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

he became as another liege lord[FN#619] and his word was heard, so the land was opened up by his hand and year by year he derived from it corv�es and taxes, nor did he cease to be the Chief Councilor under the right hand of the King. Meanwhile his brother who was the younger stinted not faring from land to land until he was met by a party of wayfarers that said to him, “O youth, verily the Sultan who ruleth in such a capital is a liberal lord, loving the poor and paupers; so do thou seek him and haply shall he show himself bounteous to thee.” Quoth he, “I know not the city,” and quoth they, “We will lead thee thereto for we purpose to go by his town.” So they took him and he accompanied them until they reached the city when he farewelled them and entered the gates. After solacing himself with the sights he passed that night in the Wak�lah and as soon as it was morning he fared forth to serve for somewhat wherewith he might nourish himself,[FN#620] and it was his lot and the doom of the Decreer that the Sultan, who had ridden forth to seek his pleasure in the gardens, met him on the highway. The King’s glance fell upon the youth and he was certified of his being a stranger and a wanderer for that his clothes were old and worn, so he thrust his hand into pouch and passed to him a few gold pieces which the other accepted right thankfully and blessed the giver and enlarged his benediction with eloquent tongue and the sweetest speech. The Sultan hearing this bade them bring to him the stranger, and whenas they did his bidding he questioned him of his case and was informed that he was a foreigner who had no friends in that stead; whereupon the Sovran took him in and clothed him and entreated him with kindness and liberality[FN#621]. And after a time the Wazir of the Right became kindly hearted unto him and took him into his household where he fell to teaching him until the youth waxed experience in expression and right ready of the reply and acquired full knowledge of kingcraft. Presently quoth the Minister to the Sultan, “o King of the Age, indeed this youth befitteth naught save councillorship, so do thou make him Wazir of the Left.” The King said, “With love,” and followed his advice; nor was it long before his heart inclined o the hearts of his two Ministers and the time waxed clear to him and the coming of these two youths brought him serenity for a length of days and they also were in the most joyous of life. But as regards their mother; when her sons went forth from her, she bode alone—And Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day and fell silent and ceased saying her permitted say. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad, “How sweet and tasteful is thy tale, O sister mine, and how enjoyable and delectable!” Quoth she, “And where is this compared with that I would relate an the Sovran suffer me to survive?” Now when it was the next night and that was,

 

The Nine Hundred and Sixteenth 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 woman who bode alone having been abandoned by her husband and her children, cried, “I am here sitting sans my mate and sans my sons; whatso ever shall I do?” and anon the case became grievous to her and she set out to bewander the regions saying, “Haply shall Allah reunite me with my children and my husband!” And she stinted not passing from place to place and shifting from site to site until she reached a town upon the margin of the main and found a vessel in cargo and about to sail.[FN#622] Now by the decree of the Decreer the ship-captain having heard tell of the Sultan’s generosity and open-handedness had made ready for him a present and was about to voyage therewith to his capital.

Learning this the woman said to him, “Allah upon thee, O Captain, take me with thee;” and he did accordingly, setting sail with a fair wind. He sped over the billows of that sea for a space of forty days and throughout this time he kept all the precepts and commandments of religion, as regards the woman,[FN#623] supplying her with meat and drink; nay more, he was wont to address her, “O

my mother.” And no sooner had they made the city than he landed and disembarked the present and loading it upon porters’ backs took his way therewith to the Sovran and continues faring until he entered the presence. The Sultan accepted the gift and largessed him in return, and at eventide the skipper craved leave of return to his ship fearing lest any harm befal vessel or passengers. So he said, “O King of the Age, on board with me is a woman, but she is of goodly folk and godly and I am apprehensive concerning her.” “Do thou night here with us,” quoth the Sovran, “and I will dispatch my two Wazirs to keep guard over her until dawn shall break.” Quoth the Captain, “Hearing and obeying,” and he sat with the Sultan, who at nightfall commissioned his two Ministers and placed the vessel under their charge and said, “Look ye well to your lives, for an aught be lost from the ship I will cut off your heads,” So they went down to her and took their seats the one on poop and the other on prow until near midnight when both were seized by drowsiness; and said to each other, “Sleep is upon us, let us sit together[FN#624] and talk.”

Hereupon he who was afore returned to him who was abaft the ship[FN#625] and they sat side by side in converse while the woman in the cabin sat listening to them.—And Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day and fell silent and ceased saying her permitted say. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad, “How sweet and tasteful is thy tale, O sister mine, and how enjoyable and delectable!” Quoth she, “And where is this compared with that I would relate an the Sovran suffer me to survive?” Now when it was the next night and that was,

 

The Nine Hundred and Seventeenth 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 two sons foregathered in converse while the mother was listening and anon quoth the elder to the younger, “Allah upon thee, O Wazir of the Left, do thou relate to me whatso befel and betided thee in thy time and what was the true cause of thy coming to this city; nor conceal from me aught.” “By Allah, O Wazir of the Right,”

quoth the other, “my tale is wondrous and mine adventure marvelous and were it paged upon paper the folk would talk thereanent race after race.”[FN#626] “And what may that be?”

asked he, and the other answered, “‘Tis this. My sire was son to a mighty merchant who had of moneys and goods and estates and such like what pens may not compute and which intelligence may not comprehend. Now this my grandsire was a man whose word was law and every day he held a Divan wherein the traders craved his counsel about taking and giving and selling and buying; and this endured until what while a sickness attacked him and he sensed his end drawing near. So he summoned his son and charged him and insisted thereon as his last will and testament that he never and by no means make oath in the name of Allah or truly or falsely.”

Now the younger brother had not ended his adventure before the elder Wazir threw himself upon him and flinging his arms around his neck cried, “Wall�hi, thou art my brother by father and mother!” and when the woman heard these words of the twain her wits wandered for joy, but she kept the matter hidden until morning. The two Wazirs rejoiced in having found each of them a long-lost brother and slumber fled their eyes until dawned the day when the woman sent for the Captain and as soon as he appeared said to him, “Thou broughtest two men to protect me but they caused me only trouble and travail.” The man hearing these words repaired forthright and reported them to the Sovran who waxed madly wroth and bade summon his two Ministers and when they stood between his hands asked them, “What was’t ye did in the ship?” They answered, “By Allah, O King, there befel us naught but every weal;” and each said, “I recognized this my brother for indeed hi is the son of the same parents,” whereat the Sovran wondered and quoth he, “Laud to the Lord, indeed these two Wazirs must have a strange story.” So he made them repeat whatso they had said in the ship and they related to him their adventure from the beginning to end. Hereupon the King cried, “By Allah, ye be certainly my sons,” when lo and behold! the woman came forwards and repeated to him all that the Wazirs had related whereby it was certified that she was the King’s lost wife and their lost mother.[FN#627] Hereupon they conducted her to the Harem and all sat down to banquet and they led ever after the most joyous of lives. All this the King related to the Judge and finally said, “O our lord the Kazi, such-and-such and so-and-so befel until Allah deigned reunite me with my children and my wife.

 

End of Volume XV.

 

Appendix I.

 

CATALOGUE OF WORTLEY MONTAGUE

MANUSCRIPT CONTENTS.

 

I here proceed to offer a list of the tales in the Wortley Montague MS. (Nos. 550-556), beginning with

 

VOL. I.,

 

which contains 472 pages=92 Nights. It is rudely written, with great carelessness and frequent corrections, and there is a noted improvement in the subsequent vols. which Scott would attribute to another transcriber. This, however, I doubt: in vol. i. the scribe does not seem to have settled down to his work. The MS.

begins abruptly and without caligraphic decoration; nor is there any red ink in vol. i. except for the terminal three words. The topothesia is in the land of S�s�n, in the Isles of Al-Hind and Al-Sind; the elder King being called “B�z” and “Sh�r-b�z” and the younger “Kahraman” (p. l, 11. 5-6), and in the same page (1. 10) “Saharban, King of Samarkand”; while the Wazir’s daughters are “Shahrz�dah” and “Duny�z�dah” (p. 8). The Introduction is like that of the Mac. Edit. (my text); but the dialogue between the Wazir and his Daughter is shortened, and the “Tale of the Merchant and his Wife,” including “The Bull and the Ass,” is omitted. Of novelties we find few. When speaking of the Queen and Mas’�d the Negro (called Sa’id in my text, p. 6) the author remarks:—

 

Take no black to lover; pure musk tho’ he be * Carrion-taint shall pierce to the nose of thee.

 

And in the “Tale of the Trader and the Jinni ” (MS. 1, 9: see