The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night, vol 15 - Sir Richard Francis Burton (world best books to read txt) 📗

what is thy name?” The other replied, “I am Manjab hight wherefrom hath been cut off all cause of delight and who for a year hath suffered parlous plight.” “O Manjab,” quoth the Caliph, “favour for favour and the beginner is the better, and ill for ill and the first is the worst, and whoso seed of good soweth shall reap it, and whoso planteth evil shall harvest it, and know thou, O

Manjab, that yesterday we were thy guests, and that in thee was no default, but we transgressed against thee when thou honouredst us with most high honour, and favouredst us with the highmost favours. I desire, however, that thou relate to me the cause of the blows upon thy body and no harm shall befal thee.” The youth replied, “O Prince of True Believers, an thou desire to hear my tale order me a cushion to be placed on my right hand, and deign lend unto me three things, to wit, thine ears and thine eyes and thy heart, for verily my adventure is wondrous and were it graven with needle-gravers on the eye-corners it would be a warning to whoso would be warned and a matter of thought to whoso would think. Learn, O Commander of the Faithful, that my father was a jeweller man, a connoisseur in gems, who owned no son save myself; but when I had increased in age and had grown in stature and Allah had given me comeliness and perfection and beauty and brilliancy and plenty and good fortune, and my sire had brought me up with the best of education, Allah vouchsafed to him a daughter. Now as I had reached the age of twenty years my parent departed to the ruth of Allah Almighty, bequeathing to me a thousand thousand dinars and fiefs and tenements and landed estates, so I let perform for him a sufficiency of mortuary-ceremonies after committing him to mother earth, and caused read twenty perlections of the Koran, and bestowed for him in alms a mighty matter. I abode a-mourning for him a month full told, and when the term was ended my heart turned to diversion and disport and eating and drinking, and I made presents and gave away and doled charities of that my property, and I bought other tenements at the highest price. After this I purchased me singing damsels of the greatest value, and whosoever of my friends and companions was pleased with a musician girl I would hand her over to him without price; nay, I would present her in free gift, and if any saw aught of my belongings which pleased him and said to me, ‘This is nice,’ I would bestow it upon him without money-claim. Furthermore I robed all my familiars in honourable robes, and honoured them with the highest honour, lavishing all that was by me, and whatever my hand possessed, ever quoting these lines,

 

‘Rise, O comrade of cup, and to joy incline; * I’ve no patience, O brother, from pressing of wine:

See’st not how night with her hosts be fled * Routed, and morn doth her troops align?

How with Nadd and ambergris, rarest scents, * Rose laughs and smiles on us Eglantine?

This, my lord, is joy, this is pure delight. * Not standing at doors which the books confine.’

 

But when my mother, O Commander of the Faithful, espied these doings she reproached me, yet would I not be reproved. Then she saw that my wealth would be wasted, so she divided it between me and her, to each one half, a moiety for herself and her daughter, and the rest for myself. And presently she left me, carrying away her good and separated herself from me, abiding afar and leaving me to enjoy my frivolity and intoxication. I ceased not eating and drinking and diversion and disport, and enjoying the all-conquering faces of the beautiful,[FN#125] until the days smote me with their shafts, and all my wealth fell away from me and naught remained to me either above me or below me, and I ceased to be master of aught. Then my condition waxed strait, and as nothing was left to me at home I sold the pots and pans until I lacked even a sleeping-mat, and I used to patch my skirt with my sleeve. And naught profited me, neither friend nor familiar nor lover, nor remained there any one of them to feed me with a loaf of bread; so my case became hard and the folk entreated me evilly, nor was there one of my comrades or compeers who would take thought for me; nay more, when I met any of them on the road or at the receptions they would turn away their faces from me. So at last I took to pulling up the slabs[FN#126] of the house floor and selling them by way of a livelihood, and one day as I did on this wise, lo and behold! there opened in the floor a large vault whereinto I descended.”—And Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day, and fell silent and ceased to say her permitted say. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad, “How sweet is thy story, O sister mine, and how enjoyable and delectable;” Quoth she, “And where is this compared with that I would relate to you on the coming night an the King suffer me to survive?” Now when it was the next night, and that was

 

The Six Hundred and Fortieth Night, Dunyazad said to her, “Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short the watching of this our latter night!” She replied, “With love and good will!” It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the youth Manjab continued his tale to Al-Rashid in these words. “So I descended into the vault, O Commander of the Faithful, and I found there three boxes each containing five bags and every bag held five thousand gold pieces. I carried forth the whole of them and set them in an apartment of the apartments and returned the flag of the floor to its place. Then I pondered what my brethren and companions had done with me, after which, O Prince of True Believers, I bought handsome clothes and made my person as it was before; and as soon as those men who were with me of yore and upon whom I had spent my substance in gifts and presents beheld me on such wise they flocked around me again. I accepted of them for a device which I purposed carrying out and took patience with them for a whole month whilst they came to visit me every day.

But when it was the thirty-first day I summoned the Kazi and his assessors whom I concealed in a private place and bade write a bond and an acceptance for everything they might hear from my familiars and friends. After this I spread a feast and assembled all my associates; and when we had eaten and drunken and made merry, I drew them on to talk and to each and every whom I had gifted with a present I said, ‘Allah upon thee, O Such-an-one, did I not donate to thee so-and-so without taking any return from thee?’ And they replied, ‘Yes, thou gavest it to me for naught.’

I continued, O Prince of True Believers, to address each and all after this fashion whilst the Kazi and witnesses wrote down against them everything they heard from them and documented every word until not one of my friends remained without confession.

Then, O Commander of the Faithful, I rose to my feet without delay and ere anyone could leave the assembly I brought out the Kazi and his assessors and showed them the writ in the name of everyone, specifying whatso he had received from the youth Manjab. After this manner I redeemed all they had taken from me and my hand was again in possession thereof, and I waxed sound of frame and my good case returned to me as it had been. Now one day of the days I took thought in my mind, O Prince of True Believers, that I could open the shop of my sire and I would sit in it as my parent was wont to do, selling and buying in sumptuous Hindi cloths and jewelry and precious metals.

Accordingly I repaired to the place, which I found fast locked and the spider had pitched her web-tent about it; so I hired a man to wipe it and sweep it clean of all that was therein. And when the Bazar folk and the merchants and the masters of shops saw me they rejoiced in me and came to congratulate me saying, ‘Praise be to Allah who opened not the store save for the owner thereof in succession to his sire.’ Then I took of merchandise a mighty matter and my shop became one whose like was not to be looked upon throughout the market-street, and amongst the goods I laid in were carnelians of Al-Yaman; after which I seated me upon my shop-board that very day and sold and bought and took and gave, and I ceased not to be after such wise for nine days. Now when it was the tenth day I entered the Hammam and came out after donning a dress which was worth one thousand gold pieces, and my beauty was increased and my colour waxed sheeny-bright and my youth looked as though it had been redoubled, and I was not such but that the women were like to throw themselves upon me.

However, when I returned from the Baths and sat in my store for an hour or so behold, I heard a shout that came from the depths of the Bazar and heard one saying, ‘Have patience,’[FN#127] when suddenly I looked up and saw a stare-coloured mule whereon was a saddle of gold dubbed with pearls and gems, and upon it an old woman was riding accompanied by three pages. She ceased not going till she stood at my shop-door where she drew rein and her servants halted with her. Then she salam’d to me and said, ‘How long is’t since thou hast opened this store?’ and said I, ‘This day is the full tenth.’ Quoth she, ‘Allah have ruth upon the owner of this shop, for he was indeed a merchant.’ Quoth I, ‘He was my parent,’ and replied she, ‘Thou art Manjab named and as uniter of thy friends enfamed.’ Said I, ‘Yes!’ whereat she smiled and questioned me, ‘And how is thy sister, and what is the condition of thy mother, and what is the state of thy neighbours?’ ‘They are all well,’ said I, when said she, ‘O my son, O Manjab, thou hast grown up and reached man’s estate.’

Rejoined I, ‘Whoso liveth groweth up;’ and she continued, ‘Say me hast thou a necklace of gems which is pleasing to the sight?’ I responded, ‘With me in the shop are many necklaces but I have better at home and I will bring them for thee betimes to-morrow if it be the will of Almighty Allah.’ When she heard these my words she returned by the way she came and her pages walked by her side; and at the end of the day I went to my mother and informed her of the adventure how it was with the old woman and she said, ‘O my son, O Manjab, verily that ancient dame is a confidential nurse and she conferreth benefits upon the folk amongst whom was thy sire before thee: therefore do thou be urgent in bringing about her business nor do thou forgo thine appointment with her.’ The old woman disappeared