Supplemental Nights to The Book of the Thousand and One Nights by Sir Richard Francis Burton (suggested reading .TXT) 📖

After along while the Prince of True Believers sent for her a third time and commanded her to sing. So she took the lute and chanted these couplets,

“O of piebald wild ye dunes sandy and drear, * Shall the teenful lover ‘scape teen and tear?

Shall ye see me joined with a lover, who * Still flies or shall meet we in joyful cheer?

O hail to the fawn with the Houri eye, * Like sun or moon on horizon clear!

He saith to lovers, ‘What look ye on?’ * And to stony hearts, ‘Say, what love ye dear?’[FN#299]

I pray to Him who departed us * With severance-doom, ‘Be our union near!’”

When she had made an end of her verse, the Commander of the Faithful said to her, “O damsel, thou art in love.” She replied, “Yes;” and he asked, “With whom?” Answered she, “With my lord and sovran of my tenderness, for whom my love is as the love of the earth for rain, or as the desire of the female for the male; and indeed the love of him is mingled with my flesh and my blood and hath entered into the channels of my bones. O Prince of True Believers, whenever I call him to mind my vitals are consumed, for that I have not yet won my wish of him, and but that I fear to die, without seeing him, I had assuredly slain myself.”

Thereupon quoth he, “Art thou in my presence and durst bespeak me with the like of these words? Forsure I will gar thee forget thy lord.” Then he bade take her away; so she was carried to her pavilion and he sent her a concubine, with a casket wherein were three thousand ducats and a collar of gold set with seed-pearls and great unions, and jewels, worth other three thousand, saying to her, “The slavegirl and that which is with her are a gift from me to thee.” When she heard this, she cried, “Allah forfend that I be consoled for the love of my lord and my master, though with an earth-full of gold!” And she improvised and recited these couplets,

“By his life I swear, by his life I pray; * For him fire I’d enter unful dismay!

‘Console thee (cry they) with another fere * Thou lovest!’ and I, ‘By ‘s life, nay, NAY!’

He’s moon whom beauty and grace array; * From whose cheeks and brow shineth light of day.”

Then the Commander of the Faithful summoned her to his presence a fourth time and said, “O Sitt al-Milah, sing.” So she recited and sang these couplets,

“The lover’s heart by his beloved is oft dishearten�d * And by the hand of sickness eke his sprite dispirit�d, One asked, ‘What is the taste of love?”[FN#300] and I to him replied, * ‘Love is a sweet at first but oft in fine unsweetened.’

I am the thrall of Love who keeps the troth of love to them[FN#301] * But oft they proved themselves ‘Urk�b[FN#302]

in pact with me they made.

What in their camp remains? They bound their loads and fared away; * To other feres the veil�d Fairs in curtained litters sped;

At every station the beloved showed all of Joseph’s charms: * The lover wone with Jacob’s woe in every shift of stead.”

When she had made an end of her song, she threw the lute from her hand and wept herself a-swoon. So they sprinkled on her musk-mingled rose-water and willow-flower water; and when she came to her senses, Al-Rashid said to her, “O Sitt al-Milah, this is not just dealing in thee. We love thee and thou lovest another.” She replied, “O Commander of the Faithful, there is no help for it.” Thereupon he was wroth with her and cried, “By the virtue of Hamzah[FN#303] and ‘Ak�l[FN#304] and Mohammed, Prince of the Apostles, an thou name in my presence one other than I, I will assuredly order strike off thy head!” Then he bade return her to her chamber, whilst she wept and recited these couplets, ‘Oh brave!’ I’d cry an I my death could view; My death were better than these griefs to rue, Did sabre hew me limb by limb; this were Naught to affright a lover leal-true.”

Then the Caliph went in to the Lady Zubaydah, complexion-altered with anger, and she noted this in him and said to him, “How cometh it that I see the Commander of the Faithful changed of colour?” He replied, “O daughter of my uncle, I have a beautiful slavegirl, who reciteth verses by rote and telleth various tales, and she hath taken my whole heart; but she loveth other than myself and declareth that she affecteth her former lord; so I have sworn a great oath that, if she come again to my sitting-hall and sing for other than for me, I will assuredly shorten her highest part by a span.”[FN#305] Quoth Zubaydah, “Let the Commander of the Faithful favour me by presenting her, so I may look on her and hear her singing.” Accordingly he bade fetch her and she came, upon which the Lady Zubaydah withdrew behind the curtain,[FN#306] where the damsel saw her not, and Al-Rashid said to her, “Sing to us.” So she took the lute and tuning it, recited these couplets,

“O my lord! since the day when I lost your sight, My life was ungladdened, my heart full of teen; The memory of you kills me every night; And by all the worlds is my trace unseen;

All for love of a Fawn who hath snared my sprite * By his love and his brow as the morning sheen.

Like a left hand parted from brother right * I became by parting thro’ Fortune’s spleen.

On the brow of him Beauty deigned indite * ‘Blest be Allah, whom best of Creators I ween!’

And Him I pray, who could disunite * To reunite us. Then cry ‘Ameen!’”[FN#307]

When Al-Rashid heard the end of this, he waxed exceeding wroth and said, “May Allah not reunite you twain in gladness!” Then he summoned the headsman, and when he presented himself, he said to him, “Strike off the head of this accursed slavegirl.” So Masrur took her by the hand and led her away; but, when she came to the door, she turned and said to the Caliph, “O Commander of the Faithful, I conjure thee, by thy fathers and forefathers, behead me not until thou give ear to that I shall say!” Then she improvised and recited these couplets, “Emir of Justice, be to lieges kind * For Justice ever guides thy generous mind;

And, oh, who blamest love to him inclining! * Are lovers blamed for l�ches undesigned?

By Him who gave thee rule, deign spare my life * For rule on earth He hath to thee assigned.”

Then Masrur carried her to the other end of the sitting-hall and bound her eyes and making her sit, stood awaiting a second order: whereupon quoth the Lady Zubaydah, “O Prince of True Believers, with thy permission, wilt thou not vouchsafe this damsel a portion of thy clemency? An thou slay her, ‘twere injustice.”

Quoth he, “What is to be done with her?” and quoth she, “Forbear to slay her and send for her lord. If he be as she describeth him in beauty and loveliness, she is excused, and if he be not on this wise then kill her, and this shall be thy plea aainst her.”[FN#308] Al-Rashid replied, “No harm in this rede;” and caused return the damsel to her chamber, saying to her, “The Lady Zubaydah saith thus and thus.” She rejoined, “God requite her for me with good! Indeed, thou dealest equitably, O Commander of the Faithful, in this judgment.” And he retorted, “Go now to thy place, and tomorrow we will bid them bring thy lord.” So she kissed ground and recited these couplets, “I indeed will well for whom love I will: * Let chider chide and let blamer blame:

All lives must die at fixt tide and term * But I must die ere my life-term came:

Then Oh whose love hath afflicted me * Well I will but thy presence in haste I claim.”

Then she arose and returned to her chamber. Now on the morrow, the Commander of the Faithful sat in his hall of audience and his Wazir Ja’afar bin Yahya the Barmecide came in to him; whereupon he called to him, saying, “I would have thee bring me a youth who is lately come to Baghdad, hight Sidi Nur al-Din Ali the Damascene.” Quoth Ja’afar, “Hearing and obeying,” and going forth in quest of the youth, sent to the bazars and Wakalahs and Khans for three successive days, but discovered no trace of him, neither happened upon the place of him. So on the fourth day he presented himself before the Caliph and said to him, “O our lord, I have sought him these three days, but have not found him.” Said Al-Rashid, “Make ready letters to Damascus. Peradventure he hath returned to his own land.” Accordingly Ja’afar wrote a letter and despatched it by a dromedary-courier to the Damascus-city; and they sought him there and found him not. Meanwhile, news was brought that Khorasan had been conquered;[FN#309] whereupon Al-Rashid rejoiced and bade decorate Baghdad and release all in the gaol, giving each of them a ducat and a dress. So Ja’afar applied himself to the adornment of the city and bade his brother Al-Fazl ride to the prison and robe and set free the prisoners.

Al-Fazl did as his brother commanded and released all save the young Damascene, who abode still in the Prison of Blood, saying, “There is no Majesty, and there is no Might save in Allah, the Glorious, the Great! Verily, we are God’s and to Him are we returning.” Then quoth Al-Fazl to the gaoler, “Is there any left in the prison?” Quoth he, “No,” and Al-Fazl was about to depart, when Nur al-Din called out to him from within the prison, saying, “O our lord, tarry awhile, for there remaineth none in the prison other than I and indeed I am wronged. This is a day of pardon and there is no disputing concerning it.” Al-Fazl bade release him; so they set him free and he gave him a dress and a ducat.

Thereupon the young man went out, bewildered and unknowing whither he should wend, for that he had sojourned in the gaol a year or so and indeed his condition was changed and his favour fouled, and he abode walking and turning round, lest Al-Muradi come upon him and cast him into another calamity. When Al-Muradi learnt his release, he betook himself to the Wali and said, “O

our lord, we are not assured of our lives from that youth, because he hath been freed from prison and we fear lest he complain of us.” Quoth the Chief, “How shall we do?” and quoth Al-Muradi, “I will cast him into a calamity for thee.” Then he ceased not to follow the Damascene from place to place till he came up with him in a narrow stead and cul-de-sac; whereupon he accosted him and casting a cord about his neck, cried out, “A thief!” The folk flocked to him from all sides and fell to beating and abusing Nur al-Din,[FN#310] whilst he cried out for aidance but none aided him, and Al-Muradi kept saying to him, “But yesterday the Commander of the Faithful released thee and to-day thou robbest!” So the hearts of the mob were hardened against him and again Al-Muradi carried him to the Chief of Police, who bade hew off his hand. Accordingly, the hangman took him and bringing out the knife, proceeded to cut off his hand,