persia and India, conveyed by caravans from Bagdād and Basra to be -shipped at Iskenderūn, or Latakia, for the different ports of Europe. -Under the Greek sovereigns of Syria, Aleppo acquired great wealth and -consequence, and flourished still more under the Roman Emperors. An -aqueduct, constructed before the time of Constantine, conveys a -plentiful supply of water from the springs; and the mosques Jāmī, -Zacharī, and Halawé, originally Christian churches, are fine specimens -of the ancient Roman style, the latter built by the Empress Helena. To -the peculiar quality of the water of the Kuwayk (ancient Chalus), which -irrigates its far-famed gardens, is ascribed the ring-worm -(_hābala-’s-sina_), which attacks the natives once in their lives, and -leaves an indelible scar, which distinguishes an Aleppine throughout the -East. In 1797 Aleppo was the victim of the plague, and of earthquakes in -1822 and 1830. - -_Page 34._ “Protected strangers.”—The text reads: “A friend of the -stranger; who never at any time injured any person, deemed all injustice -improper, and never deprived any one of aught.” - -_Page 34._ “A son named Bih-zād,” meaning “well-born,” “legitimate.” - -_Page 35._ “A magnificent litter”—the text adds, “and the curtains of -the litter were thrown back;”—thus the youth was able to obtain a view -of the lady’s beauty. - -_Page 35._ “When the young man had advanced thus far in his narrative;” -the lithographed text says, “when the boon companion had described the -lady.”—Readers familiar with Oriental fictions will probably recollect -many instances of princes and others becoming enamoured, not only at -sight of the portrait of a beautiful woman, but at the mere description -of her charms: in such celebrated collections of tales as the _Arabian -Nights_, the Persian Tales ascribed to the Dervish Mokles of Isfahān, -and the _Bahār-i-Danish_ (Spring of Knowledge) of `Ināyatu-’llah of -Dihli. In the Bedawī _Romance of `Antar_, a noble `Absian named Amara, -“a conceited coxcomb, very particular in his dress, fond of perfumes, -and always keeping company with women and young girls,” having heard of -the beauty of Abla, sends a female slave to the tents of her family to -discover whether the damsel was as beautiful as was reported of her; and -the girl returning with a glowing account of Abla’s charms, the Bedawī -exquisite immediately conceives a violent passion for her—“his ears fell -in love before his eyes.”—There is at least one instance on record of a -European becoming enamoured from imagination; in the case of Geoffrey -Rudel, the gallant troubadour, who fell desperately in love with the -Countess of Tripoli, from a description of her beauty and -accomplishments: but see the story in Warton’s _History of English -Poetry_. - -_Page 35._ “The city of Rūm, the capital and residence of the Kaisar, or -Greek Emperor”: Constantinople.—The signification of “Rūm” is very -vague, as it may denote Rome, the Turkish Empire, Greece, or Rumelia -(Rūm Eyli). The Persians called the chief of the Seljukī dynasty at -Konia (_i.e._ Iconium), Kaisar-i-Rūm. D’Herbelot defines the term Rūm as -applicable to the countries which the Romans, and afterwards the Greeks -and Turks, subdued under their domination. “Roumy [Rūmī],” observes -Burckhardt, “is a word applied by the Arabs to the Greeks of the Lower -Empire, and afterwards to all Christians.” (_Travels in Nubia_, App. n. -iii.) The Persian proverb, _Ez Rūm ta Shām_, “from Rūm to Syria,” is -quoted to indicate an extent of territory. Kaisar (Cæsar, whence Czar) -was the general title of the sovereigns of the Lower Empire, as Khusrū -was that of the Persian Kings of the Sassanian dynasty. - -_Page 36._ “Prince Bihzād immediately arose, and hastened to the house -of the Vizier, and said,” &c.—The following is a close translation of -this passage as given in the lithographed text: - -“You must go this moment and tell my father, Bihzād says thus: ‘Thou -dost not turn thine eye upon me and hast not any care for me. There is -no mortal in the world to whom a wife should not be given; if thou -carest for me, you would bestow on me a help-mate.’” The Vizier replied: -“Your order I obey;” then rose up and went to the King’s palace, asked -for an audience, and reported to the King all that Bihzād had said. The -King said: “Bihzād has fallen in love; say to him, ‘This wish is in my -thoughts; but I have paused until I could discover some companion for -thy sake; but if there be a longing for any one, speak out that I may -give it my attention—that I may effect a settlement, and bring this thy -desire within thy embrace.’”—The Vizier returned, and repeated to Bihzād -what the King had said, to which Bihzād replied: “Go and tell my father -that the Kaisar of Rūm has a daughter, Nigārīn[47] by name; he must send -ambassadors and demand the daughter on my behalf.” The Vizier returned -and told the King, who became unhappy. - -_Page 37._ “The Vizier returned to Bihzād, and delivered him this -message from his father.”—The lithographed text says: - -When Bihzād perceived that the King showed no eagerness in asking for -the lady, he said to the Vizier: “If the King will not demand the -daughter for me, I will leave the country.” The Vizier said: “I will go -and speak to the King to that effect.” He went, and repeated according -to Bihzād’s words. The King loved his son to excess, and seeing no -resource, sent ambassadors to the Kaisar of Rūm. When the ambassadors -arrived at the capital of Rūm, and the news reached the King, he -commanded an _istikbāl_, and that they should enter the city with all -due honours and respect. The next day the Kaisar invited the ambassadors -to a _durbar_. When they came before the King and had bowed their faces -to the ground, they delivered the message of the Shāh of Aleppo. The -King said: “Maybe the wealth [dominion, power?] of the Kaisar does not -enter into your [mind’s] eye;—you must be brief and laconic, and utter -this reply: ‘One hundred lacs of dīnars is the covenant of my daughter’s -hand; whoever will give one hundred lacs of dīnars, to him will I give -my daughter.’ Thus he spake; then rising up, dismissed the ambassadors.” - -_Page 37._ “One hundred lacs of dīnars.”—The value of the _dīnar_ -(originally _din-ār_, “brought into circulation by the law”) varied -considerably at different periods, but the average value is about ten -shillings. As a _lac_ is one hundred thousand, and the Kaisar demanded a -hundred lacs; taking the value of the dīnar at ten shillings, this would -amount to five million pounds of our money: but Oriental romancers are -fond of dealing with immense sums of money—on paper! “The Persians,” -says Chardin, “express silver money by the term _dirhem_, or _dragme_, -and that of gold by that of _dīnar_, or _denier_. They reckon by -_dīnar-bisty_ and _tomāns_, although they have not any pieces of money -so called. There is the common dīnar, and the legal dīnar (or chemy) and -the dīnar-chemy signify the weight and the value of a dīnar of gold, or -of a gold crown. A bisty makes ten dīnars, or deniers, and a tomān ten -thousand dīnars.” (_Voyage en Perse, &c._, ii, 91–2.) - -_Page 38._ “They produced twenty lacs.”—Bihzād said: “Make a forced -contribution throughout the land, and [demand] one-eighth of the garden -[produce].” The Pādishāh replied: “This I will never do, for the city is -small and the people have not the means; every one would take flight and -be ruined.” Bihzād said: “A portion of the sum [required] exact by a -forced contribution; after that, about the remainder let us not concern -ourselves” [_lit._ eat anxiety]. The Pādishāh was incapable [of further -opposition]; he commanded that the land [owners] should make a present -of twenty lacs of dīnars. - -_Page 40._ “Set out upon his journey.”—For what purpose? Surely not to -go and demand the Kaisar’s daughter in marriage, without payment of the -balance of the stipulated hundred lacs? Sir William Ouseley has omitted -to add that _loot_ was the object of Bihzād’s expedition. The text says -that, with two confidential attendants Bihzād set out upon his journey, -“_until he should fall in with a caravan, and make up the total sum -required_.” The “good old rule” of our own famous Scottish freebooter -Rob Roy— - - the simple plan, - That they should take, who have the power, - And they should keep, who can— - -was very commonly put into practice in former times by Arabian lovers in -order to procure the dowry. Thus, in the _Romance of `Antar_, which Von -Hammer says presents true pictures of Arabian life about the age of -Nushirvān the Just, King of Persia (sixth century), Malik, the father of -the beauteous Abla, requires `Antar to procure for her dowry a thousand -Asafīr camels by plundering the owner, Mundzir, King of Hīra; and when -Khalid demands his cousin Jaida in marriage of her father, the heroic -damsel consents, on condition that he provide for slaughter at her -wedding-feast a thousand camels belonging to the “Brandisher of Spears,” -which he does by plundering the tribe of `Āmir; and when Malik the -perfidious father of Abla betrothes her to the Bedawī exquisite Amara -(mentioned in a previous note), he collects a party of his followers and -sets out on a looting expedition to procure her dowry.—Prince Bihzād, -however, appears to have “caught a Tartar” in attacking the caravan -which he and his comrades overtook—“in the morning,” according to our -translation—“at the hour of mid-day prayer,” says the lithographed text. -The old Arabs always made their attacks on the tents of a hostile tribe, -and on caravans, in the early morning—on the first gray streaks of dawn -appearing, and this is frequently alluded to in their poetry. Thus in -the _Mu`allaqa_ of Hareth: “They assembled their forces at night, and as -soon as the dawn appeared, there was nothing heard among them but a -tumultuous noise, of those who called and those who answered; the -neighing of horses, and, among the rest, the lowing of camels.” In the -_Romance of `Antar_, the heroic Prince Malik is represented as being -slain in one of those morning raids, when his bridal party were attacked -by Hadifa and his tribesmen: “by morning their joys were converted into -sorrows, and shots were precipitated at them from arrows for which there -is no surgeon.” To wish peace in the morning was therefore among the -Arabs a most appropriate salutation. So `Antar, in his famous -_Mu`allaqa_ (verse 2), exclaims: “O bower of Abla, in the valley of -Jiwā, give me tidings of my love! O bower of Abla, may the morning rise -on thee with prosperity and health!” And Zuhayr, also author of a -_Mu`allaqa_, on viewing the traces of his mistress’ former abode: “Hail, -sweet bower! may thy morning be fair and auspicious!” - - * * * * * - -This story is the fourth in Cazotte’s version, in which it presents so -few points of resemblance to the tale as given in the Persian work that -we must conclude it has been thus altered by the Arabian translator. -Bihzād is the son of King Cyrus, founder of the Syrian empire; and the -beautiful lady with whom he falls in love from the description of her -charms is the daughter of one of his father’s vassals. He avows his -passion to the King his father, who immediately sends messengers to his -vassal, demanding his daughter in marriage to his son. The dowry of -three hundred thousand pieces of gold is agreed upon, but the lady’s -father stipulates that the marriage should be delayed for the space of -nine months. This seemed an eternity to the impatient Prince, so he -mounts his best horse, and sets out to claim his bride at once. On the -way he falls into the hands of a gang of robbers and is compelled to -join them. They attack a caravan and are defeated, the Prince, among -others, being taken prisoner. The merchants present Bihzād to their -King, who recognises him from the description of his person in a -circular letter which he had received from King Cyrus. This King -despatches some troops along with Bihzād to the young lady’s father. On -his arrival preparations are made for the celebration of the marriage: -only three days have now to pass; but Bihzād, impatient to behold his -bride, looks through a small grated window in her pavilion; and a -eunuch, placed there on guard, not knowing the Prince, struck him with -the point of his scimitar, which ran through both his eyes. - - - NOTES ON CHAPTER IV. - -_Page 45._ According to the lithographed text: “The Fourth Vizier -presented himself before the King and said: ‘Of all the admirable -qualities [becoming] a King forbearance is the most praiseworthy, and -occasions general tranquillity; but inasmuch as the forbearance -[towards] Bakhtyār exceeds all bounds, it brings evil repute to the King -and kingdom, just as the [moderate] tasting of meat is legitimate, but -to eat to excess produces violent fever.’” - -_Page 45._ “Let him not be precipitate in putting me to death.”—The text -goes on to say: “For precipitation in the end leads only to repentance. -Through impatience a man falls from sovereignty, but whoever practises -patience obtains it, and is free from calamity. If the King would -permit, just as his servant has described [the career of] the Impatient -Bihzād, he would also, at the service of the King, make known Abū -Saber’s patience, and thus shed light on the illumined mind of the King, -[showing] how by patience extensive dominion accrues to a human being.” -The King said: “Abū Saber, who was he? And practising what degree of -patience, and in what manner, did he acquire dominion and sovereignty? -Relate.” - -_Page 46._ Abū Saber (_Sabr_), literally, “Father of Patience.”—This -story offers a striking example of the practice of patience, a virtue -enjoined by the Kur’ān (ii, 148): “O true believers, beg assistance with -patience (_bi-’s-sabri_) and prayer, for God is with the patient -(_inna-’llāha ma`a-’s-sabirīn_).”—Travellers in the East are daily -reminded of this text: you engage camels; at the time appointed, they -are not ready; you seek, and find the owner smoking in a coffee-shop; to -your remonstrances he replies: “Have patience, Efendī—_inna-’llāha -ma`a-’s-sabirīn_.” An Egyptian friend visits you while you are still -agitated, and his only words are: _Sabr kun—inna-’llāha -ma`a-’s-sabirīn_: Have patience—God is with the patient. In a flutter of -indignation you bring your complaint before my Lord Judge (_Māvlāna -Kazī_), who summons and expostulates with the offender, and then, with a -smile, assures you, _inna-’llāha ma`a-’s-sabirīn_!—Persian authors are -profuse in their praise of patience. Sa`dī (_Gulistān_, i, 27) -illustrates the double meaning of _Sabr_, which signifies the “aloe” as -well as “patience:” - - Rest not sour because of the turns of Fortune, for Patience [or the - Aloe], - Although it is bitter, bringeth forth sweet fruit. - -And in the same excellent work (iii, 1) he says: “The treasure chosen by -Lukmān was patience; without patience there is no such thing as wisdom.” - -_Page 46._ “A tax-gatherer”—_`Amil_—is inferior to an _Amīn_, who -regulates the revenues of a district, and to a _Zamin-dār_, a landed -proprietor. - -_Page 46._ “Extorted (_Kharāj_) tribute from the poor -peasants.”—_Kharāj-guzār_, “a tribute-paying subject,” differs from -_dhimī_ (_zimmiy_), who pays an annual tribute, and is entitled to the -protection of the Muslims and to most of the civil rights which they -enjoy; but he has also—in Egypt, at least—to pay the income-tax in -common with Muslims. (See Lane’s _Modern Egyptians_.) - -_Page 46._ “With cruelty and injustice,” &c.—“Most of the governors of -provinces and districts,” says Lane (_Modern Egypt._), “carry their -oppression far beyond the limits to which they are authorised to proceed -by the Pasha; and even the Shaikh of a village, in executing the -commands of his superiors, abuses his lawful power: bribes and the ties -of relationship and marriage influence him and them; and by lessening -the oppression of some, who are more able to bear it, greatly increase -that of others.” The peasants of Egypt only pay taxes after a severe -bastinading: “the more easily the peasant pays, the more he is made to -pay;” they are “proud of the stripes they receive for withholding their -contributions; and are often heard to boast of the number of blows which -were inflicted upon them before they would give up their money.... It -may be hardly necessary to add, that few of them engage with assiduity -in the labours of agriculture, unless compelled to do so by their -superiors.” - -_Page 47._ “He replied, that patience was his only remedy.”—The -lithographed text thus proceeds: - - -The peasants retired void of hope, and remained [quiet] in the village -until the day when the King of the territory came in that direction for -the chase. The peasants hastened out of the village, and raised a cry -[of lamentation], saying: “We are peasants, the tributaries and -well-wishers of his Majesty. At the time when the collector, entering -this village, executed his duties cruelly towards us, and had no mercy -upon us poor people, a party of evil-doers slew the tax-gatherer and -fled. This news reaching the ears of the King, he commanded the village -to be laid waste, and we, the guiltless, were set aside. After this we -were in misery and affliction, and could do but little seed-sowing and -harvest. Three years afterwards a lion formed his lair in the -neighbouring district of the village, and he killed many children and -camels; and from dread of the lion we were unable to go out of doors, -and were reduced to [a state of] starvation and nakedness.” Thus did -they speak, and, with lamentations and groans, shed tears. Pity for them -came over [the mind of] the King, who asked: “Why, at the time of the -murder of the collector, did you not come before me, and represent your -own state of affairs, and beg me to forbear from the command to lay your -village waste?” The peasants replied: “In the village there is a man who -is our chief; whatever affair we undertake, we confer with him, [that] -he may devise the proper course [to pursue]. We told him of this state -of affairs, and he was not one with us, and he did not think it -advisable we should come into the presence of the King.” At these words -the King became angry, and commanded they should expel this man from the -village. - - -_Page 48._—“Abū Saber recommended patience.”—According to the -lithographed text: Have patience (_sabr kun_); since by patience that -which was obscure becomes manifest, [even as] a lamp lights up -[darkness]. - -_Page 48._ “She contrived to write upon the ground with blood.”—Of what -service blood could be in tracing letters in the sand is not very -obvious: the lithographed text simply says, that “when she perceived -there was no remedy, she wrote on the ground: ‘A robber has carried me -off!’” - -_Page 49._ “Every stranger ... was by his command seized and compelled -to work,” &c.—No doubt many of the magnificent palaces and other -edifices in Eastern countries, like the famous Pyramids near Cairo, were -thus raised by forced labour. Mūlī Isma`īl, emperor of Morocco, who -died, after a long reign, in 1714, was a great lover of architecture and -employed many people on his buildings; if he did not approve of the plan -or the performance, it was usual for him to show the delicacy of his -taste by demolishing the whole structure and putting to death all who -had a hand in it. - -_Page 50._ “Providence would relieve him from the oppression under which -he suffered.”—Abū Saber said: “Be patient, since the Almighty (may He be -honoured and glorified!) is a friend of the patient, and quickly will -release thee from this oppression.”—Here, it will be observed, Abū Saber -refers to the text from the Kur’ān quoted in the third note to this -chapter, as above, “God is with the patient.” - -_Page 51._ “Supporting his head on the knees of patience, implored the -protection of the Almighty.”—Abū Saber may be supposed to have assumed -an attitude of prayer (_reka_), by an inclination of the body, so that -the hands rested on the knees, saying (_tawakkal bar Khudā_), “put thy -trust in God,” Kur’ān xxxvii, 3; and recalling to mind: “whoso ... -persevereth with patience shall at length find relief.”—Kur’ān xii, 90. - -_Page 51._ “It was resolved that they should go to the prison, and -propose three questions to the criminals confined there; and that -whoever gave the best answers should be chosen King.”—This will probably -strike most readers as a rather curious, not to say hap-hazard, mode of -electing a King; yet it goes, I think, to prove the antiquity of the -original story; and, moreover, if the “questions” were of such a subtle -nature as to require superior sagacity for their solution, it may have -been perhaps as good a way of choosing a sovereign as many that have -been adopted either in ancient or modern times. The circumstance that -the test-questions were proposed to _prisoners_ may seem still more -absurd; but the late King is represented as very tyrannical and impious, -“one who did not fear God, an infidel;” and the chiefs of the city were -doubtless aware that the prisoners were not really criminals, but the -innocent victims of a wicked tyrant. It is very tantalising that neither -in the lithographed text nor in those texts which Lescallier made use of -for his French translation, nor in Sir William Ouseley’s, are the -questions and Abū Saber’s answers given. One is naturally curious to -know whether they were of the nature of ingenious riddles or subtle -questions involving profound moral truths. The practice (apparently a -very ancient one) of proposing to certain kinds of candidates and -accused persons, riddles or “hard questions” to expound or answer is -common to the popular fictions of Europe as well as of Asia. In more -than one of the Arabian Tales a lady chooses for her husband him who -answers her “questions.” In the Scottish ballad of “Roslin’s Daughter” -the lady proposes a number of riddles or questions to her lover, which -he must answer before she will “gang to his bed.” In Mr Ralston’s -extremely entertaining and valuable _Russian Folk-Tales_, on the other -hand, a Princess makes it her rule, that “any one whose riddles she -cannot guess, him must she marry; but any one whose riddles she can -guess, him she may put to death.” In Chapter 70 of Swan’s translation of -the _Gesta Romanorum_, a collection of Latin stories, largely derived -from Eastern sources, very popular in the Middle Ages, a King’s daughter -vows that she will never marry except the man who answers three -questions. In the old English version of the _Gesta_, edited by Sir -Frederick Madden, Chapter 19, a certain good and righteous knight is -falsely accused of some crime, and the Emperor gives him the option of -answering six questions or forfeiting his life. The same story, with -variations of local colouring, &c., is found in the 4th novel of -Sacchetti, one of the early Italian novelists; in Tyl Eulenspiegel, the -celebrated German folk-book; and in our old English ballad of “King John -and the Abbot of Canterbury.” In an Indian work of fiction, said to have -been written in the 7th century, _Dasa Kumara Charita_ (Adventures of -Ten Princes),[48] Mitragupta meets with a terrible Rakshasa—a species of -demon in human form—who threatens to devour him if he cannot answer four -questions. These, with Mitragupta’s answers, are as follows: (1) What is -cruel? _Ans._ A wicked woman’s heart. (2) What is most to the advantage -of a householder? _Ans._ Good qualities in a wife. (3) What is love? -_Ans._ Imagination. (4) What best accomplishes difficult things? _Ans._ -Cunning. Mitragupta then relates four stories in illustration of his -answers. In the Persian romance of _Hatim Ta`ī_—the author of which has -been greatly indebted to Hindū fiction for his materials—a young lady, -named Husn Bānū, makes it the condition of her bestowing her hand on any -of her numerous suitors, that he shall answer seven questions—or rather, -perform seven difficult and dangerous tasks in order to solve her -questions.—In the 14th of Mr Ralston’s _Tibetan Tales_,[49] the Dumb -Cripple, who does _not_ wish to succeed to the throne, is permitted to -renounce the world on condition of his answering three questions.—And -Voltaire, in his _Zadig_—imitating this feature of Oriental romance, as -he did others—represents a contention for the throne of Babylon, first -by a tournament, and finally by the champions attempting to solve a -number of enigmas. - -Whether it was ever a custom in any Eastern land to choose a King from -among prisoners to whom certain difficult questions were proposed, is -itself a “difficult question.” But it is remarkable that in legendary -Indian stories, both those preserved in writing and by oral tradition, -mention is frequently made of the election of a King by the _elephant_ -of the deceased monarch. For instance: in _Sivandhi Sthala Purana_, a -legendary account of the famous temple at Trinchinopoli, of which a -palm-leaf manuscript is described by Dr H. H. Wilson, in his Catalogue -of the Mackenzie Collection, it is related that a certain King having -mortally offended a holy Muni, his capital and all the inhabitants were, -in consequence of an imprecation pronounced on him by the enraged saint, -buried beneath a shower of dust. “Only the Queen escaped, and in her -flight she was delivered of a male child. After some interval, the -chiefs of the Chola kingdom, proceeding to elect a King, determined, by -advice of the Muni [the same whose curse had worked the mischief -aforesaid], to crown whomsoever the late monarch’s elephant should pitch -upon. Being turned loose for that purpose, the elephant discovered and -brought to Trisira-mālī the child of his former master, who accordingly -became the Chola King.”[50]—And in the Manipuri Story of the Two -Brothers, Turi and Basanta (translated by G. H. Damant, in the _Indian -Antiquary_, 1875), Turi, in the course of his wanderings, is chosen King -in a similar manner by an elephant, who meets the youth in the forest, -takes him up, and brings him to the palace, where he is immediately set -upon the throne.—A very singular custom in the election of a Khān seems -to have been once observed by the Kalmuks, if we may credit the -_Relations of Ssidi Kür_,[51] a Tartar version of the Sanskrit _Vetála -Panchavinsati_, or 25 Tales of a Demon: A sacred figure, of dough or -paste, usually in the shape of a pyramid, called a _baling_, was thrown -high into the air, and the person upon whose head it fell was proclaimed -Khān.—Still more curious, and savouring somewhat of the supernatural;—in -Mr Ralston’s _Tibetan Tales_, a king called Ananda, being attacked by -illness, considered which of his five sons he should invest with the -sovereign power. His four elder sons were rash, rude, and hot-tempered; -his youngest, Prince Adarsamukha, was the most suitable; but Ananda’s -kinsmen would probably reproach him should he pass over the elder sons, -and give his crown to the youngest. Then said he to his ministers: “Give -ear, O chieftains! After my death ye are to test each of the princes in -turn. Him among them whom the jewel-shoes fit when they are tried on; -under whom the throne remains steadfast when he is upon it; on whom the -diadem rests unshaken when it is placed upon his head; whom the women -recognise; and who guesses the six objects to be divined by his insight, -namely: the inner treasure, the outer treasure, the inner and outer -treasure, the treasure of the tree-top, the treasure of the hill-top, -and the treasure of the river-shore: him by whom all these conditions -are fulfilled shall ye invest with the sovereign power.” As is almost -invariably the case in the folk-tales of all countries, the youngest son -is the successful competitor.—In the good old times, when kings and -chiefs were chosen for their physical strength and prowess in battle, -one can see some propriety in rival candidates for the supreme power -settling their claims by a hand-to-hand contest; but surely only in such -countries as China and Japan could we conceive it possible for a dispute -of this kind to be settled _by proxy_. Mr Mitford, in his _Tales of Old -Japan_ (vol. i, 203, 204), tells us: “In the year 858 the throne of -Japan was _wrestled for_. The Emperor Buntoker had two sons, called -Koréshito and Korétaka, both of whom aspired to the throne. Their claims -were decided in a wrestling match, in which one Yoshirô was the champion -of Koréshito, and Natora the champion of Korétaka. Natora having been -defeated, Koréshito ascended his father’s throne, under the style of -Siewa.” - -_Page 52._ “The robber he immediately recognised, but _was silent_.”—In -keeping with the Persian saying: _sina pur jūsh o lab khamūsh_, -“troubled breast and silent lip.” - -_Page 52._ “We are freeborn, we are the sons of a Mussulmān—Slaves, -among the Muslims, are either captives in war (_saqāyā_) or by purchase -(_mavālāt_).” One of the fundamental points of the Muhammadan religion -consists in the ransom of slaves: “Alms should buy the freedom of -slaves”—Kurān ix, 60. - -_Page 53._ “The merchant’s money to be deposited in the public -treasury.”—This, if correctly rendered, would have been an act of gross -injustice, not at all in accordance with the character of Abū Saber; -since the merchant had been guilty of nothing unlawful in purchasing the -boys, whom he did not know were freeborn and the sons of a Muslim. The -lithographed text says: “He sent the robber to prison, and _re-imbursed_ -the merchant from the public treasury;”—and Lescallier (p. 96): “Il -ordonna au voleur de _restituer_ au marchand l’argent qu’il en avait -reçu, et le fit arrêter et jeter en prison.” - -_Page 53._ “Because she wore a veil (_sitr_).”—Muslim women are -prescribed by their religion to conceal from all men whatever may be -attractive in their appearance, and the men are not permitted to see any -unveiled women save their wives, or slaves, and those women with whom -they are prohibited by law from marrying—see Kur’ān xxiv, 31. “The curse -of God,” said the Prophet, “is on the seer and the seen.” Lane, in his -_Modern Egyptians_, gives a very minute description, with numerous -engravings, of the veils worn by Muslim women, and remarks that “the -veil is of very remote antiquity”—see Genesis xxiv, 65, and Isaiah iii, -23. - -_Page 53._ “Would not consent to perform the duties of a wife.”—When a -wife disobeys her husband’s lawful commands, he may take her (or two -Muslim witnesses) before the Kāzī. Should the complaint preferred be -just and proved, a certificate is written, declaring her _nashiza_, -rebellious, and the husband is then quite free from the obligation of -lodging, clothing, and maintaining her. - -_Page 53._ “This man was not her husband.”—The 4th sura of the Kur’ān -(v. 20 _et seq._) treats of lawful and unlawful marriages. “Ye are all -forbidden to take to wife free women who are married” (v. 22); that is, -says Sale, whether they be Muslim women or not, unless they be legally -divorced from their husbands.—This incident, if the story be fictitious -(but it probably had some foundation in fact), is very ingeniously -conceived: Abū Saber’s happiness is rendered complete by the recovery of -his wife, with such a _credential_ of her purity! - - * * * * * - -The Arabian version of this story, according to Cazotte’s French -rendering (and Habicht’s German translation agrees with it in this -respect), gives a very different account of the circumstances of Abū -Saber’s elevation to the supreme power. Abū Saber, it seems, had been -cast by the wicked King into a deep, dry well in the palace-yard. Now it -happened that this impious and cruel King “had a brother whom he had -always concealed from every eye, in a secret part of the palace; but -suspicion and uneasiness made him afraid lest he should one day be -carried off and placed upon the throne. Some time before he had -privately let him down into this well. This unhappy victim of politics -soon sank under so many distresses: he died; but this event was not -known, although the other parts of the secret had transpired. The -grandees of the realm, and the whole nation, shocked at a capricious -cruelty which exposed them all to the same danger, rose, with one -accord, against the tyrant, and assassinated him. The adventure of Abū -Saber had been long since forgotten. One of the officers of the palace -reported that the King went every day to carry bread to a man who was in -the well, and to converse with him.[52] This idea led their thoughts to -the brother who had been so cruelly used by the tyrant. They ran to the -well, went down into it, and found there Abū Saber, whom they took for -the presumptive heir to the crown. Without giving him time to speak, or -to make himself known, they conducted him to a bath; and he was soon -clothed in the royal purple, and placed upon the throne.” - - - NOTES ON CHAPTER V. - -_Page 56._ “The King of Yemen.”—As the Kings of Egypt were named -Pharaoh, those of the Sassanian dynasty of Persia, Khusrū, those of -Abyssinia, Negashi, so were the Kings of Yemen distinguished by the -title of Tobba, from being the paramount sovereign of a number of tribes -or _followers_ (_tābi`īn_). Some of the ancient Kings, having -considerably enlarged their dominions by conquest, became proverbial for -great power. - -Yemen (or _Arabia Felix_) in the time of Strabo was divided into five -kingdoms (l. 16, p. 112), and has been successively subdued by the -Abyssinians, the Persians, the Sultans of Egypt, and the Turks.—On the -west Yemen has the Red Sea; on the south the Straits of Babu-’l-Mandab -and the Indian Ocean; on the east Hadramaut, and the north Nejed and the -Hijāz. The inhabitants plume themselves on their country being “the -birth-place of the sciences and religion” (_Biladu-’l-`Ulm o -Biladu-’d-Dīn_).—_Niebuhr_, par. ii, p. 247. - -_Page 56._ “A certain slave named Abraha.”—Influenced, probably, by a -malevolent feeling towards the _Mushriks_ (those who attribute partners -to God—Christians), the Muslim author—or, more likely, translator and -adapter—gives the name of Abraha to an Ethiopian slave, disparaging, as -it were, the historical fame of Abraha Ebnu-’s-Sabā, the 46th King of -Yemen, surnamed Sahibu-’l-Fīl (Lord of the Elephant), an Ethiopian by -birth, and of the Christian religion, who in paynim times built a -magnificent church in the citadel of Grandam, at Sanaā, with the design -of inducing pilgrims to resort thither, instead of to the Ka`ba at -Mecca. (See Kur’ān cv, and Sale’s _note_.) - -_Page 56._ “The arrow cut off one of his ears.”—According to Lescallier, -only a piece of his ear. - -_Page 56._ “The King’s first impulse,” &c.—In Lescallier’s French -rendering this passage is to the following effect: “The King of Yemen at -once ordered that Abraha should be seized and beheaded. Abraha said to -the King: ‘Your Majesty knows that I am not blamable in this unfortunate -affair; I shot the arrow intending to wound the deer. If you pardon me -this time, you, in your turn, will be pardoned when you sin.’ The King -of Yemen, having heard these words, received him favourably, pardoned -him, and cancelled the order which he had given. Abraha was overjoyed at -this, and they re-entered the town together.” - -_Page 57._ “They then returned to the city”—_i.e._ Sanaā in Yemen, so -called to distinguish it from another Sanaā, a village of Damascus, -anciently called Azāl, from its founder. The city is supposed to have -acquired its name from the Ethiopians, who conquered the country, and on -beholding its beauty, exclaimed: “This is Sana!” which in Ethiopic -means, “commodious,” “comfortable.”—At an elevation of 4000 feet above -the sea-level, near the source of the river Shāb, it is celebrated for -its trees and waters, and compared by `Abu-’l-Feda to Damascus. The city -is walled, as also the suburb, Birū-’l-Azāb. At present it is a large -mercantile town, the residence of an Imām. A handsome bridge is thrown -over the principal street, down which flows a stream of water, and all -the private dwellings of the higher classes have glass windows, -beautifully stained, and are furnished with fountains. At the eastern -and western extremities is a castle, having each a palace, built of hewn -stone, covered with gray-coloured plaster. Situated in the heart of the -coffee country, the principal trade is in that useful berry, which is -rarely used for home consumption, the common beverage being _keshr_, an -infusion of the husk. About twenty mosques, elaborately decorated, and -with gilt domes, adorn the city; and the public baths, numerous and -good, are the favourite resort of the merchants, who meet to discuss the -state of trade, and to listen to the news of the day, over a cup of -_keshr_ and the indispensable _hūkka_. - -_Page 57._ “Was driven on the coast of Zangībār (or Zanzibar).”—Probably -the ancient island of Menuthias, southward of the Sea of Babu-’l-Mandab. -This is the island of the “Zonūj” mentioned in the _Arabian Nights_, and -they are also called “zinj” “zenj”—an Ethiopian nation of the country -known to us as Zangībār. (See Lane’s _1001 Nights_: “Abū Muhammad the -Lazy,” chap. xiv, text, p. 413, note 5.)—Zengī signifies “black,” and -_bār_, country or territory: Zangībār, “the country of blacks.” - -_Page 57._ The reader can hardly fail to observe very considerable -indistinctness (to say the least) in the narrative of the incidents -which immediately follow the return of the King of Yemen and his slave -Abraha to the capital. We are told, “_they_ then returned to the city; -and after some time had elapsed, _having gone on board a vessel_,” &c.; -from which it may be naturally supposed that Abraha and the King were -still in company, although no mention is made of Abraha when the vessel -went to pieces. He turns up, however, very oddly, at page 59: “It -happened that Abraha, who had been the King of Yemen’s slave, was -standing near this wall, but his former master did not recognise him, as -they had been separated for some time, _Abraha having found means to -return to Zangībār, his native country_.” These last words, in italics, -seem to represent a passage, which the translator has strangely omitted -in its proper place, explaining the cause of the King of Yemen’s -undertaking a voyage by sea. The following is a translation of the -events which occurred after “they returned to the city” (p. 57), -according to the lithographed text: - -A few days having elapsed, the King continued to be satisfied with -Abraha.—To return to the story.[53] Ever since Abraha had been absent -from his father, messengers had been despatched in every direction, and -they had pursued [to] such [an extent] research and inquiry, that it -became known to them that Abraha was in Yemen, and in the service of the -King. The Shāh of Zangībār was overjoyed, and took counsel of the -Vizier, saying, “What is the prudent plan [or proper policy—_tadbīr_] in -this affair?” The Vizier replied: “If the report should reach the King -of Yemen that he [Abraha] is the son of the Shāh of Zangibār, the affair -would be difficult.” In a word, this conversation resulted in this -resolve, that they should send an intelligent person to bring back -Abraha. This individual having turned his face towards Yemen, arrived in -the capital. He employed considerable exertions in search of Abraha. -When he happened to meet with him, and the Khōja[54] explained the cause -of his coming to Yemen, they both agreed to sally forth at once from the -city; and as soon as they were outside they set their faces in the -direction of Zangībār. Abraha had arrived only a short time near his -father, when the King of Yemen was informed of the departure of Abraha, -and he became morosely pensive, and could take no rest. One day he -commanded they should equip vessels, [as] he wished to pass over the sea -for the purpose of being free from anxiety [or, of enjoying social -intercourse]. When he was aboard the ship, and at some distance from -land, a hurricane sprang up suddenly, and shivered the vessel to pieces. -A portion of a plank was thrown against the King of Yemen. Six days and -nights he floated over the surface of the sea, until he was cast ashore -on the territory of Zangistān;[55] [certain] pearl-divers saw him; they -approached near him; they spoke a few words to him; he gave no -response—he was senseless. They sprinkled over his throat [and neck] a -quantity of oil of balsam; he opened his eyes, and his speech came back -to him. He asked them: “What territory is this?” The divers replied: -“This territory is Zangistān.” He then asked: “How far is it to the -capital?” They answered: “Four parasangs.”[56] The King of Yemen -proceeded onwards, until the hour of evening prayer, when he entered the -city. - -Manuscripts of the _Bakhtyār Nāma_ vary so much in detail that probably -no two are exactly the same. Those used by M. Lescallier would appear to -have been more diffuse than the lithographed text of 1839. According to -his rendering, after the King of Zangībār’s messenger had been some time -in Yemen, “he chose a fitting occasion and place to see Abraha, and -converse with him. He spoke to him of his country, of his father, and of -the love which he had for his dear son, like that which Jacob bore to -his beloved son, Joseph.[57] Abraha, hearing news of his country and his -father, felt his sensibility re-awaken; his eyes shed gentle tears, like -the showers of spring, and he spoke these words, interrupted by sobs: -‘Whence come you, my dear sir? How and for what purpose are you arrived -in this country?’ The messenger then confided to him the secret reason -of his journey,[58] undertaken for the sole purpose of bringing him back -to his father. Abraha asked him urgently to take him away from that -town. The messenger, who was a very intelligent and clever man, took his -measures and time so well that he carried off Abraha, and made him start -with him for that capital, and they arrived without accident at -Zangībār. As soon as they were near the outskirts of the capital of -Zangībār, the King, being informed of the arrival of his son, sent some -people to meet him, and caused him to be escorted with pomp, and he -received him with demonstrations of the greatest joy.” - -According to M. Cazotte’s rendering (_King Bohetzad_, &c.) of this -story, under the rather misleading title of “Baharkan, or the -Intemperate Man,” Abraha was not a slave but an officer, and his name -was Tirkan. “He was,” we read, “a young prince who had fled from his -father’s court in order to escape the punishment of a fault which he had -committed. After having wandered unknown from country to country, he at -length settled at the Court of King Baharkan, where he obtained -employment. He still remained there some time after the accident which -had befallen him [to wit, the accident to the King’s ear]. But his -father, having discovered the place of his retreat, sent him his pardon, -and conjured him to return to him. He did this in such affectionate and -paternal terms that Tirkan, trusting in his father’s goodness, -immediately departed. His hopes were not deceived, and he was -re-established in all his rights.” The sequel agrees for the most part -with that of the Persian text; only we are told that the King’s object -in going over sea was pearl-fishing for amusement. - -_Page 57._ “Sheltered himself under the shade (_sāyabān_) of a -merchant’s house.”—_Sāyabān_, a canopy; an umbrella; a shade formed by -foliage, or any other projection. Against the front of shops in Eastern -countries is a raised bench, or rather a stone or brick platform -(_mastaba_), two feet from the ground, upon which the tradesman sits, -and a little above it is a covering (_sakīfat_) of matting; and -sometimes planks supported by beams, affording shelter and shade. (See -Lane’s _Modern Egyptians_, vol. ii, pp. 9, 10.) - -_Page 58._ “He was sent to prison”—Lescallier’s rendering adds, “where -he passed his time praising God, and submitting to His will.” - -_Page 59._ “He gave public audience to persons of all ranks” _khāss o -`amin_—noble and plebeian. - -_Page 59._ “If I succeed in hitting that crow (properly, _raven_),” -&c.—The superstitious belief in divination from the flight, motions, and -positions of birds (_ez-zijr_, _el-īyafa_), which prevailed so much -among the Arabs at the time when the Prophet began his great mission, -although it is denounced by the Kur’ān, prevails even now in the East, -where the raven is called the “Father of Omens” (_Abū-Zājir_), and the -“Bird of Separation” (_ghurabi-’l-bain_); its appearance betokening a -change of circumstances, which for the King of Yemen denoted liberty -from a state of slavery. According to an author cited by Bochart -(_Hier._ i, p. 20), Noah sent forth from the ark a raven, to observe -whether the water had abated, and it did not return, hence it is called -“the bird of separation.” In the _Gulistān_, iv, 12, an execrable voice -is compared to the croak of the Raven of Separation, or, as some render -the passage, “the raven of ill omen” (see Lane’s Arabic Lexicon, vol. -i). Ravens in many countries have been considered as birds of ill omen. -Thus, in Dryden’s _Virgil_: - - The hoarse raven on the blasted bough, - By croaking to the left, presaged the coming blow; - -and in Gay’s _Fables_ (xxxvii, 27, 28): - - That raven on yon left-hand oak, - Curse on his ill-betiding croak. - -_Page 59._ “The law of retaliation, which would not award a head for an -ear.”—In accordance with the text of the Kur’ān, v, 49: “We have therein -commanded them that they should give life for life, and eye for eye, and -_ear for ear_, and tooth for tooth; and that wounds should also be -punished by retaliation,” &c. (compare Exod. xxi, 24; Levit. xxiv, 20; -Deut. xix, 21). For unintentional mutilation the Muhammadan law permits -the payment of half the price of blood, as for homicide; for a member of -which there are two, from the rich man 500 dīnars (£250), from the less -opulent 6000 direms (£150). The delinquent in the present instance, -being penniless, the King of Zangībār had no choice but to exact “ear -for ear.” (Sale’s _Kur’ān_, Prel. Disc., sec. vi; Mills’ _History of -Muhammedanism_, ed. 1817, pp. 319, 320.) - - - NOTES ON CHAPTER VI. - -_Page 62._ “Represented the danger of letting an enemy live when in -one’s power.”—This unmerciful suggestion[59] ill accords with the humane -precept of Hūshung, an early King of Persia, surnamed Pīshdād (the First -Distributor of Justice), and dictated by him to Tahmuras, the heir -apparent: “The sovereign extends the skirt of pardon and the robe of -clemency over those who have erred; ... acting according to this -injunction: When thou hast prevailed over thy foe, pardon him, in -gratitude for the power obtained over him. ‘Bind him,’ says the poet, -‘with the chains of forgiveness, that he may become your slave.’” - -_Page 62._ “Advised him not to be precipitate.”—With more eloquence does -a falsely accused lady plead to her husband in the _Anvār-i Suhailī_ (p. -243 of Eastwick’s translation): “The wise think deliberation requisite -in all affairs, especially in shedding blood, since if it be necessary -to take life, the opportunity of doing so is left; and if—which God -forbid!—they should, through precipitation, put an innocent person to -death, and it should afterwards be known that he did not deserve to be -slain, the remedy would be beyond the circle of possibility, and the -punishment thereof would hang to all eternity on the neck of the guilty -party.” And elsewhere in the same charming work we are told that “the -heart of a King ought to be like the billowy sea, so as not to be -discoloured by the dirt and rubbish of calumny; and the centre of his -clemency should be like the stately mountain, firm in a position of -stability, so that the furious wind of anger cannot move it.” - -_Page 62._ King Dādīn, or Dādiyān—a title formerly given to the Persian -Kings of the first, or Pīshdādian, dynasty, and in a later age assumed -also by the Princes of Mingrelia. (_Chardin_, vol. i, p. 82.) - -_Page 62._ Kārdār signifies busy, a money lender, a prime minister, and -is a compound of _kār_, work, occupation, and _dār_, possessing, lord, -master.—Kāmgār is composed of _kām_, desire, wish, and _gār_, a particle -which, subjoined to a word, denotes agency. - -_Page 63._ “Having reason to believe her father would not consent to -bestow her on him.”—The text runs thus: “He said to himself, ‘Kāmgār is -an ascetic (_zāhid_) and a religious man (_pārsā_), and would not give -me his daughter.’” - -_Page 64._ “Begged permission to inform his daughter”—the text adds, -“and, in conformity with the law of Muhammad (_sharī`at_), obtain her -consent.”—This is a proof that the lady had attained marriageable age, -as the consent of a girl not arrived at the age of puberty is not -required. - -_Page 64._ “Related to her all that had passed.”—The text: “The daughter -said, ‘I am not worthy of the King; besides, once in the King’s service, -I cannot [devote myself to the] worship [of] God the Most High; and for -the least fault the King would punish me.’” - -_Page 65._ “Sent her to his palace (_sarāy-harem_), and appointed -servants—_besides a cook_.” Here there is a very remarkable difference -between Ouseley’s and the lithographed texts, and between these again -and Lescallier and Habicht. This is what the lithographed text says: -“And in the service _i.e._ [of the late vizier Kāmgār] there was a -good man (_khayyir_) who had acted as a spiritual guide (_buzurg_), -whom the King did not admit in the harem. This holy person, who had -been constantly at the side of the daughter, wrote a letter [to this -effect]: ‘Do thou confirm the reward of service, and speak to the King -about my wish [in order] that he may admit me into thy service, -[seeing] that I should perish from disappointment.’ ... (the King gave -his consent) ... and the daughter continued her devotions in peace and -tranquillity.” Thus, in place of a _cook_, as in our version, the -lithographed text has, more appropriately, _a holy man_: but in -Lescallier and in Habicht, this person is, strange to say, a jester, -or merry-andrew—_bouffon_—_lustigmacher!_—while in Cazotte’s rendering -of the Arabic version, and in the Turkī version of this story (a -translation of which is appended to the present notes), he is simply -described as a _slave_. - -_Page 66._ Discovered her sitting alone on the balcony (_bālkhāna_), -viz. a latticed window on the _upper storey_ of the harem—hence our word -“balcony.” - -_Page 66._ “Kārdār, fearing lest she should relate to the King what had -passed,” &c.—Although many Oriental stories—Indian, Persian, Arabian—are -designed to show the malice and craft of women, there are yet some, and -the present tale is an example, in which men, when foiled in their -attempts upon the chastity of women, are exhibited as equally adroit and -unscrupulous. Another instance occurs in the _Anvar-iSuhailī_, ii, 10, -where a beautiful and virtuous wife is described in verses which are -also applicable to the Vizier’s daughter of our story: - - To worldly matters she had closed her eye, - Sate curtained by the veil of chastity; - E’en to the glass her form would not display, - And from her shadow sank, alarmed, away. - -This lady’s husband had a slave, who cast the eye of desire upon her, -and “when he despaired of success, as is the wont of evil men, he -determined to assail her reputation, and employ a stratagem to secure -her disgrace.” So he buys two parrots, and teaches them to say that the -lady had been unfaithful to her husband; but he fails in his diabolical -scheme. - -_Page 67._ “He addressed her with the usual salutation, which she -returned.”—That is: _Es-salāmu `alaykum_, “Peace be on you!” to which -she replied: _`Alaykum es-salām_. But the lady devotee would probably -“salute with a better salutation,” in accordance with the Kur’ān, iv, -88: “When ye are saluted with a salutation, salute the person with a -better salutation, or at least, return the same.” “A better -salutation”—that is, by adding _rahmatu-`llāhi wa barakātuh_, “and the -mercy of God and His blessings!” In saluting a co-religionist, this -addition is obligatory. - -_Page 67._ “It was a maxim of the wise men: When you have killed the -serpent, you should also kill its young.”—Can this “maxim” have been -borrowed from Sa`di, who says (_Gulistān_, i, 4): “To extinguish a fire -and leave the embers, or to kill a viper and preserve its young, is not -the act of wise men?” If so, this work, in its present form, must have -been composed after the 13th century. - -_Page 68._ “Ordered the unfortunate cook to be instantly cut in two.”—A -horrible mode of putting a culprit to death, and peculiar, it is said, -to the criminal law of Persia. - -_Page 69._ “Being dissuaded by an attendant from killing a woman.”—The -Persians seldom put women to death, as the shedding of their blood is -supposed to bring misfortune on the country. But when found guilty and -condemned, the injunction prescribed by the law, of another man’s wife -never being seen unveiled, is strictly respected, by conducting the -culprit, enveloped in the veil habitually worn by her, to the summit of -a lofty tower, and throwing her thence headlong. - -_Page 68._ “Was turned into the dreary wilderness.”—In Indian Fairy -Tales daughters who offend their fathers are frequently sent into the -desert. For instance, in the Romance of the Four Dervishes (the Hindū -version, _Bāgh o Bahār_), a king has seven daughters, and one day he -impiously tells them that all their good fortune depends upon his life. -Six of them profess to agree with him in this sentiment; but the -seventh, and youngest, who has more sense and judgment than the others, -dissents, saying that the destinies of every one are with oneself. The -king, on hearing this, became angry. The reply displeased him highly, -and he said in wrath: “What great words issue from a little mouth! Now -let this be your punishment, that you strip off whatever jewels she has -on her hands and feet, and let her be placed in a litter and set down in -a wilderness, where no human traces are found; then shall we see what is -written in her destinies.” She is accordingly carried into the desert, -where she offers up fervent prayers to Heaven, and falls asleep. In this -way, praying and sleeping, she passed three days without food or water, -until on the fourth day a hermit appears, who relieves her wants, and, -to be brief, she discovers a hidden treasure, causes a magnificent -palace to be erected, and sends for her parents and sisters, who are -naturally confounded at her good fortune. In like manner, Husn Bānū, in -the _Romance of Hatim Ta`ī_, having justly accused a Dervish, who was a -favourite of the King, of robbing her house, is expelled from the city, -and in the desert she discovers, through a dream, the hidden treasure of -the Seven Regions, underneath a tree. - -_Page 68._ “Resigned herself to the will of Providence, conscious of her -own innocence.”—The text states that she said this prayer: “O God! -Creator! thou knowest I am innocent; if Thou hast foreordained[60] that -I should die, vouchsafe at least a little water [inflow] in my mouth, -that my tongue may testify to thine incomparable unity.” The text also -says that when the fountain of water sprang up, she “performed the -ablution” (prescribed by the Kur’ān), and “stood up in prayer.” This -seems to imply that she turned her face towards the _Kibla_ (that is, -Mecca), and went through the different postures of prayer.—See Lane’s -_Modern Egyptians_, chapter iii. - -_Page 69._ “The camel placed himself so as to afford her a shade from -the sunbeams.”—Although our author was, no doubt, a pious believer in -this miracle, including the part that was played in it by the camel, yet -it can only appear ludicrous to Europeans, and those who have had the -good fortune to read, either in the original Telūgū, or in Babington’s -translation, the _Adventures of the Gūrū Paramartan_, will probably be -reminded by this of the story of the Gūrū, who, having hired an ox to -ride upon, reposed under the shade of the animal during the heat of the -day, and the owner demanded additional pay, alleging that he did not -lend his ox as an umbrella against the sun’s rays. The case was referred -to the head-man of a village, who, after relating a somewhat similar -case within his own experience, decided as follows: “For journeying -hither on the ox, the proper hire is money; and for remaining in the -ox’s shadow, the _shadow of the hire-money_ is sufficient.”[61] - -_Page 69._ “It happened that one of the King’s camel-keepers,” -&c.—According to the text, “had lost a _katar_ of camels,” that is, -several linked together, and following one another. - -_Page 69._ “At his request she prayed for the recovery of the -camels.”—The text says: “The daughter, having raised her face towards -heaven, said, ‘O God! Creator! thou knowest that these camels are not -his own, and that he is a hired labourer (_muzdar_), but now is without -resource and afflicted, through thy loving kindness and bounty, [be -pleased to] restore to him the camels.’” Muhammadans often implore the -intercession of saints (and the cameleer, of course, believed the lady -to be nothing short of a saint), both living and dead, on their behalf. -To be worthy of the dignity of a true saint requires self-denial, -mortification, a perfect reliance on Providence, and the keeping aloof -from the habitations of men; above all, that, while professing the unity -of God (_lā ilāha illa-’llāh_), no living creature should see their lips -move. Lane, in a note to his translation of the _Thousand and One -Nights_ (ch. xi, n. 37) states that “the Sayyida Nafīsa, the -great-grandaughter of the Imām El-Hasan, was a very celebrated saint; -and many miracles are related to have been performed by her. Her tomb, -which is greatly venerated, is in a mosque in the southern suburb of -Cairo.” - -_Page 70._ “He would provide for her a retired apartment,” &c.—The text -reads: “I will prepare an oratory (_sawma`ā_), and make ready for thy -sake the means (_asbāb_: furniture) for devotion (_asbāb-i-`ībāda_);” -such as a prayer-carpet (_sajjāda_), having a mark upon it pointing -towards Mecca, the _Kibla_ of Muslims, or point to which they direct -their faces in saying their prayers, as Jerusalem is that of the Jews -and Christians: within the mosque it is shown by a niche, and is called -_El-Mihrāb_. The hypocritical saint is thus described by Sa`dī -(_Gulistān_ ii, 17): - - Devotees who fix their eyes on the world, - Say their prayers with their backs to the Kibla. - -There should also be a fountain of running water (for ceremonial -ablution) and a copy of the Kur’ān. - -_Page 70._ “Arrived at the city at the time of evening prayer.”—It is -incumbent on every good Muslim (says Dr Forbes, in a note to his -translation of _Bāgh o Bahār_) to pray five times in the 24 hours. The -stated periods are rather capriciously settled: (1) The morning prayer -is to be repeated between daybreak and sunrise; (2) The prayer of noon, -when the sun shows a sensible declination from the meridian; (3) -afternoon prayer, when the sun is so near the horizon that the shadow of -a perpendicular object is twice its length; (4) evening prayer, between -sunset and close on twilight; (5) the prayer of night, any time during -darkness. - -_Page 71._ “She begged that he would conceal himself in the apartment -whilst she should converse with Kārdār.”—This, it seems to me, is quite -after the manner of a modern European play or novel—when the “villain” -is made to unmask himself, by a pious _ruse_ of “injured innocence.” I -cannot call to mind a similar scene in any other Eastern romance which I -have read. - -_Page 72._ “Concealed behind the hangings” (see also p. 67, line 8 from -foot).—The use of hangings, pictured tapestry, and various coloured -carpets has been from the earliest ages prevalent in the East. We read -in the Book of Esther, chapter i, &c., of the magnificence of a Persian -monarch, who made a feast unto his nobles of Persia and Media, and in -his palace had hangings, white, green, and red, fastened with purple -cords to silver rings, with beds of gold and silver; and Plutarch, in -Themistocles, speaks of the rich Persian carpets, with highly-coloured -figures; and in his life of Cato the Censor, he mentions some Babylonian -tapestry sent to Rome as a present. The manufacture passed in very early -times from Asia into Greece, part of which, indeed, was itself Asiatic. -Iris found Helen employed on figured tapestry, and the web of Penelope -is sufficiently known (_Iliad iii_).—Sir William Ouseley’s _Persian -Miscellanies_. - - * * * * * - -This story of King Dādīn and his Two Viziers is, perhaps, the best of -the whole series; and it will doubtless interest the general reader to -see a Turkī version of it, according to a unique manuscript, preserved -in the Bodleian Library at Oxford, written, in 1434, in the Uygur -language and characters,[62] of which mention is made in the Second -Section of the INTRODUCTION. M. Jaubert, who wrote an account of this -manuscript in the _Journal Asiatique_, tom. x, 1827, remarks, that, -“apart from the interest which the writing and phraseology of the work -might possess for those who study the history of languages, it is rather -curious for the history of manners to see how a Tātār translator sets to -work to bring within the range of his readers stories embellished in the -original with descriptions and images familiar, doubtless, to a learned -and refined nation like the Persians, but foreign to shepherds.” The -following rendering of M. Jaubert’s translation of the Turkī version of -“King Dādīn and his Two Viziers” is, I believe, the first that has yet -appeared in English. - - - HISTORY OF THE FIFTH DAY. - -One of the Vezīrs advanced and said: “O King! command that they put this -slave to death, for all the people murmur, indignant at his crime, and -we ourselves are grieved at such a rumour.” Then the King commanded, and -they made Bakhtyār approach, and he said to him: “Slave, wherefore -madest thou that attempt? Of a truth I will not spare thee this day.” -Bakhtyār replied: “O King, I am innocent, and I look from the Divine -pity that thou deliver me from these bonds, in like manner as the -guiltless bride of the King Dādīn was delivered from hers.” The King -said: “What befell that woman?” - -There was in Tātāristan (answered Bakhtyār), a King who had a beautiful -wife and two Vezīrs.[63] One of these Vezīrs was called Kerdār, the -other Kārdān.[64] Kerdār was father of a maiden of beauty so perfect -that one could not find in the whole world anything to vie with it; and -she was so pious that not only did she recite the Kur’ān all day, but -she passed the nights in prayer. Impressed by the greatness of her -devotion, King Dādīn became enamoured of this maiden without having seen -her, and he demanded her of her father in marriage, and he promised to -advise her. He did so, but she replied: “Passing my life in prayer, I -cannot agree to become a great lady, and my ambition is limited to the -service of God.” The Vezīr reported these words to the King, who, in the -greatness of his anger, put him to death. Then he caused the maiden to -be brought to the palace, and he said to her: “I desire to raise thee to -the dignity of a princess; during the day thou shalt pray to God here, -during the night thou shalt serve me.” Just then there arrived a -courier, bearing important letters. The King ordered the maiden to pray -for him; he confided the care of his city to his Vezīr Kārdān; and -having mounted his horse, with a party of his nobles, went forth. - -One day, when the Vezīr was repeating his prayers, his eyes fell upon -the maiden. Dazzled by the splendour of her beauty, he became suddenly -enamoured of her, and approached her and said: “O maiden, I am enamoured -of thee; if thou fearest God have pity on my sufferings and reward my -love!” The lady replied: “The King, in his trust, has left thee in his -house, and thou seekest to make me betray him! Take heed that thou -commit not this evil deed;—suffer not thyself to be taken in the snares -of Satan for a woman, and think not that all of my sex are in nature -alike. I pardon thee thy sin—beware of rushing on thy ruin.” When the -Vezīr heard these words he perceived that he could not succeed in his -design. Then he repented of his conduct, and said within himself: “If -the King learns of this event, he will kill me; so let me invent some -stratagem which will bring about the maiden’s ruin instead of mine.” - -Now the Vezīr, father of the lady, had brought from his native country a -slave who had been brought up with her, and in whose company she was -accustomed to live.[65] When the King had finished his campaign, and -returned [to his capital], he called the Vezīr before him, and asked of -all that had happened during his absence, and particularly about the -lady. The Vezīr said: “O King! I have something to say, and yet I dare -not.” “Speak,” replied the King: “I know that thou art a good and -faithful minister, and that thou canst not betray the truth.” Then the -Vezīr replied: “Some one told me that a slave, brought from his native -country by the father of that maiden, had had guilty connection with -her. At first I regarded this imputation as a slander. ‘What is that?’ -said I to myself. ‘The King loves that lady, so that with her the -sorrows of this world seem light to him. Besides, if the fault had been -committed, there would be witnesses—the thing cannot be.’ One day, -however, an [other] individual sought me out, to bring me to see what -was being done by the favourite of the King. I went, I listened, I -recognised the maiden’s voice, and that of the slave. She was saying to -him: ‘In thus dishonouring me as thou hast done, thou hast put me in -danger of perishing like my father, whose death I [involuntarily] -caused. I must be thy portion.’ The slave replied: ‘But what is thy -intention concerning the King?’ The maiden answered: ‘He must be killed -by means of some stratagem; if we work well together we shall succeed in -our design. Take thou measures concerning the King;—kill him, for he has -slain my father unjustly, and I am bound to take vengeance.’ When I -heard these words,” continued the Vezīr, “I felt my body tremble. The -reality of the fact was made clear to me, as it was to the person who -had informed me. Now it is yours, O King, to know what ought to be -done.” - -When the King heard this story he was very angry. He caused the slave’s -head to be cut off. He called the maiden before him, and asked what -words she had used, and cruelly reproached her, for that, after being -overwhelmed with honours, she had dared to conceive so guilty a design. -She replied: “O King, deign to give full trust to my words, and if thou -fearest God, slay me not on the report of my most cruel enemies.” But -far from believing her sincerity, the King ordered his favourite to be -put to death. Happily, this Prince had a faithful slave, who showed to -him how the murder of a woman were a shameful deed; that it was enough -to have killed her accomplice; that it were better to banish that -unhappy woman to some wilderness far from the dwellings of man, where -she must inevitably perish; and that at least by refraining from -staining his hands with her blood, he should be doing an action pleasing -to God. So the King ordered an old woman to mount the maiden upon a -camel, to take her to a lonely desert and leave her there, and this was -forthwith done. And so that hapless one was left in the wilderness, with -no other aid than the Divine compassion. - -This desert lay on the boundaries of the realms of the King of Persia, -one of whose cameleers[66] had lost a camel. He was seeking it vainly on -every side, when suddenly he perceived a beautiful lady praying to God. -Fearing to disturb her, the cameleer waited till she had finished her -prayers, when he went up to her, saluted her, and asked her who she was. -“I am,” said she, “a poor, weak handmaid of God.” “Who has brought thee -here?” continued the cameleer. She replied: “God.” Then the cameleer -said within himself: “This lady is indeed favoured with the grace of the -Most High.” He said to her: “I am in the service of the King of Persia; -if thou desirest, I shall marry thee, and have for thee the greatest -regard.” “I cannot consent thereto,” replied she; “but for the love of -God, lead me to some inhabited spot, where I may find water, and I will -remember thee in my prayers.” The cameleer complied with her request; he -mounted the maiden upon his camel, led her to a village, confided her to -the care of the head-man of the village till he should return; and set -out in quest of the camel he had lost, which he immediately found—a good -fortune which he attributed to the maiden’s prayers. - -He gave thanks therefor to God, and returned to the King of Persia, to -whom he spoke of the maiden’s beauty, piety, and of all the perfections -with which she was adorned. “Such a lady,” said the King, “would suit -well to be my wife.” Thereupon he mounted his horse, and with a great -number of his servants proceeded to the village. When he saw the lady he -was filled with admiration, and he said to her: “Maiden, I am the King -of Persia; be my bride, and I will care for thee with the greatest of -care.” “O King!” replied she, “may the Divine favour increase thy -prosperity! Thou possessest a great number of women; and as for me, I -have no need of a husband; for the love of God appears to me more -desirable than the whole world.” And she continued her prayers. Then the -King gave orders that his tents should be erected in that spot, and that -they should cut there channels of running water; and he remained there -some days. At the end of that time, moved by the sweet words and piety -of the maiden, but hurried by the affairs of state, he mounted her in a -litter, led her to his capital, gave her apartments in his own kiosk, -and having ordered preparations for a brilliant nuptial feast, he -married her. After that he gave her great riches, beautiful clothes, -many servants, and a splendid palace. One night this lady related her -adventures to the King of Persia; and on the morrow that prince -assembled a vast army, set out, and took prisoner the King Dādīn, the -Vezīr Kārdān, and also the faithful servant to whom the lady owed her -life. She called King Dādīn before her, and said to him: “Though I was -innocent and true, thou sentest me into a desert to die; but God has had -compassion upon me, and has brought thee hither to me, loaded with -chains.” Then addressing the Vezīr Kārdān, she said: “How is it that -thou hast allowed thyself to be taken in the snare which thou didst -prepare for me?” The Vezīr replied: “O maiden! thou wast not guilty, and -all that I said was a lie; therefore hath God punished me!” “Praise be -to Him!” replied the lady, “for He has granted that I should live, and -that people should know my innocence! For the rest, I desire that they -who slew my father should receive their due reward.” So the King of -Persia ordered the Vezīr to be taken to the same desert whither the -maiden had been sent. There he died of hunger and thirst. King Dādīn was -beheaded as a punishment for the murder he had committed; and his -dominions were given to the faithful servant [whose good advice aided -the safety, the innocence, and the triumph of virtue]. - - - NOTES ON CHAPTER VII. - -_Page 72._ “Your Majesty can easily put to death a living man, but you -cannot restore a dead man to life.”—Here again (see note on page 184) we -have what seems to be an instance of borrowing from Sa`dī, who, in his -_Gulistān_, viii, maxim 54, thus finely expresses this sentiment -(Professor Eastwick’s translation): - - ’Tis very easy one alive to slay; - Not so to give back life thou tak’st away: - Reason demands that archers patience show, - For shafts once shot return not to the bow.[67] - -Were it possible, we might suppose that our English poet Cowley had -simply paraphrased these couplets of Sa`dī in the following verses: - - Easy it was the living to have slain, - But bring them, if thou canst, to life again: - The arrow’s shot—mark how it cuts the air, - Try now to bring it back, or stay it there: - That way impatience sent it; but thou’lt find - No track of it, alas! is left behind. - -_Page 74._ “Women, for their own purposes, often devise falsehoods, and -are very expert in artifice and fraud.”—It was a saying of Muhammad that -“women are deficient in judgment and religion,” which induces their -co-religionists of the other sex to believe that they are more inclined -than men to practise whatever is unlawful. When woman was created, the -Devil, we are told, was delighted, and said: “Thou art half of my host, -and thou art the depositary of my secret, and thou art my arrow, with -which I shoot, and miss not.”[68] The Turkish Tales of the Forty Viziers -(another romance of the _Sindibād_ cycle—see INTRODUCTION) chiefly refer -to the craft and malice of women. In the present story, however, female -artifice is not employed for wicked ends. - -_Page 74._ “The King of `Irāk.”—There are two `Irāks; one is a division -of Arabia to the south of the Tigris and the Euphrates. Towards the -north-east it is watered by the branches of the Euphrates, and is -consequently fertile and well inhabited, having many cities and towns, -of which Basra is the principal; to the south-west it is a barren -desert. By Orientals it is called `Irāk `Arabi, to distinguish it from -the other `Irāk, (`Irāk `Ajami) a province of Persia, bounded on the -north by Ghilān and Mazinderān, on the east by Khurāsān, on the south by -Farsistān, and on the west by `Irāk `Arabi. This province contains part -of ancient Media and Parthia. It is nearly a hundred and fifty leagues -in length, and one hundred and twenty in breadth; partly mountainous and -sterile, having vast sandy plains; but the greater part fruitful and -populous. Isfahān is the capital.[69] It is of Persian `Irāk that the -poet Nizāmī thus speaks: - - `Irāk, the delightful, be thy darling, - For great is the fame of its redundancy; - And every rose which enraptureth the soul - Distilleth its balmy drops upon `Irāk! - -_Page 74._ Abyssinia, or Habashat (that is, “a mixture,” or -“confusion”), forms an extensive country of Eastern Africa, the -boundaries of which are not well defined. The natives call their country -Manghesta Ityopia, or Kingdom of Ethiopia. - -_Page 75._ “When they disclosed the object of their mission, he became -angry”—at the presumption of an unbeliever (who attributed partners to -God) asking in marriage the daughter of one of the faithful. The -conversion of Abyssinia to Christianity was prior to the fourth and -continued even as late as the twelfth century. The Coptic patriarch of -Cairo is still the nominal head of the Church, but the episcopal office -is confined to the Abūnā, the resident head, and author, of the -Abyssinian priesthood.—_Gibbon._ - -_Page 76._ “Caused so much money to be distributed among the soldiers -that they were satisfied.”—So says Sa`dī, _Gulistān_ i, 14 (Eastwick’s -translation): - - Soldiers, from whom the State withholds its gold, - Will from the scimitar their hands withhold: - What valour in war’s ranks will he display, - Whose hand is empty on the reckoning day? - -_Page 77._ “The King of `Irāk had some years previously given his -daughter in marriage to another man, by whom she had a son.”—This -concealment of a former marriage is incomprehensible. Lescallier’s -French rendering, made from other Persian texts, gives a different -account of this affair: “She had had previously a lover, with whom, -_unknown to her father_, she had intimate relations, and had given birth -to a beautiful boy, whose education she secretly confided to some trusty -servants.” Afterwards the Princess of `Irāk contrived to introduce him -to her father, who was so charmed with his beauty, grace of manner, and -varied accomplishments, that he at once took him into his service. -Habicht’s Breslau edition of the Arabian version agrees with Lescallier -on this point. In the version of this story in the _Tūtī Nāma_ (Tales of -a Parrot) of Nakshabī,[70] the lady is the daughter of the Emperor of -Rūm (see Note, p. 158), and, as in our text, had a son by a former -marriage, about whose existence her father charges her not to say a word -to her second husband. - -_Page 78._ “The name of the boy was Farrukh-zād”—that is, -“fortunately-born”; from _farrukh_, happy, fortunate, and _zād_, born. - -_Page 81._ “An old woman beheld the Queen, as she sat alone, -weeping.”—In Eastern fiction old women—and especially hypocritical -devotees—are useful go-betweens for lovers, and excellent, prudent -procuresses. In the present case, however, the old woman plays an -unusual _rôle_: employing her sage experience and skill in reconciling -husband and wife. - -_Page 82._ “I have a certain talisman,” &c.—The word _talism_ is not in -the lithographed text; the sentence is to this effect: “I have that -which is precious, and possesses the same magical power as the precious -things of Solomon, written in Greek characters and in the Syrian -language”—which means, Syrian words disguised under the letters of the -Greek alphabet. Among the Arabs and Persians it is a common belief that -Solomon, the son of David, by virtue of a seal-ring (_Muhr-i-Sulaymāni_) -sent down from heaven, had unlimited control over the good and evil -spirits (_jinn_), and over birds, the winds, and beasts.[71] - -The origin of Solomon’s magical signet-ring, which is so often mentioned -in Oriental poetry and romance, according to Muslim legends—borrowed or -adapted from the Talmudic writers—is as follows: Eight angels appeared -to Solomon in a vision, saying that Allah had sent them to surrender to -him the power over them and the eight winds at their command. The most -exalted of the angels presented him with a jewel with this inscription: -_To Allah belong greatness and might_. Whenever he raised the stone -towards heaven, they would appear and do his bidding. Next four others -appeared, differing from each other in form and name. One resembled an -immense whale, another an eagle, the third a lion, and the fourth a -serpent. These were lords of all creatures living in the earth and in -the water. The angel representing the kingdom of birds gave him a jewel -on which was inscribed: _All created things praise the Lord_. An angel -then appeared, whose upper part looked like the earth, and the lower -like water, having power over both earth and sea, and gave him a jewel -with the inscription: _Heaven and Earth are servants of Allah_. A third -angel surrendered to him power over the kingdom of spirits, with a jewel -on which was inscribed: _There is no God but one, and Muhammad is His -Messenger_.[72] Solomon caused the four jewels to be set in a -signet-ring, and the first purpose to which he applied its wondrous -powers was the subjugation of the demons and jinn—all but the mighty -Sakhr, who was concealed in an unknown island of the ocean, and Iblīs -(Satan), the monster of all evil spirits, to whom God had promised the -most perfect independence till the Day of Judgment.[73] In Oriental -fictions the most solemn and binding oath with Fairies is to swear by -the Seal of Solomon. Readers familiar with the _Arabian Nights_ will -recollect the Story of the Fisherman and the Genie (_jinnī_). A -confidence in the virtue of Talismans, whether for the protection of -persons, treasures, or cities, may be traced up to the earliest ages, -when so many Eastern nations were of the Sabean faith, and adored the -“host of heaven,” or the celestial bodies; and notwithstanding the -change of religion and the prohibition of magic, even Muhammadans can -reconcile to their consciences the preparation of certain amulets, after -rules transmitted through the Chaldeans and Nabatheans.[74] The magic of -Babylon is frequently alluded to by Muslim writers; the poets speak of -the “Babylonian witchery” of a beautiful woman’s eyes; and it is -believed that the two wicked angels Harūt and Marūt, mentioned in the -Kur’ān (see chap. ii, and Sale’s _note_), are still hanging, head -downwards, in a well at Babel, and will instruct any one in magic who is -bold enough to go and solicit them. Setting idle legends aside, it is -highly probable, as Sir William Ouseley remarks, in his _Persian -Miscellanies_, that at Babylon the Persians learnt the arts of magical -incantation from the conquered Chaldeans. “Time,” says Dr Jonathan -Scott, “has not eradicated in Asia belief in the magical powers of -cabalistical characters engraven on gems, or embroidered on standards, -or written upon small rolls of paper, which, enclosed in small boxes of -gold and silver, and strung on silken cord, are worn round the arm or -wrist, and sometimes as a pendant from the neck.”[75] The charms to -which the greatest efficacy is ascribed are those consisting of passages -of the Kur’ān; and Morier tells that such was Muhammad Riza Bey’s faith -in this species of talisman that he always wore the whole of the Kur’ān -about his person; half of it tied on one arm, and half on the other, -rolled up in small silver cases.[76] Next in estimation as potent charms -are passages transcribed from the celebrated _Burda_ (or Mantle-Poem) of -El-Busīrī, in praise of the Prophet, written in the 13th century; which -are framed and suspended on the walls of rooms, or, in cases, on the -person. The whole poem is also recited in times of sickness and during -the funeral procession.[77] - -_Page 83._ “Scrawled on it some unmeaning characters.”—The word in the -text here rendered by “unmeaning” literally signifies “not known,” and -should be translated “mysterious.” - -_Page 84._ “Desired him to point out the spot where his body lay,” -&c.—_ziyārat_, a visit, a pilgrimage. During the period of the great -festivals, and also on other occasions, it is customary to visit the -tomb of a relation, and place on it the leaves or broken branches of the -palm-tree, also sweet-basil and other flowers. On arriving at the tomb -the opening chapter of the Kur’ān, and sometimes a longer chapter, the -xxxvi, is recited.—See Lane’s _Modern Egyptians_, ii, pp. 209, 241, 253. - - - NOTES ON CHAPTER VIII. - -_Page 86._ “Government resembles a tree, the root of which is legal -punishment”—_siyāzat_, that is, discretional punishment, such as the law -has not provided, but may be inflicted.—The lithographed text thus -proceeds: “And its extremity [_i.e._ of the root] is justice, and its -bough, mercy, and its flower, wisdom, and its leaf, liberality, and its -fruit, a degree of kindness, and the leaf of every tree, of which the -root becomes dry, assumes a yellow [tint], and does not produce fruit. -And as the root of government is legal punishment, delay on this point -is not permissible; and as in this legal punishment there is -postponement, I am apprehensive lest the root of the tree has become -dry; after which reparation is impossible.” - -_Page 87._ “In case she should give birth to a boy, to call his name -Bihrūz”—an appropriate name for a jeweller’s son, since it denotes “a -species of blue crystal,” as well as “good day.” The lithographed text -adds: “If it should be a daughter, give her a name suitable and proper;” -alluding to the privilege accorded to a mother of naming her own -daughter; the name of a son is given by the father. - -_Page 88._ “The boys had learned to read the Kur’ān” (properly, as I -have spelt it in the translation, Qur’ān).—Muslim children are not only -taught to read the whole, but commit to memory portions, of the Kur’ān. -After learning by heart the first chapter[78]—which is to the Muslim -what the Lord’s Prayer is to the Christian—the remaining chapters are -learnt in their inverse order, and those who have learnt to repeat the -whole of the Kur’ān may then claim the title of _Hāfiz_, or _Hāfizu -kalāmi ’llāh_, “rememberer of the Word of God,” or “one who knows God’s -Word by heart.”—“Much merit,” says Torrens, “is attributed by the -Muslims to recitations of the Kur’ān. On occasions of festivity persons -are hired to repeat either the whole or the principal parts of it. These -are _fickees_, a term usually applied to schoolmasters by modern Arabs, -but signifying, ‘a person learned in the law.’ They know by heart the -whole, or particular parts, of the Kur’ān, which each in turn recites. -These recitations are introduced among the Egyptians as an entertainment -at parties.”[79] - -_Page 88._ “Were instructed in the art of penmanship.”—“Beautiful -writing,” says Sir John Malcolm, “is considered as a high -accomplishment. It is carefully taught in schools, and those who excel -in it are almost classed with literary men. They are employed to -transcribe copies of books, and some have attained such an eminence in -this art that a few lines written by one of these celebrated penmen are -often sold for a considerable sum. I have known seven pounds to have -been given for four lines written by Dervish Musjīd, a famous Persian -scribe.”[80] And a story is told of a celebrated Indian penman, in the -course of his walks one day, being solicited for alms by a beggar, -“Money,” he replied, “I have not;” but taking his pen and ink from his -girdle, he wrote a few words on a small slip of paper, and handed it to -the poor man, who received it with expressions of gratitude, and sold it -to the first wealthy person he met for a gold mohur—about ten shillings. - -_Page 88._ “And other accomplishments”: _adab_, that is, “good manners;” -a decent and becoming behaviour at meals, a proper degree of respect to -be shown to the father, greeting him affectionately in the morning by -kissing his hand, and—as a well-bred son seldom sits in his father’s -presence—standing before him in a submissive attitude (_Lane_). -Reverence for parents, which is still a marked characteristic of Eastern -races, has ever been strongly inculcated by the Hebrew Rabbins; and the -noble conduct of one Dama, the son of Nethuna, towards both his father -and mother is adduced in the Talmud as an example for all times and -every condition of life. “His mother was unfortunately insane, and would -frequently not only abuse him, but strike him, in the presence of his -companions; yet would this dutiful son not suffer an ill word to escape -his lips, and all he used to say on such occasions was, ‘Enough, dear -mother, enough.’ One of the precious stones attached to the High -Priest’s sacerdotal garments was once, by some means or other, lost. -Learning that the son of Nethuna had one like it, the priests went to -him, and offered him a very large price for it. He consented to take the -sum offered, and went into the adjoining room to fetch the jewel. On -entering the room he found his father asleep, his foot resting on the -chest wherein the gem was deposited. Without disturbing his father, he -went back to the priests, and told them that he must for the present -forego the large profit he might make, as his father was asleep. The -case being urgent, and the priests, thinking that he only said so to -obtain a larger price, offered him more money. ‘No,’ said he, ‘I would -not, even for a moment, disturb my father’s rest for all the treasures -in the world.’ The priests waited till the father awoke, when Dama -brought them the jewel. They then presented to him the sum they had last -offered, but the good man refused to take it. ‘I will not,’ said he, -‘barter for gold the satisfaction of having done my duty. Give me what -you offered at first, and I shall be satisfied.’ This they did, and left -him with a blessing.” - -_Page 89._ “His clothes and money _concealed in different places_”—the -words here printed in italics are not in the lithographed text. - -_Page 90._ “With afflicted bosoms and bleeding hearts”—_ba dil-i kabāb, -wa sīna-i kharāb_, a jingle of words, of which Orientals are very fond, -as previously noticed, _foot_-note, p. 128. - -_Page 91._ “I accept it as a favourable omen.”—Muslims are always on the -watch for lucky or unlucky omens. On first going out of a morning, the -looks and countenances of those who cross their path are scrutinised, -and a frown or a smile is deemed favourable or the reverse. To encounter -a person blind of the left eye, or with one eye, forebodes sorrow and -calamity. While Sir John Malcolm was in Persia, as British Ambassador, -he was told the following amusing story: When `Abbās the Great was -hunting, he met, one morning as the day dawned an uncommonly ugly man, -at the sight of whom his horse started. Being nearly dismounted, and -deeming it a bad omen, he called out in a rage to have his head struck -off. The poor peasant, whom they had seized and were on the point of -executing, prayed that he might be informed of his crime. “Your crime,” -said the King, “is your unlucky countenance, which is the first object I -saw this morning, and which has nearly caused me to fall from my horse.” -“Alas!” said the man, “by this reckoning, what term must I apply to your -Majesty’s countenance, which was the first object my eyes met this -morning, and which is to cause my death?” The King smiled at the wit of -the reply, ordered the man to be released, and gave him a present -instead of taking off his head.[81] Another Persian story to the same -purpose: A man said to his servant, “If you see two crows together early -in the morning, apprise me of it, that I may also behold them, as it -will be a good omen, whereby I shall pass the whole day pleasantly.”[82] -The servant did happen to see two crows sitting in one place, and -informed his master; but when he came he saw only one, the other having -in the meantime flown away. He was very angry, and began to beat the -servant, when a friend sent him a present of choice viands. Upon this -the servant exclaimed: “O my lord, you saw only one crow, and have -received a fine present: had you seen _two_, you would have met with my -fare.”[83] The old pagan Arabs never set out upon any important -expedition before consulting their fortune, either by divining arrows or -by the flight of birds; if a bird flew to the right, it was a good omen, -but if to the left, they would postpone their intended enterprise. In -allusion to this superstition the celebrated poet Bahā ’u-’d Dīn Zuhayr, -of Egypt, says: - - My love is like a young gazelle, - Appearing on the huntsman’s _right_; - And oh! the bargain prospered well, - When she and I our troth did plight. - -_Page 91._ “Heir to the crown.”—Bihrūz, no doubt, on being raised to the -throne, assumed another name, or the imperial title. - -_Page 92._ “Purchased a young boy at the slave-market.”—Repellent as -even the name of slavery is to a European, and especially to a Briton, -it must not be supposed that the condition of slaves in Muhammadan -countries bears any resemblance to that of the slaves in the Southern -States of North America, before their emancipation, with which such -works as _Uncle Tom’s Cabin_ used to harrow up our souls. On the -contrary, Muslims are enjoined by their religion to be, and, as a -general rule, really are (all things considered), kind and even -indulgent to their slaves. Sir John Malcolm (an excellent authority) -remarks: “Slaves are not numerous [in Persia], and cannot be -distinguished by any peculiar habits or usages from the other classes, -further than that they are generally more trusted and more favoured by -their superiors. The name of slave in this country may be said to imply -confidence on one part and attachment on the other. They are mostly -Georgians or Africans; and being obtained or purchased when young, they -are usually brought up in the Muhammadan religion. Their master, who -takes the merit of their conversion, appropriates the females to his own -harem, or to the service of his wives; and when the males are at a -proper age, he marries them to female slaves in the family, or to free -women. Their children are brought up in the house, and have a rank only -below relations. In almost every family of consequence the person in -whom the greatest trust is reposed is a house-born slave; and instances -of their betraying their charge, or abusing the confidence that is -placed in them, are very rare.”[84] A curious story is related in the -Talmud, of a man making his will in favour of his slave, although he had -a son whom he loved fondly. This man, residing at some distance from -Jerusalem, had sent his son to the Holy City to “complete his education” -(to employ an absurd colloquial phrase for the nonce); and dying during -his son’s absence, he bequeathed his entire estate to one of his slaves, -on the condition that he should allow his son to select any one article -which pleased him for an inheritance. Surprised and naturally angry at -such gross injustice on the part of his father, in preferring a slave -for his heir instead of himself, the young man sought counsel of his -preceptor, who, after carefully considering the terms of the will, thus -explained its meaning and effect: “By this action thy father has simply -secured thy inheritance to thee. To prevent his slaves from plundering -the estate before thou couldst formally claim it, he left it to one of -them, who, believing himself to be the owner, would take good care of -the property. Now, what a slave possesses belongs to his master; choose, -therefore, the slave for thy portion, and then possess all that was thy -father’s.” The young man followed this advice, took possession of the -slave, and thus of his father’s wealth, and then gave the slave his -freedom, together with a considerable sum of money.[85]—“The manners of -Asia,” says Richardson, “seem in all ages to have pointed to domestic -slavery; and Muhammad, in Arabia, made that an article of religion which -had anciently been only a custom. The captives of war were, in -consequence, with few exceptions, constantly reduced to a state of -servitude; and little distinction seems in general to have been made -between a princess and her slave; excepting what she derived from a -superiority of personal accomplishments. These ideas the Arabians -entertained amidst their extensive conquests. Many instances might be -given, but two will suffice, as they were daughters of the two greatest -princes in the world. In an action after the siege of Damascus, in A.D. -635, amongst other prisoners was the daughter of Heraclius, emperor of -Greece, and widow of the governor of that city. Rasi, the Arabian -commander, to whose lot she fell, presented her without ceremony as a -slave to Jonas, a Grecian, who had embraced the Muhammadan religion; but -Jonas, from a principle of honour, returned her, with all her jewels, -unransomed to her father. When the Arabians conquered Persia, Shīrīn -Bānū, the daughter of the King Yazdejird, was one of the captives, and -was publicly exposed to sale in the city of Madīna; but the -liberal-minded `Alī thought differently from his countrymen on this -occasion; he declared that the offspring of princes ought not to be -sold, and married her immediately to his son.”[86]—The lot of women in -Arabia before the time of Muhammad was at the best a hard one, and it -certainly underwent no improvement when they happened to be taken -captive in any of the frequent tribal wars. (The brutal treatment of the -beauteous Abla, in the _Romance of `Antar_, when she fell into the hands -of the chief of a tribe hostile to that of `Abs, is doubtless a faithful -picture of Arabian life in those times.) And there can be no question -that the cruel and unnatural practice which prevailed among the -pre-Islamite Arabs of burying alive their new-born female children had -its origin in a desire to save them from the hardships they were so -likely to encounter when grown up. This practice seems to have been at -one time common to most of the nations of antiquity. - -_Page 93._ “Several of the soldiers returned.”—They probably came to -report to the King that the enemy were in superior force, and that more -troops must be despatched to oppose them. - -_Page 94._ “Day was beginning to dawn.” The text adds: “He performed the -morning-prayer (_namāz-i sabā_), at the time when [teaches the Kur’ān] -‘you can plainly distinguish a white thread from a black thread.’” The -Persians, who are _shī`a_ (unorthodox), prefer to “distinguish a white -horse from a gray horse.” - -_Page 94._ “Say, King, shall I strike or not?”—It was customary, if I am -not mistaken, at the courts of some of the Khalifs or other Eastern -monarchs, for the executioner, after being ordered to decapitate a -culprit, to ask the King three times: “Shall I strike?” - -_Page 95._ “It was the will of Heaven that they should fall into the -sea, where one of them perished, but the other was restored to us.”—The -unhappy couple could not bring themselves to confess that the father had -with his own hand tossed them into the water. There is something in this -that bears a resemblance to the answer of Joseph’s brethren when they -went down to Egypt to buy corn, and were arrested on suspicion of being -spies: “Thy servants are twelve brethren, the sons of one man in the -land of Canaan; and behold, the youngest is this day with our father, -and _one is not_.” (Gen. xlii, 13.) - -_Page 96._ “Set at liberty all those who had been confined with him.”—To -the point is the following extract from the _Times_ newspaper, of -September 23, 1882, p. 8, col. 2: “The coronation of Czars is always -signalised by acts of imperial clemency, and in this respect the ukase -of Alexander II, on the 7th of September, 1856, remains honourable. It -granted a complete amnesty to all the political offenders of 1825–6, and -of the Polish rebellion of 1831, who were still in exile, or _in -prison_; also pardons to Press offenders, military defaulters, and to -about five thousand other individuals in gaols.” - - - NOTES ON CHAPTER IX. - -_Page 97._ “The history of Abū Temām, and the envy of the envious.”—The -Muslim, in his daily prayers, says: “I fly for refuge unto the Lord of -the Daybreak; that He may deliver me from the mischief of the envious, -when he envieth.”—Kur`an cxiii. 5. - -_Page 97._ Abū Temām.—Abū—literally, “Father”—has often the sense of -“endowed with,” or “possessed of,” and forms the figure called -“metonymy.” Thus, Abū Bakr, “father of the maid”—Muhammad’s -father-in-law and successor; Abū Hurayrat, “father of the kitten,” one -of Muhammad’s companions, so nicknamed by the Prophet, on account of his -having a pet cat.—Abū Temām signifies, “possessed of integrity.” - -_Page 98._ “Any one possessed of above five direms”—equivalent to “any -one who had a sixpence.”—It is related of Mūlī Isma`īl, Emperor of -Morocco (who died in 1714), that when any of his subjects grew rich, in -order to keep him from being dangerous to the state, he used to send for -his goods and chattels. His governors of towns and provinces formed -themselves on the example of their dread monarch, practised rapine, -violence, extortion, and all the art of despotic government, that they -might the better send him their yearly presents: for the greatest of his -viceroys was in danger of being recalled or hanged if he did not remit -the bulk of his plunder to his sovereign. That he might make a right use -of these treasures, he took care to bury them under ground, by the hands -of his most trusty slaves, and then cut their throats, as the most -effectual method of securing secrecy. The following story will -illustrate his notions of property: Being upon the road, amidst his -life-guards, a little before the Ram feast, he met one of his kāzīs at -the head of his servants, who were driving a great flock of sheep to -market. The Emperor asked whose they were. The kāzī, with a profound -submission, answered: “They are mine, O Isma`īl, son of El-Sherīf.” -“Thine! thou wretch!” exclaimed Mūlī Isma`īl; “I thought I had been the -only proprietor in this country.” Upon which he ran him through the body -with his lance, and piously distributed the sheep among his guards for -the celebration of the feast. His determination of justice between man -and man will evince the blessings of his administration: A kāzī -complaining to him of a wife (whom he had received from his Majesty’s -hands, and therefore could not divorce her), that she used to pull him -by the beard, the Emperor ordered his beard to be plucked out by the -roots, that he might not be liable to any more such affronts. A farmer, -having accused some of his guards of having robbed him of a drove of -oxen, the Emperor shot the offenders; but afterwards demanding -reparation of the accuser for the loss of so many brave fellows, and -finding him insolent, he compounded the matter with him by taking away -his life.—One good thing he was celebrated for in the course of his long -reign, the clearing of the roads of robbers, with which they used to be -infested; but his method was to flay man, woman, and child that lived -within a certain distance of the district where a robbery was committed. - -_Page 99._ “The erection of bridges, caravanserais, and mosques.”—It is -doubtful whether “caravanserais” be the correct rendering of the word -_ribāt_. It may denote one of the dome-shaped buildings (_kubba_), -having an oratory annexed, and an institution endowed for the -maintenance of students (_tālibān-i-`ilm_), who are to pass their lives -in reading and devotion.—Sa`dī, in his _Bustān_, b. i, says: “No one -hath come into the world for continuance, save him who leaveth behind -him a good name; nor hath any one died who hath left as an inheritance a -bridge, a mosque, a hostel, or an hospital. Whoever hath left no such -memorial behind him, his existence has been but that of a tree which -never bore fruit; and whoever hath departed and left no mark, his name -after his death will never be lauded.” The “erection of mosques” may -remind the reader of a passage in _Hamlet_, iii, 2: “There’s hope a -great man’s memory may outlive his life half a year; but, by’r Lady, _he -must build churches then_.” - -_Page 99._ “His advice was followed in all matters of importance.”—The -text says: “he appointed him Grand Vizier” (_wazīr-i a`zam_). - -_Page 99._ “This King had Ten Viziers, who conceived a mortal hatred -against Abū Temām,” &c.—See Note, pp. 137–9.—So too in Norse and other -European Folk-Tales, envious courtiers endeavour to ruin or destroy a -King’s favourite by inciting the monarch to set him to perform some -difficult and dangerous exploit, in which, however, he always succeeds. - -_Page 100._ “Princess of Turkistān.”—Turān, Turkomania (or Transoxiana), -is the country which lies beyond the Jihūn, or Oxus. Under the names of -Irān and Turān the Eastern historians comprehend all the higher Asia, -excepting India and China; and sometimes they imply “the whole world.” -The Tātār nations in general have fine countenances, with large black -eyes. Of all the towns in Turkistān, Chighil is the most famous for -handsome men, expert archers, and beautiful maidens: - - “The ringlets of the idols of Chighil - Are altogether the abode of the soul, and the dwelling of the - heart.”[87] - -_Page 100._ “When the King heard the extravagant praises of her beauty -he became enamoured.”—See Note pp. 157–8. - -_Page 101._ “When the King of Turkistān heard of Abū Temām’s arrival, he -sent proper officers to receive and compliment him.”—See third note, p. -131.—In Lescallier’s version the interview between the King and Abū -Temām is related in more detail, to the following effect: - -Abū Temām, after presenting his credentials and paying his respects to -the King, informed him of the subject of his embassy. “The request which -the King your master makes for my daughter,” said the King of Turkistān, -“is for me a source of joy and happiness. But as it is to be feared that -my daughter is unworthy of the King your master, I desire you to enter -my harem to see her and to hear her speak, and to assure yourself if she -is capable of pleasing the sovereign who sends you. I will prepare my -daughter to receive you.” Abū Temām, who was full of cleverness and -discretion, replied to the King with the greatest politeness: “God -forbid, your Majesty, that my eyes should behold the Princess, or my -ears should dare to hear her voice! If she were not in all respects -worthy of the King my master, the Divine will would not have inspired -him with the desire of possessing her, nor enslaved his heart to her -perfections. My King did not send me with such instructions.” Abū Temām -had no sooner spoken these words than the King of Turkistān clasped him -in his arms with affection, and cried: “I regard thee as a father, for -thou freest my existence from a great burthen.” “O great King!” replied -Abū Temām, “since my happy star made me enter the service of my -sovereign, I have never experienced anything save benefits, kindness, -and peculiar favours. What is the difficulty that I can solve for your -Majesty? Let him command me.” “I was even now,” said the King, “busy -with the project of thy death, and thou hast happily escaped the -severity of my sharp sword. I shall tell thee the motive which urged me -to put thee to death, and how thou hast been delivered from that danger. -All the ambassadors who have come from different princes to ask my -daughter have received the same proposal which I made to thee, to enter -my harem, to judge of the beauty and perfections of the Princess; and -they all went in. I regarded the prudence and wisdom of these sovereigns -according to those of their ambassadors, and to punish their audacity I -put them all to death. This year four hundred ambassadors have been -beheaded. I preserve their heads in the room which thou wilt see.” Then -the King drew from his girdle a key, with which he opened the door of -that room, and showed to Abū Temām the four hundred heads of -ambassadors. He afterwards added: “The prudence which thou hast shown -has saved thy life. It has given me a good opinion of thy sovereign, and -I will grant him my daughter.” - -Lescallier’s texts were probably in error in stating that the four -hundred ambassadors had all been put to death within a year. The -lithographed text, like that of Sir William Ouseley, gives us to -understand that the envoys had been beheaded in the course of years. In -Habicht’s Arabian text the King is represented as saying: “‘Come and -look into this well;’ and Abū Temām beheld a well filled with the heads -of the sons of Adam.” - -_Page 103._ “The Ten Viziers finding ... their own importance and -dignity reduced,” &c.—How true to human nature, and how applicable to -the case of Abū Temām as well as to that of our young hero Bakhtyār, is -the “saying of the sage,” as cited in the _Anvār-i Suhailī_ (ii, 3): -“Whoever is unceasingly zealous in the service of the King quickly -reaches the rank of admission to his favour, and whoever has become the -intimate of the Sultan, all the friends and foes of the monarch become -his enemies: the friends, through envy of his post and dignity; and the -foes, by reason of his advising the King sincerely in matters of state -and religion.” - -_Page 103._ “Whose office was to rub the King’s feet.”—The Arabs (says -Lane) are very fond of having their feet, and especially the soles, -slowly rubbed with the hand; and this operation, which is one of the -services commonly required of a wife or a female slave, is a usual mode -of waking a person; as it is also of lulling a person to sleep. Thus, in -the story of Maaroof (Lane’s _Arabian Nights_, iii, 721), “the damsel -then proceeded to rub and press gently the soles of his feet until sleep -overcame him.” - -_Page 105._ “The King drew his scimitar, and cut off his head.”—Surely, -an instance of “haste and precipitancy”—with a _vengeance_! This despot -did not even acquaint his victim of the crime of which the lads had -accused him. It had been probably otherwise with Abū Temām had his royal -master shaped his conduct in “affairs of moment” after that of another -king, of whom we read, in the _Anvār-i Suhailī_ (xiii, 3), that in order -to moderate his anger, and judge cases like a king, a recluse gave him -three letters, which he was to place in the hands of a faithful and -confidential officer, who was to be permitted to read one of them to the -King when he beheld symptoms of anger in his countenance, and should -that not suffice to soothe his mind, the officer was to read the second -letter, and the third, if the second did not tame his rebellious spirit. -The contents of the three letters were to this effect: (1) While thou -still retainest the power, do not place the reins of choice in the grasp -of thy passions, for they will plunge thee into the whirlpool of -everlasting destruction. (2) In the time of wrath be merciful to those -in thy power, in order that in the hour of retribution thy superiors may -be merciful to thee. (3) In issuing thy commands do not overstep the -bounds of the law, and under no circumstances abandon what is just. - -_Page 106._ “Their houses levelled with the ground.”—When a city was -solemnly destroyed by the Romans, the plough was drawn along where the -walls had stood. Thus Horace (Ode i, 16): “Rage has been the final -cause ... that an insolent army has driven the hostile ploughshare over -their walls.” Thus also we read in the sacred writings (Micah iii, 12): -“Therefore shall Zion for your sake be ploughed as a field;” and -likewise of salt being sown on the ground where cities stood (see Judges -ix, 45), indicating the last insult of a triumphant enemy. In allusion -to the usual practice of absolute Eastern monarchs wreaking their -vengeance not only on an offending minister, but also on his wife and -family, Sa`dī, in his _Bustān_, b. i, directs a king, in dealing with a -criminal, to slay him, if the law pronounce its decree; “but if thou -hast those who belong to his family, them forgive, and extend to them -thy mercy: the iniquitous man it was who committed the crime;—what was -the offence of his helpless wife and children?” - - * * * * * - -In Cazotte’s rendering of this story, under the corrupted title of Abou -Talmant, for a King of Turkistān is substituted a King of Cochin-China. -The plot for destroying the prudent minister by means of the prattle of -two young slaves in the King’s hearing is considerably amplified: the -malicious viziers having taught them to repeat some harem gossip while -the King was reposing, but not asleep, which, proving to be true, -prepared him to believe the false story of the Queen’s love for Abū -Temām. The King’s discovery of his favourite’s innocence is differently -related;—instead of his overhearing the two pages quarrel over the -division of the money, a day or two after Abū Temām had been put to -death, as in the Persian version—the King immediately returns to his -private chamber, and seeing the pieces of gold scattered on the floor, -sends for the pages, and compels them to tell the truth regarding their -possession of so much money. He then causes the _two_ Viziers to be -beheaded. - - - NOTES ON CHAPTER X. - -_Page 107._ The King of Persia (_Shāh `Ajam_).—The term _`Ajam_ -includes all who cannot speak Arabic, or who do not speak it with -elegance. Among the Arabs it applies to all people not of Arab -descent, and carries the same idea as Barbarians with the Greeks, -Gentiles with the Hebrews. Hence Persia is called `Ajamistān, the land -of the stranger, or barbarian. And so two famous Arabian poems are -distinguished respectively by the nationalities of their authors: -_Lāmiyyatu-’l-`Arab_, by the Arabian brigand-poet Shanfará, and -_Lāmiyyātu-’l-`Ajam_, by Et Tugrā`ī, a native of Isfahān: that is, the -L-Poem (from its rhyming in _lam_, or L) of the Arab, and the L-Poem -of the Foreigner. - -_Page 108._ “Not having any child,” &c.—The desire of offspring, and -especially of male children, seems to have always been very strong among -Asiatics of all classes, and by Jews the want of children was considered -sufficient ground for divorce, as the following beautiful rabbinical -story will show: A man, it is related, brought his wife before Rabbi -Simon, expressing his desire to be divorced, since he had been married -over ten years without being blessed with children. The Rabbi at first -endeavoured to dissuade the man from his purpose, but finding him -resolute, he gravely addressed the pair thus: “My children, when you -were married did ye not make a feast and entertain your friends? Well, -since you are determined to be divorced, do likewise: go home, make a -feast, entertain your friends, and on the following day come to me and I -will comply with your wishes.” They returned home, and, in accordance -with the good Rabbi’s advice, the husband caused a splendid feast to be -prepared, to which were invited their friends and relations. In the -course of the entertainment, the husband, being gladdened with wine, -said to his wife: “My beloved, we have lived many happy years together; -it is only the want of children that makes me wish for a separation. To -convince thee, however, that I still love thee, I give thee leave to -take with thee out of my house whatever thou likest best.” “Be it so,” -answered his wife. The wine-cup was freely plied by the guests, and all -became merry, until at length many had fallen asleep, and amongst these -was the master of the house, which his wife perceiving, she caused him -to be carried to her father’s house and put to bed. Having slept off the -effects of his carouse, he awoke, and, finding himself in a strange -house, exclaimed: “Where am I?—how came I here?” His wife, who had -placed herself behind a curtain to await the issue of her little -stratagem, came up to him, and told him that he had no cause for alarm, -since he was in her father’s house. “In thy father’s house!” echoed the -astonished husband—“how should I come hither?” “I will soon explain, my -dear husband. Didst thou not tell me last night that I might take out of -thy house whatever I most valued? Now, my beloved, believe me, amongst -all thy treasures there is none I value so much as I do thyself.” The -sequel may be readily imagined: overcome by such devotion, the husband -affectionately embraced his wife, was reconciled to her, and they lived -happily together ever afterwards.[88]—Throughout the East, indeed, the -want of children is considered as a great disgrace. Readers of Oriental -romances, such as those contained in _Elf Layla wa Layla_, or The -Thousand and One Nights; _Bahār-i Dānish_, or the Spring of Knowledge, -and _Kissa-i Chehār Darvīsh_, or Tale of the Four Dervishes, will easily -call to mind the many stories of Khalīfs, Sultāns, Shāhs, Viziers, &c. -being childless, and of the pious and even magical means they adopted to -obtain the blessing of a son and heir. - -_Page 108._ “In a dream.”—Muslims consider dreams as the predictions of -future events. Good dreams are believed to be from God, and false ones -from the Devil. “Whoever seeth me,” said the Prophet, “_in his sleep_, -seeth me truly; for Satan cannot assume the similitude of my -form.”—Lane’s _Thousand and One Nights_, iii, p. 512, _note_. - -_Page 108._ “Was addressed by an old man,” &c.—According to Lescallier, -“by a genie, resplendent with light.” - -_Page 109._ “The top of a mountain, from which he shall fall, rolling in -blood and clay.”—Lescallier’s rendering goes on to say: “He shall yet -escape the murderous teeth of that lion; and when he has attained his -twentieth year, he shall give you a wound, and put you to death.” - -_Page 109._ “One of his Viziers eminently skilled in -astrology”—Lescallier adds, “assisted by many other astronomers.”—In -Eastern courts an astronomer would be held in disrespect if he did not -debase the truth of his science to the vain predictions of astrology -(_‘ilmu-’n-nujūn_). Every professional astrologer hangs an -astrolabe—which is not larger than the hollow of the hand—in a neat -case, at his girdle. Some have an astrolabe two or three inches in -diameter, which at a distance looks like a medal conferred on the wearer -as a mark of honour, or as an order of merit.[89] “A very slight -knowledge of astronomy,” says Sir John Malcolm, “is sufficient to allow -a Persian student to profess the occult science of judicial astrology. -If a person can take an altitude with an astrolabe, knows the names of -the planets and their different mansions, and a few technical phrases, -and understands the astrological almanacs that are annually published, -he deems himself entitled to offer his services to all who wish to -consult him; and that includes every person in Persia who has the means -to reward his skill. Nothing is done by a man of any consequence or -property without reference to the stars. If any measure is to be -adopted, if a voyage or journey is to be commenced, if a new dress is to -be put on—the lucky or unlucky moment must be discovered, and the -almanac and astrologer are consulted. A person wishing to commence a -journey will not allow a fortunate day to escape, even though he is not -ready to set out. He leaves his own house at the propitious moment, and -remains, till he can actually proceed, in some incommodious lodging in -its vicinity, satisfied that, by quitting his house, he has secured all -the benefit which the influence of good stars can afford him.”[90] When -Sir John Malcolm entered Tehrān as British Ambassador, the King’s -astrologer so timed the progress of the cavalcade that the “Elchī’s” -charger should put his foot over the threshold of the gate at the -precise lucky moment, which he had previously ascertained. - -The Chaldeans were the first astrologers, and the so-called science was -sedulously cultivated and in high estimation among the Hindūs, the -Greeks, the Egyptians, and their Alexandrian disciples. Even the -illustrious Tycho Brahe was devoted to astrology from his early youth -until within a few years of his death, when he finally abandoned it as a -fallacy. At first, and for a very long period afterwards, astrology was -not separated into the two divisions or departments of _natural_ -astrology, or observations of the regular motions of the heavenly bodies -(which is now termed _astronomy_), and _judicial_ astrology, or the -pretended science of foretelling events from observation of the relative -positions of the planets. Isidore of Seville, it is said, was the first -to distinguish between astronomy and astrology. The professors of -judicial astrology in Europe pretended—as those in Asiatic countries -still pretend—to be able to predict the destiny of any one who came to -consult them, by a process called _casting his horoscope_, which was -done by first ascertaining the precise hour of the person’s birth, and -the sign the sun was in at that time, and then drawing conclusions from -observation of the conjunction and relative position of the planets -towards each other. But European astrologers very frequently—probably as -a general rule—did not trouble themselves to “read the stars;” they were -for the most part accomplished physiognomists, and it may be said that -they usually contented themselves with telling fortunes by faces rather -than by the appearance of the heavenly bodies. There can be little doubt -that, with the exception of a few deluded individuals who thoroughly -believed in their own skill, those who professed a knowledge of -astrology were arrant impostors—cunning knaves, who traded on the -prevalent superstition and credulity of mankind in the days before -science began to shed its pure light. - -El-Hajjāj, a general under the Khalīf El-Walīd I, consulted, in his last -illness, an astrologer, who predicted to him his approaching death. “I -rely so completely on your knowledge,” said El-Hajjāj to him, “that I -wish to have you with me in the next world, and I shall therefore send -you thither before me, in order that I may be able to employ your -services from the time of my arrival.” He then ordered the soothsayer to -be put to death, although the time fixed for this event by the planets -had not yet arrived.—Abū-’l-Ma`shar, the oracle of astrology, left in -writing, that he found the Christian religion, according to the -indications of the stars, should last but fourteen hundred years—he has -been belied by nearly five hundred years already.—Tiberius, when he was -at Rhodes, wished to satisfy his curiosity with respect to judicial -astrology. He sent, in succession, for all those who pretended to -foretell future events. One of his enfranchised slaves, of great stature -and extraordinary strength, conducted them to him through the -intricacies of the precipices. If Tiberius discovered that the -astrologer was a cheat, the slave, upon a given signal, immediately cast -him into the sea. At that time there was at Rhodes a man named -Trasullus, who was deeply skilled in astrology, and of a cunning -disposition. He was taken, in the same manner as the others, to this -retired spot, assured Tiberius that he should be Emperor, and revealed -to him many other events that should take place. Tiberius asked him if -he knew his own destiny, and if he had consulted his own horoscope. -Trasullus—who had had some suspicions when he did not see any of his -companions return, and felt his fears increase on viewing the -countenance of Tiberius, the man who had been his conductor (who did not -quit him for a moment), the elevated place where he stood, and the -precipice which lay beneath him—turned his eyes up to heaven, as if to -consult the stars; he immediately appeared fear-stricken, turned pale, -and exclaimed, in an apparent agony of terror, that he was menaced with -death. Tiberius was full of joy and admiration on hearing this reply, -ascribing to astrology what was only presence of mind and cunning, -cheered the spirits of Trasullus, embraced him, and from that time -regarded him as an oracle.—An astrologer foretold the death of a lady -whom Louis XI passionately loved. She did, in fact, die, and the King -imagined that the prediction of the astrologer was the cause of it. He -sent for the man, intending to have him thrown out of the window as a -punishment. “Tell me,” said the King, “thou who pretendest to be so -clever and learned a man, what thy own fate will be?” The soothsayer, -who suspected the intentions of the King, and knew his foible, replied: -“Sire, I foresee that I shall die three days before your Majesty.” Louis -believed him, and was careful of the astrologer’s life.—An astrologer, -fixing his eyes upon the Duke of Milan, said to him: “My Lord, arrange -your affairs, for you have not long to live.” The Duke asked: “How dost -thou know this?” “By my acquaintance with the stars,” answered the -astrologer. “And pray, how long art thou to live?” “My planet promises -me a long life.” “Well, thou shalt shortly discover that we ought not to -trust the stars.” And the Duke ordered him to be hanged instantly.—Our -own King Henry VIII asked an astrologer if he knew where he should pass -the festivities at Christmas. The astrologer answered that he knew -nothing on the subject. “Then,” said the King, “_I_ am wiser than _thou_ -art; for I know that thou shalt pass them in the Tower of London;” and -the unlucky astrologer was at once conducted thither.—William, Duke of -Mantua, had in his stables a brood mare which gave birth to a mule. He -immediately sent to the most famous astrologers in Italy the hour of the -birth of this animal, requesting them to inform him what should be the -fortune of a bastard that had been born in his palace; he took care, -however, not to intimate that he was speaking of a mule. The soothsayers -used their best endeavours to flatter the Prince, not doubting that the -bastard belonged to himself. Some declared that it should be a general; -others made it a bishop; some raised it to the rank of cardinal; and -there were even some who elevated it to the papal chair! - -It is truly marvellous that the same age which produced a Newton should -also have seen flourish that arch-astrologer William Lilly (inimitably -satirised by Butler under the name of Sidrophel),[91] whose preposterous -predictions were credited even by persons of education. Swift may be -said to have dealt the death-blow to astrology by his celebrated squib, -entitled “Prediction for the year 1718, by Isaac Bickerstaff, Esq.,” in -which he ridiculed the prophetic almanac-makers of the day. Astrology -having permeated all science and literature, it is not surprising that -many of its peculiar terms should have become embodied in our language, -as, for example, in the words _consider_ and _contemplate_, _disaster_ -and _disastrous_; and we still speak of _jovial_, _mercurial_, and -_saturnine_ men.—Kepler, in the preface to his Rudolphine tables, -observes that Astrology, though a fool, was the daughter of a wise -mother, to whose support and life the foolish daughter was -indispensable.[92] - -_Page 109._ “In the meantime he caused a subterraneous dwelling to be -constructed, to which he sent the boy, with a nurse.”—Sir William -Ouseley has omitted to mention that the boy _was_ born—on the following -day, according to Lescallier.—Many instances of a father trying to belie -the predictions of soothsayers occur in Eastern fiction, and also in -classical and European legends. The story of Danae, the daughter of -Acrisius, King of Argos, by Eurydice, who was confined in a brazen tower -by her father, who had been told by an oracle that his daughter’s son -should put him to death, is well known. The underground dwelling of our -present tale may be compared with that described in chapter 79 of the -English _Gesta Romanorum_; also that in the _Arabian Nights_ (Story of -the Second Kalender); and in the _Bāgh o Bahār_ (Tale of the Second -Dervish), a young prince, in consequence of the prediction of -astrologers that he is menaced with great danger until his fourteenth -year, is confined in a vault, lined with felt, so that he should not -behold the sun or moon. In Mr Ralston’s _Tibetan Tales_, under the title -of “The Fulfilled Prophecy,” the diviners declare that “a son should be -born who should take the King’s life and usurp the royal power, setting -the diadem on his own head.” In the Norse story of “Rich Peter the -Pedlar,”[93] a prediction that his daughter should one day wed a poor -man’s son is fulfilled in spite of many efforts to defeat it—a story -which seems to have been adapted from the _Gesta Romanorum_, Tale xx of -Swan’s translation. And in the Netherlandish Legend of “St Julian the -Ferryman,” it is predicted that Julian shall one day put his own father -and mother to death; and although the unhappy youth flies into a far -distant country, he cannot flee from his terrible destiny, for many -years afterwards the prediction proves only too true.[94] - -_Page 110._ “Keeper [of pen and ink] to the secretary” (_dav dari_).—The -Orientals are great admirers of caligraphy. Jamshīd, the Pīshdādian -king, in respect to scribes and writers, thus expressed himself: “As the -monarch’s sword establishes the foundation of his kingdom, so the tongue -of the scribe’s pen transacts the concerns of the faith: - - “The sharp-edged sword and pen are twins; the reigning monarch, - By reliance on these two supporters, elevates his neck on high.” - -And the Persian Vizier Nizām declared that his cap and inkhorn, the -badges of his office, were connected by the divine decree with the -throne and diadem of the Sultan (_Gibbon_, ch. lvii). It is worthy of -remark that Mīrzā placed before a person’s name means “a man of the -pen;” but if it follow, it means Shāh-Zāda, a prince. For different -styles of writing see A.F.S. Herbin’s _Essai de Calligraphie Orientale_, -Paris, 1803, 4to; Chardin’s _Voyages en Perse, et autres lieux de -l’Orient_, t. ii, ch. iv, pp. 107–110; and Lane’s _Modern Egyptians_, -vol. i, ch. ix. (See also second Note, page 202.) - -_Page 113._ “His hair stand on end.”—Thus Job, iv, 15: “The hair of my -flesh stood up;” and Homer, speaking of Priam, when terrified at the -appearance of Mercury: “His hair stood upright on his bending limbs;” -and the Ghost, addressing Hamlet, i, 4: - - Thy knotted and combined locks to part, - And each particular hair to stand on end, - Like quills upon the fretful porcupine. - -_Page 114._ “Assembled all the people by proclamation”—that they might -take warning from the young man’s fate. But the Persians require no -invitation to scenes of this nature. “The curiosity,” says Dr -Chodzko,[95] “which gathers crowds of people to witness the execution of -culprits in Europe is very feeble in comparison with what can be seen in -Asia on similar occasions. There many of those present are not only fond -of looking at, but even take an active part in tormenting the condemned, -though they never saw him before, or have any motive of revenge. To stab -the poor dying wretch with a knife, or at least to spit in his face, is -an innocent pleasure, which even the women do not refuse themselves. -Those who are moved by revenge are still more savage. Riza Kūlī Khān, -the governor of Yezd, having expelled from that town one of the sons of -the Shāh (in 1830), was afterwards taken prisoner and sent to Tehrān. -The Shāh gave the culprit up to the offended prince, who, after -promising to pardon and forget all, invited him to supper in the harem, -and there stabbed him with his own hands. His wives, and the -maid-servants of the harem, _cut to pieces_ the body, weltering in -blood, with scissors, and pricked and tortured him till he gave up his -last breath!—I can see no reason for this but their brutalising -education. A child begins by wringing off the heads of living sparrows. -When he grows up they buy him a little sword, and exercise the boy in -cutting in two halves, first living fowls, then lambs, sheep, and so on. -Grown-up people consider it as a very fashionable pastime to snatch a -ram from the flock, order two of their servants to hold it by the head -and feet, and placing a bundle of straw underneath, in order to prevent -the sword from striking against the ground, to cut the bleating animal -to pieces while it is alive. The most famous of such swordsmen in Persia -was Sulaymān Mīrza, son of Fatah `Alī Shāh. He has often, in the -presence of the Shāh and numerous witnesses, with one blow of his huge -scimitar cut in two an ass, and severed the head of a camel from its -neck.” - - * * * * * - -In Lescallier’s version, for the King of Persia we have the King of -Arabia.—In Cazotte’s rendering, under the title of “The Sultan Hebraim -[Ibrahīm] and his Son, or The Predestined,” is found a considerably -amplified but very interesting version of this story. After the young -prince has been discovered and carried away from the underground palace -by a huntsman (not the King’s secretary, but “a man of rank and -fortune”), the incidents are totally different from those of our -version. Abaquir—the young prince—is carefully brought up by his master, -and in course of time becomes accomplished in all the exercises -befitting a noble youth. One day he accompanies his master to the chase, -when they are suddenly attacked by robbers, who slay the elder of the -hunters, and having severely wounded Abaquir, leave him for dead. -Recovering after a long period of insensibility, he rises and walks -onwards through the forest, till he meets with a dervish, who takes him -to his cave and treats him with kindness and hospitality. This dervish -proves to be a wicked magician, who prevails upon Abaquir to descend -into the bowels of a mountain to bring up precious stones, which the -false dervish having drawn safely up, the poor youth is then cruelly -abandoned to his fate. From this cavern Abaquir escapes, and after a -long journey he reaches a city, where a kind-hearted man receives him -into his house, and he remains with him some time. Weary at length of -inaction, he resolves to go out to hunt, and meets with a party of -robbers, whose real avocation he does not know, and joins them—the -robbers binding him to fidelity by a solemn oath. Too late he discovers -the true character of his companions, but is compelled to accompany them -on their plundering expeditions. The daring outrages perpetrated by this -gang of robbers become so notorious that the Sultan Hebraim marches -against them at the head of some chosen troops. The robbers are utterly -defeated, but the Sultan himself is grievously wounded. On returning to -his capital he sends for his astrologers, and angrily asks them whether -in their predictions they had foreseen that he should die by the hand of -a robber. They affirm that what the stars had predicted could not prove -false, and suggest that the Sultan should ascertain who it was, among -the robbers, that wounded him, and then inquire into his birth and -history. Abaquir, his own son, is the robber who inflicted the fatal -wound; and after he has given the best account he could of his early -years, and shown the scars of the lion’s claws on his breast, the Sultan -submits to the decree of Fate, and dies shortly after declaring Abaquir -his successor.—In Habicht’s Arabian text (which agrees with Cazotte in -nearly all the details) it is stated that the King went once every month -to the opening of the underground dwelling, let down a rope, and drew up -his son, embraced and kissed and played with him awhile, then let him -down again. - - - NOTES ON CONCLUSION. - -_Page 116._ “Sent an order to the Viziers,” &c. The lithographed text -says: “Instantly he commanded Bakhtyār to be fetched. The King with his -own hands drew off the fetters, brought him before the Queen, and put on -him a _kabā_ [see Note p. 135] and a _kulāh_”—that is, a robe and a -turban.—Certain officers of the King of Persia’s household who wear gold -tiaras are called _Zarrin-Kullāhān_, Golden Caps. - -_Page 117._ “Resigned the throne to Bakhtyār.”—In Hindū stories a very -usual conclusion is the King’s abdication of his throne in favour of his -son; and it is highly probable that such was actually the custom -formerly. In the European mediæval romance of “The Knight with the -Swan,” King Oriant abdicates in favour of his son Helias.—See Mr W. J. -Thoms’ _Early English Prose Romances_. - -_Page 117._ “Dignity of Chief Vizier.”—The text reads: “He conferred on -Farrukhsuwār, with complete honour and reverence, the Vizier’s _Khil`at_ -[see Note p. 136], and appointed him Commander-in-chief (_Sipahsālār_).” - -The lithographed text thus concludes: “This book is finished by the aid -of the King the Giver [_i.e._ God]”: _tamma-’l-kitāb bi -`awni-’l-Māliki-’l-Wahhāb_. - - - ADDITIONAL NOTES. - -As a few notes remain to be added to the foregoing, I take the -opportunity of correcting in this place some errors which have occurred -while these sheets were passing through the press. - -Page 157, line 1, for Berica _read_ Berœa. - -Page 160, line 19 for chemy _read_ cheraiy, or sheraiy. - -Page 167, lines 7 and 8.—It may be as well to explain that the words -_tavakkul bar Khudā_ are a Persian translation (in the text) of the -Arabic _tawakkal `ala-’llāhi_ of the Kur’ān, ch. xxxiii (_not_ xxxvii), -3—“put thy trust in God.” - -Page 169, line 19, for Trinchinopoli _read_ Trichinopoli. - - * * * * * - -The following note, by mischance, has been omitted in its proper place -(Notes on Chapter VIII): - -_Page 93._ “The King graciously received the present which Rūzbih -offered.”—It is well known that, in all parts of the East, whoever -visits a great person must carry him a present. “It is counted uncivil,” -says Maundrell, p. 26, “to visit in this country without an offering in -hand. All great men expect it as a tribute due to their character and -authority; and look upon themselves as affronted, and indeed defrauded, -when the compliment is omitted.” In the sacred writings we find mention -made of this custom. For instance, 1 Samuel ix, 7: “But behold, if we -go, what shall we bring the man? for the bread is spent in our vessels, -and there is not a present (_teshurah_) to bring to the man of God—what -have we?” Menachem explains _teshurah_ to signify “an offering or gift, -which is presented in order to be admitted into the presence of a King -or some great man.” See also Isaiah lvii, 9, _lit._: “And thou hast -visited the King with a present of oil.” - - * * * * * - -“The King of Yemen and his Slave”—see page 56, and last note, page -174.—This story in Habicht’s Arabian text is entitled “The History of -King Bihkard,” and the following passages may be compared with those of -our text and with Lescallier, above referred to: On a certain day he -went on a hunting excursion, and one of his servants shot an arrow, and -it struck the King’s ear, and cut it off. The King asked: “Who shot this -arrow?” The attendants instantly conducted the bowman to the front, and -his name was Yatrū. Fainting from fear, he threw himself on the ground, -and the King said: “Put him to death.” But Yatrū said: “O King, this -fault is not of my own choice or knowledge—pardon me, then, out of thy -kindness, since grace is the most gracious of actions, and oftentimes on -some future day becomes a treasure and a benefit, and in the sight of -God a recompense at the last day. Pardon me, then: as you avert evil -from me, so will God ward off from thee a similar evil.” When the King -heard these words, he admired and forgave Yatrū, yet never had he before -pardoned any one. - -Now this servant was of royal extraction, and had fled from his country, -by reason of some transgression, and had entered the service of King -Bihkard. And this is what happened to him. By chance a person who knew -him passed that way, and gave information to his father, who sent him a -letter, which gratified his heart and disposition; and he returned to -his father, who inclined indulgently towards him. Yatrū rejoiced, and -his affairs were rectified.—Compare also Lescallier and Cazotte, cited -in pp. 178, 179. - - - _Arabian Version of Abū Temām’s Mission._ - - (Comp. pp. 101–103, and 212, 213.) - -According to Habicht’s text, the account of Abū Temām’s delicate—not to -say dangerous—mission to the King of Turkistān is very different from -that of the Persian version. The King desires him to enter the harem, -and see and converse with the Princess; and he proceeds thither, -reflecting on the way that “Wise men have averred that whoever deprives -his sight [that is, closes his eyes] no evil can attach to him; and -whoever bridles his tongue hears nothing disagreeable; and whoever -restrains his hand, it can neither be shortened nor lengthened.” He -accordingly enters the chamber of the Princess, and sits down on the -floor, gathering together the extremities of his robe. When the King’s -daughter requests him to raise his head, look upon and converse with -her, Abū Temām remains mute, and with downcast eyes. She then requests -him to take the pearls, and the gold and silver which lie near him, but -he does not extend his hand towards anything. At this the Princess is -vexed, and tells her father that they have sent a blind, and deaf, and -foolish ambassador; whereupon the King of Turkistān demands of Abū Temām -why he had not looked upon and conversed with his daughter: he replies -that he had seen everything [he should see]; and in answer to the -inquiry, why he had not taken the proffered pearls, he says that it was -not proper for him to extend his hand to aught that belongs to another. -The King, overjoyed at his prudence, embraces him, shows him the heads -of former ambassadors (see page 214, line 4), consents to give his -daughter in marriage to Abū Temām’s royal master, and presents him with -a robe of honour, after which Abū Temām departs, and in due course the -Princess is sent to the palace of Īlan Shāh. - - - _Arabian Version of the Conclusion of the Romance._ - -In Habicht’s Arabian text the conclusion is as follows (comp. pp. -115–117): - -When the youth had finished his narrative, the King said: “Still thou -wouldest bewilder us with thy discourses, but the time is now come for -your execution.”—At the moment when they were conducting the youth to -the gallows, the robber-chief who had educated him arrived in the town. -When he observed the people assembling together, he inquired the cause, -and they said to him: “The King has commanded a young culprit to be -executed.” The robber-chief, who wished to see the youth, immediately -recognised him, and kissed him on the mouth, and said: “This youth, when -a child, I found near a fountain. I adopted him, and brought him up. One -day we attacked a caravan, and were driven into flight, and he was taken -prisoner. Since then I have sought everywhere for him, and never could -gain any news respecting him.” When the King heard this he cried aloud, -threw himself on the youth, embraced and kissed him, and said: “I should -have put my own son to death, and in consequence should have died of -grief.” The King then unfettered the Prince, took the crown from his own -head, and placed it on that of his son. The news was made public by the -beating of drums and the braying of trumpets, the town was illuminated, -and there arose such a shouting of joy that the birds could scarcely -support themselves in the air. All prisoners were released by order of -the King, and a seven days’ festival proclaimed throughout the kingdom. - -On the eighth day the King placed his son at his side, and summoned all -his friends, the city notables, and the viziers. To these last the -Prince said: “You see now the work of God’s providence—you now perceive -His aid was near.” The Viziers were struck dumb, and the King added: “I -observe that on this day all the people rejoice, even the birds of the -air—ye only are downcast; that is truly a proof of rancour against me. -Had I listened to your advice, I should have died from the effects of -despair and repentance.” The King then summoned to his presence the -robber-chief, made him many presents, and said: “Whoever loves the King, -let him lavish gifts on this man.” Whereupon he was so overwhelmed with -presents that he could not take any more; and the King then conferred -upon him the governorship of the province in which he had dwelt. - -Soon afterwards the King ordered nine sets of gallows to be erected near -the one already set up, and said to his son: “Thou wast guiltless—these -wicked Viziers slandered thee in my eyes.” The Prince rejoined: “My -crime consisted of my loyalty to thee—seeing that I removed their hands -from thy treasures, they envied me, and wished my death.” “On that -account,” said the King, “let their punishment now be near, for their -crime is great: to destroy thee, they did not scruple to disgrace my -house in the opinion of all sovereigns.” He then turned to the Viziers, -and said to them: “Woe be to you! Wherewith can you excuse yourselves?” -They replied: “O King, there is no excuse for us—we were unkind to the -youth, and wished his misfortune, which has recoiled on us;—for him we -dug a grave and have fallen into it ourselves.” Hereupon the King issued -an order for their execution—“for,” said he, “God is just, and all His -judgments are true.” The King afterwards lived in happiness and -peacefully with his spouse and his son, until the disturber of all -earthly friends reached them likewise. - - - WILLIAM BURNS, PRINTER, LARKHALL, LANARKSHIRE. - ------ - -Footnote 1: - - See Thoms’ _Lays and Legends of Germany_; Thorpe’s _Yule-Tide - Stories_; Roscoe’s _German Novelists_. - -Footnote 2: - - Grimm’s _German Popular Tales_. - -Footnote 3: - - Dasent’s _Popular Tales from the Norse_. - -Footnote 4: - - Perhaps one of the most curious instances of the migrations of popular - tales is the following. In Taylor’s _Wit and Mirth_, an excellent - jest-book, compiled by the celebrated Water-Poet (_temp._ James I of - England), we are told of a countryman who had come up to London on a - visit, and some wags having set a big dog at him in sport, the poor - fellow stooped to pick up a stone to throw at the brute, but finding - them all rammed hard and fast into the ground, he exclaimed in - astonishment: “What strange folk are these, who fasten the stones and - let loose their dogs!” More than three centuries before Taylor heard - this jest, the Persian poet Sa`dī related it in his _Gulistān_, or - Rose-Garden (ch. iv, story 10 of Eastwick’s translation): “A poet went - to the chief of a band of robbers, and recited a panegyric upon him. - He commanded them to strip off his clothes, and turn him out of the - village. The dogs, too, attacked him in the rear. He wanted to take up - a stone, but the ground was frozen. Unable to do anything, he said: - ‘What a villanous set are these, who have untied their dogs, and tied - up the stones!’”—Here we have a jest, at the recital of which, in the - 14th century, “grave and otiose” Easterns wagged their beards and - shook their portly sides, finding its way, three centuries later, to - London taverns, where Taylor probably heard it told amidst the - clinking of cans and fragrant clouds blown from pipes of Trinidado! - But how came it thither?—that is the question. - -Footnote 5: - - Of the numerous English translations of the _Arabian Nights_ which - have been published, that of the learned Arabist, Mr William Edward - Lane, made direct from the original text, is by far the best, and will - probably never be surpassed; while his elaborate and highly - interesting Notes to the translation furnish the most complete account - which we possess of the manners, customs, superstitions, &c., of the - modern Arabians in Egypt, with which his residence in that country, - and familiarity with the language as it is spoken, enabled him to - become intimately acquainted. - -Footnote 6: - - For example: before one story (1) is ended another (2) is begun, and - before it is finished another (3), springing out of the second, is - commenced; then out of story 3 springs yet another story (4), which - ended, number 3 is resumed and brought to an end, then number 2, after - which number 1 is resumed and concluded; and then the thread of the - _leading_ story—which runs throughout the whole work, like a brook - through a meadow, but often out of sight—is taken up once more;—to - lead presently to a fresh complication of stories, which “beget one - another to the end of the chapter!” The arrangement of the Tales in - the _Arabian Nights_ is on this plan; though not to be compared for - elaboration with that of the Indian Fables, above-mentioned, still - less so with the frame of _Kathá Sarit Ságara_. - -Footnote 7: - - A complete and unabridged translation of the _Thousand and One Nights_ - (the first that has appeared in English), by Mr John Payne, author of - “The Masque of Shadows,” “Poems of Francis Villon,” &c., is in course - of publication. The first volume, now issued to subscribers, is well - printed on hand-made paper, and elegantly bound in gilt parchment. - This edition is limited to 500 copies, numbered, most of which, I - understand, have already been taken up. - -Footnote 8: - - The word _Nāma_ (often written _Namah_ and _Nameh_) signifies Book, or - History. - -Footnote 9: - - It is probably this version that is quoted by Sa`dī, in his _Bustān_, - book iii: - - How nice comes this point in Sindibād, - That “Love is a fire—O whirlwind-like sea!” - -Footnote 10: - - _Asiatic Journal, N.S._, vols. xxxv, xxxvi, 1841.—These titles also - appear on this manuscript. _Mesneviyi Sindibād_, “The couplet-rhymed - Sindibād;” _Nazmi hakim Sindibād_, “Rhymed Story of the Philosopher - Sindibād;” and _Kitābi hakīm Sindibād_, “Book of the Philosopher - Sindibād.” - -Footnote 11: - - Wilson’s _Descriptive Catalogue of the Mackenzie MSS._ vol. i, p. 220. - -Footnote 12: - - The Thousand and One Nights: Arabian Tales. For the first time - completely and fully translated from a Tunisian Manuscript, &c. - -Footnote 13: - - In 1792 an English translation of this work was published at - Edinburgh, in 4 vols., under the title: _Arabian Tales_. Translated - from the original Arabic into French; and from the French into - English, by Robert Heron. - -Footnote 14: - - An English rendering of the Turkī version of the story translated into - French by M. Jaubert will be found at the end of Notes on Chapter VI, - pp. 189–194. - -Footnote 15: - - _Political and Statistical Account of the British Settlements in the - Straits of Malacca._ By T. J. Newbold. 2 vols. London, 1839. - -Footnote 16: - - Mr J. W. Redhouse has kindly furnished me, as follows, with the - various meanings attached to the word _Ghulām_; which in the Malay - romance seems to be employed as a proper name: “Gulām (not Ghulām), an - Arabic word, signifies ‘a boy,’ ‘a lad.’ The Persians have made it, in - their language, signify ‘a slave,’ and thence ‘a life-guardsman,’ and - ‘a king’s messenger;’ whence ‘any post-messenger who travels on - horse-back’—or by rail, now, in some places: all these really mean ‘a - lad.’ The Turks use the word in the first and last senses—‘a lad,’ ‘a - Persian post-courier.’” - -Footnote 17: - - _The Bakhtyar Nameh, or Story of Prince Bakhtyar and the Ten Viziers._ - A series of Persian Tales. From a Manuscript in the Collection of Sir - William Ouseley. London, 1800.—This edition includes the original - text; in 1801, according to Lowndes’ _Bibliographer’s Manual_, an - edition was published without the Persian text. - -Footnote 18: - - _Bakhtiar Nameh, ou le Favori de la Fortune._ Conte traduit du Persan. - Par M. Lescallier. Paris, 1805. - -Footnote 19: - - See third note, page 184, and first note, p. 195. - -Footnote 20: - - Mr Platt would date the work a century earlier; he writes to me, as - follows, on this question: “First, be it observed, the only titles of - Kings mentioned in the Persian text are, Shāh, Pādishāh, Malik, and - Kaisar; nowhere do we find the sovereign title of Sultān, but it - occurs in Habicht’s Arabic text. This title was first borne by Mahmood - ibn Sabuktakeer, A.D. 1002 (A.H. 393), and did not exist in Egypt - until A.D. 1171 (A.H. 567). At page 184 of your Notes and - Illustrations reference is made to the _Gulistān_ of Sa`dī: now that - work was published A.D. 1257 (A.H. 655), and it is as well to bear in - mind that the poet was born A.H. 1175 (A.H. 571), and by some said to - have attained the advanced age of 102, by others 116 years. The work, - therefore, is more likely to have been written towards the close of, - rather than after, the 13th century. Next may be considered the arms - of defence and offence, which required the appointment of an - armour-bearer (see page 111, line 6), viz., bow, quiver—containing - broad-bladed arrows—sword, or scimitar, mace, or bludgeon, shield, and - a spear, or lance; all of which were employed by the Crusaders. Now - the first of the eight crusades dates A.D. 1096 (A.H. 490), and the - last A.D. 1270 (A.H. 669). These considerations are connected with the - Seljukian kingdom of Rūm, of which the capital was Koniah (Iconium), - founded A.D. 1074 (A.H. 467), and lasted until A.D. 1307 (A.H. 707); - in all, 233 years. Much confusion arises from the Ruler of the Eastern - Empire being called Kaisar-ī Rūm, a title also assumed by the - Seljukian dynasty. The Kaisar-i Rūm of Chapter III may allude to any - occupant of the Constantinopolitan throne between the years A.D. 1257 - and 1434.” - -Footnote 21: - - In this entertaining book a Parrot is represented as relating stories - night after night, in order to prevent a merchant’s wife from carrying - on a criminal intrigue during her husband’s absence. Nakshabī’s work - has not yet been wholly translated into English—see _foot_ note, page - 197. Of Kāderī’s abridgment (which is very clumsily done) a - translation, together with his Persian text, was published at - Calcutta, and reprinted at London in 1801. Kāderī has certainly done - Nakshabī’s literary reputation no small injury, by the manner in which - he has cut down the stories, and by substituting his own inexpressive - and bald style for the graceful composition of the original. It is to - be hoped that ere long some competent scholar will present English - readers with a fair translation of Nakshabī’s excellent work, which - would prove of considerable service to those interested in tracing the - migrations and transformations of popular tales.—Besides the _Suka - Saptati_, above mentioned, there is another Indian book, in Tamul, on - the same plan, entitled _Hamsa Vinsati_, Twenty Tales of a Hamsa, or - Goose, told with the same object as that of the Parrot—to keep an - amorous lady at home until her husband returns. - -Footnote 22: - - _Arabian Nights’ Entertainments._ To which is added a Selection of New - Tales, now first translated from the Arabic originals; also an - Introduction and Notes, by Jonathan Scott, LL.D. London, 1811. 6 - vols.—This edition, says Lowndes, “was carefully revised and corrected - from the Arabic,” but it is not easy to discover any of the Editor’s - emendations: the sixth volume consists of Scott’s additional Tales, - one or two of which had been better left in the “original Arabic.” - -Footnote 23: - - Evidently a misprint for “literal,” since Scott accuses Cazotte of - taking “liberties” with his originals, and contrasts his work with - Ouseley’s more accurate translation. It is curious to find, for once, - at least, a misprint proving to be no error; for Ouseley’s translation - is in fact very “liberal,” and Scott assuredly could never have - compared it with the text. - -Footnote 24: - - As the Eleventh Day, is the Story of the Freed Slave. - -Footnote 25: - - In allusion to the name, compounded of _Bakht_, Fortune, and _yār_, a - friend, or companion. - -Footnote 26: - - Bihrūz and Rūzbih are compounded of the words _bih_, good, excellent, - and _rūz_, day; meaning “whose day is excellent.”—ED. - -Footnote 27: - - Veti-ver, Mr Platt writes to me, “is a French word, and yet I am - unable to find it in any French Dictionary. It is a kind of grass, - deriving its name from the Latin words _veto_ and _vermis_, as it is - used when dry in keeping clothes, etc. free from moths. In the - Mauritius, I believe, mats and table-covers are manufactured from it.” - -Footnote 28: - - Morier’s _Second Journey_. - -Footnote 29: - - This is Mr Bicknell’s almost literal rendering: - - If the young Magian dally with grace so coy and fine, - My eyes shall bend their fringes to sweep the house of wine. - -Footnote 30: - - _Kīl va kāl, par va bāl_, “question and answer,” “feather and wing:” a - jingle of words which has a great charm to a Persian ear: “feather and - wing,” pride of place; for the height of prosperity they say _pār va - bāl-i ikbāl_. - -Footnote 31: - - _Manzil_, a day’s journey—about twenty miles. - -Footnote 32: - - Ottoman Poems. Translated, with Introduction, Biographical Notices, - and Notes, by E. J. W. Gibb (Trübner & Co.) Page 211. - -Footnote 33: - - That is, a sword, the scabbard of which is ornamented with gold. - -Footnote 34: - - _Second Journey to Persia, &c._ - -Footnote 35: - - He would be a “friend indeed” to submit to so much consultation! - -Footnote 36: - - This droll story is also domiciled in Italy: see D’Israeli’s - _Curiosities of Literature_—“On the Philosophy of Proverbs”; but the - probable original is found in the Talmud, where it occurs as an - addendum to the well-known tale of the emperor Hadrian and the old man - who planted a fig-tree. - -Footnote 37: - - Compare Scott: - - “When pain and anguish wring the brow, - A ministering angel thou!” - -Footnote 38: - - _History of Muhammedanism_, Second Edition, p. 322. - -Footnote 39: - - Sir John Malcolm’s _History of Persia_, vol. ii p. 585. - -Footnote 40: - - Russell’s _Natural History of Aleppo_, vol. i, chap. 3. - -Footnote 41: - - Meaning the Sultan himself; for the Turkish Sultans are all born of - slave-women. - -Footnote 42: - - From _Ferdusi, his Life and Writings_, by S. R. (Mr Samuel Robinson), - one of a series of admirable translations &c. of Persian Poetry, - published some years ago, and now being reprinted for private - circulation by the learned and venerable author, as a companion volume - to my _Arabian Poetry for English Readers_. - -Footnote 43: - - _Essai sur les Fables Indiennes._ - -Footnote 44: - - _A Century of Ghazels, or a Hundred Odes, selected and translated from - the Divān of Hāfiz_, by S.R. (Preliminary Notice, pp. viii, ix.) - -Footnote 45: - - _Flowers from the “Gulistān” and “Bostān”_ of Sadi. By S. R. - -Footnote 46: - - It has long been a barbarous practice in Persia to _pluck out_ the - eyes of political offenders. Morier, in his romance of _Zohrab the - Hostage_, represents the brutal tyrant Aga Muhammad Shāh, during the - horrible massacre which followed the capture of Astrābād, as coolly - counting, with the handle of his riding-switch, the number of pairs of - eyes placed before him on a tray; and a reference to the account of - this monster’s conduct after the capture of Kirmān, in Sir John - Malcolm’s _History of Persia_, will show that the novelist has not - exaggerated in this matter. - -Footnote 47: - - Nigārīn: idol-like, beautiful, embellished, a beloved object. - -Footnote 48: - - Under the title of _Hindoo Tales_ (London: Strahan & Co.), Dr P. W. - Jacob has issued a very readable translation of this entertaining - romance. - -Footnote 49: - - _Tibetan Tales, derived from Indian Sources._ Translated from the - Tibetan of the _Kah-Gyur_, by F. Anton Von Schiefner. Done into - English, from the German, by W. R. S. Ralston, M.A. London: Trübner & - Co. - -Footnote 50: - - _Descriptive Catalogue of the Mackenzie Collection of Oriental MSS._ - By H. H. Wilson. Calcutta, 1828. Vol. i, p. 17. - -Footnote 51: - - Translated from the German of Bergmann, by Mr William J. Thoms, and - published, in 1834, in his very interesting _Lays and Legends of - Various Nations_, a work which is now become extremely scarce, and - well merits being reprinted. - -Footnote 52: - - The King was wont to visit the well where Abū Saber lay, and to jeer - and mock his practice of patience. - -Footnote 53: - - That is, the story of Abraha, obscurely referred to in the opening - paragraph, page 56. Abraha, we are there informed, “was the son of the - King of Zangībār, who, _by chance_, had fallen into slavery, and never - disclosed the secret to any one.” Lescallier says, that he was reduced - to slavery “by some extraordinary adventure,” but the text does not - explain the nature of the “adventure.” - -Footnote 54: - - Khōja: in its more restricted meaning, a lord, a master; Muhammad is - styled _Khōja-i bas o nashr_, literally, “lord of the raising and - dispersing,” that is, the Resurrection. In its general signification, - a man of distinction, doctor, professor, &c. But the title of Khōja, - like our “Mr” is now very commonly applied to any respectable person. - -Footnote 55: - - “Zangistān.”—The Oriental adjunct _stān_ or _istān_, the participle of - _istādan_, “to reside,” or “dwell,” denotes “place,” or “country,” - whence Moghol-istān, a port of Tartary; Fars-istān, Persia; - Khūz-istān, Susiana. The root of _stān_ may be seen in our English - word “station.” - -Footnote 56: - - “Four parasangs.”—A Persian league, about 18,000 feet in length, is - _Fars-sang_, that is, the Stone of Persia, which Herodotus and other - Greek authors term _Parasanga_. It seems that in ancient times the - distance of a league was marked in the East, as well as in the West, - by large elevated stones. - -Footnote 57: - - The love of Jacob for his son Joseph, and his grief at his supposed - death, are proverbial amongst Muslims, and very frequently alluded to - by Persian poets. In the 12th sura of the Kur’ān it is stated that - Jacob became blind through constant weeping for his lost son, and that - his sight was restored by means of Joseph’s inner garment, which the - Governor of Egypt sent to his father by his brethren. In the _Makamat_ - of El-Hariri, the celebrated Arabian poet, are such allusions as - “passed a night of sorrow like Jacob’s,” “wept more than Jacob when he - lost his son.” - -Footnote 58: - - Probably the messenger went to Yemen in the assumed capacity of a - merchant, which would render him least liable to suspicion, and also - enable him to smuggle Abraha out of the city without attracting - particular notice. - -Footnote 59: - - The same savage maxim occurs in the _Anvār-i Suhailī_: “When thou hast - got thy enemy fast, show him no mercy.” - -Footnote 60: - - Islām is not, as is commonly believed in Europe, synonymous with - Fatalism. “What Muhammad taught,” remarks Mr Redhouse, “what the - Kur’ān so eloquently and so persistently sets forth, and what real - faithful Muslims believe, conformably with what is contained in the - Gospels and accepted by devout Christians, is—that God’s Providence - pre-ordains, as His Omniscience foreknows, all events, and over-rules - the designs of men, to the sure fulfilment of His all-wise - purposes.”—_El-Esmā’u-’l-Husna_, “The Most Comely Names” [_i.e._ of - God], by J. W. Redhouse, M.R.A.S. Trübner & Co., London. - -Footnote 61: - - There are many varieties of this amusing story in Europe as well as in - Asia—whether Father Beschi found it in India or took it with him. - -Footnote 62: - - “The ‘Uygur’ language,” Mr J. W. Redhouse writes to me, “is simply - Turkish; what we should term ‘a little provincial.’ It is very much - more consistent with the Ottoman Turkish of to-day than the English of - four hundred years ago was like the modern English.” - -Footnote 63: - - Here, surely, the Tātār translator—or adapter—anticipates the course - of the narrative; since the King (unfortunately for the Vezīr Kārdār) - did _not_ possess, at one and the same time, _two_ Vezīrs and a - beautiful wife—if by the latter be meant the pious daughter of Kerdār. - -Footnote 64: - - Kārdān signifies “knowing affairs”—“experienced.” The meaning of - Kerdār (as Kārdār is pronounced by Turks) is already given in the - foregoing notes. - -Footnote 65: - - Lit: without whom she could not live.—_Jaubert._ - -Footnote 66: - - In M. Cazotte’s rendering of the Arabian version (French translation - of the _Continuation of the Thousand and One Nights_), it is also the - cameleer of the King of Persia, and not of King Dādīn, as in the - Persian _Bakhtyār_, who discovers the pious maiden in the desert, and - from this point to the end of the narrative M. Cazotte’s and the Turkī - versions correspond. - -Footnote 67: - - Husain Vā`iz, in his _Anvār-i-Suhailī_, had probably Sa`dī’s verses in - mind when he wrote: “The arrow which has leapt from the string cannot - be brought back, nor can the slain person be resuscitated either by - strength or gold.” - -Footnote 68: - - Lane’s _Thousand and One Nights_, Introd. p. 27.—See a more just - estimate of women, cited from the _Mahābharata_, p. 139 of the present - volume. - -Footnote 69: - - Dr Jonathan Scott: Notes to vol. vi. of his edition of the _Arabian - Nights_. - -Footnote 70: - - The 50th Night of the India Office MS. No. 2573; and the 35th tale of - Muhammad Kaderi’s abridgment. Gerrans’ English translation, 1792, - comprises barely one-fifth of the Tales, only the first volume of it - having been published: he probably did not meet with sufficient - encouragement to complete his work. - -Footnote 71: - - See Lane’s _Thousand and One Nights_, Introduction, note 21, ch. iii, - note 14; Kur’ān ii, 96. - -Footnote 72: - - It is perhaps hardly necessary to say that Muhammad did not profess to - introduce a new religion, but simply to restore the original and only - true faith, which was held and taught by Abraham, David, Solomon, and - the other great prophets. - -Footnote 73: - - See Dr Weil’s interesting little work, entitled, _The Bible, the - Koran, and the Talmud_, where also will be found the curious legend of - how the demon Sakhr, above mentioned, by obtaining possession of - Solomon’s magical signet, personated the great Hebrew King, and of the - wonderful recovery of the seal-ring, and Solomon’s restoration to his - kingdom. - -Footnote 74: - - Sir Gore Ouseley’s _Biographical Notices of Persian Poets_. - -Footnote 75: - - _Arabian Nights’ Entertainments_, edited by Jonathan Scott. 6 vols, - 8vo. London, 1811. Vol. vi, _Notes_. - -Footnote 76: - - Morier’s _Second Journey to Persia_, &c. - -Footnote 77: - - See Lane’s _Modern Egyptians_.—In my _Arabian Poetry for English - Readers_ is a translation (the first that has appeared in English) of - the famous Burda-Poem of El-Busīrī, contributed by Mr J. W. Redhouse, - with Preface and Notes. - -Footnote 78: - - Called _El-Fātiha_; according to Sale’s translation, it is as follows: - - IN THE NAME OF THE MOST MERCIFUL GOD. - - PRAISE be to God, the Lord of all creatures; the most merciful, the - King of the Day of Judgment. Thee do we worship, and of thee do we beg - assistance. Direct us in the right way, in the way of those to whom - thou hast been gracious; not of those against whom thou art incensed, - nor of those who go astray. - -Footnote 79: - - _The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night._ Translated by Henry - Torrens. Calcutta: 1838. Vol. I. Notes.—This excellent translation - comprises only the first 50 Nights, and it is much to be regretted - that Torrens did not live to complete a task so well begun. - -Footnote 80: - - Malcolm’s _History of Persia_, vol. ii. - -Footnote 81: - - _Sketches of Persia_, 1861 ed., page 134. - -Footnote 82: - - Folk-Lore students will perhaps “make a note of this.” - -Footnote 83: - - No. xliv of “Pleasant Stories,” in Gladwin’s _Persian Moonshee_, 1801. - -Footnote 84: - - Malcolm’s _History of Persia_, vol. ii, pp. 594, 5. - -Footnote 85: - - This Rabbinical tale has been adopted in France, where it is told of a - gentleman who left his wealth to a convent, provided they gave his son - “whatever they chose”—_they_ chose the bulk of the money, which, of - course, they had to restore. - -Footnote 86: - - _Dissertation on the Literature, Languages, and Manners of Eastern - Nations._ - -Footnote 87: - - _Anvar-i Suhaili_, or Lights of Canopus. By Hussain Vā’iz. - -Footnote 88: - - The Story of Semiletka, in Mr Ralston’s _Russian Folk-Tales_, bears so - close a resemblance to this rabbinical story, in the stratagem adopted - by the wife, that we must conclude it cannot be a mere coincidence. - -Footnote 89: - - Chardin’s _Voyages en Perse_, &c., vol. ii, pp. 149, 220. - -Footnote 90: - - _History of Persia_, vol. ii, pp. 576–7. - -Footnote 91: - - A cunning man, hight Sidrophel, - That deals in Destiny’s dark counsels, - And sage opinions of the moon sells.—_Hudibras._ - -Footnote 92: - - Should the reader feel any curiosity to ascertain the sentiments - entertained by Muhammadans regarding the influence of the planets upon - men’s dispositions and fortunes, he will find the fullest information - on the subject in _Qanoon-e-Islam, or the Customs of the Moosulmans of - India_. By Jaffer Shureef. Translated by G. A. Herklots, M.D. London, - 1832. - -Footnote 93: - - Dr Dasent’s _Popular Tales from the Norse_. - -Footnote 94: - - Thorpe’s _Northern Mythology_, vol. iii. - -Footnote 95: - - _Popular Poetry of Persia._ - - - - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - -Transcriber’s note: - - 1. Silently corrected typographical errors and variations in spelling. - - 2. 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