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Title: The Thousand and One Nights, Vol. I.

Translator: Edward William Lane

Author of introduction, etc.: Stanley Lane-Poole

Editor: Edward Stanley Poole

Illustrator: William Harvey

Release date: November 3, 2010 [eBook #34206]

Language: English

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Transcriber's note:

There are two levels of notes (footnotes) in this book: The first level is called
Notes by the author and are referred from the main body of text as [C_n] where
C is the Chapter number and n the number of the note related to this chapter. The
second level conists of regular footnotes referred from the Notes of the author
and are numbered the usual way.

In the HTML file Notes and footnotes are numbered without chapter numbers.

THE THOUSAND AND ONE NIGHTS
COMMONLY CALLED THE

ARABIAN NIGHTS'
ENTERTAINMENTS
TRANSLATED FROM THE ARABIC, WITH COPIOUS NOTES, BY

EDWARD WILLIAM LANE

EDITED BY HIS NEPHEW EDWARD STANLEY POOLE
FROM A COPY ANNOTATED BY THE TRANSLATOR
WITH A PREFACE BY STANLEY LANE-POOLE AND

ILLUSTRATIONS FROM THE DESIGNS OF WILLIAM
HARVEY

A NEW IMPRESSION IN THREE VOLUMES

VOL. I

LONDON
CHATTO & WINDUS
1912

LONDON:
PRINTED BY WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, LIMITED.
DUKE STREET, STAMFORD STREET, S.E., AND GREAT WINDMILL STREET, W.

ADVERTISEMENT.
The present edition is an exact reproduction of that edited by my father,
with my great-uncle's final corrections, and published by Mr. John Murray
in 1859. Several reprints of that edition have testified to the continued
popularity of the work, and the necessity for the present issue shows that an
acquaintance of nearly half a century has not yet wearied the public of the
standard translation of the Thousand and One Nights. The secret of Mr.
Lane's success is to be found partly in the instinctive sympathy for the spirit
of the East, which enabled him faithfully to reproduce the characteristic
tone of the original, and partly in the rich store of illustrations of oriental
life and thought contained in his Notes. In the various cheap versions, based
upon Galland's French paraphrase, the Eastern tone and local colour is
wholly wanting; and the peculiarities of life and manners, which contrast so
markedly with those of the West, are left unnoted and unexplained. Such
versions may serve in an inadequate degree to make the Arabian Nights
known to those who care only for the bare stories; but educated readers,
who are capable of something more than the mere enjoyment of the
romance, and desire to understand the character and habits of the actors and
the spectators, find in Mr. Lane's translation, and in his only, a complete
satisfaction of their want. It is not merely a scholar's edition, though no
oriental student can afford to be without it; but beyond this narrow circle it
has ever appealed to the wide audience that cares to know the famous books
of the world in their most perfect and faithful reflections.

The actual moment is an opportune one for the reappearance of the work.
Egypt just now holds a foremost place in the eyes of the world, and it is of
Egypt that the Thousand and One Nights have most to tell. Indian or
Persian as many of the tales are in their origin, their setting is almost purely
Egyptian; and though the place may be nominally Baghdad or India, or
even furthest China, it is in mediæval Cairo, in the days of the Memlooks,
that the scene of the Arabian Nights is really laid. The people described are
not Hindoos or Chinese, but Arabs and Egyptians as they lived and moved
in the fifteenth century, when some of the beautiful mosques and tombs,
that still make Cairo the delight of artists, were being built, and the
devastating hand of the Ottoman Turk had not yet been laid on the land of
the Pharaohs. For a minute picture of Arabian society as it was in the
Middle Ages, the Thousand and One Nights have no rival, and it is Mr.
Lane's appreciation of this picture, and the wealth of illustration lavished
upon it in his Notes, that render his edition the most complete commentary
we possess on Muslim life and manners, religion and literature, and make it
an indispensable supplement to his famous Account of the Manners and
Customs of the Modern Egyptians. The poetry of Eastern life is rapidly
fading away under the effacing touch of European civilisation; the
characteristic society in which an Haroon-Er-Rasheed, an Aboo-Nuwas, a
Kafoor, a Saladin, or a Kaït-Bey, revelled and jested and conquered, is fast
becoming matter of history rather than of experience, a field for the
antiquary instead of the traveller; and it is well that we can reconstruct it in
the pages of the Thousand and One Nights, whose compiler saw it when it
was still almost in its Golden Prime, and in the Modern Egyptians, whose
author knew it when it still preserved the romantic character which has
charmed and fascinated readers of every age and condition.
Stanley Lane-Poole.

The Day of Tell-el-Kebeer, 1882.

THE EDITOR'S PREFACE.
A new edition of this work having been required, Mr. Lane was requested to
undertake the correction of the press. But severe literary labours allowing
him no leisure for this object, he named me, as his pupil in the study of
Arabic, familiar with his writings, and for many years resident with him in
Cairo, to fill, in some measure, his place. I have undertaken this duty with
great diffidence, from a sense of my own deficiencies and his extensive
knowledge; but I have felt that I could at least insure the correctness of the
text, and a scrupulous adherence to his wishes. The present edition is
printed, without any variations of my own (except those which are marked
as such, and have been submitted to Mr. Lane), from a copy of the first and
complete edition, with corrections and additions made by Mr. Lane, from
time to time, since its first publication. These, however, from the accuracy

with which the translation was made, and the fulness of the Notes, are not
very numerous. The same reasons have also caused my own notes to be
few: I believe that my Uncle's notes are complete in themselves; and that I
have sometimes erred, even in the rare exceptions I have made, on the side
of unnecessary addition.
An edition of any book not superintended by the author is sometimes
regarded with distrust. I would therefore assure the reader that in this
instance he may depend even on the punctuation; the whole having been
laboriously collated with Mr. Lane's annotated copy, notwithstanding the
great delay which this process has occasioned in the printing of the work.
I have called this a complete edition, to distinguish it from two others which
have been published without Mr. Lane's notes or his method of writing
oriental words, and with other variations from the standard edition. The
public appreciation of these notes, and of the advantage of correctly-written
foreign words, is, I conceive, proved by the call for the present edition. On
the subject of the mode of writing oriental words in European characters, I
need say little, for the controversy has well nigh died out. The present
generation does not regard antiquated blunders as "the familiar names of
childhood," but rather strives to attain accuracy in all things; and those few
who still cling to "Mahomet" or "Mahomed" should consistently exhume
the forgotten "Mahound" of the Crusades.
The translator's views respecting the origin and literary history of "The
Thousand and One Nights" will be found fully expressed in the Review at
the end of the third volume. In his original preface, he stated, "The remarks
which I here submit to the reader, being written when only one-third of the
work to which they principally relate is printed, must unavoidably be more
defective than they would be if reserved until a later period. During the
progress of the publication I may be enabled to form clearer and more
complete views of the several subjects which might with propriety be fully
discussed at the head of my translation, and I think it better, therefore, to
append at the close of the work many observations which I originally
intended to prefix to the first volume." He has therefore wished me to
remodel the preface, transferring all portions relating to the subjects in
question to the Review, retaining whatever may more properly stand at the
commencement of the work, and adding any matter of my own.

The object with which the translation was made is best expressed in the
words of Mr. Lane's preface.
"My undertaking to translate anew the Tales of 'The Thousand and One
Nights' implies an unfavourable opinion of the version which has so long
amused us; but I must express my objections with respect to the latter in
plain terms, and this I shall do by means of a few words on the version of
Galland, from which it is derived; for to him alone its chief faults are to be
attributed. I am somewhat reluctant to make this remark, because several
persons, and among them some of high and deserved reputation as Arabic
scholars, have pronounced an opinion that his version is an improvement
upon the original. That 'The Thousand and One Nights' may be greatly
improved, I most readily admit; but as confidently do I assert that Galland
has excessively perverted the work. His acquaintance with Arab manners
and customs was insufficient to preserve him always from errors of the
grossest description, and by the style of his version he has given to the
whole a false character, thus sacrificing, in a great measure, what is most
valuable in the original work,—I mean its minute accuracy with respect to
those peculiarities which distinguish the Arabs from every other nation, not
only of the West, but also of the East. Deceived by the vague nature of
Galland's version, travellers in Persia, Turkey, and India, have often fancied
that the Arabian Tales describe the particular manners of the natives of
those countries; but no one who has read them in the original language,
having an intimate acquaintance with the Arabs, can be of this opinion: it is
in Arabian countries, and especially in Egypt, that we see the people, the
dresses, and the buildings, which it describes in almost every case, even
when the scene is laid in Persia, in India, or in China.
"Convinced of the truth of this assertion, I consider myself possessed of the
chief qualifications for the proper accomplishment of my present
undertaking, from my having lived several years in Cairo, associating
almost exclusively with Arabs, speaking their language, conforming to their
general habits with the most scrupulous exactitude, and received into their
society on terms of perfect equality. Since the downfall of the Arab Empire
of Baghdád, Cairo has been the chief of Arabian cities: its Memlook
Sulṭáns, introduced into Egypt in their youth, naturally adopted, to a great
degree, the manners of its native inhabitants, which the 'Osmánlee Turks in
later days have but little altered. Cairo is the city in which Arabian manners

now exist in the most refined state; and such I believe to have been the case
when the present work was composed."
Mr. Lane's first two visits to Egypt were made when, for the last time, Arab
manners and customs as they existed in the age of the Arabian Nights could
be studied; and his translation was written very shortly after his second
return to England. Though some of the tales maybe Indian or Persian in
origin, in their present state they exhibit a picture of the manners, modes of
thought, and language, of the court and times of the Memlook Sulṭáns of
Egypt, which nearly resembled in these points those of the Khaleefehs of
Baghdád, or the great Arab Empire. De Sacy and Von Hammer, the two
celebrated orientalists who differed widely in opinion as to the origin of the
book, agreed that the tales in which the Khaleefeh Hároon Er-Rasheed is
introduced (the best, with few exceptions, in the collection) are Egyptian in
character. But since the "Modern Egyptians" were described by Mr. Lane,
all things in the East have changed, and every day witnesses the decay of
some old custom, to be followed by a bastard European imitation. During
Mohammad 'Alee's rule, all traces of the state and circumstance of the
Memlook court gradually passed away. European dress has displaced
oriental costume, cloth of gold, and dresses of honour; European
architecture elbows the quaint beauty of the old Arab capital; and the
cavalcade of fifty horsemen around a grandee is succeeded by an English
carriage that profanes the quiet streets of the city, and frightens away both
'Efreets and their memory. Mr. Lane saw the last of Cairo in its integrity;
and he has not overstated his qualifications, as author of the "Modern
Egyptians," for the task of translating the Arabian Nights.
Of the copy from which this translation was made, and the method observed
in its execution, I may again quote the preface to the first edition. Mr. Lane
says,—
"I have taken as my general standard of the original text the Cairo edition
lately printed; it being greatly superior to the other printed editions, and
probably to every manuscript copy.1 It appears to agree almost exactly with
the celebrated MS. of Von Hammer, than which no copy more copious, I
believe, exists; and contains all the tales in the old version except those
which, as Von Hammer says, Galland appears to have taken from other
works, Arabic, Persian, and Turkish, in the Royal Library of Paris. The

manuscript from which it was printed was carefully collated and corrected
by a very learned man, the sheykh 'Abd-Er-Raḥmán Eṣ-Ṣaftee Esh-
Sharḳáwee, who also superintended the progress of the work through the
press. But in addition to the value conferred upon it by the corrections of
this sheykh, the copy from which the whole of my translation is made,
except in a few instances, possesses an advantage which, I believe, renders
it incomparably superior to any other now existing: it has been again
revised and corrected, and illustrated with numerous manuscript notes, by a
person whom I think I may safely pronounce the first philologist of the first
Arab college of the present day, the sheykh Moḥammad 'Eiyád Eṭ-
Ṭanṭáwee, or, more properly, Eṭ-Ṭanditáee. His notes are chiefly
philological, and explanatory of words which do not belong to the classical
language; and many of them are of very great assistance to me; though most
of them I find unnecessary, from the knowledge of the modern Arabic
which I have acquired during my intercourse with the people who speak it.
His corrections of the text are numerous; and as they would interest very
few persons, I have mentioned but few of them in the notes to my
translation, notwithstanding a strong temptation that I felt to do otherwise in
order that Arabic scholars might be assisted to judge of the fidelity of my
version by comparing it with the text of the Cairo edition.2 To the pieces of
poetry which are interspersed throughout the work he has paid especial
attention; not only correcting the errors which he found in them, but also
always adding the vowel-points, and generally, commentaries or
explanations. Thus I have shewn that I am very greatly indebted to him for
his learned labours. I should, however, add, that I have ventured to differ
from him in interpreting a few words; having found more appropriate
meanings assigned to them by Arabs in parts not visited by him, or such
meanings given in printed dictionaries with which he is unacquainted; and I
have also corrected a few errors which have escaped his notice.3 Without the
valuable aid which he has afforded me, I would not have attempted the
translation; nor with it would I have done so were it not for the advantage
that I derive from my having lived among Arabs. No translator can always
be certain that, from twenty or more significations which are borne by one
Arabic word, he has selected that which his author intended to convey; but,
circumstanced as I am, I have the satisfaction of feeling confident that I
have never given, to a word or phrase in this work, a meaning which is
inconsistent with its presenting faithful pictures of Arab life and manners.

"I have thought it right to omit such tales, anecdotes, &c., as are
comparatively uninteresting or on any account objectionable. In other
words, I insert nothing that I deem greatly inferior in interest to the tales in
the old version. Certain passages which, in the original work, are of an
objectionable nature, I have slightly varied; but in doing this, I have been
particularly careful to render them so as to be perfectly agreeable with Arab
manners and customs. It was originally my intention to omit almost the
whole of the poetry, thinking that the loss of measure and rhyme, and the
impossibility of preserving the examples of paronomasia and some other
figures with which they abound, would render translations of them
generally intolerable to the reader: but afterwards I reflected that the
character of the work would be thus greatly altered; and its value, as
illustrating Arab manners and feelings, much diminished. I therefore
determined to preserve a considerable number of select pieces, chosen
either for their relative merits or because required by the context. The
number of those comprised in the first volume of my translation is nearly
half of the number contained in the corresponding portion of the original
work; but in several cases I have omitted one or more verses of a piece as
unsuitable, or for some other reason; and in a few instances I have given
only the first verse or the first couplet. These pieces of poetry are not in
general to be regarded as the compositions of the author or authors of the
work: they appear to be mostly borrowed from others, and many of them
are taken from the works of celebrated poets.—To avoid the tedious
interruptions which occur in the original at the close of each Night, I have
divided the translation into chapters, each of which consists of one tale, or
of two or more tales connected one with another, and have merely
mentioned the Night with which each chapter commences, and that with
which it terminates.
"The original work being designed solely for the entertainment of Arabs, I
add copious notes to the translation, to render it more intelligible and
agreeable to the English reader. These are entirely my own, except in those
cases when I have stated otherwise;4 and my general object in them has
been to give such illustrations as may satisfy the general reader, without
obliging him to consult other works. In many of them I endeavour to shew,
by extracts from esteemed Arabic histories and scientific and other writings,
chiefly drawn from MSS. in my possession, as well as by assertions and

anecdotes that I have heard, and conduct that I have witnessed, during my
intercourse with Arabs, that the most extravagant relations in this work are
not in general regarded, even by the educated classes of that people, as of
an incredible nature. This is a point which I deem of much importance to set
the work in its proper light before my countrymen. I have resided in a land
where genii are still firmly believed to obey the summons of the magician
or the owner of a talisman, and to act in occurrences of every day; and I
have listened to stories of their deeds related as facts by persons of the
highest respectability, and by some who would not condescend to read the
tales of 'The Thousand and One Nights,' merely because they are fictions,
and not written in the usual polished style of literary compositions."
I have already mentioned that the literary history of "The Thousand and
One Nights" is discussed in Mr. Lane's Review appended to this translation.
In the course of my Arabic studies, and more especially since I have been
occupied in editing the present work, I have endeavoured to form an
unbiassed judgment on this difficult question; and all my researches have
confirmed me in agreeing with the opinions there expressed. Von Hammer
was inclined to lay too much stress on the supposed Persian or Indian origin
of these Tales; while De Sacy, on the other hand, rejected the belief in any
connection between the old work and the more modern; contending that the
latter was an independent production. The discovery, however, of a passage
in an Arabic author, by Von Hammer, since the publication of De Sacy's
Essay and Mr. Lane's Preface, has placed the matter beyond a doubt; and
scholars are now agreed, notwithstanding De Sacy's pleasant sarcasm, and
the weight of his great name, that "The Thousand Nights" formed in some
measure the prototype of "The Thousand and One Nights." On the other
hand, De Sacy's keen appreciation of the modern (and chiefly Egyptian, or
Arab,) character of the book, in its present form, must be fully recognised,
and was indeed thus acknowledged by Von Hammer himself. The manners,
dresses, and modes of thought, portrayed by it are Arab throughout, even in
the stories which are probably retained from the Persian or Indian original,
of which that of the Magic Horse is the best example in this translation.
Besides those relating to the court and adventures of Hároon Er-Rasheed,
which, as I have before remarked, are curiously Egyptian, many others
appear to have been remodelled, if not actually composed, in Egypt. It is
not less true that these tales are generally the best in the collection, if those

of the Slave Káfoor, of 'Azeez and 'Azeezeh, and of Es-Sindibád, be
excepted; for these certainly are inferior to none. The more colloquial and
familiar stories point to the same origin; such as that of 'Alá-ed-Deen Abu-
sh-Shámát (which is pervaded by Egyptian characteristics in phraseology
and in other respects), that of Aboo-Ṣeer and Aboo-Ḳeer, and that of
Maạroof. The stories founded mainly on Persian or Indian originals appear
to be those in which supernatural beings play the most conspicuous parts;
and, as Mr. Lane remarks, these are generally deficient in verses, although
the converse does not hold good of the former class. The anecdotes are
mostly historical: many of them are, in the Notes, identified with similar
ones in other Arabic works; and almost all are of Arab origin.
The evidences of a late date scattered through the book may be additions of
copyists and reciters; but considered with reference to its general character,
they have a certain weight that cannot be overlooked: this is carefully stated
in the Review.
Mr. Lane's arguments in favour of the collective "Thousand and One
Nights" being an individual work, and not one of many similar collections,
seem to me to be conclusive: not the least important of these is the fact that
no similar collection is known to exist, nor is mentioned by any Arab
author, with the sole exception of the old "Thousand Nights," which I
believe he has demonstrated to be the prototype, in a remote degree, of the
"Thousand and One." To cite the words of the Preface on the question of the
original of the work as it is known to us—"I have shewn it to be my opinion
that all the complete copies of 'The Thousand and One Nights' now known
are in the main derived, though not immediately, from one original; and I
hold the same opinion with respect to every fragment containing the
commencement of the work;" "not regarding the work as wholly original,
nor as the first of its kind; for many of the tales which it contains are
doubtless of different and early origins; and I think that its general plan is
probably borrowed from a much older production, bearing the same title of
'The Thousand and One Nights,' [or 'The Thousand Nights,'] a translation of
a Persian work having a corresponding title, namely 'Hezár Afsáneh.'... One
thing is certain—that 'The Thousand and One Nights,' [or 'The Thousand
Nights,'] translated from the Persian was much older than the work now
known by that title, and also extremely different from the latter."

When these facts are considered in reference to each other, the date
assigned, in the Review, to the composition of the work cannot reasonably
be regarded as far from the truth. It is in Egypt, and especially in the
Memlook court, that we must look to find the people, the manners, and the
habits of thought, of "The Arabian Nights;" while the style of the language
in which they are written is that which we might expect from an Egyptian
of those times, who, unskilled in the classical Arabic, yet endeavouring to
imitate it, was doubtless more generally intelligible then than he is now to
the modern Egyptians. This assumption of the old language, I may remark,
is, and always has been, characteristic of all learned Arabs, be they
Egyptians or natives of other Arabian countries (for such Egypt truly is);
but no other instance exists of a work of fiction in which the attempt fails so
singularly in affecting the classical, or retaining the modern tongue; while
all other Arabic tales are certainly composed in either the one or the other.
The modern Egyptian romances are mostly written in the colloquial dialect
of every-day life; but those which are of older date are not modernized, as
some have supposed, against all reason, "The Thousand and One Nights" to
be: such an alteration would be without a parallel in Arabic literature, as Mr.
Lane proves in the Review in a way to relieve me of the necessity of further
alluding here to this particular question. "The Thousand and One Nights"
exhibit a style which would be unfamiliar to the audience of the reciter of
romances, without attaining to the classical diction: and the conclusion is
forced on us that the work exhibits the language of a by-gone generation,
which (taking into consideration the other indications of its age and
country), is, it can scarcely be disputed, that of the later period of the
Memlook rulers of Egypt, before the Turkish conquest of that country. In
the words of Mr. Lane's Preface:—"Most of the tales which it contains are
doubtless of an older origin, and many of them founded upon very old
traditions and legends; but all these traditions or legends were evidently
remodelled so as to become pictures of the state of manners which existed
among the Arabs, and especially among those of Egypt, at the period here
mentioned; and I think that the composer of the work, or each of the
composers, if one commenced and another completed it, was an Egyptian."
But a more popular subject than its obscure origin is the literary merit of
this work. The rare fascination of these old Arab stories, their supernatural
romance, excessive love, quaint philosophy, and grotesque humour, have,

since the days of Galland, secured to them more readers than any other
profane work. The translation of Galland, with all its lameness, puerility,
and indecency, gained for them a hold which has never been relaxed; and it
only required the appearance of a scholarlike and readable translation, freed
from these defects, to make them generally accepted in English families.
The fashion of travelling in the East has not a little added to the desire for a
standard and annotated edition of a work unique, even in those lands of
genii and adventure, in its remarkable portrayal of Eastern character, life,
and, when closely translated, idiom. The humour of the book, now broad,
now subtle, (who does not delight in Káfoor and his "half lie?") renders the
comic stories generally superior to the romantic; but the pathos perhaps
excels every other beauty. The story of Shems-en-Nahár is remarkable for
this characteristic; and that of 'Azeez and 'Azeezeh (first published in this
translation), surpasses in delicate tenderness any Arab tale with which we
are acquainted.
Of the critical value of Mr. Lane's translation I ought scarcely to speak. Yet
I may observe that students of Arabic make it a text-book in reading the
original; while the English reader not uncommonly forgets that it is a
translation, and detects not the literal accuracy of its rendering of an
unfamiliar, or unknown, language.
I have adverted to the system adopted in transcribing foreign words, and I
now conclude these preliminary remarks (intended only to render the
learned Review easier of perusal to the general reader, and to smooth his
first steps in a strange land), by quoting, with some slight improvements by
Mr. Lane, the explanation of that system given in the preface to the first
edition.
"In writing Arabic and other Oriental words in the present work, I have
employed a system congenial with our language, and of the most simple
kind; and to this system I adhere in every case, for the sake of uniformity as
well as truth.5 Some persons have objected to my writing in this manner a
few familiar words which are found in our dictionaries; but they will excuse
me for remarking that general usage is not altogether accordant with their
opinion. Almost every author, I believe, now writes 'Koran,' or 'Kurán,' and
'Pasha,' or 'Pacha,' for our dictionary-words 'Alcoran' and 'Bashaw;' and
most of our best authors on Arabian History, of late, have written 'Khalif'

for 'Caliph.' In a work relating to a people who pronounce the Arabic w as
v, I should write 'Vezeer' for the Arabic word 'Wezeer;' but to do so when
the subject is Arabian, I consider inexpedient: and in this opinion I am
upheld by a great majority of literary and other friends whom I have
consulted on the subject, in the proportion of five to one. I may add that Dr.
Johnson has written in his Dictionary, 'Vizier [properly Wazir];' and if we
express the Arabic vowels by their Italian equivalents, it is properly 'Wazír'
or 'Wezír.'—The system which I here employ requires but little explanation;
the general reader may be directed to pronounce

a as in our word 'beggar:'6 é as in 'there:'
á as in 'father:'7 ee as in 'bee:'
e as in 'bed:' ei as our word 'eye:'
ey as in 'they:' oo as in 'boot:'
i as in 'bid:' ow as in 'down:'
o as in 'obey' (short): and
ó as in 'bone:' u as in 'bull.'

The letter y is to be pronounced as in 'you' and 'lawyer:' never as in 'by.'
An apostrophe, when immediately preceding or following a vowel, I
employ to denote the place of a letter which has no equivalent in our
alphabet; it has a guttural sound like that which is heard in the bleating
of sheep: ạ (with a dot beneath) represents the same sound at the end
of a syllable, when it is more forcibly pronounced.
Each of the consonants distinguished by a dot beneath has a peculiarly hard
sound.
Having avoided as much as possible making use of accents, I must request
the reader to bear in mind that a single vowel, when not marked with
an accent, is always short; and that a double vowel or diphthong at the
end of a word, when not so marked, is not accented ('Welee,' for
instance, being pronounced 'Wĕ'lee'): also, that the acute accent does
not always denote the principal or only emphasis ('Hároon' being
pronounced 'Hároón'); that a vowel with a grave accent (only occurring

at the end of a word), is not emphasized, though it is long; and that dh,
gh, kh, sh, and th, when not divided by a hyphen, represent, each, a
single Arabic letter."8
I have only to add one more extract from Mr. Lane's Preface.
"Many of the engravings which are so numerously interspersed in this work
will considerably assist to explain both the Text and the Notes; and to insure
their accuracy, to the utmost of my ability, I have supplied the artist with
modern dresses, and with other requisite materials. Thus he has been
enabled to make his designs agree more nearly with the costumes &c. of the
times which the tales generally illustrate than they would if he trusted alone
to the imperfect descriptions which I have found in Arabic works.9 Except
in a few cases, when I had given him such directions as I deemed necessary,
his original designs have been submitted to me; and in suggesting any
corrections, I have, as much as possible, avoided fettering his imagination,
which needs no eulogy from me. He has acquired a general notion of
Arabian architecture from the great work of Murphy on the Arabian remains
in Spain, and from the splendid and accurate work on the Alhambra by
Messrs. Goury and Jones; and through the kindness of my friend Mr. Hay,
of Linplum, he has been allowed to make a similar use of a very accurate
and very beautiful collection of drawings of a great number of the finest
specimens of Arabian architecture in and around Cairo, executed by M.
Pascal Coste, and now the property of Mr. Hay.10 He has also consulted a
number of Oriental drawings, and various other sources. My
acknowledgments to other persons I have expressed in several of the Notes.
"The portion which is comprised in the first volume of this translation,
terminates with part of the hundred and thirty-seventh Night: it is therefore
necessary to remark,—first, that there is less to omit in the early part of the
original work than in the later:—secondly, that the Nights in the early part
are generally much longer than in the subsequent portion; the first hundred
Nights (without the Introduction) comprising 213 pages in the Cairo edition
of the original work; the second hundred, 149 pages; the third, 107; the
fourth, 106; the fifth, 94:11—thirdly, that a similar observation applies to the
Notes which are inserted in my translation; those appended to the early tales
being necessarily much more copious than the others."

1 Two other printed editions were also used by Mr. Lane—that of the first two hundred
Nights, printed at Calcutta, and in consequence of the loss, by shipwreck, of nearly the
whole impression of the first volume, never completed; and that of Breslau. The former
differs much, in matter and manner, from any other known copy; the latter, which was
edited to the close of the seven hundred and third night by Professor Habicht, and
completed by Professor Fleischer, is far inferior to all the others. One other edition has
appeared in the Arabic, that of Calcutta, or "the Calcutta edition of the complete work." It
was brought from Cairo, and is apparently (though not immediately) from the same
original as the Booláḳ edition. I have continually referred to it for various readings, without
finding any one of importance. And here I must animadvert on the practice of German
orientalists of wasting their own time and their readers' patience in collecting such various
readings of a work like "The Thousand and One Nights" as must necessarily be the result
of the carelessness or the ignorance of copyists and reciters. The habit is unfortunately
adopted by some Englishmen, who seem to imagine that all that is German is therefore
learned.—Ed.
2 "I must here state, that peculiar qualifications are required to enable a person to judge of
the fidelity of my translation. The original work contains many words not comprised in any
printed dictionary, and a great number of words used in senses which no such dictionary
gives: in cases of both these kinds, I am guided either by the explanations of the sheykh
Moḥammad 'Eiyád, or by my having been long in the habit of noting down new words
during conversation with Arabs, and in the perusal of works in which they are explained."
3 "As I hope that the copy which he has rendered so valuable may be of great utility to
many students of the Arabic language when I have ceased to profit by it, I may mention
here, that the few corrections, and some explanations, which I have inserted upon the
margins of pages will be easily distinguished from those of the sheykh Moḥammad 'Eiyád
by the difference of our handwritings."
4 "When I mention 'my sheykh' in the notes, the sheykh Moḥammad 'Eiyád is the person to
whom I allude. In several instances, when he has given brief explanations of words,
phrases, customs, &c., with which I was previously acquainted, I have not thought it
necessary to name him as my authority in notes which I have inserted, though I have
sometimes done so."
5 "English writers generally express the Arabic vowels and diphthongs by their nearest
Italian equivalents. This mode is very well suited for those who know, and for those who
do not care for, the correct pronunciation of the words so transcribed; but for others I think
it objectionable. Our language is altogether much more suitable to the purpose of
expressing the sounds of Arabic than the Italian. Besides, I believe it is the custom of every
other European nation, in transcribing Oriental words, to employ a system congenial with
its own language. In a former work, I made use of a double h to express a very strong
Arabic aspirate (as others had done before me), and the word 'Hhágg' or 'Hhájj' was
pointed out by a critic as one remarkably uncouth: Von Hammer, in a review of that work,
writes the same word (and very properly as a German writer) 'Hadschdsch.'"
6 "Strictly speaking, it has a sound between that of a in 'bad' and that of u in 'bud;'
sometimes approximating more to the former; and sometimes to the latter."
7 "Its sound, however, often approximates to that of a in 'ball.'"
8 "Dh is pronounced as th in 'that:' gh represents a guttural sound like that produced in
gargling: kh represents a guttural sound like that which is produced in expelling saliva

from the throat, and approaching nearer to the sound of ḥ (a very strong aspirate) than to
that of k: sh is pronounced as in 'shall:' and th, as in 'thin.'"
9 "Es-Suyooṭee, in his 'Ḥosn el-Moḥáḍarah,' after quoting a description of certain dresses,
says, 'As to their dresses of honour, and those of the Wezeers and others of similar rank, I
have struck out the description of them from the words of Ibn-Faḍl-Allah; for they are
composed of silk and gold, which is forbidden by the law, and I have obliged myself not to
mention in this book any thing of which I should be questioned in the world to come, if it
be the will of God.'—I have never seen any Arabic work with drawings of costumes; but
Persian drawings are often useful in explaining Arab dresses."
10 These drawings, with some few exceptions, have now been published, from copies in
the possession of M. Coste.
11 "The substance of the first five chapters in my translation, ending with part of the thirty-
second Night, occupies a hundred and sixty-eight Nights in the edition of Breslau."

CONTENTS OF THE FIRST VOLUME.

PAGE
Introduction 1
Notes 15

CHAPTER
I.

Story of the Merchant and the Jinnee 38
Story of the First Sheykh and the Gazelle 42
Story of the Second Sheykh and the two Black Hounds 46
Story of the Third Sheykh and the Mule 50
Notes 53

CHAPTER
II.

Story of the Fisherman 69
Story of King Yoonán and the Sage Doobán 75
Story of the Husband and the Parrot 79
Story of the Envious Wezeer and the Prince and the Ghooleh 81
Continuation of the Story of King Yoonán and the Sage Doobán 83
Continuation of the Story of the Fisherman 86
Story of the Young King of the Black Islands 94
Notes 104

CHAPTER
III.

Story of the Porter and the Ladies of Baghdád, and of the Three Royal Mendicants,
&c. 120
Story of the First Royal Mendicant 134
Story of the Second Royal Mendicant 140
Story of the Envier and the Envied 149
Continuation of the Story of the Second Royal Mendicant 151
Story of the Third Royal Mendicant 160
Continuation of the Story of the Ladies of Baghdád, &c. 173
Story of the First of the Three Ladies of Baghdád 173
Story of the Second of the Three Ladies of Baghdád 181
Conclusion of the Story of the Ladies of Baghdád, &c. 187
Notes 190

CHAPTER
IV.

Story of the Three Apples, &c. 222
Story of Noor-ed-Deen and his Son, and of Shems-ed-Deen and his Daughter 230

CHAPTER
V.

Story of the Humpback 291
Story told by the Christian Broker 297
Story told by the Sulṭán's Steward 310
Story told by the Jewish Physician 320
Story told by the Tailor 328
The Barber's Story of Himself 342
The Barber's Story of his First Brother 344
The Barber's Story of his Second Brother 348
The Barber's Story of his Third Brother 351
The Barber's Story of his Fourth Brother 355
The Barber's Story of his Fifth Brother 359
The Barber's Story of his Sixth Brother 369
Conclusion of the Story told by the Tailor 374
Conclusion of the Story of the Humpback 374
Notes 377

CHAPTER
VI.

Story of Noor-ed-Deen and Enees-el-Jelees 390
Notes 430

CHAPTER
VII.

Story of Ghánim the Son of Eiyoob, the Distracted Slave of Love 436
Story of the Slave Káfoor 440
Continuation of the Story of Ghánim 445
Notes 463

CHAPTER
VIII.

Story of Táj-el-Mulook and the Lady Dunyà 469
Story of 'Azeez and 'Azeezeh 480
Continuation of the Story of Táj-el-Mulook and the Lady Dunyà 512
Notes 544

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS IN VOLUME I.
Engraver's Names Page
Ornamental Title.—At the foot is the Title in Arabic Jackson.
Head-piece to Preface.—The Vase is formed of the Arabic words
signifying "In the name of God, the Compassionate, the
Merciful" (always placed at the head of a Muslim work),
written doubly, and contrarily Mary Clint vii
Tail-piece to Preface Landells xxii
Head-piece to Table of Contents Landells xxiii
Tail-piece to Table of Contents Williamson xxv
Head-piece to List of Illustrations Landells xxvi
Shahriyár going out to hunt, and Ornamental Border Jackson 1
The Wezeer presenting the letter to Sháh-Zemán O. Smith 3
Sháh-Zemán, after having killed his Wife O. Smith 4

Meeting of Shahriyár and Sháh-Zemán O. Smith 5
Shahriyár's return from the Chase Gray 6
Garden of Shahriyár's Palace Thompson 7
'Efreet and Lady T. Williams 8
The Wezeer and his two Daughters O. Smith 11
The Ass at Plough Landells 12
The Dog and the Cock Landells 13
Shahriyár unveiling Shahrazád Thompson 14
Head-piece to Notes to Introduction.—The Arabic inscription is
the subject of the first paragraph of the first Note Landells 15
Tail-piece to Notes to Introduction.—Morning Landells 37
Head-piece to Chapter I.—Shahrazád narrating her Stories Miss Williams 38
Merchant and Jinnee S. Williams 39
Meeting of the Merchant and the Sheykh with the Gazelle O. Smith 41
Return of the Jinnee O. Smith 42
Transformation of the Concubine into a Cow Thompson 43
The Herdsman introducing his Daughter to the Sheykh Benneworth 45
The Second Sheykh receiving his poor Brother Gray 47
The Second Sheykh finding the Maiden on the Sea-shore Gray 48
The Second Sheykh saved from drowning Linton 49
The Second Sheykh and the two Black Hounds Gray 50
Tail-piece to Chapter I.—The Jinnee listening to the Tales of the
Sheykhs F. W. Branston 51
Head-piece to Notes to Chapter I.—The Merchant eating in the
Garden Landells 52
Tail-piece to Notes to Chapter I. Mason Jackson 68
Head-piece to Chapter II.—The Fisherman.—Motto, "Small
things stir up great" Jackson 69
The 'Efreet liberated from the Bottle Orrin Smith 71
The Fisherman enclosing the 'Efreet in the Bottle Green 74
King Yoonán playing at Goff Landells 76
Doobán in his Dress of Honour Thompson 78
The Intelligent Parrot Gray 79
The Prince Meeting the Ghooleh Landells 82
Doobán and the Executioner Gray 84

The Death of King Yoonán Thompson 86
The Fish of Four Colours Gray 88
The Fisherman shewing the Fish to the Sulṭán Thompson 89
The Cook-maid dressing the Fish Kirchner 90
The Black Palace Landells 92
The Sulṭán discovering the Young King of the Black Islands Orrin Smith 94
The Young King on his Bed, attended by Two Maids T. Williams 95
The Black Slave wounded by the Young King Gray 97
The Ḳubbeh, or Tomb Miss Williams 100
The Sulṭán killing the Enchantress S. Williams 101
Tail-piece to Chapter II.—The Journey home Landells 103
Head-piece to Notes to Chapter II.—The Fisherman and the
dead Ass Landells 104
Head-piece to Chapter III.—The Porter, &c.—The Motto is the
Inscription upon the Door, in Koofee Characters Mason Jackson 120
The Porter pleading with the Three Ladies Smith 123
The Porter and Ladies carousing T. Williams 124
The Three Royal Mendicants Vasey 126
The Concert of the Mendicants Smith 127
The Ladies preparing to whip the Bitches Gray 129
The Portress fainting T. Williams 130
The Porter seized Gray 132
First Prince (afterwards a Mendicant) leading the Lady to the
Tomb Smith 135
Second Prince (afterwards a Mendicant) meeting the Robbers Green 140
Second Prince as a Wood-cutter T. Williams 142
Second Prince discovering the Trap-door Landells 143
Second Prince ascending the Steps Landells 145
Second Prince carried off by the 'Efreet Thompson 146
Second Prince begging his life of the 'Efreet Thompson 148
The Envied Sheykh and the Jinn in the Well T. Williams 150
Second Prince transformed into an Ape S. Williams 152
The Ape recognised by the Princess Gray 155
The Combat with the Lion (Head-piece) S. Williams, Jun. 156
Transformations Wright & Folkard 156

Ditto Wright & Folkard 157
Disenchantment of the Ape Smith 158
The Mountain of Loadstone Whimper 162
The Prince thrown ashore M. Jackson 163
Death of the Youth in the Cave Green 166
Garden M. Jackson 171
First Lady recognising her Sisters Green 174
The Prince in the Oratory Smith 177
First Lady after killing the Serpent Landells 180
Bázár, or Market-Street M. Jackson 184
Old Woman interceding for the Second Lady Thompson 186
Palace Green 189
Head-piece to Notes to Chapter III.—The Porter J. Jackson 190
Persian Harps Landells 205
Tail-piece to Notes to Chapter III. T. Williams 221
Head-piece to Chapter IV.—Fisherman drawing his Nets Thompson 222
The Young Man presenting the Apples to his Wife F. Branston 226
The Wezeer finding the Apple Green 229
The Pyramids J. Jackson 232
The Mule of Noor-ed-Deen Landells 233
Noor-ed-Deen after the Bath M. Jackson 235
The Old Wezeer instructing his Grandchild Thompson 238
Noor-ed-Deen and his Son Linton 241
Bedr-ed-Deen at his Father's Tomb J. Jackson 243
The 'Efreet, attended by the Jinneeyeh, carrying off Bedr-ed-
Deen Thompson 245
Transformations Wright & Folkard 248
Ditto Wright & Folkard 249
Bedr-ed-Deen and his Bride Wright & Folkard 249
Gate of Damascus M. Jackson 251
The Wezeer Shems-ed-Deen recovering from a Swoon Slader 255
The School Gray 257
Damascus Smith 260
The Widow of Noor-ed-Deen kissing the feet of his Brother T. Williams 263

Bedr-ed-Deen waiting upon his Son and the Eunuch Green 265
Bedr-ed-Deen bound Smith 267
Bedr-ed-Deen's perplexity J. Jackson 270
Head-piece to Notes to Chapter IV.—The Old Fisherman Miss Williams 273
Tail-piece to Notes to Chapter IV. Wright & Folkard 290
Head-piece to Chapter V.—The Humpback, &c. T. Williams 291
The Humpback Dead Wright & Folkard 296
Báb en-Naṣr (from a Sketch by Mr. E.W. Lane), &c. J. Jackson 297
Money-Changer and Scrivener, &c. Wright & Folkard 300
Saloon Thompson 303
Interior of Báb Zuweyleh (from a Sketch by M. Coste) Landells 306
Head-piece to the Story told by the Sulṭán's Steward Landells 310
Arrival of the Lady on the Mule M. Jackson 313
Mosque on the Bank of the Tigris J. Jackson 315
Displaying of the Bride Thompson 317
Portrait of the Jew Slader 319
Head-piece to the Story told by the Jewish Physician Smith 320
Aleppo Smith 322
The Arrest Gray 325
The Lady confessing her Crime Gray 327
Head-piece to the Story told by the Tailor Smith 328
Young Man sitting on a Maṣṭabah Smith 330
The Barber and the Young Man Landells 332
The Barber and Servants with Dishes Landells 336
The Barber rending his Clothes J. Jackson 339
Portrait of the Barber Vasey 341
Head-piece to the Barber's Story of Himself J. Jackson 342
Head-piece to the Barber's Story of his First Brother.—The
Motto, "How different is to-night from yesterday!" Landells 344
Tail-piece to the same Williamson 347
Head-piece to the Barber's Story of his Second Brother T. Williams 348
Head-piece to the Barber's Story of his Third Brother S. Williams 351
Tail-piece to the same Jennings 354
Head-piece to the Barber's Story of his Fourth Brother Jackson 355

Tail-piece to the same Gray 358
Head-piece to the Barber's Story of his Fifth Brother.—The
Motto, "The emulous desire of increase employeth you
until ye visit the graves." (Ḳur-án, ch. cii. vv. 1 and 2.) Jackson 359
The Reverie of the Barber's Fifth Brother Thompson 360
Ditto S. Williams 361
Ditto T. Williams 362
Ditto Gray 363
The Result Lee 363
The Second Misfortune of the Barber's Fifth Brother Thompson 366
Tail-piece to the Barber's Story of his Fifth Brother Williamson 368
Head-piece to the Barber's Story of his Sixth Brother Landells 369
The Barber's Sixth Brother taken by Bedawees Green 373
Tail-piece to the Story of the Humpback Slader 376
Head-piece to Notes to Chapter V. Landells 377
Tail-piece to Notes to Chapter V. Vasey 389
Head-piece to Chapter VI. Smith 390
Noor-ed-Deen embracing the Slave Thompson 394
The Funeral of the Wezeer El-Faḍl Wright & Folkard 397
The Wezeer El-Mo'een in the Slave-Market J. Jackson 402
El-Mo'een in his Abasement Miss H. Clarke 404
The Lane leading to "The Garden of Delight" Green 408
Bower in "The Garden of Delight" T. Williams 410
Enees-el-Jelees offering the Wine Wright & Folkard 412
The Khaleefeh and the Wezeer in the Tree S. Williams 415
Kereem, the Fisherman Jennings 418
Enees-el-Jelees playing on the Lute S. Williams 421
Enees-el-Jelees and the Khaleefeh and Jaạfar Slader 427
Tail-piece to Chapter VI. Bastin 429
Head-piece to Notes to Chapter VI. Landells 430
Tail-piece to Notes to Chapter VI. Branston 435
Head-piece to Chapter VII. Landells 436
Ghánim in the Palm-tree Smith 439
The Merchant meeting his Family Jackson 443
Ḳoot-el-Ḳuloob awaking Gray 446

Pretended Tomb of Ḳoot-el-Ḳuloob Williamson 451
Ghánim sick in a Mosque M. Jackson 455
Ghánim's Mother and Sister as Beggars Wright & Folkard 459
Tail-piece to Chapter VII. Landells 462
Head-piece to Notes to Chapter VII.—Damascus Landells 463
Tail-piece to Notes to Chapter VII.—The Decision M. Jackson 468
Head-piece to Chapter VIII.—Suleymán Sháh and his Wezeer J. Jackson 469
Zahr Sháh on his Throne Vasey 473
The Troops of Suleymán Sháh meeting his Bride Wright & Folkard 475
Táj-el-Mulook hunting Green 477
Descent of the Handkerchief S. Williams 482
'Azeez and 'Azeezeh Slader 485
The Maḳ'ad O. Smith 490
'Azeez returned with the Knife and Dirhem Landells 495
'Azeezeh weeping over the Design of the Gazelles Slader 497
'Azeezeh dead Landells 499
'Azeez and his Mistress at the Grave of 'Azeezeh Williamson 502
The future Wife of 'Azeez Jennings 505
The Punishment of 'Azeez Gray 508
The Lady Dunyà Thompson 512
Halt on the Journey Whimper 514
Táj-el-Mulook receiving the Old Woman Vasey 519
The Lady Dunyà writing Harriet Clarke 523
The Lady Dunyà untwisting the Old Woman's Hair T. Williams 526
The Old Woman beaten by Female Slaves S. Williams 528
Illustrations of the Stratagem in the Lady Dunyá's Garden Landells 532
Táj-el-Mulook and the Lady Dunyà Landells 535
Scene on the Arrival of the Troops of Suleymán Sháh Whimper 538
The Horses sent to Suleymán Sháh Gray 541
Tail-piece to Chapter VIII. Wright & Folkard 543
Head-piece to Notes to Chapter VIII. Landells 544
Tail-piece to Notes to Chapter VIII. Green 555

INTRODUCTION

———
In the name of God,
the Compassionate,
the Merciful.1

Praise be to God, the
Beneficent King, the
Creator of the universe, who
hath raised the heavens
without pillars, and spread
out the earth as a bed;2 and
blessing and peace be on the
lord of apostles, our lord
and our master Moḥammad,
and his Family; blessing and
peace, enduring and

constant, unto the day of
judgment.
To proceed:—The lives of former generations are a lesson to posterity; that
a man may review the remarkable events which have happened to others,
and be admonished; and may consider the history of people of preceding
ages, and of all that hath befallen them, and be restrained. Extolled be the
perfection of Him who hath thus ordained the history of former generations
to be a lesson to those which follow. Such are the Tales of a Thousand and
One Nights, with their romantic stories and their fables.
It is related (but God alone is all-knowing,3 as well as all-wise, and
almighty, and all-bountiful,) that there was, in ancient times, a King4 of the
countries of India and China, possessing numerous troops, and guards, and
servants, and domestic dependents: and he had two sons; one of whom was
a man of mature age; and the other, a youth. Both of these princes were
brave horsemen; but especially the elder, who inherited the kingdom of his
father; and governed his subjects with such justice that the inhabitants of his
country and whole empire loved him. He was called King Shahriyár:5 his
younger brother was named Sháh-Zemán,6 and was King of Samarḳand.7
The administration of their governments was conducted with rectitude, each
of them ruling over his subjects with justice during a period of twenty years
with the utmost enjoyment and happiness. After this period, the elder King
felt a strong desire to see his brother, and ordered his Wezeer8 to repair to
him and bring him.

Having taken the advice of the Wezeer on this subject,9 he immediately gave
orders to prepare handsome presents, such as horses adorned with gold and
costly jewels, and memlooks, and beautiful virgins, and expensive stuffs.10
He then wrote a letter to his brother, expressive of his great desire to see
him;11 and having sealed it, and given it to the Wezeer, together with the
presents above mentioned, he ordered the minister to strain his nerves, and
tuck up his skirts, and use all expedition in returning. The Wezeer answered,
without delay, I hear and obey; and forthwith prepared for the journey: he
packed his baggage, removed the burdens, and made ready all his
provisions within three days; and on the fourth day, he took leave of the
King Shahriyár, and went forth towards the deserts and wastes. He
proceeded night and day; and each of the kings under the authority of King
Shahriyár by whose residence he passed came forth to meet him,12 with
costly presents, and gifts of gold and silver, and entertained him three
days;13 after which, on the fourth day, he accompanied him one day's

journey, and took leave of him. Thus he continued on his way until he drew
near to the city of Samarḳand, when he sent forward a messenger to inform
King Sháh-Zemán of his approach. The messenger entered the city, inquired
the way to the palace, and, introducing himself to the King, kissed the
ground before him,14 and acquainted him with the approach of his brother's
Wezeer; upon which Sháh-Zemán ordered the chief officers of his court,
and the great men of his kingdom, to go forth a day's journey to meet him;
and they did so; and when they met him, they welcomed him, and walked
by his stirrups until they returned to the city. The Wezeer then presented
himself before the King Sháh-Zemán, greeted him with a prayer for the
divine assistance in his favour, kissed the ground before him, and informed
him of his brother's desire to see him; after which he handed to him the
letter. The King took it, read it, and understood its contents;15 and answered
by expressing his readiness to obey the commands of his brother. But, said
he (addressing the Wezeer), I will not go until I have entertained thee three
days. Accordingly, he lodged him in a palace befitting his rank,
accommodated his troops in tents, and appointed them all things requisite in
the way of food and drink: and so they remained three days. On the fourth
day, he equipped himself for the journey, made ready his baggage, and
collected together costly presents suitable to his brother's dignity.
These preparations being completed, he sent forth his tents and camels and
mules and servants and guards, appointed his Wezeer to be governor of the
country during his absence, and set out towards his brother's dominions. At
midnight,16 however, he remembered that he had left in his palace an article
which he should have brought with him; and having returned to the palace
to fetch it, he there beheld his wife sleeping in his bed, and attended by a
male negro slave, who had fallen asleep by her side. On beholding this
scene, the world became black before his eyes; and he said within himself,
If this is the case when I have not departed from the city, what will be the
conduct of this vile woman while I am sojourning with my brother? He then
drew his sword, and slew them both in the bed: after which he immediately
returned, gave orders for departure, and journeyed to his brother's capital.

Shahriyár, rejoicing at the tidings of his approach, went forth to meet him,
saluted him, and welcomed him with the utmost delight. He then ordered
that the city should be decorated on the occasion,17 and sat down to entertain
his brother with cheerful conversation: but the mind of King Sháh-Zemán
was distracted by reflections upon the conduct of his wife; excessive grief
took possession of him; and his countenance became sallow; and his frame,
emaciated. His brother observed his altered condition, and, imagining that it
was occasioned by his absence from his dominions, abstained from
troubling him or asking respecting the cause, until after the lapse of some
days, when at length he said to him, O my brother, I perceive that thy body
is emaciated, and thy countenance is become sallow. He answered, O
brother, I have an internal sore:—and he informed him not of the conduct of
his wife which he had witnessed. Shahriyár then said, I wish that thou
wouldest go out with me on a hunting excursion; perhaps thy mind might so
be diverted:—but he declined; and Shahriyár went alone to the chase.18

Now there were some windows in the King's palace commanding a view of
his garden; and while his brother was looking out from one of these, a door
of the palace was opened, and there came forth from it twenty females and
twenty male black slaves; and the King's wife, who was distinguished by
extraordinary beauty and elegance,19 accompanied them to a fountain, where
they all disrobed themselves, and sat down together. The King's wife then
called out, O Mes'ood!20 and immediately a black slave came to her, and
embraced her; she doing the like. So also did the other slaves and the
women; and all of them continued revelling together until the close of the
day. When Sháh-Zemán beheld this spectacle, he said within himself, By
Allah! my affliction is lighter than this! His vexation and grief were
alleviated, and he no longer abstained from sufficient food and drink.
When his brother returned from his excursion, and they had saluted each
other, and King Shahriyár observed his brother Sháh-Zemán, that his colour
had returned, that his face had recovered the flush of health, and that he ate
with appetite, after his late abstinence, he was surprised, and said, O my
brother, when I saw thee last, thy countenance was sallow, and now thy
colour hath returned to thee: acquaint me with thy state.—As to the change
of my natural complexion, answered Sháh-Zemán, I will inform thee of its

cause; but excuse my explaining to thee the return of my colour.—First,
said Shahriyár, relate to me the cause of the change of thy proper
complexion, and of thy weakness: let me hear it.—Know then, O my
brother, he answered, that when thou sentest thy Wezeer to me to invite me
to thy presence, I prepared myself for the journey, and when I had gone
forth from the city, I remembered that I had left behind me the jewel that I
have given thee; I therefore returned to my palace for it, and there I found
my wife sleeping in my bed, and attended by a black male slave; and I
killed them both, and came to thee: but my mind was occupied by
reflections upon this affair, and this was the cause of the change of my
complexion, and of my weakness: now, as to the return of my colour,
excuse my informing thee of its cause.—But when his brother heard these
words, he said, I conjure thee by Allah that thou acquaint me with the cause
of the return of thy colour:—so he repeated to him all that he had seen. I
would see this, said Shahriyár, with my own eye.—Then, said Sháh-Zemán,
give out that thou art going again to the chase, and conceal thyself here with
me, and thou shalt witness this conduct, and obtain ocular proof of it.

Shahriyár, upon this, immediately announced that it was his intention to
make another excursion. The troops went out of the city with the tents, and
the King followed them; and after he had reposed awhile in the camp, he
said to his servants, Let no one come in to me:—and he disguised himself,
and returned to his brother in the palace, and sat in one of the windows
overlooking the garden; and when he had been there a short time, the
women and their mistress entered the garden with the black slaves, and did

as his brother had described, continuing so until the hour of the afternoon-
prayer.

When King Shahriyár beheld this occurrence, reason fled from his head,
and he said to his brother Sháh-Zemán, Arise, and let us travel whither we
please, and renounce the regal state, until we see whether such a calamity as
this have befallen any other person like unto us; and if not, our death will be
preferable to our life. His brother agreed to his proposal, and they went out
from a private door of the palace, and journeyed continually, days and
nights, until they arrived at a tree in the midst of a meadow, by a spring of
water, on the shore of the sea. They drank of this spring, and sat down to
rest; and when the day had a little advanced, the sea became troubled before
them, and there arose from it a black pillar, ascending towards the sky, and

approaching the meadow. Struck with fear at the sight, they climbed up into
the tree, which was lofty; and thence they gazed to see what this might be:
and behold, it was a Jinnee,21 of gigantic stature, broad-fronted and bulky,
bearing on his head a chest.22 He landed, and came to the tree into which the
two Kings had climbed, and, having seated himself beneath it, opened the
chest, and took out of it another box, which he also opened; and there came
forth from it a young woman, fair and beautiful, like the shining sun. When
the Jinnee cast his eyes upon her, he said, O lady of noble race, whom I
carried off on thy wedding-night, I have a desire to sleep a little:—and he
placed his head upon her knee, and slept. The damsel then raised her head
towards the tree, and saw there the two Kings; upon which she removed the
head of the Jinnee from her knee, and, having placed it on the ground, stood
under the tree, and made signs to the two Kings, as though she would say,
Come down, and fear not this 'Efreet.23 They answered her, We conjure thee
by Allah that thou excuse us in this matter. But she said, I conjure you by
the same that ye come down; and if ye do not, I will rouse this 'Efreet, and
he shall put you to a cruel death. So, being afraid, they came down to her;
and, after they had remained with her as long as she required, she took from
her pocket a purse, and drew out from this a string, upon which were
ninety-eight seal-rings;24 and she said to them, Know ye what are these?
They answered, We know not.—The owners of these rings, said she, have,
all of them, been admitted to converse with me, like as ye have, unknown to
this foolish 'Efreet; therefore, give me your two rings,25 ye brothers. So they
gave her their two rings from their fingers; and she then said to them, This
'Efreet carried me off on my wedding-night, and put me in the box, and
placed the box in the chest, and affixed to the chest seven locks, and
deposited me, thus imprisoned, in the bottom of the roaring sea, beneath the
dashing waves; not knowing that, when one of our sex desires to
accomplish any object, nothing can prevent her. In accordance with this,
says one of the poets:—
Never trust in women; nor rely upon their vows;
For their pleasure and displeasure depend upon their passions.
They offer a false affection; for perfidy lurks within their clothing.
By the tale of Yoosuf26 be admonished, and guard against their stratagems.
Dost thou not consider that Iblees ejected Adam by means of woman?

And another poet says:—

Abstain from censure; for it will strengthen the censured, and increase desire into
violent passion.
If I suffer such passion, my case is but the same as that of many a man before me:
For greatly indeed to be wondered at is he who hath kept himself safe from women's
artifice.27

When the two Kings heard these words from her lips, they were struck with
the utmost astonishment, and said, one to the other, If this is an 'Efreet, and
a greater calamity hath happened unto him than that which hath befallen us,
this is a circumstance that should console us:—and immediately they
departed, and returned to the city.
As soon as they had entered the palace, Shahriyár caused his wife to be
beheaded, and in like manner the women and black slaves; and thenceforth
he made it his regular custom, every time that he took a virgin to his bed, to
kill her at the expiration of the night. Thus he continued to do during a
period of three years; and the people raised an outcry against him, and fled
with their daughters, and there remained not a virgin in the city of a
sufficient age for marriage.28 Such was the case when the King ordered the
Wezeer to bring him a virgin according to his custom; and the Wezeer went
forth and searched, and found none; and he went back to his house enraged
and vexed, fearing what the King might do to him.
Now the Wezeer had two daughters; the elder of whom was named
Shahrazád; and the younger, Dunyázád. The former had read various books
of histories, and the lives of preceding kings, and stories of past
generations: it is asserted that she had collected together a thousand books
of histories, relating to preceding generations and kings, and works of the
poets: and she said to her father on this occasion, Why do I see thee thus
changed, and oppressed with solicitude and sorrows? It has been said by
one of the poets:—
Tell him who is oppressed with anxiety, that anxiety will not last:
As happiness passeth away, so passeth away anxiety.

When the Wezeer heard these words from his daughter, he related to her all
that had happened to him with regard to the King: upon which she said, By
Allah, O my father, give me in marriage to this King: either I shall die, and
be a ransom for one of the daughters of the Muslims, or I shall live, and be
the cause of their deliverance from him.29—I conjure thee by Allah,
exclaimed he, that thou expose not thyself to such peril:—but she said, It

must be so. Then, said he, I fear for thee that the same will befall thee that
happened in the case of the ass and the bull and the husbandman.—And
what, she asked, was that, O my father.

Know, O my daughter, said the Wezeer, that there was a certain merchant,
who possessed wealth and cattle, and had a wife and children; and God,
whose name be exalted, had also endowed him with the knowledge of the
languages of beasts and birds.30 The abode of this merchant was in the
country; and he had, in his house, an ass and a bull.31 When the bull came to
the place where the ass was tied, he found it swept and sprinkled;32 in his

manger were sifted barley and sifted cut straw,33 and the ass was lying at his
ease; his master being accustomed only to ride him occasionally, when
business required, and soon to return: and it happened, one day, that the
merchant overheard the bull saying to the ass, May thy food benefit thee!34 I
am oppressed with fatigue, while thou art enjoying repose: thou eatest sifted
barley, and men serve thee; and it is only occasionally that thy master rides
thee, and returns; while I am continually employed in ploughing, and
turning the mill.35—The ass answered,36 When thou goest out to the field,
and they place the yoke upon thy neck, lie down, and do not rise again,
even if they beat thee; or, if thou rise, lie down a second time; and when
they take thee back, and place the beans before thee, eat them not, as though
thou wert sick: abstain from eating and drinking a day, or two days, or
three; and so shalt thou find rest from trouble and labour.—Accordingly,
when the driver came to the bull with his fodder, he ate scarcely any of it;
and on the morrow, when the driver came again to take him to plough, he
found him apparently quite infirm: so the merchant said, Take the ass, and
make him draw the plough in his stead all the day. The man did so; and
when the ass returned at the close of the day, the bull thanked him for the
favour he had conferred upon him by relieving him of his trouble on that
day; but the ass returned him no answer, for he repented most grievously.
On the next day, the ploughman came again, and took the ass, and ploughed
with him till evening; and the ass returned with his neck flayed by the yoke,
and reduced to an extreme state of weakness; and the bull looked upon him,
and thanked and praised him. The ass exclaimed, I was living at ease, and
nought but my meddling hath injured me! Then said he to the bull, Know
that I am one who would give thee good advice: I heard our master say, If
the bull rise not from his place, take him to the butcher, that he may kill
him, and make a naṭạ37 of his skin:—I am therefore in fear for thee, and so I
have given thee advice; and peace be on thee!—When the bull heard these
words of the ass, he thanked him, and said, To-morrow I will go with
alacrity:—so he ate the whole of his fodder, and even licked the manger.—
Their master, meanwhile, was listening to their conversation.

On the following morning, the merchant and his wife went to the bull's crib,
and sat down there; and the driver came, and took out the bull; and when
the bull saw his master, he shook his tail, and showed his alacrity by sounds
and actions, bounding about in such a manner that the merchant laughed
until he fell backwards. His wife, in surprise, asked him, At what dost thou
laugh? He answered, At a thing that I have heard and seen; but I cannot
reveal it; for if I did, I should die. She said, Thou must inform me of the
cause of thy laughter, even if thou die.—I cannot reveal it, said he: the fear
of death prevents me.—Thou laughedst only at me, she said; and she ceased
not to urge and importune him until he was quite overcome and distracted.
So he called together his children, and sent for the Ḳáḍee38 and witnesses,
that he might make his will, and reveal the secret to her, and die: for he
loved her excessively, since she was the daughter of his paternal uncle, and
the mother of his children, and he had lived with her to the age of a hundred
and twenty years.39 Having assembled her family and his neighbours, he
related to them his story, and told them that as soon as he revealed his secret
he must die; upon which every one present said to her, We conjure thee by
Allah that thou give up this affair, and let not thy husband, and the father of
thy children, die. But she said, I will not desist until he tell me, though he
die for it. So they ceased to solicit her; and the merchant left them, and went
to the stable to perform the ablution, and then to return, and tell them the
secret, and die.40

Now he had a cock, with fifty hens under him, and he had also a dog; and
he heard the dog call to the cock, and reproach him, saying, Art thou happy
when our master is going to die? The cock asked, How so?—and the dog
related to him the story; upon which the cock exclaimed, By Allah! our
master has little sense: I have fifty wives; and I please this, and provoke
that; while he has but one wife, and cannot manage this affair with her: why
does he not take some twigs of the mulberry-tree, and enter her chamber,
and beat her until she dies or repents? She would never, after that, ask him a
question respecting anything.—And when the merchant heard the words of
the cock, as he addressed the dog, he recovered his reason, and made up his
mind to beat her.—Now, said the Wezeer to his daughter Shahrazád,
perhaps I may do to thee as the merchant did to his wife. She asked, And
what did he? He answered, He entered her chamber, after he had cut off
some twigs of the mulberry-tree, and hidden them there; and then said to
her, Come into the chamber, that I may tell thee the secret while no one sees
me, and then die:—and when she had entered, he locked the chamber-door
upon her, and beat her until she became almost senseless and cried out, I
repent:—and she kissed his hands and his feet, and repented, and went out
with him; and all the company, and her own family, rejoiced; and they lived
together in the happiest manner until death.
When the Wezeer's daughter heard the words of her father, she said to him,
It must be as I have requested. So he arrayed her, and went to the King
Shahriyár. Now she had given directions to her young sister, saying to her,
When I have gone to the King, I will send to request thee to come; and
when thou comest to me, and seest a convenient time, do thou say to me, O
my sister, relate to me some strange story to beguile our waking hour:41—
and I will relate to thee a story that shall, if it be the will of God, be the
means of procuring deliverance.

Her father, the Wezeer, then took her to the King, who, when he saw him,
was rejoiced, and said, Hast thou brought me what I desired? He answered,
Yes. When the King, therefore, introduced himself to her, she wept; and he
said to her, What aileth thee? She answered, O King, I have a young sister,
and I wish to take leave of her. So the King sent to her; and she came to her
sister, and embraced her, and sat near the foot of the bed; and after she had
waited for a proper opportunity, she said, By Allah! O my sister, relate to us
a story to beguile the waking hour of our night. Most willingly, answered
Shahrazád, if this virtuous King permit me. And the King, hearing these
words, and being restless, was pleased with the idea of listening to the
story; and thus, on the first night of the thousand and one, Shahrazád
commenced her recitations.

NOTES TO THE INTRODUCTION.
Note 1.—On the Initial Phrase, and on the Mohammadan Religion and
Laws. It is a universal custom of the Muslims to write this phrase at the
commencement of every book, whatever may be the subject, and to
pronounce it on commencing every lawful act of any importance. This they
do in imitation of the Ḳur-án (every chapter of which, excepting one, is thus
prefaced), and in accordance with a precept of their Prophet. The words
which I translate "Compassionate" and "Merciful" are both derived from the
same root, and have nearly the same meaning: the one being of a form
which is generally used to express an accidental or occasional passion or
sensation; the other, to denote a constant quality: but the most learned of the
'Ulamà (or professors of religion and law, &c.) interpret the former as
signifying "Merciful in great things;" and the latter, "Merciful in small
things." Sale has erred in rendering them, conjunctly, "Most merciful."
In the books of the Muslims, the first words, after the above phrase, almost
always consist (as in the work before us) of some form of praise and
thanksgiving to God for his power and goodness, followed by an invocation
of blessing on the Prophet; and in general, when the author is not very
concise in these expressions, he conveys in them some allusion to the
subject of his book. For instance, if he write on marriage, he will commence
his work with some such form as this (after the phrase first mentioned)
—"Praise be to God, who hath created the human race, and made them
males and females," &c.

The exordium of the present work, showing the duty imposed upon a
Muslim by his religion, even on the occasion of his commencing the
composition or compilation of a series of fictions, suggests to me the
necessity of inserting a brief prefatory notice of the fundamental points of
his faith, and the principal laws of the ritual and moral, the civil, and the
criminal code; leaving more full explanations of particular points to be
given when occasions shall require such illustrations.
The confession of the Muslim's faith is briefly made in these words:
—"There is no deity but God: Moḥammad is God's Apostle:"—which imply
a belief and observance of everything that Moḥammad taught to be the
word or will of God. In the opinion of those who are commonly called
orthodox, and termed "Sunnees" (the only class whom we have to consider;
for they are Sunnee tenets and Arab manners which are described in this
work in almost every case, wherever the scene is laid), the Mohammadan
code is founded upon the Ḳur-án, the Traditions of the Prophet, the
concordance of his principal early disciples, and the decisions which have
been framed from analogy or comparison. This class consists of four sects,
Ḥanafees, Sháfe'ees, Málikees, and Ḥambelees; so called after the names of
their respective founders. The other sects, who are called "Shiya'ees" (an
appellation particularly given to the Persian sect, but also used to designate
generally all who are not Sunnees), are regarded by their opponents in
general nearly in the same light as those who do not profess El-Islám (or the
Mohammadan faith); that is, as destined to eternal or severe punishment.
The Mohammadan faith embraces the following points:
1. Belief in God, who is without beginning or end, the sole Creator and
Lord of the universe, having absolute power, and knowledge, and glory, and
perfection.
2. Belief in his Angels, who are impeccable beings, created of light; and
Genii (Jinn), who are peccable, created of smokeless fire. The Devils,
whose chief is Iblees, or Satan, are evil Genii.
3. Belief in his Scriptures, which are his uncreated word, revealed to his
prophets. Of these there now exist, but held to be greatly corrupted, the
Pentateuch of Moses, the Psalms of David, and the Gospels of Jesus Christ;

and, in an uncorrupted and incorruptible state, the Ḳur-án, which is held to
have abrogated, and to surpass in excellence, all preceding revelations.
4. Belief in his Prophets and Apostles;12 the most distinguished of whom are
Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and Moḥammad. Jesus is held to be
more excellent than any of those who preceded him; to have been born of a
virgin, and to be the Messiah, and the word of God, and a Spirit proceeding
from Him, but not partaking of his essence, and not to be called the Son of
God. Moḥammad is held to be more excellent than all; the last and greatest
of prophets and apostles; the most excellent of the creatures of God.
5. Belief in the general resurrection and judgment, and in future rewards
and punishments, chiefly of a corporeal nature: that the punishments will be
eternal to all but wicked Mohammadans; and that none but Mohammadans
will enter into a state of happiness.
6. Belief in God's predestination of all events, both good and evil.
The principal Ritual and Moral Laws are on the following subjects, of
which the first four are the most important.
1. Prayer (eṣ-ṣaláh, commonly pronounced eṣ-ṣalah), including preparatory
purifications. There are partial or total washings to be performed on
particular occasions which need not be mentioned. The ablution which is
more especially preparatory to prayer (and which is called wuḍoó) consists
in washing the hands, mouth, nostrils, face, arms (as high as the elbow, the
right first), each three times; and then the upper part of the head, the beard,
ears, neck, and feet, each once. This is done with running water, or from a
very large tank, or from a lake, or the sea.—Prayers are required to be
performed five times in the course of every day; between daybreak and
sunrise, between noon and the 'aṣr (which latter period is about mid-time
between noon and nightfall), between the 'aṣr and sunset, between sunset
and the 'eshè (or the period when the darkness of night commences), and at,
or after, the 'eshè. The commencement of each of these periods is
announced by a chant (called adán), repeated by a crier (muëddin) from the
mád'neh, or menaret, of each mosque; and it is more meritorious to
commence the prayer then than at a later time. On each of these occasions,
the Muslim has to perform certain prayers held to be ordained by God, and
others ordained by the Prophet; each kind consisting of two, three, or four

"rek'ahs;" which term signifies the repetition of a set form of words, chiefly
from the Ḳur-án, and ejaculations of "God is most Great!" &c.,
accompanied by particular postures; part of the words being repeated in an
erect posture; part, sitting; and part, in other postures: an inclination of the
head and body, followed by two prostrations, distinguishing each rek'ah.
These prayers may in some cases be abridged, and in others entirely
omitted. Other prayers must be performed on particular occasions. 1. On
Friday, the Mohammadan Sabbath. These are congregational prayers, and
are similar to those of other days, with additional prayers and exhortations
by a minister, who is called Imám, or Khaṭeeb. 2. On two grand annual
festivals. 3. On the nights of Ramaḍán, the month of abstinence. 4. On the
occasion of an eclipse of the sun or moon. 5. For rain. 6. Previously to the
commencement of battle. 7. In pilgrimage. 8. At funerals.
2. Alms-giving. An alms, called "zekáh," commonly pronounced "zekah," is
required by law to be given annually, to the poor, of camels, oxen (bulls and
cows), and buffaloes, sheep and goats, horses and mules and asses, and gold
and silver (whether in money or in vessels, ornaments, &c.), provided the
property be of a certain amount, as five camels, thirty oxen, forty sheep,
five horses, two hundred dirhems, or twenty deenárs. The proportion is
generally one-fortieth, which is to be paid in kind, or in money, or other
equivalent.
3. Fasting (eṣ-ṣiyám). The Muslim must abstain from eating and drinking,
and from every indulgence of the senses, every day during the month of
Ramaḍán, from the first appearance of daybreak until sunset, unless
physically incapacitated.—On the first day of the following month, a
festival, called the Minor Festival, is observed with public prayer, and with
general rejoicing, which continues three days.
4. Pilgrimage (el-ḥajj). It is incumbent on the Muslim, if able, to perform, at
least once in his life, the pilgrimage to Mekkeh and Mount 'Arafát. The
principal ceremonies of the pilgrimage are completed on the 9th of the
month of Zu-l-Ḥejjeh: on the following day, which is the first of the Great
Festival, on the return from 'Arafát to Mekkeh, the pilgrims who are able to
do so perform a sacrifice, and every other Muslim who can is required to do
the same: part of the meat of the victim he should eat, and the rest he should

give to the poor. This festival is observed otherwise in a similar manner to
the minor one, above mentioned; and lasts three or four days.
The less important ritual and moral laws may here be briefly mentioned in a
single paragraph.—One of these is circumcision, which is not absolutely
obligatory.—The distinctions of clean and unclean meats are nearly the
same in the Mohammedan as in the Mosaic code. Camels' flesh is an
exception; being lawful to the Muslim. Swine's flesh, and blood, are
especially condemned; and a particular mode of slaughtering animals for
food is enjoined, accompanied by the repetition of the name of God.—Wine
and all inebriating liquors are strictly forbidden.—So also are gaming and
usury.—Music is condemned; but most Muslims take great delight in
hearing it.—Images and pictures representing living creatures are contrary
to law.—Charity, probity in all transactions, veracity (excepting in a few
cases), and modesty, are virtues indispensable.—Cleanliness in person, and
decent attire, are particularly required. Clothes of silk, and ornaments of
gold or silver, are forbidden to men, but allowed to women: this precept,
however, is often disregarded.—Utensils of gold and silver are also
condemned: yet they are used by many Muslims.—The manners of
Muslims in society are subject to particular laws or rules, with respect to
salutations, &c.
Of the Civil Laws, the following notices will at present suffice.—A man
may have four wives at the same time, and, according to common opinion,
as many concubine slaves as he pleases.—He may divorce a wife twice, and
each time take her back again; but if he divorce her a third time, or by a
triple sentence, he cannot make her his wife again unless by her own
consent, and by a new contract, and after another man has consummated a
marriage with her, and divorced her.—The children by a wife and those by a
concubine slave inherit equally, if the latter be acknowledged by the father.
Sons inherit equally: so also do daughters; but the share of a daughter is
half that of a son. One-eighth is the share of the wife or wives of the
deceased if he have left issue, and one-fourth if he have left no issue. A
husband inherits one-fourth of his wife's property if she have left issue, and
one-half if she have left no issue. The debts and legacies of the deceased
must be first paid. A man may leave one-third of his property in any way he
pleases.—When a concubine slave has borne a child to her master, she

becomes entitled to freedom on his death.—There are particular laws
relating to commerce. Usury and monopoly are especially condemned.
Of the Criminal Laws, a few only need here be mentioned. Murder is
punishable by death, or by a fine to be paid to the family of the deceased, if
they prefer it.—Theft, if the property stolen amount to a quarter of a deenár,
is to be punished by cutting off the right hand, except under certain
circumstances.—Adultery, if attested by four eye-witnesses, is punishable
by death (stoning): fornication, by a hundred stripes, and banishment for a
year.—Drunkenness is punished with eighty stripes.—Apostasy, persevered
in, by death.
Note 2—On the Arabian System of Cosmography. The words translated "as
a bed" would be literally rendered "and the bed;" but the signification is that
which I have expressed. (See the Ḳur-án, ch. lxxviii. v. 6; and, with respect
to what is before said of the heavens, idem, ch. xiii. v. 2.13) These, and the
preceding words, commencing with "the Beneficent King," I have
introduced (in the place of "the Lord of all creatures") from the Calcutta
edition of the first two hundred nights, as affording me an opportunity to
explain here the Arabian system of Cosmography, with which the reader of
this work cannot be too early acquainted.
When we call to mind how far the Arabs surpassed their great master,
Aristotle, in natural and experimental philosophy, and remember that their
brilliant discoveries constituted an important link between those of the
illustrious Greek and of our equally illustrious countryman, Roger Bacon,
their popular system of cosmography becomes an interesting subject for our
consideration.
According to the common opinion of the Arabs (an opinion sanctioned by
the Ḳur-án, and by assertions of their Prophet, which almost all Muslims
take in their literal sense), there are Seven Heavens, one above another, and
Seven Earths, one beneath another; the earth which we inhabit being the
highest of the latter, and next below the lowest heaven. The upper surface of
each heaven, and that of each earth, are believed to be nearly plane, and are
generally supposed to be circular; and are said to be five hundred years'
journey in width. This is also said to be the measure of the depth or
thickness of each heaven and each earth, and of the distance between each

heaven or earth and that next above or below it. Thus is explained a passage
of the Ḳur-án, (ch. lxv. last verse), in which it is said, that God hath created
seven heavens and as many earths, or stories of the earth, in accordance
with traditions from the Prophet.14—This notion of the seven heavens
appears to have been taken from the "seven spheres;" the first of which is
that of the Moon; the second, of Mercury; the third, of Venus; the fourth, of
the Sun; the fifth, of Mars; the sixth, of Jupiter; and the seventh, of Saturn;
each of which orbs was supposed to revolve round the earth in its proper
sphere. So also the idea of the seven earths seems to have been taken from
the division of the earth into seven climates; a division which has been
adopted by several Arab geographers.—But to return to the opinions of the
religious and the vulgar.
Traditions differ respecting the fabric of the seven heavens. In the most
credible account, according to a celebrated historian, the first is described as
formed of emerald; the second, of white silver; the third, of large white
pearls; the fourth, of ruby; the fifth, of red gold; the sixth, of yellow jacinth;
and the seventh, of shining light.15
Some assert Paradise to be in the seventh heaven; and, indeed, I have found
this to be the general opinion of my Muslim friends: but the author above
quoted proceeds to describe, next above the seventh heaven, seven seas of
light; then, an undefined number of veils, or separations, of different
substances, seven of each kind; and then, Paradise, which consists of seven
stages, one above another; the first (Dár el-Jelál, or the Mansion of Glory),
of white pearls; the second (Dár es-Selám, or the Mansion of Peace), of
ruby; the third (Jennet el-Ma-wà, or the Garden of Rest), of green
chrysolite; the fourth (Jennet el-Khuld, or the Garden of Eternity), of green16
coral; the fifth (Jennet en-Na'eem, or the Garden of Delight), of white
silver; the sixth (Jennet el-Firdós, or the Garden of Paradise), of red gold;
and the seventh (Jennet 'Adn, or the Garden of Perpetual Abode, or—of
Eden), of large pearls; this overlooking all the former, and canopied by the
Throne, or rather Empyrean, of the Compassionate ('Arsh Er-Raḥmán), i. e.
of God.—These several regions of Paradise are described in some traditions
as forming so many degrees, or stages, ascended by steps.
Though the opinion before mentioned respecting the form of the earth
which we inhabit is that generally maintained by the Arabs, there have

been, and still are, many philosophical men among this people who have
argued that it is a globe, because, as El-Ḳazweenee says, an eclipse of the
moon has been observed to happen at different hours of the night in eastern
and western countries. Thus we find Ptolemy's measurement of the earth
quoted and explained by Ibn-El-Wardee:—The circumference of the earth is
24,000 miles, or 8,000 leagues; the league being three miles; the mile, 3,000
royal cubits; the cubit, three spans; the span, twelve digits; the digit, five
barley-corns placed side by side; and the width of the barley-corn, six
mule's-hairs. El-Maḳreezee also, among the more intelligent Arabs,
describes17 the globular form of the earth, and its arctic and antarctic
regions, with their day of six months, and night of six months, and their
frozen waters, &c.
For ourselves, however, it is necessary that we retain in our minds the
opinions first stated, with regard to the form and dimensions of our earth;
agreeing with those Muslims who allow not philosophy to trench upon
revelation or sacred traditions. It is written, say they, that God hath "spread
out the earth,"18 "as a bed,"19 and "as a carpet;"20 and what is round or
globular cannot be said to be spread out, nor compared to a bed, or a carpet.
It is therefore decided to be an almost plane expanse. The continents and
islands of the earth are believed by the Arabs (as they were by the Greeks in
the age of Homer and Hesiod) to be surrounded by "the Circumambient
Ocean," "el-Baḥr el-Moḥeeṭ;" and this ocean is described as bounded by a
chain of mountains called Káf, which encircle the whole as a ring, and
confine and strengthen the entire fabric. With respect to the extent of the
earth, our faith must at least admit the assertion of the Prophet, that its
width (as well as its depth or thickness) is equal to five hundred years'
journey: allotting the space of two hundred to the sea, two hundred to
uninhabited desert, eighty to the country of Yájooj and Májooj (or Gog and
Magog), and the rest to the remaining creatures:21 nay, vast as these limits
are, we must rather extend than contract them, unless we suppose some of
the heroes of this work to travel by circuitous routes. Another tradition will
suit us better, wherein it is said, that the inhabited portion of the earth is,
with respect to the rest, as a tent in the midst of a desert.22 But even
according to the former assertion, it will be remarked, that the countries
now commonly known to the Arabs (from the western extremity of Africa
to the eastern limits of India, and from the southern confines of Abyssinia to

those of Russia,) occupy a comparatively insignificant portion of this
expanse. They are situated in the middle; Mekkeh, according to some,—or
Jerusalem, according to others,—being exactly in the centre. Adjacent to the
tract occupied by these countries are other lands and seas, partially known
to the Arabs. On the north-west, with respect to the central point, lies the
country of the Christians, or Franks, comprising the principal European
nations; on the north, the country of Yájooj and Májooj, before mentioned,
occupying, in the maps of the Arabs, large tracts of Asia and Europe; on the
north-east, central Asia; on the east, Eṣ-Ṣeen (or China); on the south-east,
the sea, or seas, of El-Hind (or India), and Ez-Zinj (or Southern Ethiopia),
the waves of which (or of the former of which) mingle with those of the sea
of Eṣ-Ṣeen, beyond; on the south, the country of the Zinj; on the south-
west, the country of the Soodán, or Blacks: on the west is a portion of the
Circumambient Ocean, which surrounds all the countries and seas already
mentioned, as well as immense unknown regions adjoining the former, and
innumerable islands interspersed in the latter. These terræ incognitæ are the
scenes of some of the greatest wonders described in the present work; and
are mostly peopled with Jinn, or Genii. On the Moḥeeṭ, or Circumambient
Ocean, is the 'Arsh Iblees, or Throne of Iblees: in a map accompanying my
copy of the work of Ibn-El-Wardee, a large yellow tract is marked with this
name, adjoining Southern Africa. The western portion of the Moḥeeṭ is
often called "the Sea of Darkness" (Baḥr eẓ-Ẓulumát, or,—eẓ-Ẓulmeh).
Under this name (and the synonymous appellation of el-Baḥr el-Muẓlim)
the Atlantic Ocean is described by the author just mentioned; though, in the
introduction to his work, he says that the Sea of Darkness surrounds the
Moḥeeṭ. The former may be considered either as the western or the more
remote portion of the latter. In the dark regions (Eẓ-Ẓulumát, from which,
perhaps, the above-mentioned portion of the Moḥeeṭ takes its name),23 in the
south-west quarter of the earth, according to the same author, is the
Fountain of Life, of which El-Khiḍr drank, and by virtue of which he still
lives, and will live till the day of judgment. This mysterious person, whom
the vulgar and some others regard as a prophet, and identify with Ilyás
(Elias, or Elijah), and whom some confound with St. George, was,
according to the more approved opinion of the learned, a just man, or saint,
the Wezeer and counsellor of the first Zu-l-Ḳarneyn, who was a universal
conqueror, but an equally doubtful personage, contemporary with the
patriarch Ibráheem, or Abraham. El-Khiḍr is said to appear frequently to

Muslims in perplexity, and to be generally clad in green garments; whence,
according to some, his name. The Prophet Ilyás (or Elias) is also related to
have drunk of the Fountain of Life. During the day-time, it is said, El-Khiḍr
wanders upon the seas, and directs voyagers who go astray; while Ilyás
perambulates the mountains or deserts, and directs persons who chance to
be led astray by the Ghools:24 but at night, they meet together, and guard the
rampart of Yájooj and Májooj,25 to prevent these people from making
irruptions upon their neighbours. Both, however, are generally believed by
the modern Muslims to assist pious persons in distress in various
circumstances, whether travelling by land or by water.—The mountains of
Ḳáf, which bound the Circumambient Ocean, and form a circular barrier
round the whole of our earth, are described by interpreters of the Ḳur-án as
composed of green chrysolite, like the green tint of the sky.26 It is the colour
of these mountains, said the Prophet, that imparts a greenish hue to the sky.27
It is said, in a tradition, that beyond these mountains are other countries;
one of gold, seventy of silver, and seven of musk, all inhabited by angels,
and each country ten thousand years' journey in length, and the same in
breadth.28 Some say that beyond it are creatures unknown to any but God:29
but the general opinion is, that the mountains of Ḳáf terminate our earth,
and that no one knows what is beyond them. They are the chief abode of the
Jinn, or Genii.—Such is a concise account of the earth which we inhabit,
according to the notions of the Arabs.
We must now describe what is beneath our earth.—It has already been said,
that this is the first, or highest, of seven earths, which are all of equal width
and thickness, and at equal distances apart. Each of these earths has
occupants. The occupants of the first are men, genii, brutes, &c.: the second
is occupied by the suffocating wind that destroyed the infidel tribe of 'Ád:
the third, by the stones of Jahennem (or Hell), mentioned in the Ḳur-án, in
these words, "the fuel of which is men and stones:"30 the fourth, by the
sulphur of Jahennem: the fifth, by its serpents: the sixth, by its scorpions, in
colour and size like black mules, and with tails like spears: the seventh, by
Iblees and his troops.31 Whether these several earths are believed to be
connected with each other by any means, and if so, how, we are not
expressly informed; but, that they are supposed to be so is evident. With
respect to our earth in particular, as some think, it is said that it is supported
by a rock, with which the mountains of Ḳáf communicate by means of

veins or roots; and that, when God desires to effect an earthquake at a
certain place, He commands the mountain [or rock] to agitate the vein that
is connected with that place.32—But there is another account, describing our
earth as upheld by certain successive supports of inconceivable magnitude,
which are under the seventh earth; leaving us to infer that the seven earths
are in some manner connected together. This account, as inserted in the
work of one of the writers above quoted, is as follows:—The earth [under
which appellation are here understood the seven earths] was, it is said,
originally unstable; "therefore God created an angel of immense size and of
the utmost strength, and ordered him to go beneath it, [i.e. beneath the
lowest earth,] and place it on his shoulders; and his hands extended beyond
the east and west, and grasped the extremities of the earth [or, as related in
Ibn-El-Wardee, the seven earths], and held it [or them]. But there was no
support for his feet: so God created a rock of ruby, in which were seven
thousand perforations; and from each of these perforations issued a sea, the
size of which none knoweth but God, whose name be exalted: then He
ordered this rock to stand under the feet of the angel. But there was no
support for the rock: wherefore God created a huge bull, with four thousand
eyes, and the same number of ears, noses, mouths, tongues, and feet;
between every two of which was a distance of five hundred years' journey:
and God, whose name be exalted, ordered this bull to go beneath the rock:
and he bore it on his back and his horns. The name of this bull is Kuyootà.33
But there was no support for the bull: therefore God, whose name be
exalted, created an enormous fish, that no one could look upon, on account
of its vast size, and the flashing of its eyes and their greatness; for it is said
that if all the seas were placed in one of its nostrils, they would appear like
a grain of mustard-seed in the midst of a desert: and God, whose name be
exalted, commanded the fish to be a support to the feet of the bull.34 The
name of this fish in Bahamoot. He placed, as its support, water; and under
the water, darkness: and the knowledge of mankind fails as to what is under
the darkness."35—Another opinion is, that the [seventh] earth is upon water;
the water, upon the rock; the rock, on the back of the bull; the bull, on a bed
of sand; the sand, on the fish; the fish, upon a still, suffocating wind; the
wind, on a veil of darkness; the darkness, on a mist; and what is beneath the
mist is unknown.36

It is generally believed, that, under the lowest earth, and beneath seas of
darkness of which the number is unknown, is Hell, which consists of seven
stages, one beneath another. The first of these, according to the general
opinion, is destined for the reception of wicked Mohammadans; the second,
for the Christians; the third, for the Jews; the fourth, for the Sabians; the
fifth, for the Magians; the sixth, for the Idolaters; the seventh, by general
consent, for the Hypocrites. "Jahennem" is the general name for Hell, and
the particular name for its first stage. The situation of Hell has been a
subject of dispute; some place it in the seventh earth; and some have
doubted whether it be above or below the earth which we inhabit.
At the consummation of all things, God, we are told, will take the whole
earth in his [left] hand, and the heavens will be rolled together in his right
hand;37 and the earth will be changed into another earth; and the heavens
[into other heavens];38 and Hell will be brought nigh [to the tribunal of
God].39
Note 3. The phrase "God is all-knowing," or "surpassing in knowledge," or,
as some say, simply "knowing," is generally used by an Arab writer when
he relates anything for the truth of which he cannot vouch; and Muslims
often use it in conversation, in similar cases, unless when they are uttering
intentional falsehoods, which most of them are in the frequent habit of
doing. It is worthy of remark, that, though falsehood is permitted by their
religion in some cases, their doctors of religion and law generally condemn
all works of fiction (even though designed to convey useful instruction),
excepting mere fables, or apologues of a high class.
Note 4. In my usual standard-copy of the original work, as also in that from
which the old translation was made, and in the edition of Breslau, this
prince is called a king of the dynasty of Sásán; but as he is not so
designated in the Calcutta edition of the first two hundred nights, I have
here omitted, in my translation, what would render the whole work full of
anachronisms.
Note 5. Shahriyár is a Persian word, signifying "Friend of the City." The
name of the elder King is thus written in the Calcutta edition above
mentioned: in the edition of Cairo (which I generally follow) it is written
Shahrabáz, by errors in diacritical marks; and in that of Breslau, Shahrabán.

Note 6. This name, Sháh-Zemán, is a compound of Persian and Arabic, and
signifies "King of the Age." By the omission of a diacritical point, in the
Cairo edition, it is written Sháh-Remán.
Note 7. In the Calcutta edition before mentioned, the elder brother is called
King of Samarḳand; and the younger, King of China.
Note 8.—On the title and office of Wezeer. Wezeer 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 burdens 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 by
the back.40
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."41
The post of Wezeer was the highest that was held by an officer of the pen;
and the person who occupied it was properly the next to the Sulṭán: but the
Turkish Sulṭáns of Egypt made the office of Náïb (or Viceroy) to have the
pre-eminence. Under them, the post of Wezeer was sometimes occupied by
an officer of the sword, and sometimes by an officer of the pen; and, in both
cases, the Wezeer was also called "the Ṣáḥeb." The Sulṭán Barḳooḳ so
degraded this office, by intrusting its most important functions to other
ministers, that the Wezeer became, in reality, the King's purveyor, and little
else; receiving the indirect taxes, and employing them in the purchase of
provisions for the royal kitchen.42 It is even said, that he was usually chosen,
by the Turkish Sulṭáns of Egypt, from among the Copts (or Christian
Egyptians); because the administration of the taxes had, from time
immemorial, been committed to persons of that race.43 This, it would seem,

was the case about the time of the Sulṭán Barḳooḳ. But in the present work,
we are to understand the office of Wezeer as being what it was in earlier
times,—that of Prime Minister; though we are not hence to infer that the
editions of the Tales of a Thousand and One Nights known to us were
written at a period anterior to that of the Memlook Sulṭáns of Egypt and
Syria; for, in the time of these monarchs, the degradation of the office was
commonly known to be a recent innovation, and it may have been of no
very long continuance.
Note 9. The paragraph to which this note relates is from the Calcutta
edition of the first two hundred Nights.
Note 10.—On Presents. The custom of giving presents on the occasion of
paying a visit, or previously, which is of such high antiquity as to be
mentioned in the book of Genesis,44 has continued to prevail in the East to
this day. Presents of provisions of some kind, wax candles, &c., are sent to
a person about to celebrate any festivity, by those who are to be his guests:
but after paying a mere visit of ceremony, and on some other occasions,
only money is commonly given to the servants of the person visited. In
either case, the latter is expected to return the compliment on a similar
occasion by presents of equal value. To reject a present generally gives
great offence; being regarded as an insult to him who has offered it. When a
person arrives from a foreign country, he generally brings some articles of
the produce or merchandise of that country as presents to his friends. Thus,
pilgrims returning from the holy places bring water of Zemzem, dust from
the Prophet's tomb, &c., for this purpose.—Horses, and male and female
slaves, are seldom given but by kings or great men. Of the condition of
slaves in Mohammadan countries, an account will be given hereafter.
Note 11.—On the Letters of Muslims. The letters of Muslims are
distinguished by several peculiarities dictated by the rules of politeness. The
paper is thick, white, and highly polished: sometimes it is ornamented with
flowers of gold; and the edges are always cut straight with scissors. The
upper half is generally left blank: and the writing never occupies any
portion of the second side. A notion of the usual style of letters will be
conveyed by several examples in this work. The name of the person to
whom the letter is addressed, when the writer is an inferior or an equal, and
even in some other cases, commonly occurs in the first sentence, preceded

by several titles of honour; and is often written a little above the line to
which it apertains; the space beneath it in that line being left blank:
sometimes it is written in letters of gold, or red ink. A king, writing to a
subject, or a great man to a dependent, usually places his name and seal at
the head of his letter. The seal is the impression of a signet (generally a ring,
worn on the little finger of the right hand), upon which is engraved the
name of the person, commonly accompanied by the words "His [i.e. God's]
servant," or some other words expressive of trust in God, &c. Its impression
is considered more valid than the sign-manual, and is indispensable to give
authenticity to the letter. It is made by dabbing some ink upon the surface of
the signet, and pressing this upon the paper: the place which is to be
stamped being first moistened, by touching the tongue with a finger of the
right hand, and then gently rubbing the part with that finger. A person
writing to a superior, or to an equal, or even an inferior to whom he wishes
to shew respect, signs his name at the bottom of his letter, next the left side
or corner, and places the seal immediately to the right of this: but if he
particularly desire to testify his humility, he places it beneath his name, or
even partly over the lower edge of the paper, which consequently does not
receive the whole of the impression. The letter is generally folded twice, in
the direction of the writing, and enclosed in a cover of paper, upon which is
written the address, in some such form as this:—"It shall arrive, if it be the
will of God, whose name be exalted, at such a place, and be delivered into
the hand of our honoured friend, &c., such a one, whom God preserve."
Sometimes it is placed in a small bag, or purse, of silk embroidered with
gold.
Note 12. The custom of sending forth a deputation to meet and welcome an
approaching ambassador, or other great man, is still observed in Eastern
countries; and the rank of the persons thus employed conveys to him some
intimation of the manner in which he is to be received at the court: he
therefore looks forward to this ceremony with a degree of anxiety. A
humorous illustration of its importance in the eye of an Oriental
ambassador, is given in "The Adventures of Hajji Baba in England."
Note 13.—On Hospitality. The hospitable custom here mentioned is
observed by Muslims in compliance with a precept of their Prophet.
"Whoever," said he, "believes in God and the day of resurrection must
respect his guest; and the time of being kind to him is one day and one

night; and the period of entertaining him is three days; and after that, if he
does it longer, he benefits him more; but it is not right for a guest to stay in
the house of the host so long as to incommode him." He even allowed the
"right of a guest" to be taken by force from such as would not offer it.45 The
following observations, respecting the treatment of guests by the Bedawees,
present an interesting commentary upon the former precept, and upon our
text:—"Strangers who have not any friend or acquaintance in the camp,
alight at the first tent that presents itself: whether the owner be at home or
not, the wife or daughter immediately spreads a carpet, and prepares
breakfast or dinner. If the stranger's business requires a protracted stay, as,
for instance, if he wishes to cross the Desert under the protection of the
tribe, the host, after a lapse of three days and four hours from the time of his
arrival, asks whether he means to honour him any longer with his company.
If the stranger declares his intention of prolonging his visit, it is expected
that he should assist his host in domestic matters, fetching water, milking
the camel, feeding the horse, &c. Should he even decline this, he may
remain; but will be censured by all the Arabs of the camp: he may, however,
go to some other tent of the nezel [or encampment], and declare himself
there a guest. Thus, every third or fourth day he may change hosts, until his
business is finished, or he has reached his place of destination."46
Note 14.—On different modes of Obeisance. Various different modes of
obeisance are practised by the Muslims. Among these, the following are the
more common or more remarkable: they differ in the degree of respect that
they indicate, nearly in the order in which I shall mention them; the last
being the most respectful:—1. Placing the right hand upon the breast.—2.
Touching the lips and the forehead or turban (or the forehead or turban
only) with the right hand.—3. Doing the same, but slightly inclining the
head during that action.—4. The same as the preceding, but inclining the
body also.—5. As above, but previously touching the ground with the right
hand.—6. Kissing the hand of the person to whom the obeisance is paid.—
7. Kissing his sleeve.—8. Kissing the skirt of his clothing.—9. Kissing his
feet.—10. Kissing the carpet or ground before him.—The first five modes
are often accompanied by the salutation of "Peace be on you!" to which the
reply is, "On you be peace, and the mercy of God, and his blessings!" The
sixth mode is observed by servants or pupils to masters, by the wife to the
husband, and by children to their father, and sometimes to the mother. It is

also an act of homage paid to the aged by the young; or to learned or
religious men by the less instructed or less devout. The last mode is seldom
observed but to kings; and in Arabian countries it is now very uncommon.
Note 15. It might seem unnecessary to say, that a King understood what he
read, were it not explained that the style of Arabic epistolary compositions,
like that of the literature in general, differs considerably from that of
common conversation.
Note 16. The party travelled chiefly by night, on account of the heat of the
day.
Note 17.—On the occasional Decorations of Eastern Cities. On various
occasions of rejoicing in the palace of the king or governor, the inhabitants
of an Eastern city are commanded to decorate their houses, and the
tradesmen, in particular, to adorn their shops, by suspending shawls,
brocades, rich dresses, women's ornaments, and all kinds of costly articles
of merchandise; lamps and flags are attached to cords drawn across the
streets, which are often canopied over; and when sufficient notice has been
given, the shops, and the doors, &c., of private houses, are painted with gay
colours.—Towards the close of the year 1834, the people of Cairo were
ordered to decorate their houses and shops previously to the arrival of
Ibráheem Báshà, after his victorious campaigns in Syria and Asia Minor.
They ornamented the lower parts of their houses with whitewash and red
ochre, generally in broad, alternate, horizontal stripes; that is, one course of
stone white, and the next red; but the only kind of oil-paint that they could
procure in large quantities was blue, the colour of mourning; so that they
were obliged to use this as the ground upon which to paint flowers and
other ornamental devices on their shops; but they regarded this as
portending a pestilence; and the awful plague of the following spring
confirmed them in their superstitious notions.
Note 18. As the notes to this introductory portion are especially numerous,
and the chase is here but cursorily alluded to, I shall reserve an account of
the mode of hunting to be given on a future occasion.
Note 19.—On the opinions of the Arabs respecting Female Beauty. The
reader should have some idea of the qualifications or charms which the
Arabs in general consider requisite to the perfection of female beauty; for

erroneous fancies on this subject would much detract from the interest of
the present work. He must not imagine that excessive fatness is one of these
characteristics; though it is said to be esteemed a chief essential to beauty
throughout the greater part of Northern Africa: on the contrary, the maiden
whose loveliness inspires the most impassioned expressions in Arabic
poetry and prose is celebrated for her slender figure: she is like the cane
among plants, and is elegant as a twig of the oriental willow.47 Her face is
like the full moon, presenting the strongest contrast to the colour of her hair,
which (to preserve the nature of the simile just employed,) is of the deepest
hue of night, and descends to the middle of her back. A rosy blush
overspreads the centre of each cheek; and a mole is considered an
additional charm. The Arabs, indeed, are particularly extravagant in their
admiration of this natural beauty-spot; which, according to its place, is
compared to a globule of ambergris upon a dish of alabaster or upon the
surface of a ruby.48 The eyes of the Arab beauty are intensely black, large,
and long; of the form of an almond: they are full of brilliancy; but this is
softened by a lid slightly depressed, and by long silken lashes, giving a
tender and languid expression, which is full of enchantment, and scarcely to
be improved by the adventitious aid of the black border of koḥl; for this the
lovely maiden adds rather for the sake of fashion than necessity; having,
what the Arabs term, natural koḥl. The eyebrows are thin and arched; the
forehead is wide, and fair as ivory; the nose, straight; the mouth, small; the
lips are of a brilliant red; and the teeth, "like pearls set in coral." The forms
of the bosom are compared to two pomegranates; the waist is slender; the
hips are wide and large; the feet and hands, small; the fingers, tapering, and
their extremities dyed with the deep orange-red tint imparted by the leaves
of the ḥennà.49 The person in whom these charms are combined exhibits a
lively image of "the rosy-fingered Aurora:" her lover knows neither night
nor sleep in her presence, and the constellations of heaven are no longer
seen by him when she approaches. The most bewitching age is between
fourteen and seventeen years; for then the forms of womanhood are
generally developed in their greatest beauty; but many a maiden in her
twelfth year possesses charms sufficient to fascinate every youth or man
who beholds her.
The reader may perhaps desire a more minute analysis of Arabian beauty.
The following is the most complete that I can offer him.—"Four things in a

woman should be black; the hair of the head, the eyebrows, the eyelashes,
and the dark part of the eyes: four white; the complexion of the skin, the
white of the eyes, the teeth, and the legs: four red; the tongue, the lips, the
middle of the cheeks, and the gums: four round; the head, the neck, the
fore-arms, and the ankles: four long; the back, the fingers, the arms, and the
legs:50 four wide; the forehead, the eyes, the bosom, and the hips: four fine;
the eyebrows, the nose, the lips, and the fingers: four thick; the lower part of
the back, the thighs, the calves of the legs, and the knees: four small; the
ears, the breasts, the hands, and the feet."51
Note 20. Mes'ood is a common proper name of men, and signifies "happy,"
or "made happy."
Note 21.—On the Jinn, or Genii. The frequent mention of Genii in this
work, and the erroneous accounts that have been given of these fabulous
beings by various European writers, have induced me to examine the
statements respecting them in several Arabic works; and I shall here offer
the result of my investigation, with a previous account of the Angels.
The Muslims, in general, believe in three different species of created
intelligent beings; namely, Angels, who are created of light; Genii, who are
created of fire; and Men, created of earth. The first species are called
"Meláikeh" (sing. "Melek"); the second, "Jinn" or "Ginn" (sing. "Jinnee" or
"Ginnee"); the third, "Ins" (sing. "Insee"). Some hold that the Devils
(Sheyṭáns) are of a species distinct from Angels and Jinn; but the more
prevailing opinion, and that which rests on the highest authority, is, that
they are rebellious Jinn.
"It is believed," says El-Ḳazweenee, "that the Angels are of a simple
substance, endowed with life, and speech, and reason; and that the
difference between them and the Jinn and Sheyṭáns is a difference of
species. Know," he adds, "that the Angels are sanctified from carnal desire
and the disturbance of anger: they disobey not God in what He hath
commanded them, but do what they are commanded. Their food is the
celebrating of his glory; their drink, the proclaiming of his holiness; their
conversation, the commemoration of God, whose name be exalted; their
pleasure, his worship: they are created in different forms, and with different
powers." Some are described as having the forms of brutes. Four of them

are Archangels; Jebraeel or Jibreel (or Gabriel), the angel of revelations;
Meekaeel or Meekál (or Michael), the patron of the Israelites; 'Azraeel, the
angel of death; and Isráfeel, the angel of the trumpet, which he is to sound
twice, or as some say thrice, at the end of the world: one blast will kill all
living creatures (himself included): another, forty years after, (he being
raised again for this purpose, with Jebraeel and Meekaeel), will raise the
dead. These Archangels are also called Apostolic Angels. They are inferior
in dignity to human prophets and apostles, though superior to the rest of the
human race: the angelic nature is held to be inferior to the human nature,
because all the Angels were commanded to prostrate themselves before
Adam. Every believer is attended by two guardian and recording angels;
one of whom writes his good actions; the other, his evil actions: or,
according to some, the number of these angels is five, or sixty, or a hundred
and sixty. There are also two Angels called Munkar (vulg. Nákir) and
Nekeer, who examine all the dead, and torture the wicked, in their graves.
The species of Jinn is said to have been created some thousands of years
before Adam. According to a tradition from the Prophet, this species
consists of five orders or classes; namely, Jánn (who are the least powerful
of all), Jinn, Sheyṭáns (or Devils), 'Efreets, and Márids. The last, it is added,
are the most powerful; and the Jánn are transformed Jinn; like as certain
apes and swine were transformed men.52—It must, however, be remarked
here, that the terms Jinn and Jánn are generally used indiscriminately, as
names of the whole species (including the other orders above mentioned),
whether good or bad; and that the former term is the more common. Also,
that "Sheyṭán" is commonly used to signify any evil Jinnee. An 'Efreet is a
powerful evil Jinnee:53 a Márid, an evil Jinnee of the most powerful class.
The Jinn (but generally speaking, evil ones) are called by the Persians
"Deevs," the most powerful evil Jinn, "Narahs" (which signifies "males,"
though they are said to be males and females); the good Jinn, "Perees;"
though this term is commonly applied to females.
In a tradition from the Prophet, it is said, "The Jánn were created of a
smokeless fire."54 The word which signifies "a smokeless fire" has been
misunderstood by some as meaning "the flame of fire:" El-Jóharee (in the
Ṣeḥáḥ) renders it rightly; and says that of this fire was the Sheyṭán (Iblees)
created. "El-Jánn" is sometimes used as a name for Iblees; as in the
following verse of the Ḳur-án:—"And the Jánn [the father of the Jinn; i. e.

Iblees] we had created before [i. e. before the creation of Adam] of the fire
of the samoom [i. e. of fire without smoke]."55 "Jánn" also signifies "a
serpent;" as in other passages of the Ḳur-án;56 and is used in the same book
as synonymous with "Jinn."57 In the last sense it is generally believed to be
used in the tradition quoted in the commencement of this paragraph. There
are several apparently contradictory traditions from the Prophet which are
reconciled by what has been above stated: in one, it is said, that Iblees was
the father of all the Jánn and Sheyṭáns;58 Jánn being here synonymous with
Jinn: in another, that Jánn was the father of all the Jinn;59 here, Jánn being
used as a name of Iblees.
"It is held," says El-Ḳazweenee, "that the Jinn are aerial animals, with
transparent bodies, which can assume various forms. People differ in
opinion respecting these beings: some consider the Jinn and Sheyṭáns as
unruly men; but these persons are of the Moạtezileh [a sect of Muslim
freethinkers]: and some hold, that God, whose name be exalted, created the
Angels of the light of fire, and the Jinn of its flame [but this is at variance
with the general opinion], and the Sheytáns of its smoke [which is also at
variance with the common opinion]; and that [all] these kinds of beings are
[usually] invisible60 to men, but that they assume what forms they please,
and when their form becomes condensed they are visible."—This last
remark illustrates several descriptions of Jinnees in this work; where the
form of the monster is at first undefined, or like an enormous pillar, and
then gradually assumes a human shape and less gigantic size. The particular
forms of brutes, reptiles, &c., in which the Jinn most frequently appear will
be mentioned hereafter.
It is said that God created the Jánn [or Jinn] two thousand years before
Adam [or, according to some writers, much earlier]; and that there are
believers and infidels and every sect among them, as among men.61—Some
say that a prophet, named Yoosuf, was sent to the Jinn: others, that they had
only preachers, or admonishers: others, again, that seventy apostles were
sent, before Moḥammad, to Jinn and men conjointly.62 It is commonly
believed that the preadamite Jinn were governed by forty (or, according to
some, seventy-two) kings, to each of whom the Arab writers give the name
of Suleymán (or Solomon); and that they derive their appellation from the
last of these, who was called Jánn Ibn-Jánn, and who, some say, built the
Pyramids of Egypt. The following account of the preadamite Jinn is given

by El-Ḳazweenee.—"It is related in histories, that a race of Jinn, in ancient
times, before the creation of Adam, inhabited the earth, and covered it, the
land and the sea, and the plains and the mountains; and the favours of God
were multiplied upon them, and they had government, and prophecy, and
religion, and law; but they transgressed and offended, and opposed their
prophets, and made wickedness to abound in the earth; whereupon God,
whose name be exalted, sent against them an army of Angels, who took
possession of the earth, and drove away the Jinn to the regions of the
islands, and made many of them prisoners; and of those who were made
prisoners was 'Azázeel [afterwards called Iblees, from his despair]; and a
slaughter was made among them. At that time, 'Azázeel was young: he grew
up among the Angels [and probably for that reason was called one of them],
and became learned in their knowledge, and assumed the government of
them; and his days were prolonged until he became their chief; and thus it
continued for a long time, until the affair between him and Adam happened,
as God, whose name be exalted, hath said, 'When we said unto the Angels,
Worship63 ye Adam, and [all] worshipped except Iblees, [who] was [one] of
the Jinn.'"64
"Iblees," we are told by another authority, "was sent as a governor upon the
earth, and judged among the Jinn a thousand years, after which he ascended
into heaven, and remained employed in worship until the creation of
Adam."65 The name of Iblees was originally, according to some, 'Azázeel (as
before mentioned); and according to others, El-Ḥárith: his patronymic is
Aboo-Murrah, or Abu-l-Ghimr.66—It is disputed whether he was of the
Angels or of the Jinn. There are three opinions on this point.—1. That he
was of the Angels, from a tradition from Ibn-'Abbás.—2. That he was of the
Sheyṭáns (or evil Jinn); as it is said in the Ḳur-án, "except Iblees, [who] was
[one] of the Jinn:" this was the opinion of El-Ḥasan El-Baṣree, and is that
commonly held.—3. That he was neither of the Angels nor of the Jinn; but
created alone, of fire.—Ibn-'Abbás founds his opinion on the same text
from which El-Ḥasan El-Baṣree derives his: "When we said unto the
Angels, Worship ye Adam, and [all] worshipped except Iblees, [who] was
[one] of the Jinn" (before quoted): which he explains by saying, that the
most noble and honourable among the Angels are called "the Jinn," because
they are veiled from the eyes of the other Angels on account of their
superiority; and that Iblees was one of these Jinn. He adds, that he had the

government of the lowest heaven and of the earth, and was called the Ṭáoos
(literally, Peacock) of the Angels; and that there was not a spot in the lowest
heaven but he had prostrated himself upon it: but when the Jinn rebelled
upon the earth, God sent a troop of Angels who drove them to the islands
and mountains; and Iblees being elated with pride, and refusing to prostrate
himself before Adam, God transformed him into a Sheyṭán.—But this
reasoning is opposed by other verses, in which Iblees is represented as
saying, "Thou hast created me of fire, and hast created him [Adam] of
earth."67 It is therefore argued, "If he were created originally of fire, how
was he created of light? for the Angels were [all] created of light."68—The
former verse may be explained by the tradition, that Iblees, having been
taken captive, was exalted among the Angels; or perhaps there is an ellipsis
after the word "Angels;" for it might be inferred that the command given to
the Angels was also (and à fortiori) to be obeyed by the Jinn.
According to a tradition, Iblees and all the Sheyṭáns are distinguished from
the other Jinn by a longer existence. "The Sheyṭáns," it is added, "are the
children of Iblees, and die not but with him: whereas the [other] Jinn die
before him;"69 though they may live many centuries. But this is not
altogether accordant with the popular belief: Iblees and many other evil Jinn
are to survive mankind; but they are to die before the general resurrection;
as also even the Angels; the last of whom will be the Angel of Death,
'Azraeel: yet not all the evil Jinn are to live thus long: many of them are
killed by shooting stars, hurled at them from heaven; wherefore, the Arabs,
when they see a shooting star (shiháb), often exclaim, "May God transfix
the enemy of the faith!"—Many also are killed by other Jinn; and some,
even by men. The fire of which the Jinnee is created circulates in his veins,
in place of blood: therefore, when he receives a mortal wound, this fire,
issuing from his veins, generally consumes him to ashes.—The Jinn, it has
been already shown, are peccable. They also eat and drink, and propagate
their species, sometimes in conjunction with human beings; in which latter
case, the offspring partakes of the nature of both parents. In all these
respects they differ from the Angels. Among the evil Jinn are distinguished
the five sons of their chief, Iblees; namely, Teer, who brings about
calamities, losses, and injuries; El-Aạwar, who encourages debauchery; Sóṭ,
who suggests lies; Dásim, who causes hatred between man and wife; and
Zelemboor, who presides over places of traffic.70

The most common forms and habitations or places of resort of the Jinn must
now be described.
The following traditions from the Prophet are the most to the purpose that I
have seen.—The Jinn are of various shapes; having the forms of serpents,
scorpions, lions, wolves, jackals, &c.71—The Jinn are of three kinds; one on
the land; one in the sea; and one in the air.72 The Jinn consist of forty troops;
each troop consisting of six hundred thousand.73—The Jinn are of three
kinds; one have wings, and fly; another are snakes, and dogs; and the third
move about from place to place like men.74—Domestic snakes are asserted
to be Jinn on the same authority.75
The Prophet ordered his followers to kill serpents and scorpions if they
intruded at prayers; but on other occasions, he seems to have required first
to admonish them to depart, and then, if they remained, to kill them. The
Doctors, however, differ in opinion whether all kinds of snakes or serpents
should be admonished first; or whether any should; for the Prophet, say
they, took a covenant of the Jinn [probably after the above-mentioned
command], that they should not enter the houses of the faithful: therefore, it
is argued, if they enter, they break their covenant, and it becomes lawful to
kill them without previous admonishment. Yet it is related that 'Áisheh, the
Prophet's wife, having killed a serpent in her chamber, was alarmed by a
dream, and, fearing that it might have been a Muslim Jinnee, as it did not
enter her chamber when she was undressed, gave in alms, as an expiation,
twelve thousand dirhems (about £300), the price of the blood of a Muslim.76
The Jinn are said to appear to mankind most commonly in the shapes of
serpents, dogs, cats, or human beings. In the last case, they are sometimes
of the stature of men, and sometimes of a size enormously gigantic. If good,
they are generally resplendently handsome: if evil, horribly hideous. They
become invisible at pleasure (by a rapid extension or rarefaction of the
particles which compose them), or suddenly disappear in the earth or air, or
through a solid wall. Many Muslims in the present day profess to have seen
and held intercourse with them.
The Zóba'ah, which is a whirlwind that raises the sand or dust in the form of
a pillar of prodigious height, often seen sweeping across the deserts and
fields, is believed to be caused by the flight of an evil Jinnee. To defend

themselves from a Jinnee thus "riding in the whirlwind," the Arabs often
exclaim, "Iron! Iron!" (Ḥadeed! Ḥadeed!), or, "Iron! thou unlucky!"
(Ḥadeed! yá mashoom!), as the Jinn are supposed to have a great dread of
that metal: or they exclaim, "God is most great!" (Alláhu akbar!).77 A similar
superstition prevails with respect to the water-spout at sea, as the reader
may have discovered from the first instance of the description of a Jinnee in
the present work, which occasions this note to be here inserted.
It is believed that the chief abode of the Jinn is in the Mountains of Ḳáf,
which are supposed (as mentioned on a former occasion) to encompass the
whole of our earth. But they are also believed to pervade the solid body of
our earth, and the firmament; and to choose, as their principal places of
resort, or of occasional abode, baths, wells, the latrina, ovens, ruined
houses, market-places, the junctures of roads, the sea, and rivers. The
Arabs, therefore, when they pour water, &c., on the ground, or enter a bath,
or let down a bucket into a well, or visit the latrina, and on various other
occasions, say, "Permission!" or "Permission, ye blessed!" (Destoor! or,
Destoor yá mubárakeen!").78—The evil spirits (or evil Jinn), it is said, had
liberty to enter any of the seven heavens till the birth of Jesus, when they
were excluded from three of them; on the birth of Moḥammad, they were
forbidden the other four.79 They continue, however, to ascend to the confines
of the lowest heaven, and there listening to the conversation of the Angels
respecting things decreed by God, obtain knowledge of futurity, which they
sometimes impart to men, who, by means of talismans, or certain
invocations, make them to serve the purposes of magical performances. To
this particular subject it will be necessary to revert.—What the Prophet said
of Iblees, in the following tradition, applies also to the evil Jinn over whom
he presides:—His chief abode [among men] is the bath; his chief places of
resort are the markets, and the junctures of roads; his food is whatever is
killed without the name of God being pronounced over it; his drink,
whatever is intoxicating; his muëddin, the mizmár (a musical pipe; i. e. any
musical instrument); his ḳurán, poetry; his written character, the marks
made in geomancy;80 his speech, falsehood; his snares are women.81
That particular Jinnees presided over particular places, was an opinion of
the early Arabs. It is said in the Ḳur-án, "And there were certain men who
sought refuge with certain of the Jinn."82 In the Commentary of the Jeláleyn,
I find the following remark on these words:—"When they halted, on their

journey, in a place of fear, each man said, 'I seek refuge with the lord of this
place, from the mischief of his foolish ones!'" In illustration of this, I may
insert the following tradition, translated from El-Ḳazweenee:—"It is related
by a certain narrator of traditions, that he descended into a valley, with his
sheep, and a wolf carried off a ewe from among them; and he arose, and
raised his voice, and cried, 'O inhabitant of the valley!' whereupon he heard
a voice saying, 'O wolf, restore to him his sheep!' and the wolf came with
the ewe, and left her, and departed."—The same opinion is held by the
modern Arabs, though probably they do not use such an invocation.—A
similar superstition, a relic of ancient Egyptian credulity, still prevails
among the people of Cairo. It is believed that each quarter of this city has
its peculiar guardian-genius, or Agathodæmon, which has the form of a
serpent.83
It has already been mentioned that some of the Jinn are Muslims; and
others, infidels. The good Jinn acquit themselves of the imperative duties of
religion; namely, prayers, alms-giving, fasting during the month of
Ramaḍán, and pilgrimage to Mekkeh and Mount 'Arafát: but in the
performance of these duties they are generally invisible to human beings.
Some examples of the mode in which good Jinn pay the alms required of
them by the law, I have given in a former work.84
Of the services and injuries done by Jinn to men, some account must be
given.
It has been stated, that, by means of talismans, or certain invocations, men
are said to obtain the services of Jinn; and the manner in which the latter are
enabled to assist magicians, by imparting to them the knowledge of future
events, has been explained. No man ever obtained such absolute power over
the Jinn as Suleymán, Ibn-Dáood (Solomon, the Son of David). This he did
by virtue of a most wonderful talisman, which is said to have come down to
him from heaven. It was a seal-ring, upon which was engraved "the most
great name" of God; and was partly composed of brass, and partly of iron.
With the brass he stamped his written commands to the good Jinn; with the
iron (for a reason before mentioned), those to the evil Jinn, or Devils. Over
both orders he had unlimited power; as well as over the birds and the
winds,85 and, as is generally said, the wild beasts. His Wezeer, Aṣaf the son
of Barkhiyà, is also said to have been acquainted with "the most great

name," by uttering which, the greatest miracles may be performed; even
that of raising the dead. By virtue of this name, engraved on his ring,
Suleymán compelled the Jinn to assist in building the Temple of Jerusalem,
and in various other works. Many of the evil Jinn he converted to the true
faith; and many others of this class, who remained obstinate in infidelity, he
confined in prisons. He is said to have been monarch of the whole earth.
Hence, perhaps, the name of Suleymán is given to the universal monarchs
of the preadamite Jinn; unless the story of his own universal dominion
originated from confounding him with those kings of the Jinn.
The injuries related to have been inflicted upon human beings by evil Jinn
are of various kinds. Jinnees are said to have often carried off beautiful
women, whom they have forcibly kept as their wives or concubines. I have
mentioned in a former work, that malicious or disturbed Jinnees are
asserted often to station themselves on the roofs, or at the windows, of
houses, and to throw down bricks and stones on persons passing by.86 When
they take possession of an uninhabited house, they seldom fail to persecute
terribly any person who goes to reside in it. They are also very apt to pilfer
provisions, &c. Many learned and devout persons, to secure their property
from such depredations, repeat the words "In the name of God, the
Compassionate, the Merciful!" on locking the doors of their houses, rooms,
or closets, and on covering the bread-basket, or anything containing food.87
During the month of Ramaḍán, the evil Jinn are believed to be confined in
prison; and therefore, on the last night of that month, with the same view,
women sometimes repeat the words above mentioned, and sprinkle salt
upon the floors of the apartments of their houses.88
To complete this sketch of Arabian mythology, an account must be added of
several creatures generally believed to be of inferior orders of the Jinn.
One of these is the Ghool, which is commonly regarded as a kind of
Sheytán, or evil Jinnee, that eats men; and is also described by some as a
Jinnee or an enchanter who assumes various forms. The Ghools are said to
appear in the forms of various animals, and of human beings, and in many
monstrous shapes; to haunt burial-grounds and other sequestered spots; to
feed upon dead human bodies; and to kill and devour any human creature
who has the misfortune to fall in their way: whence the term "Ghool" is
applied to any cannibal. An opinion quoted by a celebrated author,

respecting the Ghool, is, that it is a demoniacal animal, which passes a
solitary existence in the deserts, resembling both man and brute; that it
appears to a person travelling alone in the night and in solitary places, and,
being supposed by him to be itself a traveller, lures him out of his way.89
Another opinion stated by him is this: that, when the Sheytáns attempt to
hear words by stealth [from the confines of the lowest heaven], they are
struck by shooting stars; and some are burnt; some, falling into a sea, or
rather a large river (baḥr), become converted into crocodiles; and some,
falling upon the land, become Ghools. The same author adds the following
tradition:—"The Ghool is any Jinnee that is opposed to travels, assuming
various forms and appearances;"90 and affirms that several of the
Companions of the Prophet saw Ghools in their travels; and that 'Omar,
among them, saw a Ghool while on a journey to Syria, before El-Islám, and
struck it with his sword.—It appears that "Ghool" is, properly speaking, a
name only given to a female demon of the kind above described: the male is
called "Ḳuṭrub."91 It is said that these beings, and the Ghaddár, or Gharrár,
and other similar creatures which will presently be mentioned, are the
offspring of Iblees and of a wife whom God created for him of the fire of
the Samoom (which here signifies, as in an instance before mentioned, "a
smokeless fire"); and that they sprang from an egg.92 The female Ghool, it is
added, appears to men in the deserts, in various forms, converses with them,
and sometimes prostitutes herself to them.93
The Seạláh, or Saạláh, is another demoniacal creature, described by some
[or rather, by most authors] as of the Jinn. It is said that it is mostly found in
forests, and that when it captures a man, it makes him dance, and plays with
him as the cat plays with the mouse. A man of Iṣfahán asserted that many
beings of this kind abounded in his country; that sometimes the wolf would
hunt one of them by night, and devour it, and that, when it had seized it, the
Seạláh would cry out, "Come to my help, for the wolf devoureth me!" or it
would cry, "Who will liberate me? I have a hundred deenárs, and he shall
receive them!" but the people knowing that it was the cry of the Seạláh, no
one would liberate it; and so the wolf would eat it.94—An island in the sea of
Eṣ-Ṣeen (or China) is called "the Island of the Seạláh," by Arab
geographers, from its being said to be inhabited by the demons so named:
they are described as creatures of hideous forms, supposed to be Sheyṭáns,
the offspring of human beings and Jinn, who eat men."95

The Ghaddár, or Gharrár (for its name is written differently in two different
MSS. in my possession), is another creature of a similar nature, described as
being found in the borders of El-Yemen, and sometimes in Tihámeh, and in
the upper parts of Egypt. It is said that it entices a man to it, and either
tortures him in a manner not to be described, or merely terrifies him, and
leaves him.96
The Delhán is also a demoniacal being, inhabiting the islands of the seas,
having the form of a man, and riding on an ostrich. It eats the flesh of men
whom the sea casts on the shore from wrecks. Some say that a Delhán once
attacked a ship in the sea, and desired to take the crew; but they contended
with it; whereupon it uttered a cry which caused them to fall upon their
faces, and it took them.97—In my MS. of Ibn-El-Wardee, I find the name
written "Dahlán." He mentions an island called by this name, in the Sea of
'Omán; and describes its inhabitants as cannibal Sheyṭáns, like men in form,
and riding on birds resembling ostriches.
The Shiḳḳ is another demoniacal creature, having the form of half a human
being (like a man divided longitudinally); and it is believed that the Nesnás
is the offspring of a Shiḳḳ and of a human being. The Shiḳḳ appears to
travellers; and it was a demon of this kind who killed, and was killed by,
'Alḳamah, the son of Ṣafwán, the son of Umeiyeh; of whom it is well
known that he was killed by a Jinnee. So says El-Ḳazweenee.
The Nesnás (above mentioned) is described as resembling half a human
being; having half a head, half a body, one arm, and one leg, with which it
hops with much agility; as being found in the woods of El-Yemen, and
being endowed with speech: "but God," it is added, "is all-knowing."98 It is
said that it is found in Ḥaḍramót as well as El-Yemen; and that one was
brought alive to El-Mutawekkil: it resembled a man in form, excepting that
it had but half a face, which was in its breast, and a tail like that of a sheep.
The people of Ḥaḍramót, it is added, eat it; and its flesh is sweet. It is only
generated in their country. A man who went there asserted that he saw a
captured Nesnás, which cried out for mercy, conjuring him by God and by
himself.99 A race of people whose head is in the breast is described as
inhabiting an island called Jábeh (supposed to be Java), in the Sea of El-
Hind, or India.100 A kind of Nesnás is also described as inhabiting the Island

of Ráïj, in the Sea of Eṣ-Ṣeen, or China, and having wings like those of the
bat.101
The Hátif is a being that is heard, but not seen; and is often mentioned by
Arab writers. It is generally the communicator of some intelligence in the
way of advice, or direction, or warning.
Here terminating this long note, I must beg the reader to remark, that the
superstitious fancies which it describes are prevalent among all classes of
the Arabs, and the Muslims in general, learned as well as vulgar. I have
comprised in it much matter not necessary to illustrate the introductory
portion of this work, in order to avoid frequent recurrence to the same
subject. Another apology for its length may also be offered:—its importance
as confuting Schlegel's opinion, that the frequent mention of Genii is more
consistent with Indian than with Arab notions.
Note 22. This chest is described in some copies as formed of glass.
Note 23. The term "'Efreet" has been explained above, in Note 21.
Note 24. Most of the copies of the original, it appears, make the number of
rings ninety-eight; therefore, I have substituted this, as less extraordinary,
for five hundred and seventy, which is the number mentioned in the Cairo
edition.
Note 25. Almost every Muslim who can afford it has a seal-ring, for a
reason shewn in a former note (No. 11).102
Note 26. For the story of Yoosuf and Zeleekha (or Joseph and the wife of
Potiphar), see the Ḳur-án, ch. xii.
Note 27.—On the wickedness of Women. The wickedness of women is a
subject upon which the stronger sex among the Arabs, with an affected
feeling of superior virtue, often dwell in common conversation. That
women are deficient in judgment or good sense is held as a fact not to be
disputed even by themselves, as it rests on an assertion of the Prophet; but
that they possess a superior degree of cunning is pronounced equally certain
and notorious. Their general depravity is pronounced to be much greater
than that of men. "I stood," said the Prophet, "at the gate of Paradise; and lo,
most of its inmates were the poor: and I stood at the gate of Hell; and lo,

most of its inmates were women."103 In allusion to women, the Khaleefeh
'Omar said, "Consult them, and do the contrary of what they advise." But
this is not to be done merely for the sake of opposing them; nor when other
advice can be had. "It is desirable for a man," says a learned Imám, "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: 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."104 A truly virtuous wife is, of course, excepted
in this rule: such a person is as much respected by Muslims as she is (at
least, according to their own account) rarely met with by them. When
woman was created, the Devil, we are told, was delighted, and said, "Thou
art half of my host, and thou art the depository of my secret, and thou art
my arrow, with which I shoot, and miss not."105 What are termed by us
affairs of gallantry were very common among the Pagan Arabs, and are
scarcely less so among their Muslim posterity. They are, however,
unfrequent among most tribes of Bedawees, and among the descendants of
those tribes not long settled as cultivators. I remember being roused from
the quiet that I generally enjoyed in an ancient tomb in which I resided at
Thebes, by the cries of a young woman in the neighbourhood, whom an
Arab was severely beating for an impudent proposal that she had made to
him.
Note 28.—On the cruelty ascribed to Shahriyár. I wish that I could accuse
the author of inventing, in this case, an incident of an incredible nature, and
entirely unparalleled; but, alas, acts of equal cruelty are recorded of Arab
princes: traits of benevolence, and crimes of the blackest hue, are related in
their histories, sometimes in the same page. I have not read of any case
exactly resembling that to which this note relates; but the following
anecdote will shew, that if conduct still more atrocious had been described
in the latter, it might have been founded on fact. "In the year of the Flight
423, the Khaleefeh of Egypt, Eẓ-Ẓáhir, the son of El-Ḥákim, collected
together all the female slaves that were in the palace, and said to them,
'Assemble together, and I will make a day of pleasure for you, such as hath
not before been seen in Egypt.' He ordered, also, that every person who had

a female slave should bring her, and that none of them should come but
with her ornaments of jewels and gold. They did so; and there was not a
single one that did not come. He then placed them in a chamber, and,
calling some masons, made them build up the door of the chamber upon
them, and so they all died. This happened on Friday (the Mohammadan
Sabbath,) the 6th of Showwál. The number of them was two thousand six
hundred and sixty female slaves. After they had remained six months, he
heaped lighted combustibles upon them, and burned them, together with
their clothes and ornaments. May God [says the narrator] shew no mercy to
him!"106
Note 29. I here deviate a little from my original, in which Shahrazád is
made to say, "Either I shall live, or I shall be a ransom for the daughters of
the Muslims, and the cause of their deliverance from him." Upon this, the
sheykh Moḥammed 'Eiyád has remarked in a marginal note, "It would seem
that she had contrived some stratagem to prevent his marrying again if he
determined to kill her: otherwise, the mere killing her would not be a means
of rescuing the other maidens."
Note 30.—On the Language of Birds, &c. It is commonly believed by the
Muslims (learned and unlearned), that all kinds of birds, and many (if not
all) beasts, have a language by which they communicate their thoughts to
each other; and we are told in the Ḳur-án,107 that Suleymán (or Solomon)
was taught the language of birds.108 I thought that I could boast of an
accomplishment very rare in Christian countries, in having learned, in
Egypt, somewhat of this language; for instance, that the common cry of the
pigeon is "Alláh! Alláh!" ("God! God!"); that of the ringdove, "Keerem!
Towwáb!" ("Bountiful! Propitious!"—an ejaculation addressed to God);
that of the common dove, "Waḥḥidoo rabbakumu-llezee khalaḳakum,
yeghfir-lakum zembakum!" ("Assert the unity of your Lord who created
you, so will He forgive you your sin!") but I afterwards found that several
specimens of this language were given by Ez-Zamakhsheree, and had been
published in Europe: see "Alcoranus Marraccii," p. 511. The cock cries,
"Uzkuru-lláha, yá gháfiloon!" ("Commemorate God, O ye negligent!"): the
ḳaṭà (a kind of grouse),109 "Men seket selim!" ("He who is silent is safe!").
The latter, however, would do better if it did itself attend to the maxim it
utters; for its cry, which, to the uninstructed in the language of birds, sounds
merely, "ḳaṭà! ḳaṭà!" as its own name, tells where it is to be found by the

sportsman, and thus causes its own destruction. Hence the proverb—"More
veracious than the ḳaṭà."
Note 31. In the houses of persons of the middle classes in Arabian
countries, there is generally an apartment on the ground-floor fitted up as a
stable for a horse, mule, or ass, or for two or more such animals; and the
cattle of the farmer, if not very numerous, are usually lodged during the
night in similar quarters, or in an open court enclosed within, or
immediately adjacent to, his house.
Note 32. It is a common custom in the East to sprinkle the ground, during
the summer, in order to cool the air.
Note 33. Cut straw is the usual fodder of asses and other beasts of burden in
Egypt and other countries of the East.
Note 34. The phrase with which the bull commences his address to the ass,
is one dictated by an indispensable rule of Muslim politeness, which
requires that these or some similar words should be uttered by a person
whenever he sees another with food before him, and does not partake of it.
If this were not done, it would be feared that the food had been poisoned, or
rendered of no avail, by an envious eye.
Note 35. The peasants in the East use a hand-mill for grinding their corn.
The larger mills used for this and other purposes are turned by cattle.
Note 36. In the Calcutta edition of the first two hundred nights, the ass is
made to quote verses to the bull. Hast thou not, he asks him, heard the poet
say:—
I occupy myself every day and night in anxious service of him in whose prosperity I
have no enjoyment;
Like the bleacher who blackens his face in the sun, while he watches the whitening of
the clothes of others.

Note 37. I read "naṭ'an," as in the Calcutta edition of the first two hundred
nights, instead of "kiṭa'an" in the Cairo edition. The naṭạ is a large round
piece of leather, which, spread upon the ground, serves as a table for dinner,
&c. It is particularly convenient, and therefore much used, in travelling.
Around the edge is a running string, which, being drawn, converts it into a
bag to hold what is left of the food.

Note 38.—On the office of Ḳáḍee. The Ḳáḍee is a judge, or minister of
justice, who passes sentence in all cases of law, religious, moral, civil, and
criminal. This he generally does, in the present day, in accordance with the
decision of a Muftee, or doctor of the law. In small towns and villages, he is
often employed to draw up written contracts of various kinds.
Note 39. The famous Saạdee attained the age here mentioned; but instances
of equal longevity, among the Orientals, are rare.110
Note 40. To perform the ablution preparatory to prayer in the expectation of
almost immediate death, is a supererogatory act which, I believe, is seldom
observed.
Note 41. Both religion and climate make the Muslim an early riser. It is his
duty to perform the first of the five daily prayers at, or soon after, daybreak;
and he generally awakes before this period. While Shahriyár, therefore, was
waiting for the dawn of day to acquit himself of this duty, in accordance
with the common custom of Mohammadan kings, Shahrazád amused him
by the recitation of her tales. That he should be described as thus strict with
regard to religious exercises, when about to give orders for the murder of
his innocent wife, needs not excite our surprise: such conduct is consistent
with the character of many Muslims. In the year 1834, when I was residing
in Cairo, a General in the service of Moḥammad 'Alee hired a large party of
men to perform a recital of the Ḳur-án, in his house in that city, and then
went up into his ḥareem, and strangled his wife, in consequence of a report
which accused her of incontinence. The religious ceremony was designed as
preparatory to this act, though the punishment of the woman was contrary
to the law, since her husband neither produced four witnesses of the
imputed crime, nor allowed her to clear herself of the charge by her own
oath. Another case of diligence in the performance of a religious duty,
accompanied by the contemplation of murder, but murder on a larger scale,
occurred in the same city shortly after. Suleymán Ághà, the Siláḥdár, being
occupied in directing the building of a public fountain, as a work of charity
to place to the account of a deceased brother, desired to extend the original
plan of the structure; and to do this, it was necessary that he should
purchase two houses adjoining the plot in which the foundations had been
laid: but the owners of these houses refused to sell them, and he therefore
employed a number of workmen to undermine them by night, and cause

them to fall upon their inhabitants. His scheme, however, but partially
succeeded, and no lives were sacrificed. This man was notorious for cruelty,
but he was a person of pleasing and venerable countenance, and engaging
manners: whenever I chanced to meet him, I received from him a most
gracious salutation. He died before I quitted Egypt.

12 An Apostle is distinguished from a mere Prophet by his having a book revealed to him.
13 In quoting the Ḳur-án, I distinguish the verses in accordance with the numbers in
Fluegel's excellent edition of the original text: 4to Lipsiæ 1834. These numbers agree
(excepting in a few cases, where a disagreement was found absolutely necessary) with
those in Hinckelmann's edition, which is that most commonly quoted by the learned. I am

sorry to see that Marracci's numbers have been adopted in a late edition of Sale's
translation, and that the distinction between the words of the text and the explanatory
interpolations has there been neglected. Its utility to Arabic scholars, and its general
fidelity, have been thus greatly lessened; and it appears to me very desirable that it should
be superseded as soon as possible by another edition.
14 Moḥammad's answers to 'Abd-Allah Ibn-Selám, quoted by Ibn-El-Wardee (MS. in my
possession); and Mek-ḥool, quoted by the same author, and Mishkát el-Maṣábeeh, vol. ii.
pp. 652 and 653.
15 Ibn-Esh-Sheḥneh (MS. in my possession).
16 In another MS. of the same author in my possession, "yellow."
17 In his "Khiṭaṭ" (MS. in my possession).
18 Ḳur-án, ch. xiii. v. 3, and several other places.
19 Idem, ch. ii. v. 20, and ch. lxxviii. v. 6.
20 Idem, ch. lxxi. v. 18.
21 Mek-ḥool, quoted by Ibn-El-Wardee.
22 Wahb Ibn-Munebbih, quoted by El-Maḳreezee, is his "Khiṭaṭ."
23 Ibn-El-Wardee, however, says that its name is derived from its terrors and difficulties.
24 These are monsters who will be described in a subsequent note.
25 History of El-Khiḍr in the "Mir-át ez-Zemán" (MS. in my possession), a great history,
whose author died in the year of the Flight 656.
26 El-Ḳazweenee (MS. in my possession).
27 Moḥammad's answers to 'Abd-Allah Ibn-Selám, quoted by Ibn-El-Wardee.
28 Ibid.
29 El-Ḳazweenee.
30 Ḳur-án, ch. ii. v. 22, and ch. lxvi. v. 6.
31 Mir-át ez-Zemán.
32 Tradition from the Prophet, recorded by Ibn-'Abbás, and quoted by Ibn-El-Wardee; and
by El-Is-ḥáḳee, in describing an earthquake that happened in his life-time.—On the subject
of earthquakes, see also the next foot-note.
33 In Ibn-Esh-Sheḥneh, "Kuyoothán:" the orthography of this word is doubtful, as the
vowel-points are not written. As the tradition is related in Ibn-El-Wardee, this bull takes a
breath twice in the course of every day (or twenty-four hours); when he exhales, the sea
flows; and when he inhales, it ebbs. But it must not be imagined that none of the Arabs
have any notion of the true theory of the tides: the more learned among them explain this
phenomenon by the influence of the moon.—Many of the Arabs attribute earthquakes to
the shaking of this bull.

34 In Ibn-El-Wardee, a quantity of sand is introduced between the bull and the fish.
35 Ed-Demeeree, on the authority of Walib Ibn-Munebbih, quoted by El-Is-ḥáḳce, loco
laudato.
36 Ibn-El-Wardee.
37 Ḳur-án, ch. xxxix. v. 67.
38 Idem, ch. xiv. v. 49.
39 Idem, ch. lxxxix. v. 24.
40 Khaleel Eẓ-Ẓáhiree, in De Sacy's Chrestomathie Arabe, 2nde ed. tome ii. pp. 10 and 11
of Ar. text.
41 Ibid.
42 El-Maḳreezee, quoted by De Sacy, ubi supra, pp. 58-62.
43 Ibn-Khaldoon, in the same, pp. 168 and 169.
44 Ch. xxxii. v. 13.
45 Mishḳát el-Maṣábeeḥ, vol. ii. p. 329.
46 Burckhardt's "Notes on the Bedouins and Wahábys," 8vo ed. vol. i. pp. 178 and 179.
47 This tree is called, in Arabic, "bán" and "khiláf" or "khaláf."
48 The Anacreon of Persia affected to prize the mole upon the cheek of his beloved above
the cities of Samarḳand and Bukhára.
49 Lawsonia inermis.
50 In another analysis of the same kind, it is said that four should be short; the hands, the
feet, the tongue, and the teeth; but this is metaphorically speaking; the meaning is, that
these members should be kept within their proper bounds. (Kitáb el-'Onwán fee Mekáid
en-Niswán. MS. in my possession.)
51 An unnamed author quoted by El-Is-ḥáḳee, in his account of the 'Abbásee Khaleefeh El-
Mutawekkil.
52 Mir-át ez-Zemán. See also, Ḳur-án, ch. v. v. 65.
53 The term "'Efreet" is sometimes improperly applied to a good Jinnee [and also, in
Egypt, to the ghost of a dead person. See "Modern Egyptians," vol. 1. ch. x. Ed.].
54 Mir-át ez-Zemán.
55 Ch. xv. v. 27; and Commentary of the Jeláleyn. Also, Ḳur-án, ch. lv. v. 14.
56 Ch. xxvii. v. 10 and ch. xxviii. v. 31; and Commentary of the Jeláleyn.
57 Ch. lv. vv. 39 and 74; and same Commentary.
58 'Ekrimeh, from Ibn-'Abbás, in the Mir-át ez-Zemán.
59 Mujáhid, from the same, ibid.

60 Hence the appellations of "Jinn" and "Jánn."
61 Tradition from the Prophet, in the Mir-át ez-Zemán.
62 Mir-át ez-Zemán.
63 The worship here spoken of is prostration, as an act of obeisance to a superior being.
64 Ḳur-án, ch. xviii. v. 48.
65 Eṭ-Ṭabaree, quoted in the Mir-át ez-Zemán.
66 Mir-át ez-Zemán.
67 Ch. vii. v. 11; and chap. xxxviii. v. 77.
68 Mir-át ez-Zemán.
69 El-Ḥasan El-Baṣree, in the Mir-át ez-Zemán.—My interpolation of the word "other" is
required by his opinion before stated.
70 Mujáhid, quoted by El-Ḳazweenee.
71 The same, from Ibn-'Abbás, in the Mir-át ez-Zemán.
72 El-Ḥasan El-Baṣree, ibid.
73 'Ekrimeh, from Ibn-'Abbás, ibid.
74 Mishkát el-Maṣábeeḥ, vol. ii. p. 314.
75 Ibid. vol. ii. pp. 311 and 312.
76 Mir-át ez-Zemán.
77 "Modern Egyptians," vol. i. ch. x.
78 Ibid.
79 Sale, in a note on chap. xv. of the Ḳur-án.
80 So I translate the word "khaṭṭ;" but in a work by Es-Suyootee, (a MS. in my possession,
entitled "Nuzhet el-Mutaämmil wa-Murshid el-Mutaähhil," section 7,) I find, in its place,
the word "weshm," or "tattooing;" and there are some other slight variations and omissions
in this tradition as there quoted.
81 El-Ḳazweenee.
82 Ch. lxxii. v 6.
83 "Modern Egyptians," vol. i. ch. x.
84 Idem, vol. ii. ch. xi.
85 Ḳur-án, ch. xxvii. v. 17; and ch. xxxviii. v. 35.
86 "Modern Egyptians," vol. i. ch. x.
87 Ibid.

88 Ibid.
89 El-Ḳazweenee.
90 El-Jáḥeẓ ('Amr Ibn-Baḥr).
91 Ṣeḥáḥ and Ḳámoos.
92 Tradition for the Whab Ibn-Munebbih, quoted in the account of the early Arabs in the
Mir-át ez-Zemán.
93 Ibid.
94 El-Ḳazweenee.
95 Ibn-El-Wardee.
96 El-Ḳazweenee, and Mir-át ez-Zemán.
97 El-Ḳazweenee.
98 El-Ḳazweenee, in the khátimeh of his work.
99 Mir-át ez-Zemán.
100 Ibn-El-Wardee.
101 Idem.
102 In a great collection of Indian tales, the "Kathá Sarit Ságara," is a story which may
have been the original of that to which this note refers. "Two young Brahmans travelling
are benighted in a forest, and take up their lodging in a tree near a lake. Early in the night a
number of people come from the water, and having made preparation for an entertainment,
retire; a Yaksha, a genie, then comes out of the lake with his two wives, and spends the
night there: when he and one of his wives are asleep, the other, seeing the youths, invites
them to approach her, and to encourage them, shews them a hundred rings received from
former gallants, notwithstanding her husband's precautions, who keeps her locked up in a
chest at the bottom of the lake. The Hindu story-teller is more moral than the Arab. The
youths reject her advances; she wakes the genie, who is going to put them to death, but the
rings are produced in evidence against the unfaithful wife, and she is turned away with the
loss of her nose. The story is repeated in the next section with some variation; the lady has
ninety and nine rings, and is about to complete the hundredth, when her husband, who is
here a Naga, a snake-god, wakes, and consumes the guilty pair with fire from his
mouth."—British and Foreign Review, No. xxi. page 266.
103 Kitáb el-'Onwán fee Mekáid en-Niswán: a work on the strategems of women (MS. in
my possession).
104 El-Imám El-Jara'ee, in his book entitled "Shir'at el-Islám," ibid.
105 Nuzhet el-Mutaämmil wa-Murshid el-Mutaähhil, section 2.
106 Es-Suyooṭee, History of Egypt, account of the strange events that have happened in
Egypt during the time of El-Islám.
107 Ch. xxvii. v. 16.

108 Manṭiḳ eṭ-ṭeyr.
109 Of the family Pteroclidæ. (Pr. Bon.) Ed.
110 Ibn-'Arab-Sháh, however, has given an account of a man called the sheykh El-'Oryán,
an inhabitant of Samarḳand, and a devotee, who was said to have attained the age of 350
[lunar] years [or nearly 340 solar years], and yet preserved an erect stature, a comely
appearance, and such strength that it seemed as if he had not attained to mature years. The
old men of the place asserted that they remembered him to have had the same appearance
when they were children, and that their fathers and grandfathers had said the same.—
History of Teemoor, p. 470, Calcutta edition.

CHAPTER I.
COMMENCING WITH THE FIRST NIGHT, AND ENDING WITH PART OF THE THIRD.

THE STORY OF THE MERCHANT AND THE JINNEE.

It has been related to me, O happy King, said Shahrazád, that there was a
certain merchant who had great wealth, and traded extensively with
surrounding countries; and one day he mounted his horse, and journeyed to
a neighbouring country to collect what was due to him, and, the heat
oppressing him, he sat under a tree, in a garden,1 and put his hand into his

saddle-bag,2 and ate a morsel of bread and a date which were among his
provisions. Having eaten the date, he threw aside the stone,3 and
immediately there appeared before him an 'Efreet, of enormous height, who,
holding a drawn sword in his hand, approached him, and said, Rise, that I
may kill thee, as thou hast killed my son. The merchant asked him, How
have I killed thy son? He answered, When thou atest the date, and threwest
aside the stone, it struck my son upon the chest,4 and, as fate had decreed
against him, he instantly died.5

The merchant, on hearing these words,6 exclaimed, Verily to God we
belong, and verily to Him we must return! There is no strength nor power
but in God, the High, the Great! If I killed him, I did it not intentionally, but
without knowing it; and I trust in thee that thou wilt pardon me.—The

Jinnee answered, Thy death is indispensable, as thou hast killed my son:—
and so saying, he dragged him, and threw him on the ground, and raised his
arm to strike him with the sword. The merchant, upon this, wept bitterly,
and said to the Jinnee, I commit my affair unto God, for no one can avoid
what He hath decreed:—and he continued his lamentation, repeating the
following verses:—
Time consists of two days; this, bright; and that, gloomy: and life, of two moieties;
this, safe; and that, fearful.
Say to him who hath taunted us on account of misfortunes, Doth fortune oppose any
but the eminent?
Dost thou not observe that corpses float upon the sea, while the precious pearls
remain in its furthest depths?
When the hands of time play with us, misfortune is imparted to us by its protracted
kiss.
In the heaven are stars that cannot be numbered; but none is eclipsed save the sun and
the moon.
How many green and dry trees are on the earth; but none is assailed with stones save
that which beareth fruit!
Thou thoughtest well of the days when they went well with thee, and fearedst not the
evil that destiny was bringing.

—When he had finished reciting these verses, the Jinnee said to him, Spare
thy words, for thy death is unavoidable.
Then said the merchant, Know, O 'Efreet, that I have debts to pay, and I
have much property, and children, and a wife, and I have pledges also in my
possession: let me, therefore, go back to my house, and give to every one
his due, and then I will return to thee: I bind myself by a vow and covenant
that I will return to thee, and thou shalt do what thou wilt; and God is
witness of what I say.—Upon this, the Jinnee accepted his covenant, and
liberated him; granting him a respite until the expiration of the year.
The merchant, therefore, returned to his town, accomplished all that was
upon his mind to do, paid every one what he owed him, and informed his
wife and children of the event which had befallen him; upon hearing which,
they and all his family and women wept. He appointed a guardian over his
children, and remained with his family until the end of the year; when he
took his grave-clothes under his arm,7 bade farewell to his household and
neighbours, and all his relations, and went forth, in spite of himself; his
family raising cries of lamentation, and shrieking.8

He proceeded until he arrived at the garden before mentioned; and it was
the first day of the new year; and as he sat, weeping for the calamity which
he expected soon to befall him, a sheykh,9 advanced in years, approached
him, leading a gazelle with a chain attached to its neck. This sheykh saluted
the merchant, wishing him a long life, and said to him, What is the reason
of thy sitting alone in this place, seeing that it is a resort of the Jinn? The
merchant therefore informed him of what had befallen him with the 'Efreet,
and of the cause of his sitting there; at which the sheykh, the owner of the
gazelle, was astonished, and said, By Allah, O my brother, thy faithfulness
is great, and thy story is wonderful! if it were engraved upon the intellect, it
would be a lesson to him who would be admonished!—And he sat down by
his side, and said, By Allah, O my brother, I will not quit this place until I
see what will happen unto thee with this 'Efreet. So he sat down, and
conversed with him. And the merchant became almost senseless; fear
entered him, and terror, and violent grief, and excessive anxiety. And as the
owner of the gazelle sat by his side, lo, a second sheykh approached them,
with two black hounds, and inquired of them, after saluting them, the reason
of their sitting in that place, seeing that it was a resort of the Jánn:10 and they
told him the story from beginning to end. And he had hardly sat down when
there approached them a third sheykh, with a dapple mule; and he asked
them the same question, which was answered in the same manner.

Immediately after, the dust was agitated, and became an enormous
revolving pillar, approaching them from the midst of the desert; and this
dust subsided, and behold, the Jinnee, with a drawn sword in his hand; his
eyes casting forth sparks of fire. He came to them, and dragged from them

the merchant, and said to him, Rise, that I may kill thee, as thou killedst my
son, the vital spirit of my heart. And the merchant wailed and wept; and the
three sheykhs also manifested their sorrow by weeping and crying aloud
and wailing: but the first sheykh, who was the owner of the gazelle,
recovering his self-possession, kissed the hand of the 'Efreet, and said to
him, O thou Jinnee, and crown of the kings of the Jánn, if I relate to thee the
story of myself and this gazelle, and thou find it to be wonderful, and more
so than the adventure of this merchant, wilt thou give up to me a third of thy
claim to his blood? He answered, Yes, O sheykh; if thou relate to me the
story, and I find it to be as thou hast said, I will give up to thee a third of my
claim to his blood.

THE STORY OF THE FIRST SHEYKH AND THE GAZELLE.

Then said the sheykh, Know, O 'Efreet, that this gazelle is the daughter of
my paternal uncle,11 and she is of my flesh and my blood. I took her as my
wife when she was young,12 and lived with her about thirty years; but I was
not blessed with a child by her; so I took to me a concubine slave,13 and by
her I was blessed with a male child, like the rising full moon, with beautiful
eyes, and delicately-shaped eyebrows, and perfectly-formed limbs; and he
grew up by little and little until he attained the age of fifteen years. At this
period, I unexpectedly had occasion to journey to a certain city, and went
thither with a great stock of merchandise.

Now my cousin,14 this gazelle, had studied enchantment and divination from
her early years; and during my absence, she transformed the youth above
mentioned into a calf; and his mother, into a cow;15 and committed them to
the care of the herdsman: and when I returned, after a long time, from my
journey, I asked after my son and his mother, and she said, Thy slave is
dead, and thy son hath fled, and I know not whither he is gone. After
hearing this, I remained for the space of a year with mourning heart and
weeping eye, until the Festival of the Sacrifice;16 when I sent to the
herdsman, and ordered him to choose for me a fat cow; and he brought me
one, and it was my concubine, whom this gazelle had enchanted. I tucked
up my skirts and sleeves, and took the knife17 in my hand, and prepared
myself to slaughter her; upon which she moaned and cried so violently that
I left her, and ordered the herdsman to kill and skin her: and he did so, but
found in her neither fat nor flesh, nor anything but skin and bone; and I
repented of slaughtering her, when repentance was of no avail. I therefore
gave her to the herdsman, and said to him, Bring me a fat calf: and he
brought me my son, who was transformed into a calf. And when the calf
saw me, he broke his rope, and came to me, and fawned upon me, and
wailed and cried, so that I was moved with pity for him; and I said to the
herdsman, Bring me a cow, and let this—

Here Shahrazád perceived the light of morning, and discontinued the
recitation with which she had been allowed thus far to proceed. Her sister
said to her, How excellent is thy story! and how pretty! and how pleasant!

and how sweet!—but she answered, What is this in comparison with that
which I will relate to thee in the next night, if I live, and the King spare me!
And the King said, By Allah, I will not kill her until I hear the remainder of
her story. Thus they pleasantly passed the night until the morning, when the
King went forth to his hall of judgment, and the Wezeer went thither with
the grave-clothes under his arm: and the King gave judgment, and invested
and displaced, until the close of the day, without informing the Wezeer of
that which had happened; and the minister was greatly astonished. The
court was then dissolved; and the King returned to the privacy of his palace.
[On the second and each succeeding night, Shahrazád continued so to
interest King Shahriyár by her stories as to induce him to defer putting her
to death, in expectation that her fund of amusing tales would soon be
exhausted; and as this is expressed in the original work in nearly the same
words at the close of every night, such repetitions will in the present
translation be omitted.18]
When the sheykh, continued Shahrazád, observed the tears of the calf, his
heart sympathized with him, and he said to the herdsman, Let this calf
remain with the cattle.—Meanwhile, the Jinnee wondered at this strange
story; and the owner of the gazelle thus proceeded.
O lord of the kings of the Jánn, while this happened, my cousin, this
gazelle, looked on, and said, Slaughter this calf; for he is fat: but I could not
do it; so I ordered the herdsman to take him back; and he took him and went
away. And as I was sitting, on the following day, he came to me, and said, O
my master, I have to tell thee something that thou wilt be rejoiced to hear;
and a reward is due to me for bringing good news.19 I answered, Well:—and
he said, O merchant, I have a daughter who learned enchantment in her
youth from an old woman in our family; and yesterday, when thou gavest
me the calf, I took him to her, and she looked at him, and covered her face,
and wept, and then laughed, and said, O my father, hath my condition
become so degraded in thy opinion that thou bringest before me strange
men?20—Where, said I, are any strange men? and wherefore didst thou weep
and laugh? She answered, This calf that is with thee is the son of our
master, the merchant, and the wife of our master hath enchanted both him
and his mother; and this was the reason of my laughter; but as to the reason
of my weeping, it was on account of his mother, because his father had

slaughtered her.—And I was excessively astonished at this; and scarcely
was I certain that the light of morning had appeared when I hastened to
inform thee.

When I heard, O Jinnee, the words of the herdsman, I went forth with him,
intoxicated without wine, from the excessive joy and happiness that I
received, and arrived at his house, where his daughter welcomed me, and
kissed my hand; and the calf came to me, and fawned upon me. And I said
to the herdsman's daughter, Is that true which thou hast said respecting this
calf? She answered, Yes, O my master; he is verily thy son, and the vital
spirit of thy heart.—O maiden, said I, if thou wilt restore him, all the cattle
and other property of mine that thy father hath under his care shall be thine.

Upon this, she smiled, and said, O my master, I have no desire for the
property unless on two conditions: the first is, that thou shalt marry me to
him; and the second, that I shall enchant her who enchanted him, and so
restrain her; otherwise, I shall not be secure from her artifice. On hearing, O
Jinnee, these her words, I said, And thou shalt have all the property that is
under the care of thy father besides; and as to my cousin, even her blood
shall be lawful to thee. So, when she heard this, she took a cup, and filled it
with water, and repeated a spell over it, and sprinkled with it the calf, saying
to him, If God created thee a calf, remain in this form, and be not changed;
but if thou be enchanted, return to thy original form, by permission of God,
whose name be exalted!—upon which he shook, and became a man; and I
threw myself upon him, and said, I conjure thee by Allah that thou relate to
me all that my cousin did to thee and to thy mother. So he related to me all
that had happened to them both; and I said to him, O my son, God hath
given thee one to liberate thee, and to avenge thee:—and I married to him,
O Jinnee, the herdsman's daughter; after which, she transformed my cousin
into this gazelle. And as I happened to pass this way, I saw this merchant,
and asked him what had happened to him; and when he had informed me, I
sat down to see the result.—This is my story. The Jinnee said, This is a
wonderful tale; and I give up to thee a third of my claim to his blood.
The second sheykh, the owner of the two hounds, then advanced, and said
to the Jinnee, If I relate to thee the story of myself and these hounds, and
thou find it to be in like manner wonderful, wilt thou remit to me, also, a
third of thy claim to the blood of this merchant? The Jinnee answered, Yes.

THE STORY OF THE SECOND SHEYKH AND THE TWO BLACK
HOUNDS.

Then said the sheykh, Know, O lord of the kings of the Jánn, that these two
hounds are my brothers. My father died, and left to us three thousand pieces
of gold;21 and I opened a shop22 to sell and buy. But one of my brothers made
a journey, with a stock of merchandise, and was absent from us for the
space of a year with the caravans; after which, he returned destitute. I said
to him, Did I not advise thee to abstain from travelling? But he wept, and
said, O my brother, God, to whom be ascribed all might and glory, decreed
this event; and there is no longer any profit in these words: I have nothing
left. So I took him up into the shop, and then went with him to the bath, and

clad him in a costly suit of my own clothing; after which, we sat down
together to eat; and I said to him, O my brother, I will calculate the gain of
my shop during the year, and divide it, exclusive of the principal, between
me and thee. Accordingly, I made the calculation, and found my gain to
amount to two thousand pieces of gold; and I praised God, to whom be
ascribed all might and glory, and rejoiced exceedingly, and divided the gain
in two equal parts between myself and him.—My other brother then set
forth on a journey; and after a year, returned in the like condition; and I did
unto him as I had done to the former.

After this, when we had lived together for some time, my brothers again
wished to travel, and were desirous that I should accompany them; but I
would not. What, said I, have ye gained in your travels, that I should expect
to gain? They importuned me; but I would not comply with their request;
and we remained selling and buying in our shops a whole year. Still,
however, they persevered in proposing that we should travel, and I still
refused, until after the lapse of six entire years, when at last I consented,
and said to them, O my brothers, let us calculate what property we possess.
We did so, and found it to be six thousand pieces of gold: and I then said to
them, We will bury half of it in the earth, that it may be of service to us if
any misfortune befall us, in which case each of us shall take a thousand
pieces, with which to traffic.23 Excellent is thy advice, said they. So I took
the money and divided it into two equal portions, and buried three thousand
pieces of gold; and of the other half, I gave to each of them a thousand
pieces. We then prepared merchandise, and hired a ship, and embarked our
goods, and proceeded on our voyage for the space of a whole month, at the
expiration of which we arrived at a city, where we sold our merchandise;
and for every piece of gold we gained ten.

And when we were about to set sail again, we found, on the shore of the
sea, a maiden clad in tattered garments, who kissed my hand, and said to
me, O my master, art thou possessed of charity and kindness? If so, I will
requite thee for them. I answered, Yes, I have those qualities, though thou
requite me not. Then said she, O my master, accept me as thy wife, and take
me to thy country; for I give myself to thee:24 act kindly towards me; for I
am one who requires to be treated with kindness and charity, and who will
requite thee for so doing; and let not my present condition at all deceive
thee. When I heard these words, my heart was moved with tenderness

towards her, in order to the accomplishment of a purpose of God, to whom
be ascribed all might and glory; and I took her, and clothed her, and
furnished for her a place in the ship in a handsome manner, and regarded
her with kind and respectful attention.
We then set sail; and I became most cordially attached to my wife, so that,
on her account, I neglected the society of my brothers, who, in
consequence, became jealous of me, and likewise envied me my wealth,
and the abundance of my merchandise; casting the eyes of covetousness
upon the whole of the property. They therefore consulted together to kill
me, and take my wealth; saying, Let us kill our brother, and all the property
shall be ours:—and the devil made these actions to seem fair in their eyes;
so they came to me while I was sleeping by the side of my wife, and took
both of us up, and threw us into the sea. But as soon as my wife awoke, she
shook herself, and became transformed into a Jinneeyeh.25 She immediately
bore me away, and placed me upon an island, and, for a while, disappeared.
In the morning, however, she returned, and said to me, I am thy wife, who
carried thee, and rescued thee from death, by permission of God, whose
name be exalted. Know that I am a Jinneeyeh: I saw thee, and my heart
loved thee for the sake of God; for I am a believer in God and his Apostle,
God bless and save him!26 I came to thee in the condition in which thou
sawest me, and thou didst marry me; and see, I have rescued thee from
drowning. But I am incensed against thy brothers, and I must kill them.—
When I heard her tale, I was astonished, and thanked her for what she had
done;—But, said I, as to the destruction of my brothers, it is not what I
desire. I then related to her all that had happened between myself and them
from first to last; and when she had heard it, she said, I will, this next night,
fly to them, and sink their ship, and destroy them. But I said, I conjure thee
by Allah that thou do it not; for the author of the proverb saith, O thou
benefactor of him who hath done evil, the action that he hath done is
sufficient for him:27—besides, they are at all events my brothers. She still,
however, said, They must be killed;—and I continued to propitiate her
towards them: and at last she lifted me up, and soared through the air, and
placed me on the roof of my house.28

Having opened the doors, I dug up what I had hidden in the earth; and after
I had saluted my neighbours, and bought merchandise, I opened my shop.
And in the following night, when I entered my house, I found these two
dogs tied up in it; and as soon as they saw me, they came to me, and wept,
and clung to me; but I knew not what had happened until immediately my
wife appeared before me, and said, These are thy brothers. And who, said I,
hath done this unto them? She answered, I sent to my sister and she did it;
and they shall not be restored until after the lapse of ten years. And I was
now on my way to her, that she might restore them, as they have been in
this state ten years, when I saw this man, and, being informed of what had
befallen him, I determined not to quit the place until I should have seen

what would happen between thee and him.—This is my story.—Verily, said
the Jinnee, it is a wonderful tale; and I give up to thee a third of the claim
that I had to his blood on account of his offence.

Upon this, the third sheykh, the owner of the mule, said to the Jinnee,29 As
to me, break not my heart if I relate to thee nothing more than this:—

THE STORY OF THE THIRD SHEYKH AND THE MULE.

The mule that thou seest was my wife: she became enamoured of a black
slave; and when I discovered her with him, she took a mug of water, and,
having uttered a spell over it, sprinkled me, and transformed me into a dog.
In this state, I ran to the shop of a butcher, whose daughter saw me, and,
being skilled in enchantment, restored me to my original form, and
instructed me to enchant my wife in the manner thou beholdest.—And now
I hope that thou wilt remit to me also a third of the merchant's offence.
Divinely was he gifted who said,
Sow good, even on an unworthy soil; for it will not be lost wherever it is sown.

When the sheykh had thus finished his story, the Jinnee shook with delight,
and remitted the remaining third of his claim to the merchant's blood. The
merchant then approached the sheykhs, and thanked them, and they
congratulated him on his safety; and each went his way.

But this, said Shahrazád, is not more wonderful than the story of the
fisherman. The King asked her, And what is the story of the fisherman? And
she related it as follows:—

NOTES TO CHAPTER FIRST.

Note 1. The words "in a garden" are omitted in my original; but they are
required by the sequel. I may here remark, that, in future, when I find
trifling insertions of this kind to be requisite in my translation, I shall not
deem it necessary to mention them in a note.
Note 2. An Eastern traveller often makes a long journey with no other
encumbrance than a well-filled pair of saddle-bags: in one bag he puts his
provisions; and in the other, such articles of clothing as he may require in
addition to those in which he sets out, including a spare shirt, and perhaps
no other clean linen: for he is as indifferent with regard to this comfort as he
is careful respecting his personal cleanliness.
Note 3. Perhaps no reader of this work will require to be told that the date
has not a shell. I only make this remark on account of an error in the old
translation.—As dates are very nutritious, and are preserved by being
merely dried in the sun, they are an excellent article of provision for
travellers.
Note 4. The merchant was culpably careless: before throwing aside the
date-stone with sufficient force to kill a Jinnee who happened to be near
him (though at the time invisible), he should have asked permission by the
exclamation "Destoor!" as explained in a note appended to the Introduction.

Note 5.—On Fate and Destiny. The belief in fate and destiny ("el-ḳaḍà wa-
l-ḳadar") exercises a most powerful influence upon the actions and
character of the Muslims; and it is therefore highly important that the reader
of the present work should be acquainted with the notions which these
people entertain respecting such matters of faith. I use two words (perhaps
the best that our language affords) to express corresponding Arabic terms,
which some persons regard as synonymous, but others distinguish by
different shades of meaning. On what I consider the best authority, the word
which I render "fate" respects the decrees of God in a general sense; while
that which I translate "destiny" relates to the particular applications of those
decrees. In such senses these terms are here to be understood when
separately employed.
Many Muslims hold that fate is, in some respects, absolute and
unchangeable; in others, admitting of alteration; and almost all of them act,
in many of the affairs of life, as if this were their belief. In the former case,
it is called "el-ḳaḍà el-Moḥkam:" in the latter, "el-ḳaḍà el-Mubram" (which
term, without the explanation here given, might be regarded as exactly
synonymous with the former). Hence, the Prophet, it is said, prayed to be
preserved from the latter, as knowing that it might be changed; and in
allusion to this changeable fate, God, we are told, says, "God will cancel
what He pleaseth, and confirm;"111 while, on the contrary, the fate which is
termed "Moḥkam" is appointed "destiny" decreed by God.112
Many doctors have argued, that destiny respects only the final state of a
certain portion of men (believers and unbelievers); and that, in general, man
is endowed with free will, which he should exercise according to the laws
of God and his own conscience and judgment, praying to God for a blessing
on his endeavours, or imploring the intercession of the Prophet, or of any of
the saints, in his favour, and propitiating them by offering alms or sacrifices
in their names; relying upon God for the result, which he may then, and
then only, attribute to fate or destiny. They hold, therefore, that it is criminal
to attempt resistance to the will when its dictates are conformable with the
laws of God and our natural consciences and prudence, and so passively to
await the fulfilment of God's decrees.—The doctrine of the Ḳur-án and the
Traditions respecting the decrees of God, or fate and destiny, appears,
however, to be, that they are altogether absolute and unchangeable,—
written, in the beginning of the creation, on the "Preserved Tablet," in

heaven; that God hath predestined every event and action, evil as well as
good; at the same time commanding and approving good, and forbidding
and hating evil; and that the "cancelling" mentioned in the preceding
paragraph relates (as the context seems to shew) to the abrogation of former
scriptures, or revelations; not of fate. But still it must be held that He hath
not predestined the will; though He sometimes inclines it to good, and the
Devil sometimes inclines it to evil. It is asked, then, If we have the power to
will, but not the power to perform otherwise than as God hath
predetermined, how can we be regarded as responsible beings? The answer
to this is, that our actions are judged good or evil according to our
intentions, if we have faith: good actions or intentions, it should be added,
only increase, and do not cause, our happiness, if we are believers; and evil
actions or intentions only increase our misery if we are unbelievers or
irreligious: for the Muslim holds that he is to be admitted into heaven only
by the mercy of God, on account of his faith; and to be rewarded in
proportion to his good works.
The Prophet's assertions on the subject of God's decrees are considered of
the highest importance as explanatory of the Ḳur-án.—"Whatever is in the
universe," said he, "is by the order of God."—"God hath pre-ordained five
things on his servants; the duration of life, their actions, their dwelling-
places, their travels, and their portions."—"There is not one among you
whose sitting-place is not written by God, whether in the fire or in
paradise."113—Some of the Companions of the Prophet, on hearing the last-
quoted saying, asked him, "O Prophet, since God hath appointed our places,
may we confide in this, and abandon our religious and moral duties?" He
answered, "No: because the happy will do good works, and those who are
of the miserable will do bad works."—The following of his sayings further
illustrate this subject.—"When God hath ordered a creature to die in any
particular place, He causeth his wants to direct him to that place."—A
Companion asked, "O Prophet of God, inform me respecting charms, and
the medicines which I swallow, and shields which I make use of for
protection, whether they prevent any of the orders of God." Moḥammad
answered, "These also are by the order of God."114 "There is a medicine for
every pain: then, when the medicine reaches the pain, it is cured by the
order of God."115—When a Muslim, therefore, feels an inclination to make

use of medicine for the cure of a disease, he should do so, in the hope of its
being predestined that he shall be so cured.
On the predestination of diseases, I find the following curious quotation and
remark in a manuscript work, by Es-Suyooṭee, in my possession.—"El-
Ḥaleemee says, 'Communicable or contagious diseases are six: small-pox,
measles, itch or scab, foul breath or putridity, melancholy, and pestilential
maladies; and diseases engendered are also six: leprosy, hectic, epilepsy,
gout, elephantiasis, and phthisis.' But this does not contradict the saying of
the Prophet, 'There is no transition of diseases by contagion or infection,
nor any omen that brings evil:' for the transition here meant is one
occasioned by the disease itself; whereas the effect is of God, who causes
pestilence to spread when there is intercourse with the diseased."116—A
Bedawee asked the Prophet, "What is the condition of camels which stay in
the deserts? verily, you might say, they are deer, in health and in cleanness
of skin; then they mix with mangy camels, and they become mangy also."
Moḥammad said, "What made the first camel mangy?"117
Notwithstanding, however, the arguments which have been here adduced,
and many others that might be added, declaring or implying the
unchangeable nature of all God's decrees, I have found it to be the opinion
of my own Muslim friends, that God may be induced, by supplication, to
change certain of his decrees; at least, those regarding degrees of happiness
or misery in this world and the next; and that such is the general opinion,
appears from a form of prayer which is repeated in the mosques on the eve
of the middle (or fifteenth day) of the month of Shaạbán; when it is
believed that such portions of God's decrees as constitute the destinies of all
living creatures for the ensuing year, are confirmed and fixed. In this prayer
it is said, "O God, if Thou hast recorded me in thine abode, upon 'the
Original of the Book' [the Preserved Tablet], miserable, or unfortunate, or
scanted in my sustenance, cancel, O God, of thy goodness, my misery, and
misfortune, and scanty allowance of sustenance, and confirm me, in thine
abode, upon the Original of the Book, as happy, and provided for, and
directed to good," &c.118
The Arabs in general constantly have recourse both to charms and
medicines, not only for the cure, but also for the prevention of diseases.
They have, indeed, a strange passion for medicine, which shows that they

do not consider fate as altogether unconditional. Nothing can exceed the
earnestness with which they often press a European traveller for a dose; and
the more violent the remedy, the better are they pleased. The following case
will serve as an example:—Three donkey-drivers, conveying the luggage of
two British travellers from Booláḳ to Cairo, opened a bottle which they
observed in a basket, and finding it to contain, as they had suspected,
brandy, emptied it down their throats: but he who had the last, on turning up
the bottle, got the tail of a scorpion into his mouth; and, looking through the
bottle, to his great horror, saw that it contained a number of these reptiles,
with tarantulas, vipers, and beetles. Thinking that they had poisoned
themselves, but not liking to rely upon fate, they persuaded a man to come
to me for medicine. He introduced the subject by saying, "O Efendee, do an
act of kindness: there are three men poisoned; in your mercy give them
medicine, and save their lives:" and then he related the whole affair, without
concealing the theft. I replied, that they did not deserve medicine; but he
urged that, by giving it, I should obtain an immense reward. "Yes," said I;
"'he who saveth a soul alive shall be as if he had saved the lives of all
mankind.'"119 I said this to try the feeling of the applicant, who, expressing
admiration of my knowledge, urged me to be quick, lest the men should die;
thus showing himself to be no unconditional fatalist. I gave him three strong
doses of tartar emetic; and he soon came back to thank me, saying that the
medicine was most admirable, for the men had hardly swallowed it, when
they almost vomited their hearts and livers, and everything else in their
bodies.
From a distrust in faith, some Muslims even shut themselves up during the
prevalence of plague; but this practice is generally condemned. A Syrian
friend of mine, who did so, nearly had his door broken open by his
neighbours. Another of my friends, one of the most distinguished of the
'Ulamà, confessed to me his conviction of the lawfulness of quarantine, and
argued well in favour of it; but said that he dared not openly avow such an
opinion. "The Apostle of God," said he, "God bless and save him! hath
commanded that we should not enter a city where there is pestilence, nor go
out from it. Why did he say, 'Enter it not?'—because, by so doing, we
should expose ourselves to the disease. Why did he say, 'Go not out from
it?'—because, by so doing, we should carry the disease to others. The
Prophet was tenderly considerate of our welfare: but the present Muslims in

general are like bulls [brute beasts]; and they hold the meaning of this
command to be, Go not into a city where there is pestilence, because this
would be rashness; and go not out from it, because this would be distrusting
God's power to save you from it."
Many of the vulgar and ignorant among modern Muslims, believe that the
unchangeable destinies of every man are written upon his head, in what are
termed the sutures of the skull.
Note 6. The paragraph thus commencing, and the verses comprised in it,
are translated from the Calcutta edition of the first two hundred nights.
Note 7. It is a common custom for a Muslim, on a military expedition, or
during a long journey, especially in the desert, to carry his grave-linen with
him; for he is extremely careful that he may be buried according to the
law.120 It seems to be implied in our tale, that the merchant hoped that the
Jinnee, or some passing traveller, would wash, shroud, and bury him.
Note 8. It is thus that the Arab women generally do on the occasion of a
funeral.
Note 9.—On the title of Sheykh. "Sheykh" is an appellation which literally
signifies "an elder," or "an aged person," and in this sense it is here used;
but it is also commonly employed as synonymous with our appellation of
"Mister;" and particularly applied to a learned man, or a reputed saint. In
every case, it is a title of respect, and never given to any but a Muslim.
Note 10. "Jánn" is here used as synonymous with "Jinn."
Note 11. A cousin (the daughter of a paternal uncle) is often chosen as a
wife, on account of the tie of blood, which is likely to attach her more
strongly to her husband; or on account of an affection conceived in early
years. The various customs relating to marriage, I shall describe on a future
occasion.
Note 12. A bride is called young, by the Arabs, when she is about twelve
years of age. In the Calcutta edition of the first two hundred nights, the wife
in this tale is said to have been of this age when she was first married.

Note 13.—On Slaves. A slave, among Muslims, is either a person taken
captive in war, or carried off by force, and being at the time of capture an
infidel; or the offspring of a female slave by another slave, or by any man
who is not her owner, or by her owner, if he does not acknowledge himself
to be the father: but the offspring of a male slave by a free woman is free. A
person who embraces the Mohammadan faith after having been made a
slave, does not by this act become free, unless he flees from a foreign
infidel master to a Muslim country, and there becomes a Mohammadan. A
person cannot have as a slave one whom he acknowledges to be within the
prohibited degrees of marriage.121—The slaves of the Arabs are mostly from
Abyssinia and the Negro countries: a few, mostly in the houses of wealthy
individuals, are from Georgia and Circassia.
Slaves have no civil liberty; but are entirely under the authority of their
owners, whatever may be the religion, sex, or age, of the latter; and can
possess no property, unless by the owner's permission. The owner is entire
master, while he pleases, of the person and goods of his slave; and of the
offspring of his female slave, which, if begotten by him or presumed to be
so, he may recognise as his own legitimate child, or not: the child, if
recognised by him, enjoys the same privileges as the offspring of a free
wife; and if not recognised by him, is his slave. The master may even kill
his own slave with impunity for any offence; and he incurs but a slight
punishment (as imprisonment for a period at the discretion of the judge) if
he kills him wantonly. He may give away or sell his slaves, excepting in
some cases which will be mentioned; and may marry them to whom he will,
but not separate them when married. A slave, however, according to most of
the doctors, cannot have more than two wives at the same time.
Unemancipated slaves, at the death of their master, become the property of
his heirs; and when an emancipated slave dies, leaving no male descendants
or collateral relations, the former master is the heir; or, if he be dead, his
heirs inherit the slave's property. As a slave enjoys less advantages than a
free person, the law, in some cases, ordains that his punishment for an
offence shall be half of that to which the free is liable to the same offence,
or even less than half: if it be a fine, or pecuniary compensation, it must be
paid by the owner, to the amount, if necessary, of the value of the slave, or
the slave must be given in compensation.

The owner, but not the part-owner, may cohabit with any of his female
slaves who is a Mohammadan, a Christian, or a Jewess, if he has not
married her to another man; but not with two or more who are sisters, or
who are related to each other in any of the degrees which would prevent
their both being his wives at the same time if they were free: after having so
lived with one, he must entirely relinquish such intercourse with her before
he can do the same with another who is so related to her. He cannot have
this intercourse with a pagan slave. A Christian or Jew may have slaves, but
not enjoy the privilege above mentioned with one who is a Mohammadan.
The master must wait a certain period (generally from a month to three
months) after the acquisition of a female slave, before he can have such
intercourse with her. If he find any fault in her within three days, he is
usually allowed to return her.
When a man, from being the husband, becomes the master, of a slave, the
marriage is dissolved, and he cannot continue to live with her but as her
master, enjoying, however, all a master's privileges; unless he emancipates
her; in which case he may again take her as his wife with her consent. In
like manner, when a woman, from being the wife, becomes the possessor, of
a slave, the marriage is dissolved, and cannot be renewed unless she
emancipates him, and he consents to the re-union.
Complete and immediate emancipation is sometimes granted to a slave
gratuitously, or for a future pecuniary compensation. It is conferred by
means of a written document, or by a verbal declaration (expressed in the
words, "Thou art free," or some similar phrase) in the presence of two
witnesses, or by returning the certificate of sale obtained from the former
owner. Future emancipation is sometimes covenanted to be granted on the
fulfilment of certain conditions; and more frequently, to be conferred on the
occasion of the owner's death. In the latter case, the owner cannot sell the
slave to whom he has made this promise: and, as he cannot alienate by will
more than one-third of the whole property that he leaves, the law ordains
that, if the value of the said slave exceeds that portion, the slave must obtain
and pay the additional sum. When a female slave has borne a child to her
master, and he acknowledges the child to be his own, he cannot sell this
slave, and she becomes free on his death.

Abyssinian and white female slaves are kept by many men of the middle
and higher classes, and often instead of wives, as requiring less expense,
and being more subservient; but they are generally indulged with the same
luxuries as free ladies; their vanity is gratified by costly dresses and
ornaments, and they rank high above free servants; as do also the male
slaves. Those called Abyssinians appear to be a mixed race between negroes
and whites; and are from the territories of the Gallas. They are mostly
kidnapped and sold by their own countrymen. The negro female slaves, as
few of them have considerable personal attractions (which is not the case
with the Abyssinians, many of whom are very beautiful), are usually
employed only in cooking, and other menial offices. The female slaves of
the higher classes are often instructed in plain needlework and embroidery,
and sometimes in music and dancing. Formerly, many of them possessed
sufficient literary accomplishments to quote largely from esteemed poems,
or even to compose extemporary verses, which they would often
accompany with the lute. The condition of many concubine slaves is happy;
and that of many, quite the contrary. These, and all other slaves of either
sex, are generally treated with kindness; but at first they are usually
importuned, and not unfrequently used with much harshness, to induce
them to embrace the Mohammadan faith; which almost all of them do.
Their services are commonly light: the usual office of the male white slave,
who is called "memlook," is that of a page, or a military guard. Eunuchs are
employed as guardians of the women; but only in the houses of men of high
rank, or of great wealth: on account of the important and confidential office
which they fill, they are generally treated in public with especial
consideration. I used to remark, in Cairo, that few persons saluted me with a
more dignified and consequential air than these pitiable but self-conceited
beings. Most of them are Abyssinians or Negroes. Indeed, the slaves in
general take too much advantage of the countenance of their masters,
especially when they belong to men in power. The master is bound to afford
his slaves proper food and clothing, or to let them work for their own
support, or to sell, give away, or liberate them. It is, however, considered
disgraceful for him to sell a slave who has been long in his possession; and
it seldom happens that a master emancipates a female slave, without
marrying her to some man able to support her, or otherwise providing for
her.

The Prophet strongly enjoined the duty of kindness to slaves. "Feed your
memlooks," said he, "with food of that which ye eat, and clothe them with
such clothing as ye wear; and command them not to do that which they are
unable."122—These precepts are generally attended to, either entirely or in a
great degree. Some other sayings of the Prophet on this subject well deserve
to be mentioned; as the following:—"He who beats his slave without fault,
or slaps him on the face, his atonement for this is freeing him."—"A man
who behaves ill to his slave will not enter into paradise."—"Whoever is the
cause of separation between mother and child, by selling or giving, God
will separate him from his friends on the day of resurrection."—"When a
slave wishes well to his master, and worships God well, for him are double
rewards."123—It is related of 'Othmán, "that he twisted the ear of a memlook
belonging to him, on account of disobedience, and afterwards, repenting of
it, ordered him to twist his ear in like manner: but he would not. 'Othmán
urged him, and the memlook advanced, and began to wring it by little and
little. He said to him, 'Wring it hard; for I cannot endure the punishment of
the day of judgment [on account of this act].' The memlook answered, 'O
my master, the day that thou fearest, I also fear.'"—"It is related also of
Zeyn-el-'Ábideen, that he had a memlook who seized a sheep, and broke its
leg; and he said to him, 'Why didst thou this?' He answered, 'To provoke
thee to anger.' 'And I,' said he, 'will provoke to anger him who taught thee;
and he is Iblees: go, and be free, for the sake of God.'"124—Many similar
anecdotes might be added; but the general assertions of travellers in the
East are more satisfactory evidence in favour of the humane conduct of
most Muslims to their slaves.
It sometimes happens, though rarely, that free girls are sold as slaves.125 A
remarkable instance is related in the "Mir-át ez-Zemán."126—Fáṭimeh,
surnamed Ghareeb, a slave of the Khaleefeh El-Moạtaṣim, the son of
Hároon, was a poetess, accomplished in singing and calligraphy, and
extremely beautiful. Her mother was an orphan; and
Jaạfar, the famous Wezeer of Hároon Er-Rasheed, took her as his wife; but
his father, Yaḥyà, reproached him for marrying a woman whose father and
mother were unknown, and he therefore removed her from his own
residence to a neighbouring house, where he frequently visited her; and she
bore him a daughter, the above-mentioned Ghareeb, and died. Jaạfar
committed her infant to the care of a Christian woman, to nurse; and, on the

overthrow of his family, this woman sold her young charge as a slave. El-
Emeen, the successor of Er-Rasheed, bought her of a man named Sumbul,
but never paid her price; and when he was killed, she returned to her former
master; but on the arrival of El-Ma-moon at Baghdád, she was described to
him, and he compelled Sumbul to sell her to him. This Sumbul loved her so
passionately, that he died of grief at her loss. On the death of El-Ma-moon,
his successor, El-Moạtaṣim, bought her for a hundred thousand dirhems,
and emancipated her. The historian adds, that she composed several well-
known airs and verses.
Note 14. An Arab who is married to his cousin generally calls her by this
appellation rather than that of wife, as the tie of blood is, to him, in every
respect, stronger than that of matrimony.
Note 15.—On Magic. The Arabs and other Mohammadans enjoy a
remarkable advantage over us in the composition of works of fiction: in the
invention of incidents which we should regard as absurd in the extreme,
they cannot be accused by their countrymen of exceeding the bounds of
probability. A case similar to that here described was related to me as a fact,
in Cairo. A person in that city, I was told, was suddenly surprised by the
disappearance of his brother, and by finding, in his place, an ass: but this
animal increased his astonishment, and that of every person who beheld
him, by manifesting a sagacity singularly opposed to the proverbial dulness
of the generality of his species. Yet, strange as it may seem, it was not
imagined that this brute was the lost man in a transformed state, till, one
day, an old woman, seeing him, quickly covered her face, and declared the
fact. She discovered this by her knowledge of magic; and, by her skill in
this art, she agreed to restore the enchanted person to his proper shape.
Having collected a number of herbs, she boiled them in a large vessel; and
when the decoction had cooled, she took the vessel, and, muttering a certain
spell, threw its contents over the animal, endeavouring to do so in such a
manner that every part of it should be wetted. Every part of it was wetted,
excepting one hind-foot; and, accordingly, it was restored to the original
human form, with the exception of one foot, which remained like that of an
ass.
An implicit belief in magic is entertained by almost all Muslims; and he,
among them, who denies its truth, they regard as a freethinker, or an infidel.

Some are of opinion that it ceased on the mission of Moḥammad; but these
are comparatively few. Many of the most learned Muslims, to the present
age, have deeply studied it; and a much greater number of persons of
inferior education (particularly school-masters) have, more or less, devoted
their time and talents to the pursuit of this knowledge. Recourse is had to it
for the discovery of hidden treasures, for alchymical purposes, for the
acquisition of the knowledge of futurity, to procure offspring, to obtain the
affection of a beloved object, to effect cures, to guard against the influence
of the evil eye, to afflict or kill an enemy or a rival, and to attain various
other objects of desire.
There are two descriptions of magic; one is spiritual, and regarded by all
but freethinkers as true; the other, natural, and denounced by the more
religious and enlightened as deceptive.
I. Spiritual magic, which is termed "er-Rooḥánee" (vulgo "Rowḥánee"),
chiefly depends upon the virtues of certain names of God, and passages
from the Ḳur-án, and the agency of Angels and Jinn, or Genii. It is of two
kinds: High and Low ("'Ilwee" and "Suflee"), or Divine and Satanic
("Raḥmánee," i. e. relating to "the Compassionate" [who is God], and
"Sheyṭánee").
1. Divine magic is regarded as a sublime science, and is studied only by
good men, and practised only for good purposes. Perfection in this branch
of magic consists in the knowledge of "the most great name" of God ("el-
Ism el Aạẓam"); but this knowledge is imparted to none but the peculiar
favourites of Heaven. By virtue of this name, which was engraved on his
seal-ring, Suleymán (or Solomon) subjected to his dominion the Jinn and
the birds and the winds, as mentioned in a former note. By pronouncing it,
his minister Áṣaf, also, transported, in an instant, to the presence of his
sovereign, in Jerusalem, the throne of the Queen of Sheba.127 But this was a
small miracle to effect by such means; for, by uttering this name, a man
may even raise the dead. Other names of the Deity, commonly known, are
believed to have particular efficacies when uttered or written; as also are the
names of the Prophet; and Angels and good Jinn are said to be rendered
subservient to the purposes of divine magic by means of certain
invocations. Of such names and invocations, together with words
unintelligible to the uninitiated in this science, passages from the Ḳur-án,

mysterious combinations of numbers, and peculiar diagrams and figures,
are chiefly composed written charms employed for good purposes.
Enchantment, when used for benevolent purposes, is regarded by the vulgar
as a branch of lawful or divine magic; but not so by the learned; and the
same remark applies to the science of divination.
2. Satanic magic, as its name implies, is a science depending on the agency
of the Devil and the inferior evil Jinn, whose services are obtained by
means similar to those which propitiate, or render subservient, the good
Jinn. It is condemned by the Prophet and all good Muslims, and only
practised for bad purposes.—Enchantment, which is termed "es-Seḥr," is
almost universally acknowledged to be a branch of satanic magic; but some
few persons assert (agreeably with several tales in this work), that it may be,
and by some has been, studied with good intentions, and practised by the
aid of good Jinn; consequently, that there is such a science as good
enchantment, which is to be regarded as a branch of divine or lawful magic.
The metamorphoses are said to be generally effected by means of spells, or
invocations to Jinn, accompanied by the sprinkling of water or dust, &c., on
the object to be transformed. Persons are said to be enchanted in various
ways: some, paralyzed, or even deprived of life; others, affected with
irresistible passion for certain objects; others, again, rendered demoniacs;
and some, transformed into brutes, birds, &c. The evil eye is believed to
enchant in a very powerful and distressing manner. This was acknowledged
even by the Prophet.128 Diseases and death are often attributed to its
influence. Amulets, which are mostly written charms, of the kind above
described, are worn by many Muslims with the view of counteracting, or
preserving from, enchantment; and for the same purpose, many ridiculous
ceremonies are practised.—Divination, which is termed "el-Kiháneh," is
pronounced, on the highest authority, to be a branch of satanic magic;
though not believed to be so by all Muslims. According to an assertion of
the Prophet, what a fortune-teller says may sometimes be true; because one
of the Jinn steals away the truth, and carries it to the magician's ear: for the
Angels come down to the region next the earth (the lowest heaven), and
mention the works that have been pre-ordained in heaven; and the Devils
(or evil Jinn) listen to what the Angels say, and hear the orders predestined
in heaven, and carry them to the fortune-tellers. It is on such occasions that
shooting-stars are hurled at the Devils.129 It is said that "the diviner obtains

the services of the Sheyṭán by magic arts, and by names [invoked], and by
the burning of perfumes, and he informs him of secret things: for the
Devils, before the mission of the Apostle of God," it is added, "used to
ascend to heaven, and hear words by stealth."130 That the evil Jinn are
believed still to ascend sufficiently near to the lowest heaven to hear the
conversation of the Angels, and so to assist magicians, appears from the
former quotation, and is asserted by all Muslims. The discovery of hidden
treasures, before alluded to, is one of the objects for which divination is
most studied.—The mode of divination called "Ḍarb el-Mendel" is by some
supposed to be effected by the aid of evil Jinn; but the more enlightened of
the Muslims regard it as a branch of natural magic. Some curious
performances of this kind, by means of a fluid mirror of ink, have been
described in my "Account of the Manners and Customs of the Modern
Egyptians," and in No. 117 of the "Quarterly Review."131
There are certain modes of divination which cannot properly be classed
under the head of spiritual magic, but require a place between the account
of this science and that of natural magic.—The most important of these
branches of Kiháneh is Astrology, which is called "'Ilm en-Nujoom." This is
studied by many Muslims in the present day; and its professors are often
employed by the Arabs to determine a fortunate period for laying the
foundation of a building, commencing a journey, &c.; but more frequently
by the Persians and Turks. The Prophet pronounced astrology to be a branch
of magic.132—Another branch of Kiháneh is Geomancy, called "Ḍarb er-
Raml;" a mode of divination from certain marks made on sand (whence its
appellation), or on paper; and said to be chiefly founded on astrology.—The
science called "ez-Zijr," or "el-'Eyáfeh," is a third branch of Kiháneh; being
divination or auguration chiefly from the motions and positions, or
postures, of birds, or of gazelles and other beasts of the chase. Thus, what
was termed a "Sáneḥ," that is, such an animal standing or passing with its
right side towards the spectator, was esteemed among the Arabs as of good
omen; and a "Báreḥ," or an animal of this kind with its left side towards the
spectator, was held as inauspicious.133—"El-Ḳiyáfeh," under which term are
included Chiromancy and its kindred sciences, is a fourth branch of
Kiháneh.—"Et·Tefá-ul," or the taking an omen, particularly a good one,
from a name or words accidentally heard or seen, or chosen from a book,
belongs to the same science. The taking a "fál," or omen, from the Ḳur-án is

generally held to be lawful.—Various trifling events are considered as
ominous. For instance, a Sulṭán quitting his palace with his troops, a
standard happened to strike a "thureiyà" (a cluster of lamps, so called from
resembling the Pleiades), and broke them: he drew from this an evil omen,
and would have relinquished the expedition; but one of his chief officers
said to him, "O our lord, thy standards have reached the Pleiades;"—and,
being relieved by this remark, he proceeded, and returned victorious.134—
The interpretation of dreams, "Taạbeer el-Menámát," must also be classed
among the branches of this science. According to the Prophet, it is the only
branch of divination worthy of dependance. "Good dreams," said he, "are
one of the parts of prophecy," and "nothing else of prophecy remains."
"Good dreams are from God; and false dreams, from the Devil." "When any
one of you has a bad dream, spit three times over your left shoulder, and
seek protection with God from the Devil thrice; and turn from the side on
which the dream was, to the other."135 This rule is observed by many
Muslims. Dreams are generally so fully relied upon by them as to be
sometimes the means of deciding contested points in history and science.
The sight, in a dream, of anything green or white, or of water, is considered
auspicious; anything black or red, or fire, inauspicious.—The distinction of
fortunate and unfortunate days should also here be mentioned. Thursday
and Friday, especially the latter, are considered fortunate; Monday and
Wednesday, doubtful; Sunday, Tuesday, and Saturday, especially the last,
unfortunate. It is said that there are seven evil days in every [lunar] month;
namely, the third, on which Ḳábeel (or Cain) killed Hábeel (Abel); the fifth,
on which God cast down Adam from paradise, and afflicted the people of
Yoonus (Jonas), and on which Yoosuf (or Joseph) was cast into the well; the
thirteenth, on which God took away the wealth of Eiyoob (or Job), and
afflicted him, and took away the kingdom from Suleymán (or Solomon),
and on which the Jews killed the prophets; the sixteenth, on which God
exterminated and buried the people of Looṭ (or Lot), and transformed three
hundred Christians into swine, and Jews into apes, and on which the Jews
sawed asunder Zekereeyà (or Zachariah); the twenty-first, on which
Pharaoh was born, and on which he was drowned, and on which his nation
was afflicted with the plagues; the twenty-fourth, on which Numrood136 (or
Nimrod) killed seventy women, and cast El-Khaleel (or Abraham) into the
fire, and on which was slaughtered the camel of Ṣáleḥ; and the twenty-fifth,
on which the suffocating wind was sent upon the people of Hood.137

II. Natural magic, which is called "es-Seemiyà," is regarded by most
persons of the more enlightened classes of Muslims as altogether a
deceptive art, no more worthy of respect than legerdemain; but it seems to
be nearly allied to enchantment; for it is said to effect, in appearance, the
most wonderful transformations, and to cause the most extraordinary
visions; affecting the senses and imagination in a manner similar to opium.
This and other drugs are supposed, by some persons, to be the chief means
by which such illusions are caused; and perfumes, which are generally
burnt in these performances, may operate in a similar manner. As such
things are employed in performances of the kind called "Ḍarb el-Mendel,"
before mentioned, these feats are regarded by many as effected by natural
magic, notwithstanding what has been said above respecting the services of
evil Jinn being procured by means of perfumes.—Alchymy ("el-Keemiyà")
is a branch of natural magic. It is studied by many Muslims of the present
day, and by some of considerable talents and attainments.
The most celebrated of the magicians who have gained notoriety in Egypt
during the course of the last hundred years, was the sheykh Aḥmad
Ṣádoomeh, who flourished somewhat more than sixty years ago—I write in
1837. Several persons of Cairo, men of intelligence and of good education,
have related to me various most marvellous stories of his performances, on
the authority of eye-witnesses whom they considered veracious; but a more
credible account of this magician I have found in the work of an excellent
historian of Modern Egypt. This author mentions the sheykh Ṣádoomeh as
an aged man, of venerable appearance, who derived his origin from the
town of Semennood, in the Delta, and who acquired a very great and
extensive celebrity for his attainments in spiritual and natural magic, and
for holding converse, face to face, with Jinn, and causing them to appear to
other persons, even to the blind, as men acquainted with him informed the
historian. His contemporaries, says this writer, entertained various opinions
respecting him; but, among them, a famous grammarian and general
scholar, the sheykh Ḥasan El-Kafráwee, regarded him as a first-rate saint,
who performed evident miracles; this learned man pronouncing as such the
effects of "his legerdemain and natural magic." His fame he describes as
having increased until he was induced to try an unlucky experiment. A
Memlook chief, Yoosuf Bey, saw some magic characters written on the
body of one of his female slaves, and, exasperated by jealousy, commanded

her, with a threat of instant death, to tell him who had done this. She
confessed that a woman had taken her to the sheykh Ṣádoomeh, and that he
had written this charm to attract to her the Bey's love. Upon hearing this, he
instantly sent some attendants to seize the magician, and to put him to
death, and throw him into the Nile; which was done.138 But the manner in
which the seizure was made, as related to me by one of my friends,
deserves to be mentioned. Several persons, one after another, endeavoured
to lay hold upon him; but every arm that was stretched forth for this
purpose was instantly paralyzed, through a spell muttered by the magician;
until a man behind him thrust a gag into his mouth, and so stopped his
enchantments.
Of the stories related to me of Ṣádoomeh's miracles, the following will
serve as a specimen:—In order to give one of his friends a treat, he took
him to the distance of about half an hour's walk into the desert on the north
of Cairo; here they both sat down, upon the pebbly and sandy plain, and, the
magician having uttered a spell, they suddenly found themselves in the
midst of a garden, like one of the gardens of paradise, abounding with
flowers and fruit-trees of every kind, springing up from a soil clothed with
verdure brilliant as the emerald, and irrigated by numerous streamlets of the
clearest water. A repast of the most delicious viands and fruits and wines
was spread before them by invisible hands; and they both ate to satiety,
taking copious draughts of the various wines. At length, the magician's
guest sank into a deep sleep; and when he awoke, he found himself again in
the pebbly and sandy plain, with Ṣádoomeh still by his side.—The reader
will probably attribute this vision to a dose of opium or some similar drug;
and such I suppose to have been the means employed; for I cannot doubt
the integrity of the narrator, though he would not admit such an
explanation; regarding the whole as an affair of magic, effected by the
operation of Jinn, like similar relations in the present work.
It may be remarked that most of the enchantments described in this work
are said to be performed by women; and reputed witches appear to have
been much more numerous in all countries than wizards. This fact the
Muslims readily explain by a saying of their Prophet:—That women are
deficient in sense and religion:—whence they argue that they are more
inclined than men to practise what is unlawful.

Note 16.—On the Two Grand Festivals. The Muslims observe two grand
'Eeds, or Festivals, in every year. The first of these immediately follows
Ramaḍán, the month of abstinence, and lasts three days: it is called the
Minor Festival. The other, which is called the Great Festival, commences
on the tenth of Zu-l-Ḥejjeh, the day when the pilgrims, halting on their
return from Mount 'Arafát to Mekkeh, in the Valley of Minè (vulgarly
called Munà), perform their sacrifice: the observance of this festival also
continues three days, or four.
Early in the first morning, on each of these festivals, the Muslim is required
to perform a lustration of his whole person, as on the mornings of Friday;
and on the first morning of the Minor Festival, he should break his fast with
a few dates or some other light food; but on the Great Festival, he abstains
from food until he has acquitted himself of the religious duties now to be
mentioned. Soon after sunrise, on the first day of each festival, the men,
dressed in new or in their best clothes, repair to the mosque, or to a
particular place appointed for the performance of the prayers of the 'Eed.
On going thither, they should repeat, frequently, "God is most great!"—this,
on the Minor Festival, they should do inaudibly: on the other, aloud. The
congregation, having assembled, repeat the prayers of two rek'ahs; after
which, the Khaṭeeb recites a khuṭbeh; i. e. an exhortation and a prayer. On
each of these festivals, in the mosque, or place of prayer, and in the street,
and at each other's houses, friends congratulate and embrace one another;
generally paying visits for this purpose; and the great receive visits from
their dependants. The young, on these occasions, kiss the right hand of the
aged; and servants or dependants do the same to their masters or superiors,
unless the latter be of high rank, in which case they kiss the end of the
hanging sleeve, or the skirt of the outer garment. Most of the shops are
closed, excepting those at which eatables and sweet drinks are sold; but the
streets are filled with people in their holiday clothes.
On the Minor Festival, which, as it terminates an arduous fast, is celebrated
with more rejoicing than the other,139 servants and other dependants receive
presents of new articles of clothing from their masters or patrons; and the
servant receives presents of small sums of money from his master's friends,
whom, if they do not visit his master, he goes to congratulate; as well as
from any former master, to whom he often takes a plateful of kaḥks. These
are sweet cakes, or biscuits, of an annular form, composed of flour and

butter, with a little 'ajameeyeh (which is a thick paste consisting of butter,
honey, a little flour, and some spices) inside. They are also often sent as
presents on this occasion by other people. Another custom required of the
faithful on this festival is the giving of alms.
On the Great Festival, after the prayers of the congregation, every one who
can afford it performs, with his own hand, or by that of a deputy, a sacrifice
of a ram, he-goat, cow or buffalo, or she-camel; part of the meat of which
he eats, and part he gives to the poor, or to his friends or dependants. The
ram or goat should be at least one year old; the cow or buffalo, two years;
and the camel, five years; and the victim should not have any considerable
mutilation or infirmity. A cow or buffalo, or a camel, is a sufficient sacrifice
for seven persons. The clothes which were put on new at the former festival
are generally worn on this occasion; and the presents which are given to
servants and others are usually somewhat less.
On each of the two festivals it is also customary, especially with the
women, to visit the tombs of relations. The party generally take with them a
palm-branch, and place it, broken in several pieces, or merely its leaves,
upon the tomb or monument; or some, instead of this, place sweet basil or
other flowers. They also usually provide themselves with sweet cakes,
bread, dates, or some other kind of food, to distribute to the poor. But their
first duty, on arriving at the tomb, is to recite the Fáteḥah (the opening
Chapter of the Ḳur-án), or to employ a person to recite previously a longer
chapter; generally the thirty-sixth (or Soorat Yá-Seen); or even the whole of
the book: or sometimes the visiters recite the Fáteḥah, and, after having
hired a person to perform a longer recitation, go away before he
commences. The women often stay all the days of the festival in the
cemeteries, either in tents, or in houses of their own, erected there for their
reception on these and other occasions. The tent of each party surrounds the
tomb which is the object of their visit. In the outskirts of the cemeteries,
swings and whirligigs are erected; and story-tellers, dancers, and jugglers,
amuse the populace.
Note 17.—On the Mode of Slaughtering of Animals for Food. In the old
translation, the sheykh is described as preparing to slaughter the cow with a
mallet. This is a mistake of a serious nature; as the flesh of the victim, if so
killed, would be legally unclean. The Muslims are required to slaughter

animals for food in a particular manner. Sheep, goats, cows or bulls, and
buffaloes, must be killed by cutting the throat, at the part next the head, or
any other part; dividing the windpipe, gullet, and carotid arteries. The camel
is to be slaughtered by stabbing the throat at the part next the breast.
Poultry, also, must be killed by cutting the throat; and so must every tame
animal of which the flesh is lawful food. The slaughterer, in every case,
must be a Muslim, a Christian, or a Jew; of either sex. On commencing the
operation, he must say, "In the name of God! God is most great!"—or at
least, "In the name of God!"—but not add, "the Compassionate, the
Merciful"—for an obvious reason. Birds or beasts of the chase may be
killed by an arrow, a dog, a hawk, &c.; but the name of God must be uttered
at the time of discharging the arrow, or slipping the dog, &c. When the
beast or bird is not killed at once by the arrow, &c., it must be slaughtered
as soon as possible, in the same manner as sheep and poultry: the law, as
well as humanity, requires this.
Note 18.—On the Influence of Eloquence and Tales upon the Arabs. The
main incident upon which this work is founded, the triumph of the
fascination of the tongue over a cruel and unjust determination which
nothing else could annul, might be regarded, by persons unacquainted with
the character and literature of the Arabs, as a contrivance too improbable in
its nature; but such is not the case. Perhaps there are no other people in the
world who are such enthusiastic admirers of literature, and so excited by
romantic tales, as those above named. Eloquence, with them, is lawful
magic: it exercises over their minds an irresistible influence. "I swear by
God," said their Prophet, "verily abuse of infidels in verse is worse to them
than arrows."140 This, of course, alludes to Arab unbelievers.
In the purest, or Heroic Age of Arabic literature, which was anterior to the
triumph of the Mohammadan religion, the conquest which the love of
eloquence could achieve over the sanguinary and vindictive feelings of the
Arabs was most remarkably exemplified in the annual twenty days' fair of
'Okáẓ, or 'Okáḍh. Respecting this fair, I shall here insert a few particulars
borrowed from an author who is at present devoting talents of the very
highest order to the study and illustration of the history and literature of the
early Arabs, and to whose conversation and writings I must acknowledge
myself indebted for most valuable information, which will often be of great

utility to me in this undertaking, as well as in every branch of my Arabic
studies.
The fair of 'Okáẓ "was not only a great mart opened annually to all the
tribes of Arabia; but it was also a literary congress, or rather a general
concourse of virtues, of glory and of poetry, whither the hero-poets resorted
to celebrate their exploits in rhyming verse, and peacefully to contend for
every kind of honour. This fair was held in the district of Mekkeh, between
Eṭ-Ṭáïf and Nakhleh, and was opened at the new moon of Zu-l-Ḳaạdeh; that
is to say, at the commencement of a period of three sacred months, during
which all war was suspended, and homicide interdicted.... How is it
possible to conceive that men whose wounds were always bleeding, who
had always acts of vengeance to execute, vengeances to dread, could at a
certain epoch impose silence upon their animosities, so as tranquilly to sit
by a mortal enemy? How could the brave who required the blood of a
father, a brother, or a son, according to the phraseology of the desert and of
the Bible,141 who long, perhaps, had pursued in vain the murderer,—meet
him, accost him peacefully at 'Okáẓ, and only assault with cadences and
rhymes him whose presence alone seemed to accuse him of impotence or
cowardice,—him whom he was bound to slay, under pain of infamy, after
the expiration of the truce? In fine, how could he hear a panegyric
celebrating a glory acquired at his own expense, and sustain the fire of a
thousand looks, and yet appear unmoved? Had the Arabs no longer any
blood in their veins during the continuance of the fair?—These questions,
so embarrassing, ... were determined [to a great degree], during the age of
Arab paganism, in a manner the most simple and most refined.—At the fair
of 'Okáẓ, the heroes were masked [or veiled].—In the recitations and
improvisations, the voice of the orator was aided by that of a rhapsodist or
crier, who was stationed near him, and repeated his words. There is a
similar office in the public prayers: it is that of the muballigh (transmitter),
who is employed to repeat in a loud voice what is said in a lower tone by
the Imám. These two facts have been revealed to me by the same
manuscript which I am translating, and upon which I am commenting. The
use of the mask [or veil] might, however, be either adopted or dispensed
with, ad libitum; as is proved by the narratives of a great number of quarrels
begun and ended at 'Okáẓ.... It was in this congress of the Arab poets (and
almost every warriour was a poet at the age which I am considering) that

the dialects of Arabia became fused into a magic language, the language of
the Ḥejáz, which Moḥammad made use of to subvert the world; for the
triumph of Moḥammad is nothing else than the triumph of speech."142—The
Ḳur-án is regarded by the Arabs as an everlasting miracle, surpassing all
others, appealing to the understanding of every generation by its inimitable
eloquence. A stronger proof of the power of language over their minds
could hardly be adduced; unless it be their being capable of receiving as a
credible fact the tradition that both genii and men were attracted by the
eloquent reading of David, when he recited the Psalms; that the wild beasts
and the birds were alike fascinated; and that sometimes there were borne
out from his assembly as many as four hundred corpses of men who died
from the excessive delight with which he thus inspired them.143 It may be
added that the recitation, or chanting, of the Ḳur-án is a favourite means of
amusing the guests at modern private festivities.
In what may be termed the Middle Age of Arabic literature, commencing
from the triumph of the Mohammadan religion, and extending to the
foundation of the Empire of Baghdád, the power of eloquence over the
educated classes of the Arabs probably increased in proportion as it became
less familiar to them: for, early in this age, they began to simplify their
spoken language in consequence of their intercourse with strangers, who
could not generally acquire the difficult, old dialect of their conquerors:
this, therefore, then began to be confined to literary compositions. That such
a change took place at this period appears from several anecdotes
interspersed in Arabic works. The Khaleefeh El-Weleed (who reigned near
the close of the first century of the Flight), the son of 'Abd-El-Melik, spoke
so corrupt a dialect that he often could not make himself understood by the
Arabs of the desert. A ridiculous instance of the mistakes occasioned by his
use of the simplified language which is now current is related by Abu-l-
Fidà. The same author adds, that the father and predecessor of this prince
was a man of eloquence, and that he was grieved by the corrupt speech of
his son, which he considered as a defect that incapacitated him to be a
future ruler of the Arabs, as they were still great admirers of purity of
speech, though so large a proportion of them spoke a corrupt dialect;
wherefore, he sent him to a house to be instructed by a grammarian; but
after the youth had remained there a long time, he returned to his father
more ignorant than before. Vulgarisms, however, would sometimes escape

from the mouth of 'Abd-El-Melik himself; yet, so sensible was he to
eloquence, that, when a learned man, with whom he was conversing,
elegantly informed him of an error of this kind, he ordered his mouth to be
filled with jewels. "These," said his courteous admonisher, "are things to be
treasured up; not to be expended:"—and for this delicate hint, he was
further rewarded with thirty thousand pieces of silver, and several costly
articles of apparel.144—It may be aptly added, that this Khaleefeh was, in the
beginning of his reign, an unjust monarch; and as he thus bore some slight
resemblance to our Shahriyár, so was he reclaimed to a sense of his duty by
means somewhat similar. Being, one night, unable to sleep, he called for a
person to tell him a story for his amusement. "O Prince of the Faithful," said
the man thus bidden, "there was an owl in El-Móṣil, and an owl in El-
Baṣrah; and the owl of El-Móṣil demanded in marriage, for her son, the
daughter of the owl of El-Baṣrah: but the owl of El-Baṣrah said, 'I will not,
unless thou give me, as her dowry, a hundred desolate farms.' 'That I cannot
do,' said the owl of El-Móṣil, 'at present; but if our sovereign (may God,
whose name be exalted, preserve him!) live one year, I will give thee what
thou desirest.'"—This simple fable sufficed to rouse the prince from his
apathy, and he thenceforward applied himself to fulfil the duties of his
station.145
In the most flourishing age of Arabic poetry and general literature and
science, commencing from the foundation of the Empire of Baghdád, and
extending to the conquest of Egypt by the 'Osmánlee Turks, the influence of
eloquent and entertaining language upon the character of the Arab
sovereigns was particularly exemplified. A few illustrative anecdotes may
here be inserted.
It is related by El-Aṣma'ee, that Hároon Er-Rasheed, at a grand fête which
he was giving, ordered the poet Abu-l-'Atáhiyeh to depict, in verse, the
voluptuous enjoyments of his sovereign. The poet began thus:—
"Live long in safe enjoyment of thy desires, under the shadow of lofty palaces!"

"Well said!" exclaimed Er-Rasheed: "and what next?"
"May thy wishes be abundantly fulfilled, whether at eventide or in the morning!"

"Well!" again said the Khaleefeh: "then what next?"

"But when the rattling breath struggles in the dark cavity of the chest.
Then shalt thou know surely, that thou hast been only in the midst of illusions."

—Er-Rasheed wept; and Faḍl, the son of Yaḥyà, said, "The Prince of the
Faithful sent for thee to divert him, and thou hast plunged him into grief."
"Suffer him," said the prince; "for he hath beheld us in blindness, and it
displeased him to increase it."146
The family of the Barmekees (one of the most brilliant ornaments of which
was the Wezeer Jaạfar, who has been rendered agreeably familiar to us by
the many scenes in which he is introduced in the present work) earned a
noble and enduring reputation by their attachment to literature, and the
magnificent rewards they conferred on learned men. It was peculiarly hard,
therefore, that literature contributed to their melancholy overthrow. Poets
were employed by their enemies to compose songs artfully pointed against
them, to be sung before the prince to whom they owed their power. Of one
of these songs, the following lines formed a part:—
"Would that Hind had fulfilled the promises she made us, and healed the disease under
which we suffer!
That she had once, at least, acted for herself! for imbecile, indeed, is he who doth not
so."

"Yea! By Allah! Imbecile!" exclaimed the Khaleefeh, on hearing these
verses: his jealousy was roused; and his vengeance soon after fell heavily
upon his former favourites.147
One of the Khaleefehs having invited the poets of his day to his palace, a
Bedawee, carrying a water-jar to fill at the river, followed them, and entered
with them. The Khaleefeh, seeing this poor man with the jar on his
shoulder, asked him what brought him thither. He returned for answer these
words:—
"Seeing that this company had girded on the saddles
To repair to thy overflowing river, I came with my jar."

The Khaleefeh, delighted with his answer, gave orders to fill his jar with
gold.148
In the present declining age of Arabian learning (which may be said to have
commenced about the period of the conquest of Egypt by the 'Osmánlees),
literary recreations still exert a magic influence upon the Arabs.

Compositions of a similar nature to the tales of a Thousand and One Nights
(though regarded by the learned as idle stories unworthy of being classed
with their literature) enable numbers of professional story-tellers to attract
crowds of delighted listeners to the coffee-shops of the East; and now that
the original of the present work is printed, and to be purchased at a
moderate price, it will probably soon, in a great measure, supersede the
romances of Aboo-Zeyd, Eẓ-Ẓáhir, and 'Antar. As a proof of the powerful
fascinations with which the tales of a Thousand and One Nights affect the
mind of a highly-enlightened Muslim, it may be mentioned that the latest
native historian of Modern Egypt, the sheykh 'Abd-Er-Raḥmán El-Jabartee,
so delighted in their perusal that he took the trouble of refining the language
of a copy of them which he possessed, expunging or altering whatever was
grossly offensive to morality without the somewhat redeeming quality of
wit, and adding many facetiæ of his own, and of other literati. What has
become of this copy, I have been unable, though acquainted with several of
his friends, to discover.
Note 19. It is a common custom among the Muslims to give a present to a
person who brings good tidings. The word (bishárah) which I render "a
reward for bringing good news," literally signifies merely "good news;" but
it is often used, as in this case, in the former sense.
Note 20. A Mohammadan woman is not allowed to show her face to any
men excepting certain near relations and others whom the law prohibits her
from marrying. Who these are will be mentioned in a future note,
descriptive of the general laws and ceremonies of marriage. Respectable
females consider it a great disgrace to be seen unveiled by any men but
those above alluded to.
Note 21.—On the Deenár and Dirhem. The standards of gold and silver
coin, among the Arabs, were the deenár and the dirhem: therefore, in this
work, I call the former "a piece of gold," and the latter "a piece of silver."
Their values have varied considerably at different periods; but in the present
work, we shall sufficiently approximate to the truth, if we understand the
average value of the former to be about ten shillings or half a guinea; and
that of the latter, about sixpence.

Note 22.—Description of Shops. In Eastern cities, most of the great
thoroughfare-streets, and many others, have a row of shops along each side,
not communicating with the superstructures; which latter are divided into
separate lodgings, inhabited by different families, and seldom by the
persons who rent the shops beneath. These streets are called, in Arabic,
"Sooḳs;" and are generally termed by us, "Bázárs." A whole street of this
description, or a portion of such a street, commonly contains only or chiefly
shops appropriated to a particular trade; and is called the Sooḳ of that trade.
In general, the shop is a small recess or cell, about six or seven feet high,
and between three and four feet wide, the floor of which is even with the
top of a raised seat of stone or brick, called "maṣṭabah," between two and
three feet high, and about the same in breadth; upon which the shopkeeper
usually sits.149 The front of the shop is furnished with shutters; which, when
closed, at night, are secured by a wooden lock. Several of the engravings in
this work will convey a better notion of shops of different kinds than a more
detailed description.
Note 23. Distrust in his governors and relations and acquaintance often
induces an Arab to hide his money under the paved floor of a room, or in
some other place, in his house.
Note 24. These words, "I give myself to thee," uttered by a woman to a
man, even without the presence of witnesses, if they cannot be easily
procured, render her his lawful wife, if he replies that he accepts her, and
gives her a dowry.
Note 25. I have substituted "Jinneeyeh" (agreeably with the Calcutta edition
of the first two hundred nights, and because the context requires it) for
"'Efreeteh," which signifies a powerful and evil female genie.—The tale to
which this note refers may be illustrated by the following anecdote, which
was related to me by a Persian with whom I was acquainted in Cairo,
named Abu-l-Ḳásim, a native of Geelán, then superintendent of the Báshà's
Printing-office at Booláḳ.
One of this person's countrymen, whom he asserted to be a man of
indubitable veracity, was sitting on the roof of a house which he had hired,
overlooking the Ganges, and was passing the closing hour of the day,
according to his usual custom, smoking his Persian pipe, and feasting his

eyes by gazing at the beautiful forms of Indian maidens bathing in the river,
when he beheld among them one so lovely that his heart was overpowered
with desire to have her for his wife. At nightfall she came to him, and told
him that she had observed his emotion, and would consent to become his
wife; but on the condition that he should never admit another female to take
or share her place, and that she should only be with him in the night-time.
They took the marriage-vow to each other, with none for their witness but
God; and great was his happiness, till, one evening, he saw again, among a
group of girls in the river, another who excited in him still more powerful
emotions. To his surprise, this very form stood before him at the approach
of night. He withstood the temptation, mindful of his marriage-vow: she
used every allurement; but he was resolute. His fair visiter then told him
that she was his wife; that she was a Jinneeyeh; and that she would always
thenceforward visit him in the form of any female whom he might chance
to prefer.
Note 26. This form of benediction is almost always added when the Prophet
is mentioned in a book by any of his followers, and often also in
conversation.
Note 27. Perhaps it is needless to explain this proverb by the words of the
Bible—"Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord." (Romans, xii. 19.)
For the honour of the Muslims I must say that this maxim is often observed
by them, excepting in cases to which the law of retaliation applies.
Note 28. The houses in Arabian countries generally have flat roofs, upon
which, in the summer, some of the inhabitants often sleep: the interior,
therefore, is as accessible from the roof as from the common entrance.
Note 29. I here steer a middle course between my usual standard copy—
which gives the story of the third sheykh more fully than I have done—and
the Calcutta edition of the first two hundred nights, which omits it
altogether, as does also the copy from which the old translation was made,
perhaps on account of its uninteresting nature.

111 Ḳur-án, ch. xiii. v. 39.
112 "El-Insán el-Kámil," by 'Abd-El-Kereem El-Jeelee, quoted by El-Is-ḥáḳee, in his
account of Ibráheem Báshà el-Maḳtool.
113 Mishkát el-Maṣábeeḥ, vol. i. pp. 26-34.
114 Ibid.
115 Idem, vol. ii. p. 373.
116 Nuzhet el-Mutaämmil wa-Murshid el-Mutaähhil, section 7.

117 Mishkát el-Maṣábeeḥ, vol. ii. p. 381.
118 For a translation of the whole of this prayer, see "Modern Egyptians," vol. ii. ch, xii.
119 Ḳur-án, ch. v. v. 35.
120 See "Modern Egyptians," vol. ii. ch. xv.
121 These degrees of relationship will be explained when I describe the customs relating to
marriage.
122 Nuzhet el-Mutaämmil wa-Murshid el-Mutaähhil, section 9.
123 Mishkát el-Maṣábeeḥ, vol. ii. pp. 140 and 141.
124 Nuzhet El-Mutaämmil, &c., loco laudato.
125 See "Modern Egyptians," vol. i. ch. vii.
126 Events of the year 227.
127 Ḳur-án, ch. xxvii. v. 40; and Commentary of the Jeláleyn.
128 See "Mishḳát el-Maṣábeeḥ," vol. ii. p. 374.
129 Idem, vol ii. pp. 384, et seqq.
130 Account of the early Arabs, in the "Mir-át ez-Zemán."
131 During his last residence in Egypt, Mr. Lane thought he had discovered a clue to the
means employed in these performances, but he afterwards found that there were cases
which remained to him inexplicable.—Ed.
132 Mishkát el-Maṣábeeḥ, loco laudato.
133 Mir-át ez-Zemán, loco laudato.
134 El-Is-ḥáḳee, in his account of the reign of El-Moạtaṣim, the son of Hároon.
135 Mishkát el-Maṣábeeḥ, vol. ii. p. 388.
136 Vulgarly pronounced Nemrood.
137 El-Is-ḥáḳee, close of his account of the reign of El-Emeen.
138 El-Jabartee's Modern Egyptian History (MS. in my possession); account of the death
of Yoosuf Bey, in the year of the Flight 1191; and account of the death of the sheykh Ḥasan
El-Kafráwee, in the year 1202.
139 Hence it has been called by many travellers, and even by some learned Orientalists, the
Great Feast; but it is never so called by the Arabs.
140 Mishkát el-Maṣábeeḥ, vol. ii. p. 424.
141 Genesis ix. 5.
142 Lettres sur l'Histoire des Arabes avant l'Islamisme, par Fulgence Fresnel. Paris, 1836,
pp. 31, et seqq.

143 El-Is-háḳee.
144 El-Is-ḥáḳee.
145 Idem.
146 Fakhr-ed-Deen, in De Sacy's Chrestomathie Arabe, vol. i. p. 3 of the Arabic Text: 2nd
edition.
147 Ibn-Khaldoon, ubi supra, vol. i. p. 124 of the Arabic text.
148 Ḥalbet el-Kumeyt (MS. in my possession), chap. vii.
149 The maṣṭabah, with the picturesque Arab architecture of which it forms a part, is fast
disappearing from Egypt. In Cairo and Alexandria, Moḥammad 'Alee ordered that the
maṣṭabahs in the thoroughfare-streets should be removed, or reduced to about a foot in
width; and interdicted the erection of new meshrebeeyehs (projecting windows of lattice-
work), although he allowed the old ones to remain.—Ed.

CHAPTER II.
COMMENCING WITH PART OF THE THIRD NIGHT, AND ENDING WITH PART OF THE
NINTH.

THE STORY OF THE FISHERMAN.

There was a certain fisherman, advanced in age, who had a wife and three
children; and though he was in indigent circumstances, it was his custom to
cast his net, every day, no more than four times. One day he went forth at
the hour of noon to the shore of the sea, and put down his basket, and cast
his net, and waited until it was motionless in the water, when he drew
together its strings, and found it to be heavy: he pulled, but could not draw
it up: so he took the end of the cord, and knocked a stake into the shore, and
tied the cord to it. He then stripped himself, and dived round the net, and
continued to pull until he drew it out: whereupon he rejoiced, and put on his
clothes; but when he came to examine the net, he found in it the carcass of
an ass. At the sight of this he mourned, and exclaimed, There is no strength
nor power but in God, the High, the Great! This is a strange piece of
fortune!—And he repeated the following verse:—
O thou who occupiest thyself in the darkness of night, and in peril! Spare thy trouble;
for the support of Providence is not obtained by toil!1

He then disencumbered his net of the dead ass, and wrung it out; after
which he spread it, and descended into the sea, and—exclaiming, In the
name of God!—cast it again, and waited till it had sunk and was still, when
he pulled it, and found it more heavy and more difficult to raise than on the
former occasion. He therefore concluded that it was full of fish: so he tied
it, and stripped, and plunged and dived, and pulled until he raised it, and
drew it upon the shore; when he found in it only a large jar, full of sand and
mud; on seeing which, he was troubled in his heart, and repeated the
following words of the poet:—
O angry fate, forbear! or, if thou wilt not forbear, relent!
Neither favour from fortune do I gain, nor profit from the work of my hands,
I came forth to seek my sustenance, but have found it to be exhausted.
How many of the ignorant are in splendour! and how many of the wise, in obscurity!

So saying, he threw aside the jar, and wrung out and cleansed his net; and,
begging the forgiveness of God for his impatience, returned to the sea the
third time, and threw the net, and waited till it had sunk and was
motionless: he then drew it out, and found in it a quantity of broken jars and
pots.

Upon this, he raised his head towards heaven, and said, O God, Thou
knowest that I cast not my net more than four times; and I have now cast it
three times! Then—exclaiming, In the name of God!—he cast the net again
into the sea, and waited till it was still; when he attempted to draw it up, but
could not, for it clung to the bottom. And he exclaimed, There is no strength
nor power but in God!—and stripped himself again, and dived round the
net, and pulled it until he raised it upon the shore; when he opened it, and
found in it a bottle2 of brass, filled with something, and having its mouth
closed with a stopper of lead, bearing the impression of the seal of our lord
Suleymán.3 At the sight of this, the fisherman was rejoiced, and said, This I
will sell in the copper-market; for it is worth ten pieces of gold. He then
shook it, and found it to be heavy, and said, I must open it, and see what is
in it, and store it in my bag; and then I will sell the bottle in the copper-
market. So he took out a knife, and picked at the lead until he extracted it
from the bottle. He then laid the bottle on the ground, and shook it, that its
contents might pour out; but there came forth from it nothing but smoke,
which ascended towards the sky, and spread over the face of the earth; at
which he wondered excessively. And after a little while, the smoke
collected together, and was condensed, and then became agitated, and was
converted into an 'Efreet, whose head was in the clouds, while his feet
rested upon the ground:4 his head was like a dome: his hands were like
winnowing forks;5 and his legs, like masts: his mouth resembled a cavern:
his teeth were like stones; his nostrils, like trumpets;6 and his eyes, like
lamps; and he had dishevelled and dust-coloured hair.

When the fisherman beheld this 'Efreet, the muscles of his sides quivered,
his teeth were locked together, his spittle dried up, and he saw not his way.
The 'Efreet, as soon as he perceived him, exclaimed, There is no deity but
God: Suleymán is the Prophet of God. O Prophet of God, slay me not; for I
will never again oppose thee in word, or rebel against thee in deed!—O
Márid,7 said the fisherman, dost thou say, Suleymán is the Prophet of God?
Suleymán hath been dead a thousand and eight hundred years; and we are
now in the end of time. What is thy history, and what is thy tale, and what
was the cause of thy entering this bottle? When the Márid heard these

words of the fisherman, he said, There is no deity but God! Receive news,
O fisherman!—Of what, said the fisherman, dost thou give me news? He
answered, Of thy being instantly put to a most cruel death. The fisherman
exclaimed, Thou deservest, for this news, O master of the 'Efreets, the
withdrawal of protection from thee, O thou remote!8 Wherefore wouldst
thou kill me? and what requires thy killing me, when I have liberated thee
from the bottle, and rescued thee from the bottom of the sea, and brought
thee up upon the dry land?—The 'Efreet answered, Choose what kind of
death thou wilt die, and in what manner thou shalt be killed.—What is my
offence, said the fisherman, that this should be my recompense from thee?
The 'Efreet replied, Hear my story, O fisherman.—Tell it then, said the
fisherman, and be short in thy words; for my soul hath sunk down to my
feet.
Know then, said he, that I am one of the heretical Jinn: I rebelled against
Suleymán the son of Dáood: I and Ṣakhr the Jinnee;9 and he sent to me his
Wezeer, Áṣaf the son of Barkhiyà, who came upon me forcibly, and took me
to him in bonds, and placed me before him: and when Suleymán saw me, he
offered up a prayer for protection against me, and exhorted me to embrace
the faith, and to submit to his authority; but I refused; upon which he called
for this bottle, and confined me in it, and closed it upon me with the leaden
stopper, which he stamped with the Most Great Name: he then gave orders
to the Jinn, who carried me away, and threw me into the midst of the sea.
There I remained a hundred years; and I said in my heart, Whosoever shall
liberate me, I will enrich him for ever:—but the hundred years passed over
me, and no one liberated me: and I entered upon another hundred years; and
I said, Whosoever shall liberate me, I will open to him the treasures of the
earth;—but no one did so: and four hundred years more passed over me,
and I said, Whosoever shall liberate me, I will perform for him three wants:
—but still no one liberated me. I then fell into a violent rage, and said
within myself, Whosoever shall liberate me now, I will kill him; and only
suffer him to choose in what manner he will die. And lo, now thou hast
liberated me, and I have given thee thy choice of the manner in which thou
wilt die.

When the fisherman had heard the story of the 'Efreet, he exclaimed, O
Allah! that I should not have liberated thee but in such a time as this! Then
said he to the 'Efreet, Pardon me, and kill me not, and so may God pardon
thee; and destroy me not, lest God give power over thee to one who will
destroy thee. The Márid answered, I must positively kill thee; therefore
choose by what manner of death thou wilt die. The fisherman then felt
assured of his death; but he again implored the 'Efreet, saying, Pardon me
by way of gratitude for my liberating thee.—Why, answered the 'Efreet, I
am not going to kill thee but for that very reason, because thou hast
liberated me.—O Sheykh of the 'Efreets, said the fisherman, do I act kindly
towards thee, and dost thou recompense me with baseness? But the proverb
lieth not that saith,—

We did good to them, and they returned us the contrary; and such, by my life, is the
conduct of the wicked.
Thus he who acteth kindly to the undeserving is recompensed in the same manner as
the aider of Umm-'Ámir.10

The 'Efreet, when he heard these words, answered by saying, Covet not life,
for thy death is unavoidable. Then said the fisherman within himself, This is
a Jinnee, and I am a man; and God hath given me sound reason; therefore, I
will now plot his destruction with my art and reason, like as he hath plotted
with his cunning and perfidy. So he said to the 'Efreet, Hast thou determined
to kill me? He answered, Yes. Then said he, By the Most Great Name
engraved upon the seal of Suleymán, I will ask thee one question; and wilt
thou answer it to me truly? On hearing the mention of the Most Great
Name, the 'Efreet was agitated, and trembled, and replied, Yes; ask, and be
brief. The fisherman then said, How wast thou in this bottle? It will not
contain thy hand or thy foot; how then can it contain thy whole body?—
Dost thou not believe that I was in it? said the 'Efreet. The fisherman
answered, I will never believe thee until I see thee in it. Upon this, the
'Efreet shook, and became converted again into smoke, which rose to the
sky, and then became condensed, and entered the bottle by little and little,
until it was all enclosed; when the fisherman hastily snatched the sealed
leaden stopper, and, having replaced it in the mouth of the bottle, called out
to the 'Efreet, and said, Choose in what manner of death thou wilt die. I will
assuredly throw thee here into the sea, and build me a house on this spot;
and whosoever shall come here, I will prevent his fishing in this place, and
will say to him, Here is an 'Efreet, who, to any person that liberates him,
will propose various kinds of death, and then give him his choice of one of
them. On hearing these words of the fisherman, the 'Efreet endeavoured to
escape; but could not, finding himself restrained by the impression of the
seal of Suleymán, and thus imprisoned by the fisherman as the vilest and
filthiest and least of 'Efreets. The fisherman then took the bottle to the brink
of the sea. The 'Efreet exclaimed, Nay! nay!—to which the fisherman
answered, Yea, without fail! yea, without fail! The Márid then addressing
him with a soft voice and humble manner, said, What dost thou intend to do
with me, O fisherman? He answered, I will throw thee into the sea; and if
thou hast been there a thousand and eight hundred years, I will make thee to
remain there until the hour of judgment. Did I not say to thee, Spare me,
and so may God spare thee; and destroy me not, lest God destroy thee? But

thou didst reject my petition, and wouldest nothing but treachery; therefore
God hath caused thee to fall into my hand, and I have betrayed thee.—Open
to me, said the 'Efreet, that I may confer benefits upon thee. The fisherman
replied, Thou liest, thou accursed! I and thou are like the Wezeer of King
Yoonán11 and the sage Doobán.12—What, said the 'Efreet, was the case of the
Wezeer of King Yoonán and the sage Doobán, and what is their story? The
fisherman answered as follows:—

THE STORY OF KING YOONÁN AND THE SAGE DOOBÁN.

Know, O 'Efreet, that there was, in former times, in the country of the
Persians,13 a monarch who was called King Yoonán, possessing great
treasures and numerous forces, valiant, and having troops of every
description; but he was afflicted with leprosy, which the physicians and
sages had failed to remove; neither their potions, nor powders, nor
ointments were of any benefit to him; and none of the physicians was able
to cure him. At length there arrived at the city of this king a great sage,
stricken in years, who was called the sage Doobán: he was acquainted with
ancient Greek, Persian, modern Greek, Arabic, and Syriac books, and with
medicine and astrology, both with respect to their scientific principles and
the rules of their practical applications for good and evil; as well as the
properties of plants, dried and fresh, the injurious and the useful: he was
versed in the wisdom of the philosophers, and embraced a knowledge of all
the medical and other sciences.
After this sage had arrived in the city, and remained in it a few days, he
heard of the case of the King, of the leprosy with which God had afflicted
him, and that the physicians and men of science had failed to cure him. In
consequence of this information, he passed the next night in deep study; and
when the morning came, and diffused its light, and the sun saluted the
Ornament of the Good,14 he attired himself in the richest of his apparel, and
presented himself before the King. Having kissed the ground before him,
and offered up a prayer for the continuance of his power and happiness, and
greeted him in the best manner he was able, he informed him who he was,
and said, O King, I have heard of the disease which hath attacked thy
person, and that many of the physicians are unacquainted with the means of
removing it; and I will cure thee without giving thee to drink any potion, or
anointing thee with ointment. When King Yoonán heard his words, he

wondered, and said to him, How wilt thou do this? By Allah, if thou cure
me, I will enrich thee and thy children's children, and I will heap favours
upon thee, and whatever thou shalt desire shall be thine, and thou shalt be
my companion and my friend.—He then bestowed upon him a robe of
honour,15 and other presents, and said to him, Wilt thou cure me of this
disease without potion or ointment? He answered, Yes; I will cure thee
without any discomfort to thy person. And the King was extremely
astonished, and said, O Sage, at what time, and on what day, shall that
which thou hast proposed to me be done? Hasten it, O my Son.—He
answered, I hear and obey.
He then went out from the presence of the King, and hired a house, in
which he deposited his books, and medicines, and drugs. Having done this,
he selected certain of his medicines and drugs, and made a goff-stick, with a
hollow handle, into which he introduced them; after which he made a ball
for it, skilfully adapted; and on the following day, after he had finished
these, he went again to the King, and kissed the ground before him, and
directed him to repair to the horse-course, and to play with the ball and
goff-stick. The King, attended by his Emeers and Chamberlains and
Wezeers, went thither, and, as soon as he arrived there, the sage Doobán
presented himself before him, and handed to him the goff-stick, saying,
Take this goff-stick, and grasp it thus, and ride along the horse-course, and
strike the ball with it with all thy force, until the palm of thy hand and thy
whole body become moist with perspiration, when the medicine will
penetrate into thy hand, and pervade thy whole body; and when thou hast
done this, and the medicine remains in thee, return to thy palace, and enter
the bath,16 and wash thyself, and sleep: then shalt thou find thyself cured:
and peace be on thee. So King Yoonán took the goff-stick from the sage,
and grasped it in his hand, and mounted his horse; and the ball was thrown
before him, and he urged his horse after it until he overtook it, when he
struck it with all his force; and when he had continued this exercise as long
as was necessary, and bathed and slept, he looked upon his skin, and not a
vestige of the leprosy remained: it was clear as white silver. Upon this he
rejoiced exceedingly; his heart was dilated, and he was full of happiness.

On the following morning he entered the council-chamber, and sat upon his
throne; and the Chamberlains and great officers of his court came before
him. The sage Doobán also presented himself; and when the King saw him,
he rose to him in haste, and seated him by his side. Services of food were
then spread before them, and the sage ate with the King, and remained as
his guest all the day;17 and when the night approached, the King gave him
two thousand pieces of gold, besides dresses of honour and other presents,
and mounted him on his own horse, and so the sage returned to his house.18
And the King was astonished at his skill; saying, This man hath cured me
by an external process, without anointing me with ointment: by Allah, this
is consummate science; and it is incumbent on me to bestow favours and
honours upon him, and to make him my companion and familiar friend as
long as I live. He passed the night happy and joyful on account of his
recovery, and when he arose, he went forth again, and sat upon his throne;
the officers of his court standing before him, and the Emeers and Wezeers
sitting on his right hand and on his left; and he called for the sage Doobán,
who came, and kissed the ground before him; and the King rose, and seated
him by his side, and ate with him, and greeted him with compliments: he
bestowed upon him again a robe of honour and other presents, and, after
conversing with him till the approach of night, gave orders that five other
robes of honour should be given to him, and a thousand pieces of gold; and
the sage departed, and returned to his house.

Again, when the next morning came, the King went as usual to his council-
chamber, and the Emeers and Wezeers and Chamberlains surrounded him.
Now there was, among his Wezeers, one of ill aspect, and of evil star;19
sordid, avaricious, and of an envious and malicious disposition; and when
he saw that the King had made the sage Doobán his friend, and bestowed
upon him these favours, he envied him this distinction, and meditated evil
against him; agreeably with the adage which saith, There is no one void of
envy;20—and another, which saith, Tyranny lurketh in the soul: power
manifesteth it, and weakness concealeth it. So he approached the King, and
kissed the ground before him, and said, O King of the age, thou art he

whose goodness extendeth to all men, and I have an important piece of
advice to give thee: if I were to conceal it from thee, I should be a base-born
wretch: therefore, if thou order me to impart it, I will do so. The King,
disturbed by these words of the Wezeer, said, What is thy advice? He
answered, O glorious King, it hath been said, by the ancients, He who
looketh not to results, fortune will not attend him:—now I have seen the
King in a way that is not right; since he hath bestowed favours upon his
enemy, and upon him who desireth the downfall of his dominion: he hath
treated him with kindness, and honoured him with the highest honours, and
admitted him to the closest intimacy: I therefore fear, for the King, the
consequence of this conduct.—At this the King was troubled, and his
countenance changed; and he said, Who is he whom thou regardest as mine
enemy, and to whom I shew kindness? He replied, O King, if thou hast been
asleep, awake! I allude to the sage Doobán.—The King said, He is my
intimate companion, and the dearest of men in my estimation; for he
restored me by a thing that I merely held in my hand, and cured me of my
disease which the physicians were unable to remove, and there is not now
to be found one like to him in the whole world, from west to east.
Wherefore, then, dost thou utter these words against him? I will, from this
day, appoint him a regular salary and maintenance, and give him every
month a thousand pieces of gold; and if I gave him a share of my kingdom
it were but a small thing to do unto him. I do not think that thou hast said
this from any other motive than that of envy. If I did what thou desirest, I
should repent after it, as the man repented who killed his parrot.21

THE STORY OF THE HUSBAND AND THE PARROT.

There was a certain merchant, of an excessively jealous disposition, having
a wife endowed with perfect beauty, who had prevented him from leaving
his home; but an event happened which obliged him to make a journey; and
when he found his doing so to be indispensable, he went to the market in
which birds were sold, and bought a parrot, which he placed in his house to
act as a spy, that, on his return, she might inform him of what passed during
his absence; for this parrot was cunning and intelligent, and remembered
whatever she heard.22 So, when he had made his journey, and accomplished
his business, he returned, and caused the parrot to be brought to him, and
asked her respecting the conduct of his wife. She answered, Thy wife has a
lover, who visited her every night during thy absence:—and when the man
heard this, he fell into a violent rage, and went to his wife, and gave her a
severe beating.
The woman imagined that one of the female slaves had informed him of
what had passed between her and her paramour during his absence: she
therefore called them together, and made them swear; and they all swore
that they had not told their master anything of the matter; but confessed that
they had heard the parrot relate to him what had passed. Having thus
established, on the testimony of the slaves, the fact of the parrot's having

informed her husband of her intrigue, she ordered one of these slaves to
grind with a hand-mill under the cage, another to sprinkle water from
above, and a third to move a mirror from side to side, during the next night
on which her husband was absent; and on the following morning, when the
man returned from an entertainment at which he had been present, and
inquired again of the parrot what had passed that night during his absence,
the bird answered, O my master, I could neither see nor hear anything, on
account of the excessive darkness, and thunder, and lightning, and rain.
Now this happened during summer: so he said to her, What strange words
are these? It is now summer, when nothing of what thou hast described ever
happens.—The parrot, however, swore by Allah the Great that what she had
said was true; and that it had so happened: upon which the man, not
understanding the case, nor knowing the plot, became violently enraged,
and took out the bird from the cage, and threw her down upon the ground
with such violence that he killed her.
But after some days, one of his female slaves informed him of the truth; yet
he would not believe it, until he saw his wife's paramour going out from his
house; when he drew his sword,23 and slew the traitor by a blow on the back
of his neck: so also did he to his treacherous wife; and thus both of them
went, laden with the sin which they had committed, to the fire; and the
merchant discovered that the parrot had informed him truly of what she had
seen; and he mourned grievously for her loss.
When the Wezeer heard these words of King Yoonán, he said, O King of
great dignity, what hath this crafty sage—this man from whom nought but
mischief proceedeth—done unto me, that I should be his enemy, and speak
evil of him, and plot with thee to destroy him? I have informed thee
respecting him in compassion for thee, and in fear of his despoiling thee of
thy happiness; and if my words be not true, destroy me, as the Wezeer of
Es-Sindibád was destroyed.—The King asked, How was that? And the
Wezeer thus answered:—

THE STORY OF THE ENVIOUS WEZEER AND THE PRINCE AND THE
GHOOLEH.

The King above mentioned had a son who was ardently fond of the chase;24
and he had a Wezeer whom he charged to be always with this son wherever
he went. One day the son went forth to hunt, and his father's Wezeer was

with him; and as they rode together, they saw a great wild beast; upon
which the Wezeer exclaimed to the Prince, Away after this wild beast! The
King's son pursued it until he was out of the sight of his attendants, and the
beast also escaped from before his eyes in the desert; and while the Prince
wandered in perplexity, not knowing whither to direct his course, he met in
his way a damsel, who was weeping. He said to her, Who art thou?—and
she answered, I am a daughter of one of the kings of India; I was in the
desert, and slumber overtook me, and I fell from my horse in a state of
insensibility, and being thus separated from my attendants, I lost my way.
The Prince, on hearing this, pitied her forlorn state, and placed her behind
him on his horse; and as they proceeded, they passed by a ruin,25 and the
damsel said to him, O my master, I would alight here for a little while. The
Prince therefore lifted her from his horse at this ruin; but she delayed so
long to return, that he wondered wherefore she had loitered so, and entering
after her, without her knowledge, perceived that she was a Ghooleh,26 and
heard her say, My children, I have brought you to-day a fat young man:—
on which they exclaimed, Bring him in to us, O mother! that we may fill
our stomachs with his flesh. When the Prince heard their words, he felt
assured of destruction; the muscles of his sides quivered, and fear overcame
him, and he retreated. The Ghooleh then came forth, and, seeing that he
appeared alarmed and fearful, and that he was trembling, said to him,
Wherefore dost thou fear? He answered, I have an enemy of whom I am in
fear. The Ghooleh said, Thou assertest thyself to be the son of the King. He
replied, Yes.—Then, said she, wherefore dost thou not give some money to
thine enemy, and so conciliate him? He answered, He will not be appeased
with money, nor with anything but life; and therefore do I fear him: I am an
injured man. She then said to him, If thou be an injured man, as thou
affirmest, beg aid of God against thine oppressor, and He will avert from
thee his mischievous design, and that of every other person whom thou
fearest. Upon this, therefore, the Prince raised his head towards heaven, and
said, O thou who answerest the distressed when he prayeth to Thee, and
dispellest evil, assist me, and cause mine enemy to depart from me; for
Thou art able to do whatsoever Thou wilt!—and the Ghooleh no sooner
heard his prayer, than she departed from him. The Prince then returned to
his father, and informed him of the conduct of the Wezeer; upon which the
King gave orders that the minister should be put to death.

CONTINUATION OF THE STORY OF KING YOONÁN AND THE SAGE
DOOBÁN.

And thou, O King, continued the Wezeer of King Yoonán, if thou trust in
this sage, he will kill thee in the foulest manner. If thou continue to bestow
favours upon him, and to make him thine intimate companion, he will plot
thy destruction. Dost thou not see that he hath cured thee of the disease by
external means, by a thing that thou heldest in thy hand? Therefore thou art
not secure against his killing thee by a thing that thou shalt hold in the same
manner.—King Yoonán answered, Thou hast spoken truth: the case is as

thou hast said, O faithful Wezeer: it is probable that this sage came as a spy
to accomplish my death; and if he cured me by a thing I held in my hand, he
may destroy me by a thing that I may smell: what then, O Wezeer, shall be
done respecting him? The Wezeer answered, Send to him immediately, and
desire him to come hither; and when he is come, strike off his head, and so
shalt thou avert from thee his evil design, and be secure from him. Betray
him before he betray thee.—The King said, Thou hast spoken right.
Immediately, therefore, he sent for the sage, who came, full of joy, not
knowing what the Compassionate27 had decreed against him, and addressed
the King with these words of the poet:—
If I fail any day to render thee due thanks, tell me for whom I have composed my
verse and prose.
Thou hast loaded me with favours unsolicited, bestowed without delay on thy part, or
excuse.
How then should I abstain from praising thee as thou deservest, and lauding thee both
with my heart and voice?
Nay, I will thank thee for thy benefits conferred upon me: they are light upon my
tongue, though weighty to my back.

Knowest thou, said the King, wherefore I have summoned thee? The sage
answered, None knoweth what is secret but God, whose name be exalted!
Then said the King, I have summoned thee that I may take away thy life.
The sage, in the utmost astonishment at this announcement, said, O King,
wherefore wouldst thou kill me, and what offence hath been committed by
me? The King answered, It hath been told me that thou art a spy, and that
thou hast come hither to kill me: but I will prevent thee by killing thee first:
—and so saying, he called out to the executioner, Strike off the head of this
traitor, and relieve me from his wickedness,—Spare me, said the sage, and
so may God spare thee; and destroy me not, lest God destroy thee.—And he
repeated these words several times, like as I did, O 'Efreet; but thou wouldst
not let me go, desiring to destroy me.

King Yoonán then said to the sage Doobán, I shall not be secure unless I kill
thee; for thou curedst me by a thing that I held in my hand, and I have no
security against thy killing me by a thing that I may smell, or by some other
means.—O King, said the sage, is this my recompense from thee? Dost thou
return evil for good?—The King answered, Thou must be slain without
delay. When the sage, therefore, was convinced that the King intended to
put him to death, and that his fate was inevitable, he lamented the benefit
that he had done to the undeserving. The executioner then advanced, and
bandaged his eyes, and, having drawn his sword, said, Give permission.
Upon this the sage wept, and said again, Spare me, and so may God spare
thee; and destroy me not, lest God destroy thee! Wouldst thou return me the
recompense of the crocodile?—What, said the King, is the story of the
crocodile? The sage answered, I cannot relate it while in this condition;28 but
I conjure thee by Allah to spare me, and so may He spare thee. And he wept
bitterly. Then one of the chief officers of the King arose, and said, O King,
give up to me the blood of this sage; for we have not seen him commit any
offence against thee; nor have we seen him do aught but cure thee of thy
disease, which wearied the other physicians and sages. The King answered,
Ye know not the reason wherefore I would kill the sage: it is this, that if I
suffered him to live, I should myself inevitably perish; for he who cured me
of the disease under which I suffered by a thing that I held in my hand, may
kill me by a thing that I may smell; and I fear that he would do so, and

would receive an appointment on account of it; seeing that it is probable he
is a spy who hath come hither to kill me; I must therefore kill him, and then
shall I feel myself safe.—The sage then said again, Spare me, and so may
God spare thee; and destroy me not, lest God destroy thee.
But he now felt certain, O 'Efreet, that the King would put him to death, and
that there was no escape for him; so he said, O King, if my death is
indispensable, grant me some respite, that I may return to my house, and
acquit myself of my duties, and give directions to my family and
neighbours to bury me, and dispose of my medical books; and among my
books is one of most especial value, which I offer as a present to thee, that
thou mayest treasure it in thy library.—And what, said the King, is this
book? He answered, It contains things not to be enumerated; and the
smallest of the secret virtues that it possesses is this; that, when thou hast
cut off my head, if thou open this book, and count three leaves, and then
read three lines on the page to the left, the head will speak to thee, and
answer whatever thou shalt ask. At this the King was excessively
astonished, and shook with delight, and said to him, O Sage, when I have
cut off thy head will it speak? He answered, Yes, O King; and this is a
wonderful thing.
The King then sent him in the custody of guards; and the sage descended to
his house, and settled all his affairs on that day; and on the following day he
went up to the court: and the Emeers and Wezeers, and Chamberlains and
Deputies, and all the great officers of the state, went thither also: and the
court resembled a flower-garden.29 And when the sage had entered, he
presented himself before the King, bearing an old book, and a small pot
containing a powder: and he sat down, and said, Bring me a tray. So they
brought him one; and he poured out the powder into it, and spread it. He
then said, O King, take this book, and do nothing with it until thou hast cut
off my head; and when thou hast done so, place it upon this tray, and order
some one to press it down upon the powder; and when this is done, the
blood will be stanched: then open the book. As soon as the sage had said
this, the King gave orders to strike off his head; and it was done. The King
then opened the book, and found that its leaves were stuck together; so he
put his finger to his mouth, and moistened it with his spittle, and opened the
first leaf, and the second, and the third; but the leaves were not opened
without difficulty. He opened six leaves, and looked at them; but found

upon them no writing. So he said, O Sage, there is nothing written in it. The
head of the sage answered, Turn over more leaves. The King did so; and in
a little while, the poison penetrated into his system; for the book was
poisoned; and the King fell back, and cried out, The poison hath penetrated
into me!—and upon this, the head of the sage Doobán repeated these
verses:—

They made use of their power, and used it tyrannically; and soon it became as though
it never had existed.
Had they acted equitably, they had experienced equity; but they oppressed; wherefore
fortune oppressed them with calamities and trials.
Then did the case itself announce to them, This is the reward of your conduct, and
fortune is blameless.

And when the head of the sage Doobán had uttered these words, the King
immediately fell down dead.30

CONTINUATION OF THE STORY OF THE FISHERMAN.

Now, O 'Efreet, continued the fisherman, know that if King Yoonán had
spared the sage Doobán, God had spared him; but he refused, and desired
his destruction; therefore God destroyed him: and thou, O 'Efreet, if thou
hadst spared me, God had spared thee, and I had spared thee; but thou
desiredst my death; therefore will I put thee to death imprisoned in this
bottle, and will throw thee here into the sea. The Márid, upon this, cried out,
and said, I conjure thee by Allah, O fisherman, that thou do it not: spare me
in generosity, and be not angry with me for what I did; but if I have done
evil, do thou good, according to the proverb,—O thou benefactor of him
who hath done evil, the action that he hath done is sufficient for him:—do
not therefore as Umámeh did to 'Átikeh.—And what, said the fisherman,
was their case? The 'Efreet answered, This is not a time for telling stories,

when I am in this prison; but when thou liberatest me, I will relate to thee
their case.31 The fisherman said, Thou must be thrown into the sea, and there
shall be no way of escape for thee from it; for I endeavoured to propitiate
thee, and humbled myself before thee, yet thou wouldest nothing but my
destruction, though I had committed no offence to deserve it, and had done
no evil to thee whatever, but only good, delivering thee from thy
confinement; and when thou didst thus unto me, I perceived that thou wast
radically corrupt: and I would have thee know, that my motive for throwing
thee into this sea, is, that I may acquaint with thy story every one that shall
take thee out, and caution him against thee, that he may cast thee in again:
thus shalt thou remain in this sea to the end of time, and experience
varieties of torment.—The 'Efreet then said, Liberate me, for this is an
opportunity for thee to display humanity; and I vow to thee that I will never
do thee harm; but, on the contrary, will do thee a service that shall enrich
thee for ever.
Upon this the fisherman accepted his covenant that he would not hurt him,
but that he would do him good; and when he had bound him by oaths and
vows, and made him swear by the Most Great Name of God, he opened to
him; and the smoke ascended until it had all come forth, and then collected
together, and became, as before, an 'Efreet of hideous form. The 'Efreet then
kicked the bottle into the sea. When the fisherman saw him do this, he made
sure of destruction, and said, This is no sign of good:—but afterwards he
fortified his heart, and said, O 'Efreet, God, whose name be exalted, hath
said, Perform the covenant, for the covenant shall be inquired into:32—and
thou has covenanted with me, and sworn that thou wilt not act treacherously
towards me; therefore, if thou so act, God will recompense thee; for He is
jealous; He respiteth, but suffereth not to escape; and remember that I said
to thee as said the sage Doobán to King Yoonán, Spare me, and so may God
spare thee.
The 'Efreet laughed, and, walking on before him, said, O fisherman, follow
me. The fisherman did so, not believing in his escape, until they had quitted
the neighbourhood of the city, and ascended a mountain, and descended into
a wide desert tract, in the midst of which was a lake of water. Here the
'Efreet stopped, and ordered the fisherman to cast his net and take some
fish; and the fisherman, looking into the lake, saw in it fish of different
colours, white and red and blue and yellow; at which he was astonished;

and he cast his net, and drew it in, and found in it four fish, each fish of a
different colour from the others, at the sight of which he rejoiced. The
'Efreet then said to him, Take them to the Sulṭán,33 and present them to him,
and he will give thee what will enrich thee; and for the sake of God accept
my excuse, for, at present, I know no other way of rewarding thee, having
been in the sea a thousand and eight hundred years, and not seen the surface
of the earth until now: but take not fish from the lake more than once each
day: and now I commend thee to the care of God.—Having thus said, he
struck the earth with his feet, and it clove asunder, and swallowed him.

The fisherman then went back to the city, wondering at all that had befallen
him with the 'Efreet, and carried the fish to his house; and he took an
earthen bowl, and, having filled it with water, put the fish into it; and they
struggled in the water: and when he had done this, he placed the bowl upon
his head, and repaired to the King's palace, as the 'Efreet had commanded
him, and, going up unto the King, presented to him the fish; and the King
was excessively astonished at them, for he had never seen any like them in
the course of his life; and he said, Give these fish to the slave cook-maid.
This maid had been sent as a present to him by the King of the Greeks,
three days before; and he had not yet tried her skill. The Wezeer, therefore,
ordered her to fry the fish, and said to her, O maid, the King saith unto thee,
I have not reserved my tear but for the time of my difficulty:—to-day, then,
gratify us by a specimen of thy excellent cookery, for a person hath brought
these fish as a present to the Sulṭán. After having thus charged her, the

Wezeer returned, and the King ordered him to give the fisherman four
hundred pieces of gold: so the Wezeer gave them to him; and he took them
in his lap, and returned to his home and his wife, joyful and happy, and
bought what was needful for his family.

Such were the events that befell the fisherman: now we must relate what
happened to the maid.—She took the fish, and cleaned them, and arranged
them in the frying-pan, and left them until one side was cooked, when she
turned them upon the other side; and lo, the wall of the kitchen clove
asunder, and there came forth from it a damsel of tall stature, smooth-
cheeked, of perfect form, with eyes adorned with koḥl,34 beautiful in
countenance, and with heavy, swelling hips; wearing a koofeeyeh35
interwoven with blue silk; with rings in her ears, and bracelets on her
wrists, and rings set with precious jewels on her fingers; and in her hand
was a rod of Indian cane: and she dipped the end of the rod in the frying-
pan, and said, O fish, are ye remaining faithful to your covenant? At the
sight of this, the cook-maid fainted. The damsel then repeated the same
words a second and a third time; after which the fish raised their heads from
the frying-pan, and answered, Yes, yes. They then repeated the following
verse:—

If thou return, we return; and if thou come, we come; and if thou forsake, we verily do
the same.

And upon this the damsel overturned the frying-pan, and departed by the
way she had entered, and the wall of the kitchen closed up again. The cook-
maid then arose, and beheld the four fish burnt like charcoal; and she
exclaimed, In his first encounter his staff broke!—and as she sat
reproaching herself, she beheld the Wezeer standing at her head; and he said
to her, Bring the fish to the Sulṭán:—and she wept, and informed him of
what had happened.36

The Wezeer was astonished at her words, and exclaimed, This is indeed a
wonderful event;—and he sent for the fisherman, and when he was brought,
he said to him, O fisherman, thou must bring to us four fish like those
which thou broughtest before. The fisherman accordingly went forth to the
lake, and threw his net, and when he had drawn it in he found in it four fish
as before; and he took them to the Wezeer, who went with them to the maid,
and said to her, Rise, and fry them in my presence, that I may witness this
occurrence. The maid, therefore, prepared the fish, and put them in the
frying-pan, and they had remained but a little while, when the wall clove
asunder, and the damsel appeared, clad as before, and holding the rod; and
she dipped the end of the rod in the frying-pan, and said, O fish, O fish, are
ye remaining faithful to your old covenant? Upon which they raised their
heads, and answered as before; and the damsel overturned the frying-pan
with the rod, and returned by the way she had entered, and the wall closed
up again.
The Wezeer then said, This is an event which cannot be concealed from the
King:—so he went to him, and informed him of what had happened in his
presence; and the King said, I must see this with my own eyes. He sent,
therefore, to the fisherman, and commanded him to bring four fish like the
former; granting him a delay of three days. And the fisherman repaired to
the lake, and brought the fish thence to the King, who ordered again that
four hundred pieces of gold should be given to him; and then, turning to the
Wezeer, said to him, Cook the fish thyself here before me. The Wezeer
answered, I hear and obey. He brought the frying-pan, and, after he had
cleaned the fish, threw them into it; and as soon as he had turned them, the
wall clove asunder, and there came forth from it a negro, in size like a bull,
or like one of the tribe of 'Ád,37 having in his hand a branch of a green tree;
and he said, with a clear but terrifying voice, O fish, O fish, are ye
remaining faithful to your old covenant? Upon which they raised their
heads, and answered as before, Yes, yes:
If thou return, we return; and if thou come, we come; and if thou forsake, we verily do
the same.

The black then approached the frying-pan, and overturned it with the
branch, and the fish became like charcoal, and he went away as he had
come.

When he had thus disappeared from before their eyes, the King said, This is
an event respecting which it is impossible to keep silence, and there must,
undoubtedly, be some strange circumstance connected with these fish. He
then ordered that the fisherman should be brought before him, and when he
had come, he said to him, Whence came these fish? The fisherman
answered, From a lake between four mountains behind this mountain which
is without thy city. The King said to him, How many days' journey38 distant?
He answered, O our lord the Sulṭán, a journey of half-an-hour. And the
Sulṭán was astonished, and ordered his troops to go out immediately with
him and the fisherman, who began to curse the 'Efreet. They proceeded
until they had ascended the mountain, and descended into a wide desert
tract which they had never before seen in their whole lives; and the Sulṭán
and all the troops wondered at the sight of this desert, which was between
four mountains, and at the fish, which were of four colours, red and white
and yellow and blue. The King paused in astonishment, and said to the
troops, and to the other attendants who were with him, Hath any one of you
before seen this lake in this place? They all answered, No. Then said the
King, By Allah, I will not enter my city, nor will I sit upon my throne, until
I know the true history of this lake, and of its fish. And upon this he ordered
his people to encamp around these mountains; and they did so. He then
called for the Wezeer, who was a well-informed, sensible, prudent, and
learned man; and when he had presented himself before him, he said to him,
I desire to do a thing with which I will acquaint thee; and it is this:—I have
resolved to depart alone this night, to seek for information respecting this
lake and its fish: therefore, sit thou at the door of my pavilion, and say to
the Emeers and Wezeers and Chamberlains, The Sulṭán is sick, and hath
commanded me not to allow any person to go in unto him:—and acquaint
no one with my intention.

The Wezeer was unable to oppose his design; so the King disguised himself,
and slung on his sword, and withdrew himself from the midst of his troops.
He journeyed the whole of the night, until the morning, and proceeded until
the heat became oppressive to him: he then paused to rest; after which he
again proceeded the remainder of the day and the second night until the
morning, when there appeared before him, in the distance, something black,
at the sight of which he rejoiced, and said, Perhaps I shall there find some
person who will inform me of the history of the lake and its fish. And when
he approached this black object, he found it to be a palace built of black
stones, and overlaid with iron; and one of the leaves of its doors was open,
and the other shut. The King was glad, and he stood at the door, and
knocked gently, but heard no answer; he knocked a second and a third time,
but again heard no answer: then he knocked a fourth time, and with
violence; but no one answered. So he said, It is doubtless empty:—and he
took courage, and entered from the door into the passage, and cried out,
saying, O inhabitants of the palace, I am a stranger and a traveller! have ye
any provision? And he repeated these words a second and a third time; but
heard no answer. And upon this he fortified his heart, and emboldened
himself, and proceeded from the passage into the midst of the palace; but he
found no one there, and only saw that it was furnished, and that there was,
in the centre of it, a fountain with four lions of red gold, which poured forth
the water from their mouths, like pearls and jewels: around this were birds;
and over the top of the palace was extended a net which prevented their
flying out. At the sight of these objects he was astonished, and he was
grieved that he saw no person there whom he could ask for information
respecting the lake, and the fish, and the mountains, and the palace. He then

sat down between the doors,39 reflecting upon these things; and as he thus
sat, he heard a voice of lamentation from a sorrowful heart, chanting these
verses:—
O fortune, thou pitiest me not, nor releasest me! See my heart is straitened between
affliction and peril!
Will not you [O my wife] have compassion on the mighty whom love hath abased,
and the wealthy who is reduced to indigence?
We were jealous even of the zephyr which passed over you: but when the divine
decree is issued, the eye becometh blind!
What resource hath the archer when, in the hour of conflict, he desireth to discharge
the arrow, but findeth his bow-string broken.
And when troubles are multiplied upon the noble-minded, where shall he find refuge
from fate and from destiny?40

When the Sulṭán heard this lamentation, he sprang upon his feet, and,
seeking the direction whence it proceeded, found a curtain suspended
before the door of a chamber; and he raised it, and beheld behind it a young
man sitting on a couch raised to the height of a cubit from the floor. He was
a handsome youth, well-shaped, and of eloquent speech, with shining
forehead, and rosy cheek, marked with a mole resembling ambergris. The
King was rejoiced at seeing him, and saluted him; and the young man (who
remained sitting, and was clad with a vest of silk, embroidered with gold,
but who exhibited traces of grief) returned his salutation, and said to him, O
my master, excuse my not rising.—O youth! said the King, inform me
respecting the lake, and its fish of various colours, and respecting this
palace, and the reason of thy being alone in it, and of thy lamentation.
When the young man heard these words, tears trickled down his cheeks,
and he wept bitterly.41 And the King was astonished, and said to him, What
causeth thee to weep, O youth? He answered, How can I refrain from
weeping, when this is my state?—and so saying, he stretched forth his hand,
and lifted up the skirts of his clothing; and lo, half of him, from his waist to
the soles of his feet, was stone; and from his waist to the hair of his head, he
was like other men. He then said, Know, O King, that the story of the fish is
extraordinary; if it were engraved upon the intellect, it would be a lesson to
him who would be admonished:—and he related as follows:—

THE STORY OF THE YOUNG KING OF THE BLACK ISLANDS.

My father was king of the city which was here situate: his name was
Maḥmood, and he was lord of the Black Islands, and of the four mountains.
After a reign of seventy years, he died, and I succeeded to his throne;
whereupon I took as my wife the daughter of my uncle; and she loved me
excessively, so that when I absented myself from her, she would neither eat
nor drink till she saw me again. She remained under my protection five
years. After this, she went one day to the bath; and I had commanded the
cook to prepare the supper, and entered this palace, and slept in my usual
place.42 I had ordered two maids to fan me;43 and one of them sat at my head,
and the other at my feet; but I was restless, because my wife was not with
me; and I could not sleep. My eyes were closed, but my spirit was awake;

and I heard the maid at my head say to her at my feet, O Mes'oodeh,44 verily
our lord is unfortunate in his youth, and what a pity is it that it should be
passed with our depraved, wicked mistress!—Perdition to unfaithful wives!
replied the other: but (added she) such a person as our lord, so endowed by
nature, is not suited to this profligate woman, who passes every night absent
from his bed.—Verily, rejoined she at my head, our lord is careless in not
making any inquiry respecting her.—Wo to thee! said the other: hath our
lord any knowledge of her conduct, or doth she leave him to his choice?
Nay, on the contrary, she contriveth to defraud him by means of the cup of
wine45 which he drinketh every night before he sleepeth, putting benj46 into
it; in consequence of which he sleepeth so soundly that he knoweth not
what happeneth, nor whither she goeth, nor what she doeth; for, after she
hath given him the wine to drink, she dresseth herself, and goeth out from
him, and is absent until daybreak, when she returneth to him, and burneth a
perfume under his nose, upon which he awaketh from his sleep.

When I heard this conversation of the maids, the light became darkness
before my face, and I was hardly conscious of the approach of night, when
my cousin returned from the bath. The table was prepared, and we ate, and
sat a while drinking our wine as usual. I then called for the wine which I
was accustomed to drink before I lay down to sleep, and she handed to me
the cup; but I turned away, and, pretending to drink it as I was wont to do,
poured it into my bosom, and immediately lay down: upon which she said,
Sleep on; I wish that thou wouldst never wake again! By Allah, I abhor
thee, and abhor thy person, and my soul is weary of thy company!—She
then arose, and attired herself in the most magnificent of her apparel, and,
having perfumed herself, and slung on a sword, opened the door of the
palace, and went out. I got up immediately, and followed her until she had
quitted the palace, and passed through the streets of the city, and arrived at
the city-gates, when she pronounced some words that I understood not;
whereupon the locks fell off, and the gates opened, and she went out, I still
following her, without her knowledge. Thence she proceeded to a space
among the mounds,47 and arrived at a strong edifice, in which was a ḳubbeh48
constructed of mud, with a door, which she entered. I then climbed upon the
roof of the ḳubbeh, and, looking down upon her through an aperture, saw
that she was visiting a black slave, whose large lips, one of which
overlapped the other, gathered up the sand from the pebbly floor, while he
lay, in a filthy and wet condition, upon a few stalks of sugar-cane.
She kissed the ground before this slave; and he raised his head towards her,
and said, Wo to thee! Wherefore hast thou remained away until this hour?
The other blacks have been here drinking wine, and each of them has gone
away with his mistress; and I refused to drink on thy account.—She
answered, O my master, and beloved of my heart, knowest thou not that I
am married to my cousin, and that I abhor every man who resembles him,
and hate myself while I am in his company? If I did not fear to displease
thee, I would reduce the city to ruins, so that the owl and the raven should
cry in it, and would transport its stones beyond Mount Ḳáf.49—Thou liest,
thou infamous woman, replied the slave; and I swear by the generosity of
the blacks (and if I speak not truth, may our valour be as the valour of the
whites), that if thou loiter as thou hast now done till this hour, I will no
longer give thee my company, nor approach thy person, thou faithless one!
Dost thou inconvenience me for the sake of thine own pleasure, thou filthy

wretch, and vilest of the whites?—When I heard (continued the King) their
words, and witnessed what passed between them, the world became dark
before my face, and I knew not where I was.—My cousin still stood
weeping, and abasing herself before him, and said, O my beloved, and
treasure of my heart, there remaineth to me none but thee for whom I care,
and if thou cast me off, alas for me! O my beloved! O light of mine eye!—
Thus she continued to weep, and to humble herself before him, until he
became pacified towards her; upon which she rejoiced, and arose, and,
having disrobed herself, said to him, O my master, hast thou here anything
that thy maid may eat? He answered, Uncover the dough-pan; it contains
some cooked rats' bones:50 eat of them, and pick them; and take this earthen
pot: thou wilt find in it some booẓah51 to drink. So she arose, and ate and
drank, and washed her hands; after which she lay down by the side of the
slave, upon the stalks of sugar-cane, and covered herself with his tattered
clothes and rags.

When I saw her do this, I became unconscious of my existence, and,
descending from the roof of the ḳubbeh, entered, and took the sword from
the side of my cousin, with the intention of killing them both. I struck the
slave upon his neck, and thought that he was killed; but the blow, which I
gave with the view of severing his head, only cut the gullet and skin and
flesh; and when I thought that I had killed him, he uttered a loud snore,
upon which my cousin started up, and as soon as I had gone, took the
sword, and returned it to its scabbard, and came back to the city and to the
palace, and lay down again in my bed, in which she remained until the
morning.

On the following day, I observed that my cousin had cut off her hair, and
put on the apparel of mourning;52 and she said to me, O my cousin, blame
me not for what I do; for I have received news that my mother is dead, and
that my father hath been slain in a holy war, and that one of my two
brothers hath died of a poisonous sting, and the other by the fall of a house:
it is natural, therefore, that I should weep and mourn. On hearing these
words, I abstained from upbraiding her, and said, Do what seemeth fit to
thee; for I will not oppose thee. Accordingly, she continued mourning and
weeping and wailing a whole year; after which she said to me, I have a
desire to build for myself, in thy palace, a tomb, with a ḳubbeh, that I may
repair thither alone to mourn, and I will call it the House of Lamentations.53
I replied, Do what thou seest fit. So she built for herself a house for
mourning, with a ḳubbeh in the middle of it, like the tomb of a saint;54 after
which she removed thither the slave, and there she lodged him. He was in a
state of excessive weakness, and unable to render her any service, though
he drank wine; and from the day on which I had wounded him, he had
never spoken; yet he remained alive, because the appointed term of his life
had not expired. My cousin every day visited him in this tomb early and
late, to weep and mourn over him, and took to him wine to drink, and
boiled meats; and thus she continued to do, morning and evening, until the
expiration of the second year, while I patiently suffered her, till one day, I
entered her apartment unawares, and found her weeping, and slapping her
face, and repeating these verses:—
I have lost my existence among mankind since your absence; for my heart loveth none
but you.
Take my body, then, in mercy, to the place where you are laid; and there bury me by
your side:
And if, at my grave, you utter my name, the moaning of my bones shall answer to
your call.

As soon as she had finished the recitation of these verses, I said to her,
holding my drawn sword in my hand, This is the language of those faithless
women who renounce the ties of affinity, and regard not lawful fellowship!
—and I was about to strike her with the sword, and had lifted up my arm to
do so, when she rose—for she knew that it was I who had wounded the
slave—and, standing before me, pronounced some words which I
understood not, and said, May God, by means of my enchantment, make
thee to be half of stone, and half of the substance of man!—whereupon I

became as thou seest, unable to move, neither dead nor alive; and when I
had been reduced to this state, she enchanted the city and its markets and
fields. The inhabitants of our city were of four classes; Muslims, and
Christians, and Jews, and Magians; and she transformed them into fish: the
white are the Muslims; the red, the Magians; the blue, the Christians; and
the yellow, the Jews.55 She transformed, also, the four islands into four
mountains, and placed them around the lake; and from that time she has
continued every day to torture me, inflicting upon me a hundred lashes with
a leathern whip, until the blood flows from my wounds; after which she
puts on my upper half a vest of hair-cloth, beneath these garments.—
Having said thus, the young man wept, and ejaculating the following
verses:—
Give me patience, O Allah, to bear what Thou decreest! I will be patient, if so I may
obtain thine approval.
I am straitened, indeed, by the calamity that hath befallen me: but the Family of the
favoured Prophet shall intercede for me!56

Upon this, the King, looking towards the young man, said to him, O youth,
thou hast increased my anxiety. And where (he added) is this woman?—The
young man answered, She is in the tomb where the slave is lying, in the
ḳubbeh; and every day, before she visits him, she strips me of my clothing,
and inflicts upon me a hundred lashes with the whip, while I weep and cry
out, unable to move so as to repulse her. After thus torturing me, she repairs
early to the slave, with the wine and boiled meat.—By Allah, O youth, said
the King, I will do thee an act of kindness for which I shall be remembered,
and a favour which historians shall record in a biography after me.

He then sat and conversed with him until the approach of night, upon which
he arose, and waited till the first dawn of day, when he took off his clothes,
and slung on his sword, and went to the place where the slave lay. After
remarking the candles and lamps, and perfumes and ointments, he
approached the slave, and with a blow of his sword slew him: he then
carried him on his back, and threw him into a well which he found in the
palace, and, returning to the ḳubbeh, clad himself with the slave's clothes,
and lay down with the drawn sword by his side. Soon after, the vile
enchantress went to her cousin, and, having pulled off his clothes, took the
whip, and beat him, while he cried, Ah! it is enough for me to be in this
state! Have pity on me then!—Didst thou shew pity to me, she exclaimed,
and didst thou spare my lover?—She then put on him the hair-cloth vest and
his outer garments, and repaired to the slave with a cup of wine, and a bowl
of boiled meat. Entering the tomb, she wept and wailed, exclaiming, O my
master, answer me! O my master, speak to me!—and poured forth her
lamentation in the words of this verse:—
How long shall this aversion and harshness continue? Sufficient is the evil which my
passion hath brought upon me!57

Then, weeping as before, she exclaimed again, O my master, answer me,
and speak to me! Upon this the King, speaking in a low voice, and adapting
his tongue to the pronunciation of the blacks, ejaculated, Ah! Ah! there is no
strength nor power but in God! On hearing these words, she screamed with
joy, and fell down in a swoon; and when she recovered, she exclaimed,
Possibly my master is restored to health! The King, again lowering his
voice, as if from weakness, replied, Thou profligate wretch, thou deservest
not that I should address thee.—Wherefore? said she. He answered,
Because all the day long thou tormentest thy husband, while he calleth out,
and imploreth the aid of God, so that thou hast prevented my sleeping from
the commencement of darkness until morning: thy husband hath not ceased
to humble himself, and to imprecate vengeance upon thee, till he hath
distracted me; and had it not been for this, I had recovered my strength: this
it is which hath prevented my answering thee.—Then, with thy permission,
she replied, I will liberate him from his present sufferings.—Liberate him,
said the King, and give us ease.
She replied, I hear and obey;—and immediately arose, and went out from
the ḳubbeh to the palace, and, taking a cup, filled it with water, and

pronounced certain words over it, upon which it began to boil like a
cauldron. She then sprinkled some of it upon her cousin, saying, By virtue
of what I have uttered, be changed from thy present state to that in which
thou wast at first!—and instantly he shook, and stood upon his feet,
rejoicing in his liberation, and exclaimed, I testify that there is no deity but
God, and that Moḥammad is God's Apostle; God bless and save him! She
then said to him, Depart, and return not hither, or I will kill thee:—and she
cried out in his face: so he departed from before her, and she returned to the
ḳubbeh, and said, O my master, come forth to me that I may behold thee.
He replied, with a weak voice, What hast thou done? Thou hast relieved me
from the branch, but hast not relieved me from the root.—O my beloved,
she said, and what is the root? He answered, The people of this city, and of
the four islands: every night, at the middle hour, the fish raise their heads,
and imprecate vengeance upon me and upon thee; and this is the cause that
preventeth the return of vigour to my body; therefore, liberate them, and
come, and take my hand, and raise me; for vigour hath already in part
returned to me.
On hearing these words of the King, whom she imagined to be the slave,
she said to him with joy, O my master, on my head and my eye! In the name
of Allah!58—and she sprang up, full of happiness, and hastened to the lake,
where, taking a little of its water, she pronounced over it some unintelligible
words, whereupon the fish became agitated, and raised their heads, and
immediately became converted into men as before. Thus was the
enchantment removed from the inhabitants of the city, and the city became
repeopled, and the market-streets re-erected, and every one returned to his
occupation: the mountains also became changed into islands as they were at
the first. The enchantress then returned immediately to the King, whom she
still imagined to be the slave, and said to him, O my beloved, stretch forth
thy honoured hand, that I may kiss it.—Approach me, said the King in a
low voice. So she drew near to him; and he, having his keen-edged sword
ready in his hand, thrust it into her bosom, and the point protruded from her
back: he then struck her again, and clove her in twain, and went forth.

He found the young man who had been enchanted waiting his return, and
congratulated him on his safety; and the young prince kissed his hand, and
thanked him. The King then said to him, Wilt thou remain in thy city, or
come with me to my capital?—O King of the age, said the young man, dost
thou know the distance that is between thee and thy city? The King
answered, Two days and a half.—O King, replied the young man, if thou
hast been asleep, awake: between thee and thy city is a distance of a year's
journey to him who travelleth with diligence; and thou camest in two days
and a half only because the city was enchanted: but, O King, I will never
quit thee for the twinkling of an eye. The King rejoiced at his words, and
said, Praise be to God, who hath in his beneficence given thee to me: thou
art my son; for during my whole life, I have never been blest with a son:—
and they embraced each other, and rejoiced exceedingly. They then went
together into the palace, where the King who had been enchanted informed
the officers of his court that he was about to perform the holy pilgrimage: so
they prepared for him everything that he required; and he departed with the
Sulṭán; his heart burning with reflections upon his city, because he had been
deprived of the sight of it for the space of a year.

He set forth, accompanied by fifty memlooks,59 and provided with presents,
and they continued their journey night and day for a whole year, after which
they drew near to the city of the Sulṭán, and the Wezeer and the troops, who
had lost all hope of his return, came forth to meet him. The troops,
approaching him, kissed the ground before him, and congratulated him on
his safe return; and he entered the city, and sat upon the throne. He then
acquainted the Wezeer with all that had happened to the young King; on
hearing which, the Wezeer congratulated the latter, also, on his safety; and
when all things were restored to order, the Sulṭán bestowed presents upon a
number of his subjects, and said to the Wezeer, Bring to me the fisherman
who presented to me the fish. So he sent to this fisherman, who had been
the cause of the restoration of the inhabitants of the enchanted city, and
brought him; and the King invested him with a dress of honour, and
inquired of him respecting his circumstances, and whether he had any
children. The fisherman informed him that he had a son and two daughters;
and the King, on hearing this, took as his wife one of the daughters, and the
young prince married the other.60 The King also conferred upon the son the
office of treasurer. He then sent the Wezeer to the city of the young prince,
the capital of the Black Islands, and invested him with its sovereignty,
despatching with him the fifty memlooks who had accompanied him
thence, with numerous robes of honour to all the Emeers: and the Wezeer
kissed his hands, and set forth on his journey; while the Sulṭán and the
young prince remained. And as to the fisherman, he became the wealthiest
of the people of his age; and his daughters continued to be the wives of the
Kings until they died.
But this (added Shahrazád) is not more wonderful than what happened to
the porter.

NOTES TO CHAPTER SECOND.

Note 1. The sentiment expressed in this verse is one which is often heard
from the mouth of a Muslim; but generally when, his toil is ended, and its
result seen; though not unfrequently as an excuse for indolence.
Note 2. The bottle is here described (by the term "ḳumḳum") as of a kind
commonly used for sprinkling rose-water, &c., having a spherical or wide
body, with a long and narrow neck. I remember seeing a gilt brass bottle of
this kind, of very beautiful workmanship, for which nearly as much as ten
pieces of gold was demanded.
Note 3. The seal of Suleymán, or Solomon, has twice been mentioned in
former notes; in No. 21 of the notes appended to the Introduction, and in
No. 15 of those to the first chapter.
Note 4. It is necessary to remark, that this and many other descriptions in
the present work are not designed to be understood in their literal sense. The
reader will often be required to make some allowance for Oriental
hyperbole, and to distinguish between expressions characterised by this
figure, and such as are purely accordant with Eastern grandeur and
magnificence, or with Muslim superstition.
Note 5. The end of the winnowing-fork bears a rude resemblance to a
gigantic hand; having several long prongs of wood.
Note 6. Instead of "ibreeḳ" (a ewer), in the Cairo edition, I read "abwáḳ"
(trumpets), as in other editions.

Note 7. This appellation has been mentioned in a former note, as signifying
an evil Jinnee of the most powerful class.
Note 8. It is a rule observed in decent society, by the Arabs, to avoid, as
much as possible, the mention of opprobrious epithets, lest any person
present should imagine such epithets to be addressed insidiously to himself.
For this reason, when any malediction or offensive language is repeated in a
story, it is usual with them to designate the object of such language by this
term, which signifies both remote or absent from the person or persons in
whose presence the words are repeated, and remote from virtue or good. In
the present instance, "remote" is an epithet substituted by Shahrazád for
some other of a gross nature, from respect to the king to whom she is
relating the story.
Note 9. I read "Ṣakhr el-Jinnee" for "Ṣakhr el-Jinn."—Ṣakhr was an evil
Jinnee, and a terrible enemy of Solomon. His last act of treachery to that
monarch, and his fate, are thus related by commentators on the Ḳur-án.—
Solomon having, through negligence, suffered one of his women to practise
idolatry under his roof, God saw fit to punish him. It was the custom of this
King, on certain occasions, "to intrust his signet, on which his kingdom
depended, with a concubine of his, named El-Emeeneh. One day, therefore,
when she had the ring in her custody, a devil [or evil Jinnee], named Ṣakhr,
came to her in the shape of Solomon, and received the ring from her; by
virtue of which he became possessed of the kingdom, and sat on the throne
in the shape which he had borrowed, making what alterations in the law he
pleased. Solomon, in the meantime, being changed in his outward
appearance, and known to none of his subjects, was obliged to wander
about, and beg alms for his subsistence; till at length, after the space of
forty days, which was the time the image had been worshipped in his house,
the devil flew away, and threw the signet into the sea. The signet was
immediately swallowed by a fish, which being taken and given to Solomon,
he found the ring in its belly; and having by this means recovered the
kingdom, he took Ṣakhr, and, tying a great stone to his neck, threw him into
the Lake of Tiberias."150
Note 10. "Umm-'Ámir" is an appellation of the hyena. It is scarcely
necessary to mention, that the proverb here quoted is said to have originated

from the fact of a man's having been devoured by a hyena whom he had
aided against an enemy.
Note 11. In some copies, the personage here mentioned is called "Melik el-
Yoonán," that is, "King of Ancient Greece," or—"of the Ancient Greeks." I
have followed the Cairo edition, and that of the first two hundred nights,
printed at Calcutta, in which "Yoonán" is used as the King's proper name.
See also Note 13.
Note 12. This is the name of the sage in most copies; but in the Cairo
edition he is called "Rooyán."
Note 13. In the Calcutta edition, the king is merely said to have reigned "in
the country of the Persians," as in my translation; but in the Cairo edition,
he is said to have been "in the city of the Persians, and the country of
Roomán;" which may perhaps mean (though this is hardly allowable) the
[eastern] Roman, or later Greek, empire; an unnecessary contradiction. (See
Note 22 to Chapter x.) It is obviously more agreeable with the story to
regard him as a Persian King.
Note 14. "The Ornament of the Good," or—"of the Comely," is an
appellation of the Arabian prophet, who is related to have said, "The sun
never riseth until it hath saluted me." "The sun's saluting the Ornament of
the Good," or "Comely," is, therefore, a phrase not unfrequently used by
Muslims merely to signify its rising.
Note 15.—On the Rewards of Men of Literature and Science. It has long
been a common custom of Eastern princes to bestow dresses of honour
upon men of literature and science, as well as upon their great officers and
other servants. These dresses were of different kinds for persons of different
classes or professions. The most usual kind was an ample coat. With dresses
of this description were often given gold-embroidered turbans; and
sometimes, to Emeers (or great military officers), neck-rings or collars
(called ṭóḳs), some of which were set with jewels; as also, bracelets, and
swords ornamented with precious stones, &c.; and to Wezeers, instead of
the ṭóḳ, a necklace of jewels.151—The following striking record will convey
an idea of the magnificence of some of these dresses of honour; or, in other
words, of the liberality of a Muslim prince, and, at the same time, of the
very precarious nature of his favour. A person, chancing to look at a register

kept by one of the officers of Hároon Er-Rasheed, saw in it the following
entry:—"Four hundred thousand pieces of gold, the price of a dress of
honour for Jaạfar, the son of Yaḥyà, the Wezeer."—A few days after, he saw
beneath this written,—"Ten ḳeeráṭs, the price of naphtha and reeds, for
burning the body of Jaạfar, the son of Yaḥyà."152—The ḳeeráṭ of Baghdád
was the twentieth part of a deenár, or piece of gold.
Arab princes and other great men have generally been famous for highly
respecting, and liberally rewarding, men of literature and science, and
especially poets. El-Mamoon and many others are well known to us for
their patronage of the learned. Er-Rasheed carried his condescension to
them so far as to pour the water on the hands of a blind man, Aboo-
Mo'áwiyeh, one of the most learned persons of his time, previously to his
eating with him, to shew his respect for science.153 An anecdote of a
Khaleefeh ordering the mouth of a learned man to be filled with jewels, I
have related in a former note. To cram the mouth with sugar or sweetmeats
for a polite or eloquent speech, or piece of poetry, has been more commonly
done; but the usual presents to learned men were, and are, dresses of honour
and sums of money. Ibn-'Obeyd El-Bakhteree, an illustrious poet and
traditionist, who flourished in the reign of El-Musta'een, is said to have
received so many presents, that, after his death, there were found, among
the property which he left, a hundred complete suits of dress, two hundred
shirts, and five hundred turbans.154 A thousand pieces of gold were often
given, and sometimes ten, twenty, or thirty, thousand, and even more, for a
few verses; nay, for a single couplet.
The prodigality of Arab princes to men of learning may be exemplified by
the following anecdote:—Ḥammád, surnamed Er-Ráwiyeh, or the famous
reciter, having attached himself to the Khaleefeh El-Weleed, the son of
'Abd-el-Melik, and shewn a contrary feeling towards his brother Hishám,
on the accession of the latter fled to El-Koofeh. While there, a letter arrived
from Hishám, commanding his presence at Damascus: it was addressed to
the governor, who, being ordered to treat him with honour, gave him a purse
containing a thousand pieces of gold, and despatched him with the
Khaleefeh's messenger. On his arrival at Damascus, he was conducted
before Hishám, whom he found in a splendid saloon, seated under a
pavilion of red silk, surmounted by a dome of yellow brocade, attended by
two female slaves of beauty unsurpassed, each holding a crystal ewer of

wine. His admission during the presence of members of the King's ḥareem,
the reader will remark as a very unusual and high honour: the mention of
the wine may also surprise him; but this is a subject upon which much may
be said, and which will be considered on a future occasion. After Ḥammád
had given the salutation, and the Khaleefeh had returned it, the latter told
him that he had sent for him to ask respecting a couplet of which he (the
Khaleefeh) could only remember that it ended with the word "ibreeḳ,"
which signifies "a ewer." The reciter reflected a while, and the lines
occurred to his mind, and he repeated them. Hishám cried out, in delight,
that the lines were those he meant; drank a cup of wine, and desired one of
the female slaves to hand a cup to Ḥammád. She did so; and the draught, he
says, deprived him of one-third of his reason. The Khaleefeh desired him to
repeat the lines again, and drank a second cup; and Ḥammád was deprived
of another third of his reason in the same manner; and said, "O Prince of the
Faithful, two-thirds of my reason have departed from me." Hishám laughed,
and desired him to ask what he would before the remaining third should
have gone; and the reciter said, "One of these two female slaves." The
Khaleefeh laughed again, and said, "Nay, but both of them are thine, and all
that is upon them, and all that they possess, and, beside them, fifty thousand
pieces of gold."—"I kissed the ground before him," says Ḥammád, "and
drank a third cup, and was unconscious of what happened after: I did not
awake till the close of the night, when I found myself in a handsome house,
surrounded by lighted candles, and the two female slaves were putting in
order my clothes and other things: so I took possession of the property, and
departed, the happiest of the creatures of God."155
A whimsical story is told of a king, who denied to poets those rewards to
which usage had almost given them a claim. This king, whose name is not
recorded, had the faculty of retaining in his memory an ode after having
only once heard it; and he had a memlook who could repeat an ode that he
had twice heard, and a female slave who could repeat one that she had
heard thrice. Whenever a poet came to compliment him with a panegyrical
ode, the King used to promise him that, if he found his verses to be his
original composition, he would give him a sum of money equal in weight to
what they were written upon. The poet, consenting, would recite his ode;
and the King would say, "It is not new; for I have known it some years;"
and would repeat it as he had heard it; after which he would add, "And this

memlook also retains it in his memory;" and would order the memlook to
repeat it; which, having heard it twice, from the poet and the king, he would
do. The King would then say to the poet, "I have also a female slave who
can repeat it;" and on his ordering her to do so, stationed behind the
curtains, she would repeat what she had thus thrice heard: so the poet would
go away empty-handed. The famous poet El-Aṣma'ee, having heard of this
proceeding, and guessing the trick, determined upon outwitting the King;
and accordingly composed an ode made up of very difficult words; but this
was not his only preparative measure; another will be presently explained;
and a third was, to assume the dress of a Bedawee, that he might not be
known, covering his face, the eyes only excepted, with a lithám (a piece of
drapery) in accordance with a custom of Arabs of the desert. Thus
disguised, he went to the palace, and, having asked permission, entered, and
saluted the King, who said to him, "Whence art thou, O brother of the
Arabs, and what dost thou desire?" The poet answered, "May God increase
the power of the King! I am a poet of such a tribe, and have composed an
ode in praise of our lord the Sulṭán."—"O brother of the Arabs," said the
King, "hast thou heard of our condition?"—"No," answered the poet; "and
what is it, O King of the age?"—"It is," replied the King, "that if the ode be
not thine, we give thee no reward; and if it be thine, we give thee the weight
in money of what it is written upon."—"How," said El-Aṣma'ee, "should I
assume to myself that which belongs to another, and knowing, too, that
lying before kings is one of the basest of actions? But I agree to this
condition, O our lord the Sulṭán." So he repeated his ode. The King,
perplexed, and unable to remember any of it, made a sign to the memlook—
but he had retained nothing; and called to the female slave, but she also was
unable to repeat a word. "O brother of the Arabs," said he, "thou hast
spoken truth, and the ode is thine without doubt: I have never heard it
before: produce, therefore, what it is written upon, and we will give thee its
weight in money, as we have promised."—"Wilt thou," said the poet, "send
one of the attendants to carry it?"—"To carry what?" asked the King; "is it
not upon a paper here in thy possession?"—"No, O our lord the Sulṭán,"
replied the poet; "at the time I composed it I could not procure a piece of
paper upon which to write it, and could find nothing but a fragment of a
marble column left me by my father; so I engraved it upon this; and it lies
in the court of the palace." He had brought it, wrapped up, on the back of a
camel. The King, to fulfil his promise, was obliged to exhaust his treasury;

and to prevent a repetition of this trick (of which he afterwards discovered
El-Aṣma'ee to have been the author), in future rewarded the poets according
to the usual custom of kings.156
The following case is also related as an exception to the common custom of
great men, with regard to the bestowal of rewards on poets:—"A poet
praised a governor in some verses, and the latter ordered an ass's barda'ah
(or stuffed saddle) and girth to be given to him. The poet went away with
them on his shoulder; and, being asked what he had got, answered, 'I have
praised our honoured lord in the best of my verses, and he hath bestowed on
me some of the most magnificent articles of his apparel.'"157
Note 16.—On the Bath. The ḥammám, or bath, is a favourite resort of both
men and women of all classes among the Muslims who can afford the
trifling expense which it requires; and (it is said) not only of human beings,
but also of evil genii; on which account, as well as on that of decency,
several precepts respecting it have been dictated by Moḥammad. It is
frequented for the purpose of performing certain ablutions required by the
religion, or by a regard for cleanliness, and for its salutary effects, and for
mere luxury.
The following description of a public bath will convey a sufficient notion of
those in private houses, which are on a smaller scale, and generally consist
of only two or three chambers. The public bath comprises several
apartments, with mosaic or tesselated pavements, composed of white and
black marble, and pieces of fine red tile, and sometimes other materials.
The inner apartments are covered with domes, having a number of small,
round, glazed apertures, for the admission of light. The first apartment is the
meslakh, or disrobing room, which has, in the centre, a fountain of cold
water, and, next the walls, wide benches or platforms, encased with marble.
These are furnished with mattresses and cushions for the higher and middle
classes, and with mats for the poorer sort. The inner division of the
building, in the more regularly planned baths, occupies nearly a square: the
central and chief portion of it is the principal apartment, or ḥarárah, which
generally has the form of a cross. In its centre is a fountain of hot water,
rising from a base encased with marble, which serves as a seat. One of the
angles of the square is occupied by the beyt-owwal, or antechamber of the
ḥarárah: in another, is the fire over which is the boiler; and each of the other

two angles is generally occupied by two small chambers: in one of these is
a tank filled with warm water, which pours down from a spout in the dome:
in the other are two taps, side by side; one of hot, and the other of cold
water, with a small trough beneath, before which is a seat. The inner
apartments are heated by the steam which rises from the fountain and tanks,
and by the contiguity of the fire; but the beyt-owwal is not so hot as the
ḥarárah, being separated from it by a door. In cold weather, the bather
undresses in the former, which has two or three raised seats, like those of
the meslakh.
With a pair of wooden clogs to his feet, and having a large napkin round his
loins, and generally a second wound round his head like a turban, a third
over his chest, and a fourth covering his back, he enters the ḥarárah, the
heat of which causes him immediately to perspire profusely. An attendant of
the bath removes from him all the napkins excepting the first; and proceeds
to crack the joints of his fingers and toes, &c., and several of the vertebræ
of the back and neck; kneads his flesh; and rubs the soles of his feet with a
coarse earthen rasp, and his limbs and body with a woollen bag which
covers his hand as a glove; after which, the bather, if he please, plunges into
one of the tanks. He is then thoroughly washed with soap and water, and
fibres of the palm-tree, and shaved, if he wish it, in one of the small
chambers which contain the taps of hot and cold water; and returns to the
beyt-owwal. Here he generally reclines upon a mattress, and takes some
light refreshment, while one of the attendants rubs the soles of his feet, and
kneads the flesh of his body and limbs, previously to his resuming his dress.
It is a common custom, now, to take a pipe and a cup of coffee during this
period of rest.
The women are especially fond of the bath, and often have entertainments
there; taking with them fruits, sweetmeats, &c., and sometimes hiring
female singers to accompany them. An hour or more is occupied by the
process of plaiting the hair, and applying the depilatory, &c.; and, generally,
an equal time is passed in the enjoyment of rest, or recreation, or
refreshment. All necessary decorum is observed on these occasions by most
females; but women of the lower orders are often seen in the bath without
any covering. Some baths are appropriated solely to men; others, only to
women; and others, again, to men during the forenoon, and in the afternoon
to women. When the bath is appropriated to women, a napkin, or some

other piece of drapery, is suspended over the door, to warn men from
entering.
Before the time of Moḥammad, there were no public baths in Arabia; and
he was so prejudiced against them, for the reasons already alluded to, that
he at first forbade both men and women from entering them: afterwards,
however, he permitted men to do so, if for the sake of cleanliness, on the
condition of their having a cloth round the waist; and women also on
account of sickness, child-birth, &c., provided they had not convenient
places for bathing in their houses. But, notwithstanding this license, it is
held to be a characteristic of a virtuous woman, not to go to a bath even
with her husband's permission: for the Prophet said, "Whatever woman
enters a bath, the devil is with her." As the bath is a resort of the Jinn, prayer
should not be performed in it, nor the Ḳur-án recited. The Prophet said, "All
the earth is given to me as a place of prayer, and as pure, except the burial-
ground and the bath."158 Hence also, when a person is about to enter a bath,
he should offer up an ejaculatory prayer for protection against evil spirits;
and should place his left foot first over the threshold.—Infidels have often
been obliged to distinguish themselves in the bath, by hanging a signet to
the neck, or wearing anklets, &c., lest they should receive those marks of
respect which should be paid only to believers.159
Note 17.—On Meals, and the Manner of Eating. The King (with the sage
as his guest) is here described as eating in the presence of his court,
agreeably with a common custom of Eastern princes and other great men in
the present day; the simple manner in which the meal is served and eaten
occasioning but a slight interruption.
The Muslim takes a light breakfast after the morning-prayers, and dinner
after the noon-prayers; or a single meal instead of these two, before noon.
His principal meal is supper, which is taken after the prayers of sunset. A
man of rank or wealth, when he has no guest, generally eats alone; his
children eat after him, or with his wife or wives. In all his repasts he is
moderate with regard to the quantity which he eats, however numerous the
dishes.
In the times to which most of the tales in the present work relate, it appears
that the dishes were sometimes, I believe generally, placed upon a round

embroidered cloth spread on the floor, and sometimes on a tray, which was
either laid on the floor or upon a small stand or stool. The last is the mode
now always followed in the houses of the higher and middle classes of the
Arabs. The table is usually placed upon a round cloth, spread in the middle
of the floor, or in a corner, next two of the deewáns, or low seats which
generally extend along three sides of the room. It is composed of a large
round tray of silver, or of tinned copper, or of brass, supported by a stool,
commonly about fifteen or sixteen inches high, made of wood, and
generally inlaid with mother-of-pearl and ebony or other wood, or tortoise-
shell, &c. When there are numerous guests, two or more such tables are
prepared. The dishes are of silver, or of tinned copper, or of china. Several
of these are placed upon the tray; and around them are disposed some
round, flat cakes of bread, with spoons of box-wood, ebony, or other
material, and, usually, two or three limes, cut in halves, to be squeezed over
certain of the dishes. When these preparations have been made, each person
who is to partake of the repast receives a napkin; and a servant pours water
over his hands. A basin and ewer of either of the metals first mentioned are
employed for this purpose; the former has a cover with a receptacle for a
piece of soap in its centre, and with numerous perforations through which
the water runs during the act of washing, so that it is not seen when the
basin is brought from one person to another. It is indispensably requisite to
wash at least the right hand before eating with the fingers anything but dry
food; and the mouth, also, is often rinsed, the water being taken up into it
from the right hand. The company sit upon the floor, or upon cushions, or
some of them on the deewán, either cross-legged, or with the right knee
raised:160 they retain the napkins before mentioned; or a long napkin,
sufficient to surround the tray, is placed upon their knees; and each person,
before he begins to eat, says, "In the name of God," or "In the name of God,
the Compassionate, the Merciful." The master of the house begins first: if
he did not so, some persons would suspect that the food was poisoned. The
thumb and two fingers of the right hand serve instead of knives and forks;
and it is the usual custom for a person to help himself to a portion of the
contents of a dish by drawing it towards the edge, or taking it from the
edge, with a morsel of bread, which he eats with it: when he takes too large
a portion for a single mouthful, he generally places it on his cake of bread.
He takes from any dish that pleases him; and sometimes a host hands a
delicate morsel with his fingers to one of his guests. It is not allowable to

touch food with the left hand (as it is used for unclean purposes), excepting
in a few cases, when both hands are required to divide a joint.
Among the more common dishes are the following:—lamb or mutton cut
into small pieces, and stewed with various vegetables, and sometimes with
peaches, apricots, or jujubes, and sugar; cucumbers or small gourds, or the
fruit of the black or white egg-plant, stuffed with rice and minced meat,
&c.; vine-leaves or pieces of lettuce-leaf or cabbage-leaf, enclosing a
similar composition; small morsels of lamb or mutton, roasted on skewers,
and called "kebáb;" fowls simply roasted or boiled, or boned, and stuffed
with raisins, pistachio-nuts, crumbled bread, and parsley; and various kinds
of pastry, and other sweets. The repast is frequently commenced with soup;
and is generally ended with boiled rice, mixed with a little butter, and
seasoned with salt and pepper; or after this, is served a water-melon or other
fruit, or a bowl of a sweet drink composed of water with raisins, and
sometimes other kinds of fruit, boiled in it, and then sugar, and with a little
rose-water added to it when cool. The meat, having generally little fat, is
cooked with clarified butter, and is so thoroughly done that it is easily
divided with the fingers.
A whole lamb, stuffed in the same manner as the fowls above mentioned, is
not a very uncommon dish; but one more extraordinary, of which 'Abd-El-
Laṭeef gives an account161 as one of the most remarkable that he had seen in
Egypt, I am tempted to describe. It was an enormous pie, composed in the
following manner:—Thirty pounds of fine flour being kneaded with five
pounds and a half of oil of sesame, and divided into two equal portions, one
of these was spread upon a round tray of copper, about four spans in
diameter. Upon this were placed three lambs, stuffed with pounded meat
fried with oil of sesame and ground pistachio-nuts, and various hot
aromatics, such as pepper, ginger, cinnamon, mastic, coriander-seed, cumin-
seed, cardamom, nut [or nutmeg?], &c. These were then sprinkled with
rose-water infused with musk; and upon the lambs, and in the remaining
spaces, were placed twenty fowls, twenty chickens, and fifty smaller birds;
some of which were baked, and stuffed with eggs; some, stuffed with meat;
and some, fried with the juice of sour grapes, or that of limes, or some
similar acid. To the above were added a number of small pies; some filled
with meat, and others with sugar and sweetmeats; and sometimes, the meat
of another lamb, cut into small pieces, and some fried cheese. The whole

being piled up in the form of a dome, some rose-water infused with musk
and aloes-wood was sprinkled upon it; and the other half of the paste first
mentioned was spread over, so as to close the whole: it was then baked,
wiped with a sponge, and again sprinkled with rose-water infused with
musk.—A dish still more extraordinary will be described in a note on public
Royal feasts.
With respect to clean and unclean meats, the Muslim is subject to nearly the
same laws as the Jew. Swine's flesh, and blood, are especially forbidden to
him; but camel's flesh is allowed. The latter, however, being of a coarse
nature, is never eaten when any other meat can be obtained, excepting by
persons of the lower classes, and by Arabs of the desert. Of fish, almost
every kind is eaten (excepting shell-fish), usually fried in oil: of game,
little; partly in consequence of frequent doubt whether it have been lawfully
killed. The diet consists, in a great measure, of vegetables, and includes a
large variety of pastry. A very common kind of pastry is a pancake, which is
made very thin, and folded over several times like a napkin; it is saturated
with butter, and generally sweetened with honey or sugar; as is also another
common kind, which somewhat resembles vermicelli.
The usual beverage at meals is water, which is drunk from cooling, porous,
earthen bottles, or from cups of brass or other metal: but in the houses of
the wealthy, sherbet is sometimes served instead of this, in covered glass
cups, each of which contains about three quarters of a pint. The sherbet is
composed of water made very sweet with sugar, or with a hard conserve of
violets or roses or mulberries, &c. After every time that a person drinks, he
says, "Praise be to God;" and each person of the company says to him,
"May it be productive of enjoyment:" to which he replies, "May God cause
thee to have enjoyment." The Arabs drink little or no water during a meal,
but generally take a large draught immediately after. The repast is quickly
finished; and each person, as soon as he has done, says, "Praise be to God,"
or "Praise be to God, the Lord of all creatures." He then washes, in the same
manner as before, but more thoroughly; well lathering his beard, and rinsing
his mouth.
Note 18. This mode of shewing honour to a meritorious individual, or
distinguished guest, which is at least as ancient as the time of Ahasuerus,162
is still observed in Muslim countries.

Note 19. The influence of the stars upon the dispositions and fortunes of
mankind is firmly believed by the generality of Muslims, and is often a
matter of consideration previously to the uniting of two persons in
marriage; though the absurdity of such an opinion is declared in their law.
Note 20.—On the Distribution of Virtues and Vices among Mankind. I have
heard Arabs confess that their nation possesses nine-tenths of the envy that
exists among all mankind collectively; but I have not seen any written
authority for this. Ibn-'Abbás assigns nine-tenths of the intrigue or artifice
that exists in the world to the Copts; nine-tenths of the perfidy, to the Jews;
nine-tenths of the stupidity, to the Maghrabees; nine-tenths of the hardness,
to the Turks; and nine-tenths of the bravery, to the Arabs. According to
Kaạb-El-Aḥbár, reason and sedition are most peculiar to Syria; plenty and
degradation, to Egypt; and misery and health, to the Desert. In another
account, faith and modesty are said to be most peculiar to El-Yemen;
fortitude and sedition, to Syria; magnificence, or pride, and hypocrisy, to
El-'Eráḳ; wealth and degradation, to Egypt; and poverty and misery, to the
Desert.—Of women, it is said, by Kaạb-El-Aḥbár, that the best in the world
(excepting those of the tribe of Ḳureysh mentioned by the Prophet) are
those of El-Baṣrah; and the worst in the world, those of Egypt."163
Note 21. In the Cairo edition, King Yoonán is made to say, "I should repent
after it, as King Sindibád repented of killing the falcon;"—and thus is
introduced an indifferent story in the place of that of the Husband and the
Parrot; the former story describing a king as having, under an erroneous
idea, killed a falcon that had prevented his drinking poison. The latter story
I insert in preference, according to the Calcutta edition of the first two
hundred nights, and the edition of Breslau.
Note 22.—On Miraculously-gifted Birds. An Arab historian would make it
to appear, that the intelligence and talent ascribed to this parrot are not
nearly so wonderful as those which some birds have been known to display.
He mentions a parrot which recited the Soorat Yá-Seen (or 36th chapter of
the Ḳur-án); and a raven which recited the Soorat es-Sijdeh (or 32nd
chapter), and which, on arriving at the place of prostration (or verse which
should be recited with prostration), would perform that action, and say, "My
body prostrateth itself to Thee, and my heart confideth in Thee." But these
are not the most remarkable cases of the kind. He affirms that there was a

parrot in Cairo which recited the Ḳur-án from beginning to end. The Báshà,
he says, desiring to try its talent, caused a man to recite a chapter of the
Ḳur-án in its presence, and to pass irregularly from one chapter to another,
with the view of leading the bird into error: but, instead of this being the
result, the parrot corrected him!164
Note 23. But a few years ago, it was a common custom for an Arab
merchant or shopkeeper of the higher class to wear a sword; and this not
only during a journey, but also during his ordinary walks or rides. I have
seen many persons of this description so armed, and with a pair of pistols
stuck in the girdle; though seldom excepting in the former case. A dagger or
case-knife is a weapon now more commonly worn by such persons, both at
home and abroad.
Note 24.—On Hunting and Hawking. Hunting and hawking, which were
common and favourite diversions of the Arabs, and especially of their kings
and other great men, have now fallen into comparative disuse among this
people. They are, however, still frequently practised by the Persians, and in
a manner the same as they are generally described in the present work. Sir
John Malcolm was informed that these sports were nowhere found in
greater perfection than in the neighbourhood of Aboo-Shahr, where he
witnessed and took part in them: I shall, therefore, here avail myself of his
observations on this subject.
"The huntsmen," he says, "proceed to a large plain, or rather desert, near the
sea-side: they have hawks and greyhounds; the former carried in the usual
manner, on the hand of the huntsman; the latter led in a leash by a
horseman, generally the same who carries the hawk. When the antelope is
seen, they endeavour to get as near as possible; but the animal, the moment
it observes them, goes off at a rate that seems swifter than the wind: the
horsemen are instantly at full speed, having slipped the dogs. If it is a single
deer, they at the same time fly the hawks; but if a herd, they wait till the
dogs have fixed on a particular antelope. The hawks, skimming along near
the ground, soon reach the deer, at whose head they pounce in succession,
and sometimes with a violence that knocks it over. [They are commonly
described as pecking at the poor creature's eyes until they blind it.] At all
events, they confuse the animal so much as to stop its speed in such a
degree that the dogs can come up with it; and, in an instant, men, horses,

dogs, and hawks, surround the unfortunate deer, against which their united
efforts have been combined. The part of the chase that surprised me most,
was the extraordinary combination of the hawks and the dogs, which
throughout seemed to look to each other for aid. This, I was told, was the
result of long and skilful training.—The antelope is supposed to be the
fleetest quadruped on earth; and the rapidity of the first burst of the chase I
have described is astonishing. The run seldom exceeds three or four miles,
and often is not half so much. A fawn is an easy victory; the doe often runs
a good chase; and the buck is seldom taken. The Arabs are, indeed, afraid to
fly their hawks at the latter, as these fine birds, in pouncing, frequently
impale themselves on its sharp horns.—The hawks used in this sport are of
a species that I have never seen in any other country. This breed, which is
called Cherkh, is not large, but of great beauty and symmetry.
"Another mode of running down the antelope is practised here, and still
more in the interior of Persia. Persons of the highest rank lead their own
greyhounds in a long silken leash, which passes through the collar, and is
ready to slip the moment the huntsman chooses. The well-trained dog goes
alongside the horse, and keeps clear of him when at full speed, and in all
kinds of country. When a herd of antelopes is seen, a consultation is held,
and the most experienced determine the point towards which they are to be
driven. The field (as an English sportsman would term it) then disperse,
and, while some drive the herd in the desired direction, those with the dogs
take their post on the same line, at the distance of about a mile from each
other; one of the worst dogs is then slipped at the herd, and from the
moment he singles out an antelope the whole body are in motion. The
object of the horsemen who have greyhounds is to intercept its course, and
to slip fresh dogs, in succession, at the fatigued animal. In rare instances,
the second dog kills. It is generally the third or fourth; and even these, when
the deer is strong, and the ground favourable, often fail. This sport, which is
very exhilarating, was the delight of the late King of Persia, Ághà
Moḥammad Khán, whose taste is inherited by the present sovereign.
"The novelty of these amusements interested me, and I was pleased, on
accompanying a party to a village, about twenty miles from Aboo-Shahr, to
see a species of hawking peculiar, I believe, to the sandy plains of Persia, on
which the Ḥobárà, a noble species of bustard, is found on almost bare
plains, where it has no shelter but a small shrub called 'geetuck.' When we

went in quest of them, we had a party of about twenty, all well mounted.
Two kinds of hawks are necessary for this sport; the first, the Cherkh (the
same which is flown at the antelope), attacks them on the ground, but will
not follow them on the wing; for this reason, the 'Bhyree,' a hawk well
known in India, is flown the moment the Ḥobárà rises.—As we rode along
in an extended line, the men who carried the Cherkhs every now and then
unhooded and held them up, that they might look over the plain. The first
Ḥobárà we found afforded us a proof of the astonishing quickness of sight
of one of the hawks: he fluttered to be loose, and the man who held him
gave him a whoop as he threw him off his hand, and set off at full speed.
We all did the same. At first we only saw our hawk skimming over the
plain, but soon perceived, at a distance of more than a mile, the beautiful
speckled Ḥobárà, with his head erect and wings outspread, running forward
to meet his adversary. The Cherkh made several unsuccessful pounces,
which were either evaded or repelled by the beak or wings of the Ḥobárà,
which at last found an opportunity of rising, when a Bhyree was instantly
flown, and the whole party were again at full gallop. We had a flight of
more than a mile, when the Ḥobárà alighted, and was killed by another
Cherkh, who attacked him on the ground. This bird weighed ten pounds. We
killed several others, but were not always successful, having seen our
hawks twice completely beaten, during the two days we followed this fine
sport."165
The hunting of the wild ass is another sport of the Persians and Arabs, but
one of a more difficult nature. This animal is found in Syria, and in the
Nubian deserts, as well as in Arabia and Persia. The more common kinds of
game are gazelles, or antelopes, hares, partridges, the species of grouse
called "ḳaṭà," quails, wild geese, ducks, &c. Against all of these, the hawk
is generally employed, but assisted in the capture of gazelles and hares by
dogs. The usual arms of the sportsmen, in the times to which the present
work relates, were the bow and arrow, the cross-bow, the spear, the sword,
and the mace. When the game is struck down, but not killed, by any
weapon, its throat is immediately cut. If merely stunned, and then left to
die, its flesh is unlawful food. Some other laws respecting the killing of
game have been mentioned in a former note; but one has been there omitted
which is worthy of remark, though it is often disregarded; it is, that hunting
is allowable only for the purpose of procuring food, or to obtain the skin of

an animal, or for the sake of destroying ferocious and dangerous beasts.
Amusement is certainly, in general, the main object of the Muslim
huntsman, but he does not, with this view, endeavour to prolong the chase;
on the contrary, he strives to take the game as quickly as possible; for this
purpose, nets are often employed, and the hunting party, forming what is
called the circle of the chase (ḥalḳat eṣ-ṣeyd), surround the spot in which
the game is found.
"On the eastern frontiers of Syria," says Burckhardt, "are several places
allotted for the hunting of gazelles: these places are called 'masiade' [more
properly, 'maṣyedehs']. An open space in the plain, of about one mile and a
half square, is enclosed on three sides by a wall of loose stones, too high for
the gazelles to leap over. In different parts of this wall, gaps are purposely
left, and near each gap a deep ditch is made on the outside. The enclosed
space is situated near some rivulet or spring to which, in summer, the
gazelles resort. When the hunting is to begin, many peasants assemble, and
watch till they see a herd of gazelles advancing from a distance towards the
enclosure, into which they drive them: the gazelles, frightened by the shouts
of these people, and the discharge of fire-arms, endeavour to leap over the
wall, but can only effect this at the gaps, where they fall into the ditch
outside, and are easily taken, sometimes by hundreds. The chief of the herd
always leaps first: the others follow him one by one. The gazelles thus taken
are immediately killed, and their flesh is sold to the Arabs and neighbouring
Felláḥs."166
Note 25. In the Cairo edition, the word "jezeereh" (an island) is erroneously
put for "kharábeh" (a ruin).
Note 26. "Ghooleh" is the feminine of "Ghool." The Ghool is a fabulous
being, of which some account has been given in No. 21 of the notes to the
Introduction.
Note 27. This epithet of the Deity appears to be used in preference to others
in this instance, in order to imply that God always decrees what is best for a
virtuous man, even when the reverse would seem to us to be the case. He is
here described as appointing that the sage should die a violent death; but
this death, being unmerited, raised him, according to Mohammadan notions,
to the rank of a martyr.

In the edition from which my translation is chiefly made, four poetical
quotations are here inserted on the subject of fate, and the inutility of
anxious forebodings. The first of these is as follows:—
"O thou who fearest thy fate, be at ease; commit thine affairs unto Him who spread
out the earth.
For what is predestined cannot be cancelled; and thou art secure from every thing that
is not predestined."

Note 28.—The Fable of the Crocodile. Perhaps the reader may desire to
know what is the story which the sage Doobán declined to relate; I will
therefore supply the omission as well as my memory will allow me. I have
heard this fable differently told by different persons; and it is sometimes
spun out to a considerable length; but the principal points of it are these:—
A crocodile, having crawled far from the Nile, over a desert tract, found his
strength so exhausted by fatigue and thirst, that he despaired of being able
to return to the river. While he was in this unhappy state, an Arab with his
camel approached him, proceeding in the desired direction; and he appealed
to his compassion, entreating that he would bind him on the back of the
camel, and so convey him to the Nile, and promising that he would
afterwards, in return for this favour, carry him across to the opposite bank.
The Arab answered, that he feared the crocodile would, as soon as he was
unbound, turn upon him, and devour him; but the monster swore so
solemnly that he would gratefully requite the service he requested, that the
man was induced to consent; and, making his camel lie down, bound the
crocodile firmly upon his back, and brought him to the bank of the river. No
sooner, however, was the horrid creature liberated, than, in spite of his
vows, he opened his hideous jaws to destroy his benefactor, who, though he
eluded this danger, was unable to rescue his camel. At this moment a fox
drew near them. The man, accosting this cunning animal, related his tale;
and the crocodile urged in his own excuse, that the man had spitefully
bound him on the back of the camel in such a manner that he had almost
killed him. The fox replied that he could quickly pursue and capture the
man, but that he must act fairly, and first see the whole transaction repeated
before him. The crocodile, assenting, and submitting to have a noose
thrown over his jaws, was again bound on the back of the camel, and taken
to the place whence he was brought; and as soon as this was done, the man,
by the direction of the fox, holding with one hand the halter of his camel,
with the other cut the ropes which secured his burden, and hasted away with

his beast, leaving the ungrateful and treacherous monster in the same
hopeless state in which he had found him.
Note 29. This comparison is perfectly just. My first visit to Egypt was not
too late for me to witness such a scene as that which is here alluded to; but
now, throughout the Turkish dominions, the officers of government are
obliged, more or less, to assimilate their style of dress to that which
commonly prevails in Europe; gaudy colours are out of fashion among
them, and silk embroidery is generally preferred to gold: in Egypt, however,
the dress worn by this class of persons has not been so much altered as in
Turkey, still retaining an Oriental character, though wanting the shawl
which was wound round the red cap, and formed the turban; while the dress
worn by other classes has undergone no change. [This note still applies to
the inhabitants of Egypt, with the exception of the Turks, who have very
generally adopted the modern Turkish, or semi-European dress.—Ed.]
Note 30. This story of the head speaking after it was cut off is not without a
parallel in the writings of Arab historians. The head of Sa'eed, the son of
Jubeyr, is said to have uttered the words, "There is no deity but God," after
it had been severed from his body by order of El-Ḥajjáj, who is related to
have killed a hundred and twenty thousand persons of note, besides those
whom he slew in war.
Note 31. I do not remember to have read or heard the story of Umámeh and
'Átikeh, who, as their names import, were two females.
Note 32. The words here quoted are part of the 36th verse of the 17th
chapter of the Ḳur-án.
Note 33. The title of "Sulṭán" is higher than that of "Melik" (or King): a
Sulṭán, properly speaking, being a monarch who has kings or viceroys
under his authority.
Note 34.—On Koḥl, and the mode of applying it. Koḥl is a black powder,
with which most of the Arab, and many other, women blacken the edges of
the eyelids. The most common kind is the smoke-black which is produced
by burning a kind of frankincense. An inferior kind is the smoke-black
produced by burning the shells of almonds. These are believed to be
beneficial to the eyes; but are generally used merely for the sake of

ornament. Among other kinds which are particularly employed for their
beneficial effect upon the eye are several ores of lead, reduced to a fine
powder. Antimony is said to have been, in former times, the most esteemed
kind of koḥl. The powder is applied by means of a small probe of wood,
ivory, or silver, the end of which is moistened, and then dipped in the
powder, and drawn along the edges of the eyelids.167
Note 35. The Koofeeyeh is described in a great Arabic Lexicon (Táj el-
'Aroos) as "a thing worn on the head; so called because of its roundness:"
and this is the only description of it that I have been able to find. I was told
in Cairo, that "koofeeyeh" is the correct appellation of the head-kerchief
commonly called "keffeeyeh:" but this is a mistake. The latter is a square
kerchief, which is worn on the head, measuring about a yard in each
direction, and of various colours, generally a dull, brownish red, bright
green, and yellow, composing broad and narrow stripes, and having a deep
fringe of strings and tassels along two opposite edges. The most common
kind is entirely of cotton; another, of cotton interwoven with silk; and a
third, of silk interwoven with gold. It is now chiefly worn by the Wahhábees
and several tribes of Bedawees; but the former wear only the first kind, as
they hold articles of dress composed wholly or partly of silk or gold to be
unlawful. In former times it was in common use among the inhabitants of
the towns. It is mostly worn by men, and is doubled diagonally, and placed
over the cap in such a manner that the two corners which are folded
together hang down the back; and the other two corners, in front. A piece of
woollen rope, or a strip of rag, or a turban, is generally wound round it; and
the corners, or those only which usually hang down in front, are sometimes
turned up, and tucked within the upper edge of the turban. The inhabitants
of the towns usually wear the turban over the keffeeyeh. Burckhardt, who
calls this head-kerchief "keffie," mentions, that the Bedawees of Mekkeh
and El-Yemen tie over it, instead of the woollen rope which is used by the
Northern Bedawees, "a circle made of wax, tar, and butter, strongly kneaded
together: this," he adds, "is pressed down to the middle of the head, and
looks like the airy crown of a saint. It is about the thickness of a finger; and
they take it off very frequently to press it between their hands, so that its
shape may be preserved."168 The better kinds of keffeeyeh above mentioned
are worn by some of the Turks, but not in the Arab manner; being wound
tight round the cap.

Note 36.—Anecdote of a Miraculous Fish. This story of the miraculous fish
reminds me of one of a similar kind which is related as authentic. A certain
just judge of the Israelites, in the time of Solomon, had a wife who, every
time that she brought him his food, used to ejaculate a prayer that disgrace
might befall every unfaithful wife. One day, this woman having placed
before her husband a fried fish, and repeated her usual ejaculation, the fish
leaped from the dish, and fell upon the floor. This happened three times;
and, in consequence of a suspicion expressed by a devotee, who was
consulted respecting the meaning of this strange event, the judge discovered
that a supposed maid, whom he had purchased as a slave, was a disguised
man.169
Note 37. This comparison is not intended to be understood in its literal
sense, for the smallest of the tribe of 'Ád is said to have been sixty cubits
high: the largest, a hundred! The tribe of 'Ád were a race of ancient Arabs,
who, according to the Ḳur-án and Arab historians, were destroyed by a
suffocating wind, for their infidelity, after their rejection of the admonitions
of the prophet Hood.
Note 38. The Arabs generally calculate distances by time. The average
distance of a day's journey is from twenty to twenty-five miles; the former
being the usual rate of caravan-travelling.
Note 39.—On the Privacy of Arab Dwellings. In a palace, or large house,
there is generally a wide bench of stone, or a wooden couch, within the
outer door, for the accommodation of the door-keeper and other servants.
The entrance-passage leads to an open court, and, for the sake of preventing
persons at the entrance, or a little within it, from seeing into the court, it
usually has two turnings. We may, therefore, understand the motive of the
King in seating himself in the place here described to have been a desire
that he might not, if discovered, be supposed to be prying impertinently into
the interior of the palace. Respect for the privacy of another's house is a
point that is deemed of so much importance that it is insisted upon in the
Ḳur-án, in these words:—"O ye who have become believers, enter not any
houses, besides your own houses, until ye shall have asked leave, and
saluted their inhabitants; this will be better for you: peradventure ye will be
admonished. And if ye find not in them any person, enter them not, until
leave be granted you; and if it be said unto you, Return, then do ye return;

this will be more decent for you; and God knoweth what ye do. But it shall
be no crime in you that ye enter uninhabited houses wherein ye may find a
convenience.170 When a visiter finds the door open, and no servant below, he
usually claps his hands as a signal for some person to come to him; striking
the palm of his left hand with the fingers of the right: and even when leave
has been granted him to enter, it is customary for him, when he has to
ascend to an upper apartment, to repeat several times some ejaculation, such
as "Permission!" or, "O Protector!" (that is, "O protecting God!"), as he
goes up, in order that any female of the family, who may chance to be in the
way, may have notice of his approach, and either retire or veil herself.
Sometimes the servant who precedes him does this in his stead.
Note 40. These verses are translated from the Calcutta edition of the first
two hundred nights, as more apposite than those which are inserted in their
place in the edition of Cairo.
Note 41. That the reader may not form wrong conceptions of the characters
of many persons portrayed in this work, it is necessary to observe, that
weeping is not regarded by the Arabs as an evidence of an effeminate
disposition, or inconsistent with even a heroic mind; though the Muslims in
general are remarkable for the calmness with which they endure the
heaviest afflictions.
Note 42. It is, perhaps, unnecessary to mention, that it is a common custom
of the Orientals, as of other natives of warm climates, to take a nap in the
afternoon. A tradesman is not unfrequently seen enjoying this luxury in his
shop, and seldom, excepting in this case, is it considered allowable to wake
a person.
Note 43.—Description of Arab Fans. The kind of fan most commonly used
by the Arabs has the form of a small flag. The flap, which is about six or
seven inches in width, and somewhat more in length, is composed of split
palm-leaves of various colours, or some plain and others coloured, neatly
plaited or woven together. The handle is a piece of palm-stick, about twice
the length of the flap. This fan is used by men as well as women, and for the
double purpose of moderating the heat and repelling the flies, which, in
warm weather, are excessively annoying. It is more effective than the
ordinary European fan, and requires less exertion. Arabian fans of the kind

here described, brought from Mekkeh to Cairo as articles of merchandise,
may be purchased in the latter city for a sum less than a penny each; they
are mostly made in the H[.]ejáz. Another kind of fan, generally composed
of black ostrich-feathers, of large dimensions, and ornamented with a small
piece of looking-glass on the lower part of the front, is often used by the
Arabs. A kind of fly-whisk made of palm-leaves is also in very general use.
A servant or slave is often employed to wave it over the master or mistress
during a meal or an afternoon nap.
Note 44. Mes'oodeh is the feminine of Mes'ood, a name before explained,
as signifying "happy," or "made happy."
Note 45. The word which I have here rendered "wine" (namely, "sharáb") is
applied to any drink, and particularly to a sweet beverage; but, in the
present case, the context shews that its signification is that which I have
given it. The description of a carousal in the next chapter will present a
more fit occasion for my considering at large the custom of drinking wine
as existing among the Arabs.
Note 46.—On the Use of Hemp to induce Intoxication. The name of "benj,"
or "beng," is now, and, I believe, generally, given to henbane; but El-
Ḳazweenee states that the leaves of the garden hemp (ḳinneb bustánee, or
shahdánaj,) are the benj which, when eaten, disorders the reason. This is an
important confirmation of De Sacy's opinion respecting the derivation of
the appellation of "Assassins" from Ḥashshásheen (hemp-eaters, or persons
who intoxicate themselves with hemp); as the sect which we call
"Assassins" are expressly said by the Arabs to have made frequent use of
benj.171 To this subject I shall have occasion to revert. I need only add here,
that the custom of using benj, and other narcotics, for purposes similar to
that described in this tale, is said to be not very unfrequently practised in the
present day; but as many Arab husbands are extremely suspicious of the
character of women in general, perhaps there is but little ground for this
assertion.
Note 47. Most Eastern cities and towns are partly or wholly surrounded by
mounds of rubbish, close to the walls; and upon these mounds are thrown
the carcasses of camels, horses, and other beasts, to be devoured by dogs
and vultures. Immense mounds of this unsightly description entirely

surrounded the city of Cairo; but those which extended along its western
side, and, in a great measure, screened it from the view of persons
approaching from the Nile, have lately been removed by order of the
present Báshà of Egypt. [This note was written in the year 1838, in the time
of Moḥammad 'Alee.—Ed.]
Note 48. "Ḳubbeh" generally signifies either a dome or a cupola, or a
building or apartment surmounted by a dome. In the present instance it is to
be understood in the latter sense. It is also applied to a closet, and to a tent.
Note 49. "Ḳáf" is generally to be understood, as it is in the present case; to
signify the chain of mountains believed, by the Muslims, to encircle our
earth, as mentioned in a former note. It is also the name of the chain of
Caucasus, and hence it has been supposed that the fable respecting the
mountains before mentioned, originated from an early idea that the chain of
Caucasus was the limit of the habitable earth; but it is possible that the latter
mountains may have derived their name from an imaginary resemblance to
the former.
Note 50. Rats, though unlawful food to the Muslim, are occasionally eaten
by many of the peasants of the province of Lower Egypt called El-
Boḥeyreh, on the west of the western branch of the Nile. The extraordinary
abundance of these animals, and mice, throughout Egypt, gave rise to an
absurd fable, which is related by Diodorus Siculus172 as a matter worthy of
serious consideration:—that these creatures are generated from the alluvial
soil deposited by the Nile. The inundation drives many of them from the
fields to the houses and deserts, and destroys the rest; but soon after the
waters have subsided, vast numbers of them are seen again, taking refuge in
the deep clefts of the parched soil.
Note 51.—On the Beverage called Booẓah. Booẓah, or boozeh, is a
favourite beverage of the boatmen, and other persons of the lower class, in
Egypt; and more especially of the Nubians and negroes; as it was, according
to Herodotus173 and other writers, of the ancient Egyptians. It is an
intoxicating liquor, a kind of beer, most commonly prepared from barley-
bread, crumbled, mixed with water, strained, and left to ferment. It is also
prepared from wheat and from millet in the same manner. The account of

Herodotus has been confirmed by the discovery of large jars, containing the
dregs of the barley-beer in ancient tombs at Thebes.
Note 52.—On the Apparel, &c., of Mourning. The wearing of mourning
appears to have been a custom of both sexes among the Arabs in earlier
times, for the black clothing which distinguished the 'Abbásee Khaleefehs
and their officers was originally assumed in testimony of grief for the death
of the Imám Ibráheem Ibn-Moḥammad. It has, however, ceased to be worn
by men, as indicating a want of resignation to the decrees of Providence,
and is only assumed by women on the occasion of the death of a husband or
near relation, and not for an elderly person. In the former cases they dye
their shirts, head-veils, face-veils, and handkerchiefs, of a blue or almost
black colour, with indigo; and sometimes, with the same dye, stain their
hands and arms as high as the elbows, and smear the walls of their
apartments. They generally abstain from wearing any article of dress of a
bright colour, leave their hair unbraided, and deck themselves with few or
no ornaments. They also cease to make use of perfumes, koḥl, and ḥennà;
and often turn upside-down the carpets, mats, cushions, and coverings of
the deewáns.
Note 53. "Houses of Lamentations," erected in burial-grounds for the
accommodation of ladies on the occasions of their visiting the tombs of
their relations, have been mentioned in a former note respecting the two
grand annual festivals.
Note 54. The kind of tomb here alluded to is generally a square building
crowned by a dome.
Note 55. This passage deserves particular notice, as being one of those
which assist us to form some opinion respecting the period when the
present work, in the states in which it is known to us, was composed or
compiled or remodelled. It is the same in all the copies of the original work
that I have seen, and bears strong evidence of having been written
subsequently to the commencement of the eighth century of the Flight, or
fourteenth of our era, at which period, it appears, the Christians and Jews
were first compelled to distinguish themselves by wearing, respectively,
blue and yellow turbans, in accordance with an order issued by the Sultán
of Egypt, Moḥammad Ibn-Kala-oon.174 Thus the white turban became

peculiar to the Muslims.—An eminent German critic has been unfortunate
in selecting the incident of the four fish as affording an argument in favour
of his opinion that the Tales of a Thousand and One Nights are of Indian
origin, on the mere ground that the same word (varna) is used in Sanscrit to
signify both "colour" and "caste."
Note 56. The Muslims often implore the intercession of their prophet, and
of various members of his family and other holy persons, though their
ordinary prayers are addressed solely to God. The regard which they pay to
their reputed saints, both living and deceased, as mediators, is one of the
heresies which the Wahhábees most vehemently condemn.
Note 57. This verse, translated from my usual prototype, the Cairo edition,
is there followed by another, which I omit as being inapposite.
Note 58. In the first of the notes to the Introduction, I have mentioned that
it is a general custom of the Muslims to repeat this phrase, "In the name of
God!" on commencing every lawful action that is of any importance; it is,
therefore, here employed, as it is in many similar cases, to express a
readiness to do what is commanded or requested; and is equivalent to
saying, "I this instant begin to execute thy orders."
Note 59. The condition and offices of memlooks, who are male white
slaves, have been mentioned in the thirteenth note to the first chapter.
Note 60. Eastern histories present numerous instances of marriages as
unequal as those here related; the reader, therefore, must not regard this part
of the story as inconsistent.

150 Sale's Korán, note to chap. xxxviii.
151 El-Maḳreezee's "Khiṭaṭ;" chapter entitled "Khizánet el-Kisawát."
152 Fakhr-ed-Deen, in De Sacy's Chrestomathie Arabe, vol. i. p. 32 of the Arabic text, 2nd
ed.
153 Idem, p. 4 of the Arabic text.
154 D'Herbelot, art. "Bokhteri."
155 Ḥalbet el-Kumeyt, chapter the seventh (MS. in my possession).
156 Ḥalbet el-Kumeyt, chapter the eighth.

157 Idem, chapter the seventh.
158 A recent traveller has questioned Mr. Lane's authority, in the "Modern Egyptians," for
the remark that Muslims should not pray in the bath. A reference to any well-known
collection of traditions of the Prophet will, however, prove, by many sayings besides that
quoted above, that Mr. Lane is in this matter strictly accurate—Ed.
159 Nuzhet el-Mutaämmil, &c., section the seventh.
160 A pious Muslim generally sits at his meals with the right knee raised, after the example
of the Prophet, who adopted this custom in order to avoid too comfortable a posture in
eating, as tempting to unnecessary gratification.—Ed.
161 Pp. 180—182, ed. Oxon. 1800.
162 See Esther vi. 8 and 9.
163 El-Maḳreezee's "Khiṭaṭ," and El-Is-ḥáḳee.
164 El-Is-ḥáḳee; reign of the Khaleefeh El-Musta'een, the son of El-Moạtaṣim.
165 Sketches of Persia, vol. i. ch. v. [Mr. Lane has written some of the Oriental words in
this extract according to his own mode.—Ed.]
166 Notes on the Bedouins and Wahábys, vol. i. pp. 220 et seq. 8vo. ed.
167 A more full account of this custom is given in my work on the Modern Egyptians, vol.
i. ch. l.
168 Notes on the Bedouins and Wahábys, vol. i. p. 232, 8vo. ed.
169 Kitáb el-'Onwán fee Mekáïd en-Niswán.
170 Ch. xxiv. vv. 27-29.
171 See "Modern Egyptians," vol. ii., close of chap, ix.—Since this was written, I have
found that El-Idreesee applies the term "Ḥasheesheeyeh," which is exactly synonymous
with "Ḥashshásheen," to the "Assassins:" this, therefore, decides the question.
172 Lib. i. cap. 10.
173 Lib. ii. cap. 77.
174 El-Maḳreezee and El-Is-ḥáḳee.

CHAPTER III.
COMMENCING WITH PART OF THE NINTH NIGHT, AND ENDING WITH PART OF THE
EIGHTEENTH.

THE STORY OF THE PORTER AND THE LADIES OF BAGHDÁD, AND OF
THE THREE ROYAL MENDICANTS, &c.

There was a man of the city of Baghdád, who was unmarried, and he was a
porter; and one day, as he sat in the market, reclining against his crate,1
there accosted him a female wrapped in an izár2 of the manufacture of El-
Móṣil,3 composed of gold-embroidered silk, with a border of gold lace at
each end, who raised her face-veil, and displayed beneath it a pair of black
eyes, with lids bordered by long lashes, exhibiting a tender expression, and

features of perfect beauty; and she said, with a sweet voice, Bring thy crate,
and follow me.
The porter had scarcely heard her words when he took up his crate, and he
followed her until she stopped at the door of a house, and knocked;
whereupon there came down to her a Christian, and she gave him a piece of
gold, and received for it a quantity of olives, and two large vessels of wine,4
which she placed in the crate, saying to the porter, Take it up, and follow
me. The porter exclaimed, This is, indeed, a fortunate day!—and he took up
the crate, and followed her. She next stopped at the shop of a fruiterer, and
bought of him Syrian apples, and 'Othmánee quinces,5 and peaches of
'Omán, and jasmine of Aleppo, and water-lilies of Damascus, and
cucumbers of the Nile, and Egyptian limes, and Sulṭánee citrons, and sweet-
scented myrtle, and sprigs of the ḥennà-tree, and chamomile, and
anemones, and violets, and pomegranate flowers, and eglantine: all these
she put into the porter's crate, and said to him, Take it up. So he took it up,
and followed her until she stopped at the shop of a butcher, to whom she
said, Cut off ten pounds of meat;—and he cut it off for her, and she
wrapped it in a leaf of a banana-tree, and put it in the crate, and said again,
Take it up, O porter:—and he did so, and followed her. She next stopped at
the shop of a seller of dry fruits, and took some of every kind of these, and
desired the porter to take up his burden. Having obeyed, he followed her
until she stopped at the shop of a confectioner, where she bought a dish, and
filled it with sweets of every kind that he had,6 which she put into the crate;
whereupon the porter ventured to say, If thou hadst informed me
beforehand, I had brought with me a mule to carry all these things. The lady
smiled at his remark, and next stopped at the shop of a perfumer, of whom
she bought ten kinds of scented waters; rose-water, and orange-flower-
water, and willow-flower-water,7 &c.; together with some sugar, and a
sprinkling-bottle8 of rose-water infused with musk, and some frankincense,
and aloes-wood, and ambergris, and musk, and wax candles; and, placing
all these in the crate, she said, Take up thy crate, and follow me. He,
therefore, took it up, and followed her until she came to a handsome house,
before which was a spacious court. It was a lofty structure, with a door of
two leaves, composed of ebony, overlaid with plates of red gold.9
The young lady stopped at this door, and knocked gently; whereupon both
its leaves were opened, and the porter, looking to see who opened it, found

it to be a damsel of tall stature, high-bosomed, fair and beautiful, and of
elegant form, with a forehead like the bright new moon, eyes like those of
gazelles, eyebrows like the new moon of Ramaḍán,10 cheeks resembling
anemones, and a mouth like the seal of Suleymán:11 her countenance was
like the full moon in its splendour, and the forms of her bosom resembled
two pomegranates of equal size. When the porter beheld her, she captivated
his reason, the crate nearly fell from his head, and he exclaimed, Never in
my life have I seen a more fortunate day than this! The lady-portress,
standing within the door, said to the cateress and the porter, Ye are
welcome:—and they entered, and proceeded to a spacious saloon,12
decorated with various colours, and beautifully constructed, with carved
wood-work, and fountains, and benches of different kinds, and closets with
curtains hanging before them; there was also in it, at the upper end,13 a
couch of alabaster inlaid with large pearls and jewels, with a musquito-
curtain of red satin suspended over it, and within this was a young lady with
eyes possessing the enchantment of Bábil,14 and a figure like the letter Alif,15
with a face that put to shame the shining sun: she was like one of the
brilliant planets, or rather, one of the most high-born of the maidens of
Arabia. This third lady,16 rising from the couch, advanced with a slow and
elegant gait to the middle of the saloon, where her sisters were standing,
and said to them, Why stand ye still? Lift down the burden from the head of
this poor porter:—whereupon the cateress placed herself before him, and
the portress behind him, and, the third lady assisting them, they lifted it
down from his head. They then took out the contents of the crate, and,
having put every thing in its place, gave to the porter two pieces of gold,
saying to him, Depart, O porter.
The porter, however, stood looking at the ladies, and admiring their beauty
and their agreeable dispositions; for he had never seen any more handsome;
and when he observed that they had not a man among them, and gazed upon
the wine, and fruits, and sweet-scented flowers, which were there, he was
full of astonishment, and hesitated to go out; upon which one of the ladies
said to him, Why dost thou not go? dost thou deem thy hire too little? Then
turning to one of her sisters, she said to her, Give him another piece of gold.
—By Allah, O my mistress, exclaimed the porter, my hire is but two half-
dirhems,17 and I thought not what ye have given me too little; but my heart
and mind were occupied with reflections upon you and your state, ye being

alone, with no man among you, not one to amuse you with his company; for
ye know that the menáreh18 standeth not firmly but on four walls: now ye
have not a fourth, and the pleasure of women is not complete without men:
ye are three only, and have need of a fourth, who should be a man, a person
of sense, discreet, acute, and a concealer of secrets. We are maidens, they
replied; and fear to impart our secret to him who will not keep it; for we
have read, in a certain history, this verse:—
Guard thy secret from another: intrust it not: for he who intrusteth a secret hath lost it.

—By your existence, said the porter, I am a man of sense, and trustworthy: I
have read various books, and perused histories: I make known what is fair,
and conceal what is foul, and act in accordance with the saying of the poet:
—
None keepeth a secret but a faithful person: with the best of mankind it remaineth
concealed.
A secret is with me as in a house with a lock, whose key is lost, and whose door is
sealed.19

When the ladies heard the verses which he quoted, and the words with
which he addressed them, they said to him, Thou knowest that we have
expended here a considerable sum of money: hast thou then wherewith to
requite us? We will not suffer thee to remain with us unless thou contribute
a sum of money; for thou desirest to sit with us, and to be our cup-
companion, and to gaze upon our beautiful faces.—If friendship is without
money, said the mistress of the house, it is not equivalent to the weight of a
grain:—and the portress added, If thou hast nothing, depart with nothing:—
but the cateress said, O sister, let us suffer him; for, verily, he hath not been
deficient in his services for us this day: another had not been so patient with
us: whatever, therefore, falls to his share of the expense, I will defray for
him.—At this the porter rejoiced, and exclaimed, By Allah, I obtained my
first and only pay this day from none but thee:—and the other ladies said to
him, Sit down: thou art welcome.
The cateress then arose, and, having tightened her girdle, arranged the
bottles, and strained the wine, and prepared the table by the pool of the
fountain. She made ready all that they required, brought the wine, and sat
down with her sisters; the porter also sitting with them, thinking he was in a
dream. And when they had seated themselves, the cateress took a jar of
wine, and filled the first cup, and drank it:20 she then filled another, and
handed it to one of her sisters; and in like manner she did to her other sister;
after which she filled again, and handed the cup to the porter, who, having
taken it from her hand, repeated this verse:—
I will drink the wine, and enjoy health; for, verily, this beverage is a remedy for
disease.

The wine continued to circulate among them, and the porter, taking his part
in the revels, dancing and singing with them, and enjoying the fragrant
odours, began to hug and kiss them, while one slapped21 him, and another
pulled him, and the third beat him with sweet-scented flowers, till, at
length, the wine made sport with their reason; and they threw off all
restraint, indulging their merriment with as much freedom as if no man had
been present.22
Thus they continued until the approach of night, when they said to the
porter, Depart, and shew us the breadth of thy shoulders;23—but he replied,
Verily the departure of my soul from my body were more easy to me than
my departure from your company; therefore suffer us to join the night to the
day, and then each of us shall return to his own, or her own, affairs. The
cateress, also, again interceded for him, saying, By my life I conjure you
that ye suffer him to pass the night with us, that we may laugh at his
drolleries, for he is a witty rogue. So they said to him, Thou shalt pass the
night with us on this condition, that thou submit to our authority, and ask
not an explanation of anything that thou shalt see. He replied, Good.—Rise
then, said they, and read what is inscribed upon the door. Accordingly, he
went to the door, and found the following inscription upon it in letters of
gold, Speak not of that which doth not concern thee, lest thou hear that

which will not please thee:—and he said, Bear witness to my promise that I
will not speak of that which doth not concern me.

The cateress then rose, and prepared for them a repast; and, after they had
eaten a little, they lighted the candles and burnt some aloes-wood. This
done, they sat down again to the table; and, while they were eating and
drinking, they heard a knocking at the door; whereupon, without causing
any interruption to their meal, one of them went to the door, and, on her
return, said, Our pleasure this night is now complete, for I have found, at
the door, three foreigners24 with shaven chins, and each of them is blind of

the left eye: it is an extraordinary coincidence. They are strangers newly
arrived,25 and each of them has a ridiculous appearance: if they come in,
therefore, we shall be amused with laughing at them.—The lady ceased not
with these words, but continued to persuade her sisters until they consented,
and said, Let them enter; but make it a condition with them that they speak
not of that which doth not concern them, lest they hear that which will not
please them. Upon this she rejoiced, and, having gone again to the door,
brought in the three men blind of one eye and with shaven chins, and they
had thin and twisted mustaches. Being mendicants, they saluted and drew
back; but the ladies rose to them, and seated them; and when these three
men looked at the porter, they saw that he was intoxicated; and, observing
him narrowly, they thought that he was one of their own class, and said, He
is a mendicant like ourselves, and will amuse us by his conversation:—but
the porter, hearing what they said, arose, and rolled his eyes, and exclaimed
to them, Sit quiet, and abstain from impertinent remarks. Have ye not read
the inscription upon the door?—The ladies, laughing, said to each other,
Between the mendicants and the porter we shall find matter for amusement.
They then placed before the former some food, and they ate, and then sat to
drink. The portress handed to them the wine, and, as the cup was circulating
among them, the porter said to them, Brothers, have ye any tale or strange
anecdote wherewith to amuse us? The mendicants, heated by the wine,
asked for musical instruments; and the portress brought them a tambourine
of the manufacture of El-Móṣil, with a lute of El-'Eráḳ, and a Persian harp;26
whereupon they all arose; and one took the tambourine; another, the lute;
and the third, the harp: and they played upon these instruments, the ladies
accompanying them with loud songs; and while they were thus diverting
themselves, a person knocked at the door. The portress, therefore, went to
see who was there; and the cause of the knocking was this.

The Khaleefeh27 Hároon Er-Rasheed had gone forth this night to see and
hear what news he could collect, accompanied by Jaạfar28 his Wezeer, and
Mesroor29 his executioner. It was his custom to disguise himself in the attire
of a merchant; and this night, as he went through the city, he happened to
pass, with his attendants, by the house of these ladies, and hearing the
sounds of the musical instruments, he said to Jaạfar, I have a desire to enter
this house, and to see who is giving this concert.—They are a party who
have become intoxicated, replied Jaạfar, and I fear that we may experience
some ill usage from them;—but the Khaleefeh said, We must enter, and I
would that thou devise some stratagem by which we may obtain admission
to the inmates. Jaạfar therefore answered, I hear and obey:—and he
advanced, and knocked at the door; and when the portress came and opened
the door, he said to her, My mistress, we are merchants from Tabareeyeh,30
and have been in Baghdád ten days; we have brought with us merchandise,
and taken lodgings in a Khán;31 and a merchant invited us to an
entertainment this night: accordingly, we went to his house, and he placed
food before us, and we ate, and sat awhile drinking together, after which he

gave us leave to depart;32 and going out in the dark, and being strangers, we
missed our way to the Khán: we trust, therefore, in your generosity that you
will admit us to pass the night in your house; by doing which you will
obtain a reward in heaven.—The portress, looking at them, and observing
that they were in the garb of merchants, and that they bore an appearance of
respectability, returned, and consulted her two companions; and they said to
her, Admit them:—so she returned, and opened to them the door. They said
to her, Shall we enter with thy permission? She answered, Come in. The
Khaleefeh, therefore, entered, with Jaạfar and Mesroor; and when the ladies
saw them, they rose to them, and served them, saying, Welcome are our
guests; but we have a condition to impose upon you, that ye speak not of
that which doth not concern you, lest ye hear that which will not please you.
They answered, Good:—and when they had sat down to drink, the
Khaleefeh looked at the three mendicants, and was surprised at observing
that each of them was blind of the left eye; and he gazed upon the ladies,
and was perplexed and amazed at their fairness and beauty. And when the
others proceeded to drink and converse, the ladies brought wine to the
Khaleefeh; but he said, I am a pilgrim;33—and drew back from them.
Whereupon the portress spread before him an embroidered cloth, and
placed upon it a China bottle, into which she poured some willow-flower-
water, adding to it a lump of ice, and sweetening it with sugar, while the
Khaleefeh thanked her, and said within himself, To-morrow I must reward
her for this kind action.
The party continued their carousal, and, when the wine took effect upon
them, the mistress of the house arose, and waited upon them; and
afterwards, taking the hand of the cateress, said, Arise, O my sister, that we
may fulfil our debt. She replied, Good. The portress then rose, and, after she
had cleared the middle of the saloon, placed the mendicants at the further
end, beyond the doors; after which, the ladies called to the porter, saying,
How slight is thy friendship! thou art not a stranger, but one of the family.
So the porter arose, and girded himself, and said, What would ye?—to
which one of the ladies answered, Stand where thou art:—and presently the
cateress said to him, Assist me:—and he saw two black bitches, with chains
attached to their necks, and drew them to the middle of the saloon;
whereupon the mistress of the house arose from her place, and tucked up
her sleeve above her wrist, and, taking a whip, said to the porter, Bring to

me one of them. Accordingly, he dragged one forward by the chain. The
bitch whined, and shook her head at the lady; but the latter fell to beating
her upon the head, notwithstanding her howling, until her arms were tired,
when she threw the whip from her hand, and pressed the bitch to her
bosom, and wiped away her tears, and kissed her head; after which she said
to the porter, Take her back, and bring the other;—and he brought her, and
she did to her as she had done to the first. At the sight of this, the mind of
the Khaleefeh was troubled, and his heart was contracted, and he winked to
Jaạfar that he should ask her the reason; but he replied by a sign, Speak not.

The mistress of the house then looked towards the portress, and said to her,
Arise to perform what thou hast to do. She replied, Good:—and the mistress
of the house seated herself upon a couch of alabaster, overlaid with gold
and silver, and said to the portress and the cateress, Now perform your
parts. The portress then seated herself upon a couch by her; and the
cateress, having entered a closet, brought out from it a bag of satin with
green fringes, and, placing herself before the lady of the house, shook it,
and took out from it a lute; and she tuned its strings, and sang to it these
verses:—
Restore to my eyelids the sleep which hath been ravished; and inform me of my
reason, whither it hath fled.
I discovered, when I took up my abode with love, that slumber had become an enemy
to my eyes.
They said, We saw thee to be one of the upright; what, then, hath seduced thee? I
answered, Seek the cause from his glance.
Verily I excuse him for the shedding of my blood, admitting that I urged him to the
deed by vexation.
He cast his sun-like image upon the mirror of my mind, and its reflection kindled a
flame in my vitals.34

When the portress35 had heard this song, she exclaimed, Allah approve thee!
—and she rent her clothes, and fell upon the floor in a swoon; and when her
bosom was thus uncovered, the Khaleefeh saw upon her the marks of
beating, as if from miḳra'ahs36 and whips; at which he was greatly surprised.
The cateress37 immediately arose, sprinkled water upon her face, and
brought her another dress, which she put on. The Khaleefeh then said to
Jaạfar, Seest thou not this woman, and the marks of beating upon her? I

cannot keep silence respecting this affair, nor be at rest, until I know the
truth of the history of this damsel, and that of these two bitches. But Jaạfar
replied, O our lord, they have made a covenant with us that we shall not
speak excepting of that which concerneth us, lest we hear that which will
not please us.—The cateress then took the lute again, and, placing it against
her bosom, touched the chords with the ends of her fingers, and thus sang to
it:—

If of love we complain, what shall we say? Or consuming through desire, how can we
escape?
Or if we send a messenger to interpret for us, he cannot convey the lover's complaint.
Or if we would be patient, short were our existence after the loss of those we love.
Nought remaineth to us but grief and mourning, and tears streaming down our cheeks.
O you who are absent from my sight, but constantly dwelling within my heart!
Have you kept your faith to an impassioned lover, who, while time endureth, will
never change?
Or, in absence, have you forgotten that lover who, on your account, is wasting away?
When the day of judgment shall bring us together, I will beg of our Lord a protractive
trial.38

On hearing these verses of the cateress, the portress again rent her clothes,
and cried out, and fell upon the floor in a swoon; and the cateress, as before,
put on her another dress, after she had sprinkled some water upon her face.39
The mendicants, when they witnessed this scene, said, Would that we had
never entered this house, but rather had passed the night upon the mounds;40
for our night hath been rendered foul by an event that breaketh the back!
The Khaleefeh, looking towards them, then said, Wherefore is it so with
you? They answered, Our hearts are troubled by this occurrence.—Are ye
not, he asked, of this house?—No, they answered; nor did we imagine that
this house belonged to any but the man who is sitting with you:—upon
which the porter said, Verily, I have never seen this place before this night;
and I would that I had passed the night upon the mounds rather than here.
They then observed, one to another, We are seven men, and they are but
three women; we will, therefore, ask them of their history; and if they
answer us not willingly they shall do it in spite of themselves:—and they all
agreed to this, excepting Jaạfar, who said, This is not a right determination;
leave them to themselves, for we are their guests, and they made a covenant
with us which we should fulfil: there remaineth but little of the night, and
each of us shall soon go his way. Then, winking to the Khaleefeh, he said,
There remaineth but an hour; and to-morrow we will bring them before
thee, and thou shalt ask them their story. But the Khaleefeh refused to do so,
and said, I have not patience to wait so long for their history.—Words
followed words, and at last they said, Who shall put the question to them?
—and one answered, The porter.

The ladies then said to them, O people, of what are ye talking?—whereupon
the porter approached the mistress of the house, and said to her, O my
mistress, I ask thee, and conjure thee by Allah, to tell us the story of the two
bitches, and for what reason thou didst beat them, and then didst weep, and
kiss them, and that thou acquaint us with the cause of thy sister's having
been beaten with miḳra'ahs: that is our question, and peace be on you.—Is
this true that he saith of you? inquired the lady, of the other men; and they
all answered, Yes,—excepting Jaạfar, who was silent. When the lady heard
their answer, she said, Verily, O our guests, ye have wronged us
excessively; for we made a covenant with you beforehand, that he who
should speak of that which concerned him not should hear that which would
not please him. Is it not enough that we have admitted you into our house,
and fed you with our provisions? But it is not so much your fault as the
fault of her who introduced you to us.—She then tucked up her sleeve
above her wrist, and struck the floor three times, saying, Come ye quickly!
—and immediately the door of a closet opened, and there came forth from it
seven black slaves, each having in his hand a drawn sword. The lady said to
them, Tie behind them the hands of these men of many words, and bind
each of them to another:—and they did so, and said, O virtuous lady, dost

thou permit us to strike off their heads? She answered, Give them a short
respite, until I shall have inquired of them their histories, before ye behead
them.—By Allah, O my mistress, exclaimed the porter, kill me not for the
offence of others: for they have all transgressed and committed an offence,
excepting me. Verily our night had been pleasant if we had been preserved
from these mendicants, whose presence is enough to convert a well-peopled
city into a heap of ruins!—He then repeated this couplet:—
How good is it to pardon one able to resist! and how much more so, one who is
helpless!
For the sake of the friendship that subsisted between us, destroy not one for the crime
of another!

On hearing these words of the porter, the lady laughed after her anger. Then
approaching the men, she said, Acquaint me with your histories, for there
remaineth of your lives no more than an hour. Were ye not persons of
honourable and high condition, or governors,41 I would hasten your
recompense.—The Khaleefeh said to Jaạfar, Wo to thee, O Jaạfar! make
known to her who we are; otherwise she will kill us.—It were what we
deserve, replied he.—Jesting, said the Khaleefeh, is not befitting in a time
for seriousness: each has its proper occasion.—The lady then approached
the mendicants, and said to them, Are ye brothers? They answered, No,
indeed; we are only poor foreigners.42 She said then to one of them, Wast
thou born blind of one eye?—No, verily, he answered; but a wonderful
event happened to me when my eye was destroyed, and the story of it, if
engraved on the understanding, would serve as a lesson to him who would
be admonished. She asked the second and the third also; and they answered
her as the first; adding, Each of us is from a different country, and our
history is wonderful and extraordinary. The lady then looked towards them
and said, Each of you shall relate his story, and the cause of his coming to
our abode, and then stroke his head,43 and go his way.
The first who advanced was the porter, who said, O my mistress, I am a
porter; and this cateress loaded me, and brought me hither, and what hath
happened to me here in your company ye know. This is my story; and peace
be on you.—Stroke thy head, then, said she, and go:—but he replied, By
Allah, I will not go until I shall have heard the story of my companions.—
The first mendicant then advanced, and related as follows:—

THE STORY OF THE FIRST ROYAL MENDICANT.

Know, O my mistress, that the cause of my having shaved my beard, and of
the loss of my eye was this:—My father was a King, and he had a brother
who was also a King, and who resided in another capital. It happened that
my mother gave birth to me on the same day on which the son of my uncle
was born; and years and days passed away until we attained to manhood.
Now, it was my custom, some years, to visit my uncle, and to remain with
him several months; and on one of these occasions my cousin paid me great
honour; he slaughtered sheep for me, and strained the wine for me, and we
sat down to drink; and when the wine had affected us, he said to me, O son
of my uncle, I have need of thine assistance in an affair of interest to me,
and I beg that thou wilt not oppose me in that which I desire to do. I replied,
I am altogether at thy service:—and he made me swear to him by great
oaths, and, rising immediately, absented himself for a little while, and then
returned, followed by a woman decked with ornaments, and perfumed, and
wearing a dress of extraordinary value. He looked towards me, while the
woman stood behind him, and said, Take this woman, and go before me to
the burial-ground which is in such a place:—and he described it to me, and
I knew it. He then added, Enter the burial-ground, and there wait for me.
I could not oppose him, nor refuse to comply with his request, on account
of the oaths which I had sworn to him; so I took the woman, and went with
her to the burial-ground; and when we had sat there a short time, my cousin
came, bearing a basin of water, and a bag containing some plaster, and a
small adze. Going to a tomb in the midst of the burial-ground, he took the
adze, and disunited the stones, which he placed on one side; he then dug up
the earth with the adze, and uncovered a flat stone, of the size of a small
door, under which there appeared a vaulted staircase. Having done this he
made a sign to the woman, and said to her, Do according to thy choice:—
whereupon she descended the stairs. He then looked towards me, and said,
O son of my uncle, complete thy kindness when I have descended into this
place, by replacing the trap-door and the earth above it as they were before:
then, this plaster which is in the bag, and this water which is in the basin, do
thou knead together, and plaster the stones of the tomb as they were, so that
no man may know it, and say, This hath been lately opened, but its interior
is old:—for, during the space of a whole year I have been preparing this,
and no one knew it but God: this is what I would have thee do. He then said

to me, May God never deprive thy friends of thy presence, O son of my
uncle!—and, having uttered these words, he descended the stairs.

When he had disappeared from before my eyes, I replaced the trap-door,
and busied myself with doing as he had ordered me, until the tomb was
restored to the state in which it was at first; after which I returned to the
palace of my uncle, who was then absent on a hunting excursion. I slept that
night, and when the morning came, I reflected upon what had occurred
between me and my cousin, and repented of what I had done for him, when
repentance was of no avail. I then went out to the burial-ground, and
searched for the tomb; but could not discover it. I ceased not in my search
until the approach of night; and, not finding the way to it, returned again to

the palace; and I neither ate nor drank: my heart was troubled respecting my
cousin, since I knew not what had become of him; and I fell into excessive
grief. I passed the night sorrowful until the morning, and went again to the
burial-ground, reflecting upon the action of my cousin, and repenting of my
compliance with his request; and I searched among all the tombs; but
discovered not that for which I looked. Thus I persevered in my search
seven days without success.44
My trouble continued and increased until I was almost mad; and I found no
relief but in departing, and returning to my father; but on my arrival at his
capital, a party at the city-gate sprang upon me and bound me. I was struck
with the utmost astonishment, considering that I was the son of the Sulṭán
of the city, and that these were the servants of my father and of myself:
excessive fear of them overcame me, and I said within myself, What hath
happened to my father? I asked, of those who had bound me, the cause of
this conduct; but they returned me no answer, till after a while, when one of
them, who had been my servant, said to me, Fortune hath betrayed thy
father, the troops have been false to him, and the Wezeer hath killed him;
and we were lying in wait to take thee.—They took me, and I was as one
dead, by reason of this news which I had heard respecting my father; and I
stood before the Wezeer who had killed my father.
Now, there was an old enmity subsisting between me and him; and the
cause of it was this:—I was fond of shooting with the cross-bow; and it
happened, one day, that as I was standing on the roof of my palace, a bird
alighted on the roof of the palace of the Wezeer, who was standing there at
the time, and I aimed at the bird; but the bullet missed it, and struck the eye
of the Wezeer, and knocked it out, in accordance with the appointment of
fate and destiny, as the poet hath said:—
We trod the steps appointed for us: and the man whose steps are appointed must tread
them.
He whose death is decreed to take place in one land will not die in any land but that.

When I had thus put out the eye of the Wezeer, he could say nothing,
because my father was King of the city. This was the cause of the enmity
between him and me: and when I stood before him, with my hands bound
behind me, he gave the order to strike off my head. I said to him, Wouldst
thou kill me for no offence?—What offence, he exclaimed, could be greater

than this?—and he pointed to the place of the eye which was put out. I did
that, said I, unintentionally. He replied, If thou didst it unintentionally, I will
do the same to thee purposely:—and immediately he said, Bring him
forward to me:—and, when they had done so, he thrust his finger into my
left eye, and pulled it out. Thus I became deprived of one eye, as ye see me.
He then bound me firmly, and placed me in a chest, and said to the
executioner, Take this fellow, and draw thy sword, and convey him without
the city; then put him to death, and let the wild beasts devour him.
Accordingly, he went forth with me from the city, and, having taken me out
from the chest, bound hand and foot, was about to bandage my eye, and kill
me; whereupon I wept, and exclaimed,—
How many brothers have I taken as armour! and such they were; but to guard my
enemies.
I thought they would be as piercing arrows: and such they were; but to enter my heart!

The executioner, who had served my father in the same capacity, and to
whom I had shewn kindnesses, said, on hearing these verses, O my master,
what can I do, being a slave under command?—but presently he added,
Depart with thy life, and return not to this country, lest thou perish, and
cause me to perish with thee. The poet saith,—
Flee with thy life if thou fearest oppression, and leave the house to tell its builder's
fate.
Thou wilt find, for the land that thou quittest, another: but no soul wilt thou find to
replace thine own.

As soon as he had thus said, I kissed his hands, and believed not in my
safety until I had fled from his presence. The loss of my eye appeared light
to me when I considered my escape from death; and I journeyed to my
uncle's capital, and, presenting myself before him, informed him of what
had befallen my father, and of the manner in which I had lost my eye: upon
which he wept bitterly, and said, Thou hast added to my trouble and my
grief; for thy cousin hath been lost for some days, and I know not what hath
happened to him, nor can any one give me information respecting him.
Then he wept again, until he became insensible; and when he recovered, he
said, O my son, the loss of thine eye is better than the loss of thy life.
Upon this I could no longer keep silence respecting his son, my cousin; so I
informed him of all that happened to him; and on hearing this news he

rejoiced exceedingly, and said, Shew me the tomb.—By Allah, O my uncle,
I replied, I know not where it is; for I went afterwards several times to
search for it, and could not recognise its place. We, however, went together
to the burial-ground, and, looking to the right and left, I discovered it; and
both I and my uncle rejoiced. I then entered the tomb with him, and when
we had removed the earth, and lifted up the trap-door, we descended fifty
steps, and, arriving at the bottom of the stairs, there issued forth upon us a
smoke which blinded our eyes; whereupon my uncle pronounced those
words which relieve from fear him who uttereth them,—There is no
strength nor power but in God, the High, the Great!—After this, we
proceeded, and found ourselves in a saloon, filled with flour and grain, and
various eatables; and we saw there a curtain suspended over a couch, upon
which my uncle looked, and found there his son and the woman who had
descended with him, lying side by side, and converted into black charcoal,
as if they had been thrown into a pit of fire. And when he beheld this
spectacle, he spat in his son's face, and exclaimed, This is what thou
deservest, O thou wretch! This is the punishment of the present world, and
there remaineth the punishment of the other world, which will be more
severe and lasting!—and he struck him with his shoes. Astonished at this
action, and grieved for my cousin, seeing him and the damsel thus
converted into charcoal, I said, By Allah, O my uncle, moderate the trouble
of thy heart, for my mind is perplexed by that which hath happened to thy
son, and by thinking how it hath come to pass that he and the damsel are
converted into black charcoal. Dost thou not deem it enough for him to be
in this state, that thou beatest him with thy shoes?
O son of my brother, he replied, this my son was, from his early years,
inflamed with love for his foster-sister,45 and I used to forbid him from
entertaining this passion for her, and to say within myself, They are now
children, but when they grow older a base act will be committed by them:—
and, indeed, I heard that such had been the case, but I believed it not. I,
however, reprimanded him severely, and said to him, Beware of so foul an
action, which none before thee hath committed, nor will any commit after
thee: otherwise we shall suffer disgrace and disparagement among the
Kings until we die, and our history will spread abroad with the caravans:
have a care for thyself that such an action proceed not from thee; for I
should be incensed against thee, and kill thee. I then separated him from

her, and her from him: but the vile woman loved him excessively; the Devil
got possession of them both; and when my son saw that I had separated
him, he secretly made this place beneath the earth, and, having conveyed
hither the provisions which thou seest, took advantage of my inadvertence
when I had gone out to hunt, and came hither: but the Truth46 (whose
perfection be extolled, and whose name be exalted!) was jealously vigilant
over them, and consumed them by fire; and the punishment of the world to
come will be more severe and lasting.—He then wept, and I wept with him;
and he said to me, Thou art my son in his stead.—I remained a while
reflecting upon the world and its vicissitudes, upon the murder of my father
by the Wezeer, and his usurping his throne, and the loss of my eye, and the
strange events which had happened to my cousin, and I wept again.
We then ascended, and, having replaced the trap-door and the earth above
it, and restored the tomb to its former state, returned to our abode; but
scarcely had we seated ourselves when we heard the sounds of drums and
trumpets, warriours galloped about, and the air was filled with dust raised
by the horses' hoofs. Our minds were perplexed, not knowing what had
happened, and the King, asking the news, was answered, The Wezeer of thy
brother hath slain him and his soldiers and guards, and come with his army
to assault the city unawares; and the inhabitants, being unable to withstand,
have submitted to him:—whereupon I said within myself, If I fall into his
hand, he will slay me.—Griefs overwhelmed me, and I thought of the
calamities which had befallen my father and my mother, and knew not what
to do; for if I appeared, the people of the city would know me, and the
troops of my father would hasten to kill and destroy me. I knew no way of
escape but to shave off my beard:47 so I shaved it, and, having changed my
clothes, departed from the city, and came hither, to this abode of peace, in
the hope that some person would introduce me to the Prince of the Faithful,
the Khaleefeh of the Lord of all creatures, that I might relate to him my
story, and all that had befallen me. I arrived in this city this night; and as I
stood perplexed, not knowing whither to direct my steps, I saw this
mendicant, and saluted him, and said, I am a stranger. He replied, And I,
too, am a stranger:—and while we were thus addressing each other, our
companion, this third person, came up to us, and saluting us, said, I am a
stranger. We replied, And we, also, are strangers. So we walked on together,

and darkness overtook us, and destiny directed us unto your abode.—This
was the cause of the shaving of my beard, and of the loss of my eye.
The lady then said to him, Stroke my head, and depart:—but he replied, I
will not depart until I have heard the stories of the others. And they
wondered at his tale; and the Khaleefeh said to Jaạfar, Verily I have never
known the like of that which hath happened to this mendicant.
The second mendicant then advanced, and, having kissed the ground, said,
—

THE STORY OF THE SECOND ROYAL MENDICANT.

O my mistress, I was not born with only one eye; but my story is wonderful,
and, if written, would serve as a lesson to him who would be admonished. I
am a King, and son of a King: I read the Ḳurán according to the seven
readings,48 and perused various works under the tuition of different learned
professors of their subjects: I studied the science of the stars,49 and the
writings of the poets, and made myself a proficient in all the sciences; so
that I surpassed the people of my age. My hand-writing50 was extolled
among all the scribes, my fame spread among all countries, and my history
among all Kings; and the King of India, hearing of me, requested my father
to allow me to visit him, sending him various gifts and curious presents,
such as were suitable to Kings. My father, therefore, prepared for me six
ships, and we proceeded by sea for the space of a whole month, after which
we came to land; and, having disembarked some horses which we had with
us in the ship, we loaded ten camels with presents, and commenced our
journey; but soon there appeared a cloud of dust, which rose and spread
until it filled the air before us, and, after a while, cleared a little, and
discovered to us, in the midst of it, sixty horseman like fierce lions whom
we perceived to be Arab highwaymen; and when they saw us, that we were
a small company with ten loads of presents for the King of India, they
galloped towards us, pointing their spears at us. We made signs to them
with our fingers, and said, We are ambassadors to the honoured King of
India; therefore do us no injury:—but they replied, We are not in his
territories, nor under his government. They slew certain of the young men,
and the rest fled. I also fled, after I had received a severe wound; the Arabs

being employed, without further regard to us, in taking possession of the
treasure and presents which we had with us.

I proceeded without knowing whither to direct my course, reduced from a
mighty to an abject state, and journeyed till I arrived at the summit of a
mountain, where I took shelter in a cavern until the next morning. I then
resumed my journey, and arrived at a flourishing city: the winter, with its
cold, had passed away, and the spring had come, with its flowers; and I
rejoiced at my arrival there, being wearied with my journey, anxious and
pallid. My condition being thus changed, I knew not whither to bend my
steps; and, turning to a tailor sitting in his shop, I saluted him, and he
returned my salutation, and welcomed me, and wished me joy, asking me
the reason of my having come thither. I acquainted him, therefore, with
what had befallen me from first to last, and he was grieved for me, and said,
O young man, reveal not thy case, for I fear what the King of this city might
do to thee, since he is the greatest of thy father's enemies, and hath a debt of
blood against him. He then placed some food and drink before me, and we
ate together, and I conversed with him till night, when he lodged me in a
place by his shop, and brought me a bed and coverlet; and, after I had
remained with him three days, he said to me, Dost thou not know any trade
by which to make gain?51 I answered, I am acquainted with the law, a
student of sciences, a writer, and an arithmetician.—Thy occupation, he
said, is profitless in our country: there is no one in our city acquainted with
science or writing, but only with getting money. Verily, I replied, I know

nothing but what I have told thee.—Gird thyself, then, said he, and take an
axe and a rope, and cut firewood in the desert, and so obtain thy subsistence
until God dispel thy affliction; but acquaint no one with thy history, else
they will kill thee. He then bought for me an axe and a rope, and sent me
with a party of wood-cutters, giving them a charge respecting me.
Accordingly, I went forth with them, and, cut some wood, and brought back
a load upon my head, and sold it for half a piece of gold, part of which I
expended in food, laying by the remainder.

Thus I continued for the space of a year, after which I went one day into the
desert, according to my custom, to cut firewood; and, finding there a tract
with abundance of wood, I entered it, and came to a tree, around which I
dug; and as I was removing the earth from its roots, the axe struck against a
ring of brass; and I cleared away the earth from it, and found that it was
affixed to a trap-door of wood, which I immediately removed. Beneath it
appeared a staircase, which I descended; and at the bottom of this I entered
a door, and beheld a palace, strongly constructed, where I found a lady, like
a pearl of high price, whose aspect banished from the heart all anxiety and
grief and affliction. At the sight of her I prostrated myself in adoration of
her Creator for the fairness and beauty which He had displayed in her
person; and she, looking towards me, said, Art thou a man or a Jinnee? I
answered her, I am a man.—And who, she asked, hath brought thee to this
place, in which I have lived five and twenty years without ever seeing a
human being?—Her words sounded sweetly to me, and I answered her, O

my mistress, God hath brought me to thy abode, and I hope will put an end
to my anxiety and grief:—and I related to her my story from beginning to
end. She was grieved at my case, and wept, and said, I also will acquaint
thee with my story. Know that I am the daughter of the King of the further
parts of India, the lord of the Ebony Island. My father had married me to the
son of my uncle; but on the night of my bridal festivities, an 'Efreet namad
Jarjarees, the son of Rejmoos, the son of Iblees, carried me off, and, soaring
with me through the air, alighted in this place, to which he conveyed all
things necessary for me, such as ornaments, and garments, and linen, and
furniture, and food, and drink; and once in every ten days he cometh to me,
and spendeth a night here;52 and he hath appointed with me, that, in case of
my wanting any thing by night or day, I should touch with my hand these
two lines which are inscribed upon the ḳubbeh,53 and as soon as I remove
my hand I see him before me. Four days have now passed since he was last
with me, and there remain, therefore, six days before he will come again;
wilt thou then remain with me five days, and depart one day before his
visit?—I answered, Yes; rejoicing at the proposal; and she arose, and taking
me by the hand, conducted me through an arched door to a small and
elegant bath, where I took off my clothes, while she seated herself upon a
mattress. After this, she seated me by her side, and brought me some
sherbet of sugar infused with musk,54 and handed it to me to drink: she then
placed some food before me, and after we had eaten and conversed
together, she said to me, Sleep, and rest thyself; for thou art fatigued.
I slept, O my mistress, and forgot all that had befallen me; and when I
awoke, I found her rubbing my feet;55 upon which I called to her, and we sat
down again and conversed a while; and she said to me, By Allah, I was
straitened in my heart, living here alone, without any person to talk with
me, five and twenty years. Praise be to God who hath sent thee to me.—I
thanked her for her kind expressions; and love of her took possession of my
heart, and my anxiety and grief fled away. We then sat down to drink
together; and I remained by her side all the night, delighted with her
company, for I had never seen her like in my whole life; and in the morning,
when we were both full of joy, I said to her, Shall I take thee up from this
subterranean place, and release thee from the Jinnee? But she laughed, and
replied, Be content, and hold thy peace; for, of every ten days, one day shall
be for the 'Efreet, and nine for thee. I persisted, however, being overcome

with passion: and said, I will this instant demolish this ḳubbeh upon which
the inscription is engraved, and let the 'Efreet come, that I may slay him: for
I am predestined to kill 'Efreets. She entreated me to refrain; but, paying no
attention to her words, I kicked the ḳubbeh with violence; upon which she
exclaimed, The 'Efreet hath arrived! Did I not caution thee against this?
Verily thou hast brought a calamity upon me; but save thyself, and ascend
by the way that thou camest.
In the excess of my fear I forgot my sandals and my axe, and when I had
ascended two steps, turning round to look for them, I saw that the ground
had opened, and there rose from it an 'Efreet of hideous aspect, who said,
Wherefore is this disturbance with which thou hast alarmed me, and what
misfortune hath befallen thee? She answered, No misfortune hath happened
to me, excepting that my heart was contracted, and I desired to drink some
wine to dilate it, and, rising to perform my purpose, I fell against the
ḳubbeh.—Thou liest, vile woman, he exclaimed;—and, looking about the
palace to the right and left, he saw the sandals and axe; and said to her,
These are the property of none but a man. Who hath visited thee?—I have
not seen them, she answered, until this instant: probably they caught to thee.
—This language, said he, is absurd, and will have no effect upon me, thou
shameless woman!—and, so saying, he stripped her of her clothing, and
tied her down, with her arms and legs extended, to four stakes, and began to
beat her, urging her to confess what had happened.

For myself, being unable to endure her cries, I ascended the stairs,
overpowered by fear, and, arriving at the top, replaced the trap-door as it
was at first, and covered it over with earth. I repented bitterly of what I had
done, and reflecting upon the lady and her beauty, and how this wretch was
torturing her after she had lived with him five and twenty years, and that he
tortured her only on my account, and reflecting also upon my father and his
kingdom, and how I had been reduced to the condition of a wood-cutter, I
repeated this verse:—
When fortune bringeth thee affliction, console thyself by remembering that one day
thou must see prosperity, and another day, difficulty.

Returning to my companion, the tailor, I found him awaiting my return as if
he were placed in a pan upon burning coals. I past last night, said he, with
anxious heart on thy account, fearing for thee from some wild beast or other
calamity. Praise be to God for thy safe return.—I thanked him for his tender
concern for me, and entered my apartment; and as I sat meditating upon that
which had befallen me, and blaming myself for having kicked the ḳubbeh,
my friend the tailor came in to me, and said, In the shop is a foreigner, who
asks for thee, and he has thy axe and sandals; he came with them to the
wood-cutters,56 and said to them, I went out at the time of the call of the
Muëddin to morning-prayer, and stumbled upon these, and know not to
whom they belong: can ye guide me to their owner?—The wood-cutters,
therefore, directed him to thee: he is sitting in my shop; so go out to him
and thank him, and take thy axe and thy sandals.—On hearing these words,

my countenance turned pale, and my whole state became changed; and
while I was in this condition, the floor of my chamber clove asunder, and
there rose from it the stranger, and lo, he was the 'Efreet; he had tortured the
lady with the utmost cruelty; but she would confess nothing: so he took the
axe and the sandals, and said to her, If I am Jarjarees, of the descendants of
Iblees, I will bring the owner of this axe and these sandals. Accordingly, he
came, with the pretence before mentioned, to the wood-cutters, and, having
entered my chamber, without granting me any delay, seized me, and soared
with me through the air: he then descended, and dived into the earth, and
brought me up into the palace where I was before.
Here I beheld the lady stripped of her clothing, and with blood flowing
from her sides; and tears trickled from my eyes. The 'Efreet then took hold
of her, and said, Vile woman, this is thy lover:—whereupon she looked at
me, and replied, I know him not, nor have I ever seen him until this instant.
The 'Efreet said to her, With all this torture wilt thou not confess? She
answered, Never in my life have I seen him before, and it is not lawful in
the sight of God that I should speak falsely against him.57—Then, said he, if
thou know him not, take this sword and strike off his head. She took the
sword, and came to me, and stood over my head: but I made a sign to her
with my eyebrow, while tears ran down my cheeks. She replied in a similar
manner, Thou art he who hath done all this to me:—I made a sign to her,
however, that this was a time for pardon, conveying my meaning in the
manner thus described by the poet:—58
Our signal in love is the glance of our eyes; and every intelligent person
understandeth the sign.
Our eyebrows carry on an intercourse between us: we are silent; but love speaketh.

And when she understood me, she threw the sword from her hand, O my
mistress, and the 'Efreet handed it to me, saying, Strike off her head, and I
will liberate thee, and do thee no harm. I replied, Good:—and, quickly
approaching her, raised my hand; but she made a sign as though she would
say, I did no injury to thee:—whereupon my eyes poured with tears, and,
throwing down the sword, I said, O mighty 'Efreet, and valiant hero, if a
woman, deficient in sense and religion,59 seeth it not lawful to strike off my
head, how is it lawful for me to do so to her, and especially when I have
never seen her before in my life? I will never do it, though I should drink
the cup of death and destruction.—There is affection between you, said the

'Efreet, and, taking the sword, he struck off one of the hands of the lady;
then, the other; after this, her right foot; and then, her left foot: thus with
four blows he cut off her four extremities, while I looked on, expecting my
own death. She then made a sign to me with her eye; and the 'Efreet,
observing her, exclaimed, Now thou hast been guilty of incontinence with
thine eye!—and, with a blow of his sword, struck off her head; after which,
he turned towards me, and said, O man, it is allowed us by our law, if a wife
be guilty of incontinence, to put her to death. This woman I carried off on
her wedding-night, when she was twelve years of age, and she was
acquainted with no man but me; and I used to pass one night with her in the
course of every ten days in the garb of a foreigner; and when I discovered
of a certainty that she had been unfaithful to me, I killed her: but as for thee,
I am not convinced that thou hast wronged me with respect to her; yet I
must not leave thee unpunished: choose, therefore, what injury I shall do to
thee.

Upon this, O my mistress, I rejoiced exceedingly, and, eager to obtain his
pardon, I said to him, What shall I choose from thy hands?—Choose, he

answered, into what form I shall change thee; either the form of a dog, or
that of an ass, or that of an ape. I replied, in my desire of forgiveness,
Verily, if thou wilt pardon me, God will pardon thee in recompense for thy
shewing mercy to a Muslim who hath done thee no injury:—and I humbled
myself in the most abject manner, and said to him, Pardon me as the envied
man did the envier.—And how was that? said he. I answered as follows:—60

THE STORY OF THE ENVIER AND THE ENVIED.

Know, O my master, that there was a certain man who had a neighbour that
envied him; and the more this person envied him, so much the more did
God increase the prosperity of the former. Thus it continued a long time; but
when the envied man found that his neighbour persisted in troubling him,
he removed to a place where there was a deserted well; and there he built
for himself an oratory, and occupied himself in the worship of God.
Numerous Faḳeers61 assembled around him, and he acquired great esteem,
people repairing to him from every quarter, placing firm reliance upon his
sanctity; and his fame reached the ears of his envious neighbour, who
mounted his horse, and went to visit him; and when the envied man saw
him, he saluted him, and payed him the utmost civility. The envier then said
to him, I have come hither to inform thee of a matter in which thou wilt find
advantage, and for which I shall obtain a recompense in heaven. The envied
man replied, May God requite thee for me with every blessing. Then, said
the envier, order the Faḳeers to retire to their cells, for the information that I
am about to give thee I would have no one overhear. So he ordered them to
enter their cells; and the envier said to him, Arise, and let us walk together,
and converse; and they walked on until they came to the deserted well
before mentioned, when the envier pushed the envied man into this well,
without the knowledge of any one, and went his way, imagining that he had
killed him.
But this well was inhabited by Jinn, who received him unhurt, and seated
him upon a large stone; and when they had done this, one of them said to
the others, Do ye know this man? They answered, We know him not.—
This, said he, is the envied man who fled from him who envied him, and
took up his abode in this quarter, in the neighbouring oratory, and who
entertaineth us by his zikr62 and his readings; and when his envier heard of
him, he came hither to him, and, devising a stratagem against him, threw

him down here. His fame hath this night reached the Sulṭán of this city, who
hath purposed to visit him to-morrow, on account of the affliction which
hath befallen his daughter.—And what, said they, hath happened to his
daughter? He answered, Madness; for Meymoon, the son of Demdem, hath
become inflamed with love for her; and her cure is the easiest of things.
They asked him, What is it?—and he answered, The black cat that is with
him in the oratory hath at the end of her tail a white spot, of the size of a
piece of silver; and from this white spot should be taken seven hairs, and
with these the damsel should be fumigated, and the Márid would depart
from over her head, and not return to her; so she would be instantly cured.
And now it is our duty to take him out.

When the morning came, the Faḳeers saw the Sheykh rising out of the well;
and he became magnified in their eyes. And when he entered the oratory, he
took from the white spot at the end of the cat's tail seven hairs, and placed
them in a portfolio by him; and at sunrise the King came to him, and when
the Sheykh saw him, he said to him, O King, thou hast come to visit me in
order that I may cure thy daughter. The King replied. Yes, O virtuous
Sheykh.—Then, said the Sheykh, send some person to bring her hither; and
I trust in God, whose name be exalted, that she may be instantly cured. And
when the King had brought his daughter, the Sheykh beheld her bound, and,
seating her, suspended a curtain over her, and took out the hairs, and
fumigated her with them; whereupon the Márid cried out from over her
head, and left her; and the damsel immediately recovered her reason, and,
veiling her face, said to her father, What is this, and wherefore didst thou
bring me to this place? He answered her, Thou hast nothing to fear;—and
rejoiced greatly. He kissed the hand of the envied Sheykh, and said to the
great men of his court who were with him, What shall be the recompense of
this Sheykh for that which he hath done? They answered, His recompense
should be that thou marry him to her.—Ye have spoken truly, said the King:
—and he gave her in marriage to him, and thus the Sheykh became a
connection of the King; and after some days the King died, and he was
made King in his place.
And it happened one day that this envied King was riding with his troops,
and he saw his envier approaching; and when this man came before him he
seated him upon a horse with high distinction and honour, and, taking him
to his palace, gave him a thousand pieces of gold, and a costly dress; after
which he sent him back from the city, with attendants to escort him to his
house, and reproached him for nothing.—Consider, then, O 'Efreet, the
pardon of the envied to the envier, and his kindness to him, notwithstanding
the injuries he had done him.63

CONTINUATION OF THE STORY OF THE SECOND ROYAL MENDICANT.

The 'Efreet, when he had heard this story, replied, Lengthen not thy words
to me: as to my killing thee, fear it not; and as to my pardoning thee, covet
it not; but as to my enchanting thee, there is no escape from it;—and, so
saying, he clove the earth asunder, and soared with me through the sky to

such a height that I beheld the world beneath me as though it were a bowl
of water: then, alighting upon a mountain, he took up a little dust, and,
having muttered and pronounced certain words over it, sprinkled me with it,
saying, Quit this form, and take the form of an ape!—whereupon I became
like an ape of a hundred years of age.

When I saw myself changed into this ugly form, I wept for myself, but
determined to be patient under the tyranny of fortune, knowing it to be

constant to no one. I descended from the summit of the mountain, and, after
having journeyed for the space of a month, arrived at the sea-shore; and,
when I had stood there a short time, I saw a vessel in the midst of the sea,
with a favourable wind approaching the land; I therefore hid myself behind
a rock on the beach, and when the ship came close up, I sprang into the
midst of it. But as soon as the persons on board saw me, one of them cried,
Turn out this unlucky brute from the ship:—another said, Let us kill him:—
and a third exclaimed, I will kill him with this sword. I, however, caught
hold of the end of the sword, and tears flowed from my eyes; at the sight of
which the captain took compassion on me, and said to the passengers, O
merchants, this ape hath sought my aid, and I give it him; he is under my
protection; let no one, therefore, oppose or trouble him. He then treated me
with kindness, and whatever he said to me I understood, and all that he
required to be done I performed as his servant.
We continued our voyage for fifty days with a fair wind, and cast anchor
under a large city containing a population which no one but God, whose
name be exalted, could reckon; and when we had moored our vessel, there
came to us some memlooks from the King of the city, who came on board
the ship, and complimented the merchants on their safe arrival, saying, Our
King greeteth you, rejoicing in your safety, and hath sent to you this roll of
paper, desiring that each of you shall write a line upon it; for the King had a
Wezeer who was an eminent caligraphist, and he is dead, and the King hath
sworn that he will not appoint any person to his office who cannot write
equally well.64 Though in the form of an ape, I arose and snatched the paper
from their hands; upon which, fearing that I would tear it and throw it into
the sea, they cried out against me, and would have killed me; but I made
signs to them that I would write, and the captain said to them, Suffer him to
write, and if he scribble we will turn him away; but if he write well I will
adopt him as my son; for I have never seen a more intelligent ape. So I took
the pen, and demanded the ink, and wrote in an epistolary hand this couplet:
—
Fame hath recorded the virtues of the noble; but no one hath been able to reckon
thine.
May God not deprive mankind of such a father; for thou art the parent of every
excellence.

Then, in a more formal, large hand, I wrote the following verses:—

There is no writer that shall not perish; but what his hand hath written endureth ever.
Write, therefore, nothing but what will please thee when thou shalt see it on the day of
resurrection.

Two other specimens I wrote, in two different and smaller hands, and
returned the paper to the memlooks, who took it back to the King; and when
he saw what was written upon it, the hand of no one pleased him excepting
mine; and he said to his attendants, Go to the author of this hand-writing,
put upon him this dress, and mount him upon a mule, and conduct him, with
the band of music before him, to my presence. On hearing this order, they
smiled; and the King was angry with them, and said, How is it that I give
you an order, and ye laugh at me? They answered, O King, we laugh not at
thy words, but because he who wrote this is an ape, and not a son of Adam:
he is with the captain of the ship newly arrived.
The King was astonished at their words; he shook with delight, and said, I
would purchase this ape. He then sent some messengers to the ship, with the
mule and the dress of honour, saying to them, Ye must clothe him with this
dress, and mount him upon the mule, and bring him hither. So they came to
the ship, and, taking me from the captain, clad me with the dress; and the
people were astonished, and flocked to amuse themselves with the sight of
me. And when they brought me to the King, and I beheld him, I kissed the
ground before him three times, and he ordered me to sit down: so I sat
down upon my knees;65 and the persons present were surprised at my polite
manners, and especially the King, who presently ordered his people to
retire. They, therefore, did so; none remaining but the King, and a eunuch,
and a young memlook, and myself. The King then commanded that a repast
should be brought; and they placed before him a service of viands, such as
gratified the appetite and delighted the eye; and the King made a sign to me
that I should eat; whereupon I arose, and, having kissed the ground before
him seven times, sat down to eat with him; and when the table was
removed, I washed my hands, and, taking the ink-case, and pen and paper, I
wrote these two verses:—
Great is my appetite for thee, O Kunáfeh!66 I cannot be happy nor endure without
thee.
Be thou every day and night my food; and may drops of honey not be wanting to
moisten thee.

Having done this, I arose, and seated myself at a distance; and the King,
looking at what I had written, read it with astonishment, and exclaimed,
Can an ape possess such fluency and such skill in caligraphy? This is,
indeed, a wonder of wonders!—Afterwards, a chess-table was brought to
the King, and he said to me, Wilt thou play? By a motion of my head I
answered, Yes:—and I advanced, and arranged the pieces.67 I played with
him twice, and beat him; and the King was perplexed, and said, Were this a
man, he would surpass all the people of his age.
He then said to his eunuch, Go to thy mistress, and say to her, Answer the
summons of the King:—that she may come and gratify her curiosity by the
sight of this wonderful ape. The eunuch, therefore, went, and returned with
his mistress, the King's daughter, who, as soon as she saw me, veiled her
face, and said, O my father, how is it that thou art pleased to send for me,
and suffer strange men to see me?—O my daughter, answered the King,
there is no one here but the young memlook, and the eunuch who brought
thee up, and this ape, with myself, thy father: from whom, then, dost thou
veil thy face?—This ape, said she, is the son of a King, and the name of his
father is Eymár:68 he is enchanted, and it was the 'Efreet Jarjarees, a
descendant of Iblees, who transformed him, after having slain his own wife,
the daughter of King Aḳnámoos. This, whom thou supposedst to be an ape,
is a learned and wise man.—The King was amazed at his daughter's words,
and, looking towards me, said, Is it true that she saith of thee? I answered,
by a motion of my head, Yes:—and wept. The King then said to his
daughter, By what means didst thou discover that he was enchanted?—O
my father, she answered, I had with me, in my younger years, an old
woman who was a cunning enchantress, and she taught me the art of
enchantment: I have committed its rules to memory, and know it
thoroughly, being acquainted with a hundred and seventy modes of
performing it, by the least of which I could transport the stones of thy city
beyond Mount Ḳáf, and make its site to be an abyss of the sea, and convert
its inhabitants into fish in the midst of it.—I conjure thee, then, by the name
of Allah, said her father, to restore this young man, that I may make him my
Wezeer. Is it possible that thou possessedst this excellence, and I knew it
not? Restore him, that I may make him my Wezeer, for he is a polite and
intelligent youth.

She replied, With pleasure:—and, taking a knife upon which were engraved
some Hebrew names, marked with it a circle in the midst of the palace.
Within this she wrote certain names and talismans, and then she pronounced
invocations, and uttered unintelligible words; and soon the palace around us
became immersed in gloom to such a degree, that we thought the whole
world was overspread; and lo, the 'Efreet appeared before us in a most
hideous shape, with hands like winnowing-forks, and legs like masts, and
eyes like burning torches; so that we were terrified at him. The King's
daughter exclaimed, No welcome to thee!—to which the 'Efreet, assuming
the form of a lion, replied, Thou traitress, how is it that thou hast broken
thine oath? Did we not swear that we would not oppose one another?—
Thou wretch, said she, when didst thou receive an oath?—The 'Efreet, still
in the form of a lion, then exclaimed, Take what awaiteth thee!—and,
opening his mouth, rushed upon the lady: but she instantly plucked a hair
from her head and muttered with her lips, whereupon the hair became
converted into a piercing sword, with which she struck the lion, and he was
cleft in twain by the blow; but his head became changed into a scorpion.
The lady immediately transformed herself into an enormous serpent, and
crept after the execrable wretch in the shape of a scorpion, and a sharp

contest ensued between them;
after which, the scorpion became
an eagle, and the serpent,
changing to a vulture, pursued
the eagle for a length of time.
The latter then transformed
himself into a black cat, and the
King's daughter became a wolf,
and they fought together long
and fiercely, till the cat, seeing
himself overcome, changed
himself into a large red
pomegranate, which fell into a
pool; but, the wolf pursuing it, it
ascended into the air, and then
fell upon the pavement of the
palace, and broke in pieces, its
grains becoming scattered, each
apart from the others, and all
spread about the whole space of
ground enclosed by the palace. The wolf, upon this, transformed itself into a
cock, in order to pick up the grains, and not leave one of them; but,
according to the decree of fate, one grain remained hidden by the side of the
pool of the fountain. The cock began to cry, and flapped its wings, and
made a sign to us with its beak; but we understood not what it would say. It
then uttered at us such a cry, that we thought the palace had fallen down
upon us; and it ran about the whole of the ground, until it saw the grain that
had lain hid by the side of the pool, when it pounced upon it, to pick it up;
but it fell into the midst of the water, and became transformed into a fish,
and sank into the water; upon which the cock became a fish of a larger size,
and plunged in after the other. For a while it was absent from our sight; but,
at length, we heard a loud cry, and trembled at the sound; after which, the
'Efreet rose as a flame of fire, casting fire from his mouth, and fire and
smoke from his eyes and nostrils: the King's daughter also became as a vast
body of fire; and we would have plunged into the water from fear of our
being burnt and destroyed; but suddenly the 'Efreet cried out from within
the fire, and came towards us upon the leewán,69 blowing fire at our faces.

The lady, however,
overtook him, and blew
fire in like manner in his
face; and some sparks
struck us both from her
and from him: her sparks
did us no harm; but one
from him struck me in
my eye, and destroyed it,
I being still in the form
of an ape; and a spark
from him reached the
face of the King, and
burned the lower half,
with his beard and
mouth, and struck out his
lower teeth: another
spark also fell upon the
breast of the eunuch;
who was burnt, and died
immediately. We expected destruction, and
gave up all hope of preserving our lives; but
while we were in this state, a voice exclaimed,
God is most great! God is most great! He hath
conquered and aided, and abandoned the denier
of the faith of Moḥammad, the chief of
mankind!70—The person from whom this voice
proceeded was the King's daughter: she had
burnt the 'Efreet; and when we looked towards
him, we perceived that he had become a heap
of ashes.

The lady then came to us, and said, Bring me a cup of water:—and when it
was brought to her, she pronounced over it some words which we
understood not, and, sprinkling me with it, said, Be restored, by virtue of
the name of the Truth, and by virtue of the most great name of God, to thy
original form!—whereupon I became a man as I was at first, excepting that
my eye was destroyed. After this, she cried out, The fire! the fire! O my
father, I shall no longer live, for I am predestined to be killed. Had he been
a human being, I had killed him at the first of the encounter. I experienced
no difficulty till the scattering of the grains of the pomegranate, when I
picked them up excepting the one in which was the life of the Jinnee: had I
picked up that, he had instantly died; but I saw it not, as fate and destiny

had appointed; and suddenly he came upon me, and a fierce contest ensued
between us under the earth, and in the air, and in the water; and every time
that he tried against me a new mode, I employed against him one more
potent, until he tried against me the mode of fire; and rarely does one
escape against whom the mode of fire is employed. Destiny, however, aided
me, so that I burned him first; but I exhorted him previously to embrace the
faith of El-Islám. Now I die; and may God supply my place to you.—
Having thus said, she ceased not to pray for relief from the fire; and lo, a
spark ascended to her breast, and thence to her face; and when it reached
her face, she wept, and exclaimed, I testify that there is no deity but God,
and I testify that Moḥammad is God's Apostle!—We then looked towards
her, and saw that she had become a heap of ashes by the side of the ashes of
the 'Efreet.
We were plunged into grief on her account, and I wished that I had been in
her place rather than have seen that sweet-faced creature who had done me
this kindness reduced to a heap of ashes: but the decree of God cannot be
averted. The King, on beholding his daughter in this state, plucked out what
remained of his beard, and slapped his face, and rent his clothes; and I also
did the same, while we both wept for her. Then came the chamberlains and
other great officers of the court, who, finding the King in a state of
insensibility, with two heaps of ashes before him, were astonished, and
remained encompassing him until he recovered from his fit, when he
informed them of what had befallen his daughter with the 'Efreet; and great
was their affliction. The women shrieked, with the female slaves, and
continued their mourning seven days. After this, the King gave orders to
build, over the ashes of his daughter, a great tomb with a dome, and
illuminated it with candles and lamps: but the ashes of the 'Efreet they
scattered in the wind, exposing them to the curse of God. The King then fell
sick, and was near unto death: his illness lasted a month; but after this he
recovered his health, and, summoning me to his presence, said to me, O
young man, we passed our days in the enjoyment of the utmost happiness,
secure from the vicissitudes of fortune, until thou camest to us, when
troubles overcame us. Would that we had never seen thee, nor thy ugly
form, on account of which we have been reduced to this state of privation:
for, in the first place, I have lost my daughter, who was worth a hundred
men; and, secondly, I have suffered this burning, and lost my teeth: my

eunuch also is dead: but it was not in thy power to prevent these afflictions:
the decree of God hath been fulfilled on us and on thee; and praise be to
God that my daughter restored thee, though she destroyed herself. Now,
however, depart, O my son, from my city. It is enough that hath happened
on thy account; but as it was decreed against us and thee, depart in peace.
So I departed, O my mistress, from his presence; but before I quitted the
city, I entered a public bath, and shaved my beard. I traversed various
regions, and passed through great cities, and bent my course to the Abode of
Peace,71 Baghdád, in the hope of obtaining an interview with the Prince of
the Faithful, that I might relate to him all that had befallen me.
The third mendicant then advanced, and thus related his story:—

THE STORY OF THE THIRD ROYAL MENDICANT.

O illustrious lady, my story is not like those of my two companions, but
more wonderful: the course of fate and destiny brought upon them events
against which they could not guard; but as to myself, the shaving of my
beard and the loss of my eye were occasioned by my provoking fate and
misfortune; and the cause was this:—
I was a King, and the son of a King; and when my father died, I succeeded
to his throne, and governed my subjects with justice and beneficence. I took
pleasure in sea-voyages; and my capital was on the shore of an extensive
sea, interspersed with fortified and garrisoned islands, which I desired, for
my amusement, to visit; I therefore embarked with a fleet of ten ships, and
took with me provisions sufficient for a whole month. I proceeded twenty
days, after which there arose against us a contrary wind; but at daybreak it
ceased, and the sea became calm, and we arrived at an island, where we
landed, and cooked some provisions and ate; after which we remained there
two days. We then continued our voyage; and when twenty days more had
passed, we found ourselves in strange waters, unknown to the captain, and
desired the watch to look out from the mast-head: so he went aloft, and
when he had come down he said to the captain, I saw, on my right hand,
fish floating upon the surface of the water; and looking towards the midst of
the sea, I perceived something looming in the distance, sometimes black,
and sometimes white.

When the captain heard this report of the watch, he threw his turban on the
deck, and plucked his beard, and said to those who were with him, Receive
warning of our destruction, which will befall all of us: not one will escape!
So saying, he began to weep; and all of us in like manner bewailed our lot. I
desired him to inform us of that which the watch had seen. O my lord, he
replied, know that we have wandered from our course since the
commencement of the contrary wind that was followed in the morning by a
calm, in consequence of which we remained stationary two days: from that
period we have deviated from our course for twenty-one days, and we have
no wind to carry us back from the fate which awaits us after this day: to-
morrow we shall arrive at a mountain of black stone, called loadstone: the
current is now bearing us violently towards it, and the ships will fall in
pieces, and every nail in them will fly to the mountain, and adhere to it; for
God hath given to the loadstone a secret property by virtue of which
everything of iron is attracted towards it. On that mountain is such a
quantity of iron as no one knoweth but God, whose name be exalted; for
from times of old great numbers of ships have been destroyed by the
influence of that mountain.72 There is, upon the summit of the mountain, a
cupola of brass supported by ten columns, and upon the top of this cupola is
a horseman upon a horse of brass, having in his hand a brazen spear, and
upon his breast suspended a tablet of lead, upon which are engraved
mysterious names and talismans: and as long, O King, as this horseman
remains upon the horse, so long will every ship that approaches be
destroyed, with every person on board, and all the iron contained in it will
cleave to the mountain: no one will be safe until the horseman shall have
fallen from the horse.—The captain then wept bitterly; and we felt assured
that our destruction was inevitable, and every one of us bade adieu to his
friend.

On the following morning we drew near to the mountain; the current carried
us towards it with violence, and when the ships were almost close to it, they
fell asunder, and all the nails, and every thing else that was of iron, flew
from them towards the loadstone. It was near the close of day when the
ships fell in pieces. Some of us were drowned, and some escaped; but the
greater number were drowned, and of those who saved their lives none
knew what became of the others, so stupefied were they by the waves and
the boisterous wind. As for myself, O my mistress, God, whose name be
exalted, spared me on account of the trouble and torment and affliction that
He had predestined to befall me. I placed myself upon a plank, and the wind
and waves cast it upon the mountain; and when I had landed, I found a
practicable way to the summit, resembling steps cut in the rock: so I
exclaimed, In the name of God!—and offered up a prayer, and attempted
the ascent, holding fast by the notches; and presently God stilled the wind
and assisted me in my endeavours, so that I arrived in safety at the summit.
Rejoicing greatly in my escape, I immediately entered the cupola, and
performed the prayers of two rek'ahs73 in gratitude to God for my
preservation; after which I slept beneath the cupola, and heard a voice
saying to me, O son of Khaṣeeb,74 when thou awakest from thy sleep, dig
beneath thy feet, and thou wilt find a bow of brass, and three arrows of lead,

whereon are engraved talismans: then take the bow and arrows and shoot at
the horseman that is upon the top of the cupola, and relieve mankind from
this great affliction; for when thou hast shot at the horseman he will fall into
the sea; the bow will also fall, and do thou bury it in its place; and as soon
as thou hast done this, the sea will swell and rise until it attains the summit
of the mountain; and there will appear upon it a boat bearing a man,
different from him whom thou shalt have cast down, and he will come to
thee, having an oar in his hand: then do thou embark with him; but utter not
the name of God; and he will convey thee in ten days to a safe sea, where,
on thy arrival, thou wilt find one who will take thee to thy city. All this shall
be done if thou utter not the name of God.
Awaking from my sleep, I sprang up, and did as the voice had directed. I
shot at the horseman, and he fell into the sea; and the bow having fallen
from my hand, I buried it: the sea then became troubled, and rose to the
summit of the mountain, and when I had stood waiting there a little while, I
beheld a boat in the midst of the sea, approaching me. I praised God, whose
name be exalted, and when the boat came to me, I found in it a man of
brass, with a tablet of lead upon his breast, engraven with names and
talismans. Without uttering a word, I embarked in the boat, and the man
rowed me ten successive days, after which I beheld the islands of security,
whereupon, in the excess of my joy, I exclaimed, In the name of God! There
is no deity but God! God is most great!—and as soon as I had done this, he
cast me out of the boat, and sank in the sea.

Being able to swim, I swam until night, when my arms and shoulders were
tired, and, in this perilous situation, I repeated the profession of the faith,
and gave myself up as lost; but the sea rose with the violence of the wind,
and a wave like a vast castle threw me upon the land, in order to the
accomplishment of the purpose of God. I ascended the shore, and after I had
wrung out my clothes, and spread them upon the ground to dry, I slept; and
in the morning I put on my clothes again, and, looking about to see which
way I should go, I found a tract covered with trees, to which I advanced;
and when I had walked round it, I found that I was upon a small island in
the midst of the sea; upon which I said within myself, Every time that I
escape from one calamity I fall into another that is worse:—but while I was
reflecting upon my unfortunate case, and wishing for death, I beheld a
vessel bearing a number of men. I arose immediately, and climbed into a
tree; and lo, the vessel came to the shore, and there landed from it ten black
slaves bearing axes. They proceeded to the middle of the island, and,
digging up the earth, uncovered and lifted up a trap-door, after which they
returned to the vessel, and brought from it bread and flour and clarified
butter and honey and sheep and everything that the wants of an inhabitant
would require, continuing to pass backwards and forwards between the

vessel and the trap-door, bringing loads from the former, and entering the
latter, until they had removed all the stores from the ship. They then came
out of the vessel with various clothes of the most beautiful description, and
in the midst of them was an old sheykh, enfeebled and wasted by extreme
age, leading by the hand a young man cast in the mould of graceful
symmetry, and invested with such perfect beauty as deserved to be a subject
for proverbs. He was like a fresh and slender twig, enchanting and
captivating every heart by his elegant form. The party proceeded to the trap-
door, and, entering it, became concealed from my eyes.75
They remained beneath about two hours, or more; after which, the sheykh
and the slaves came out; but the youth came not with them; and they
replaced the earth, and embarked and set sail. Soon after, I descended from
the tree, and went to the excavation. I removed the earth, and, entering the
aperture, saw a flight of wooden steps, which I descended; and, at the
bottom, I beheld a handsome dwelling-place, furnished with a variety of
silken carpets; and there was the youth, sitting upon a high mattress, with
sweet-smelling flowers and fruits placed before him. On seeing me, his
countenance became pale; but I saluted him, and said, Let thy mind be
composed, O my master: thou hast nothing to fear, O delight of my eye; for
I am a man, and the son of a King, like thyself: fate hath impelled me to
thee, that I may cheer thee in thy solitude. The youth, when he heard me
thus address him, and was convinced that I was one of his own species,
rejoiced exceedingly at my arrival, his colour returned, and, desiring me to
approach him, he said, O my brother, my story is wonderful: my father is a
jeweller: he had slaves who made voyages by his orders, for the purposes of
commerce, and he had dealings with Kings; but he had never been blest
with a son; and he dreamt that he was soon to have a son, but one whose
life would be short; and he awoke sorrowful.76 Shortly after, in accordance
with the decrees of God, my mother conceived me, and when her time was
complete, she gave birth to me; and my father was greatly rejoiced: the
astrologers, however, came to him, and said, Thy son will live fifteen years:
his fate is intimated by the fact that there is, in the sea, a mountain called
the Mountain of Loadstone, whereon is a horseman on a horse of brass, on
the former of which is a tablet of lead suspended to his neck; and when the
horseman shall be thrown down from his horse, thy son will be slain: the
person who is to slay him is he who will throw down the horseman, and his

name is King 'Ajeeb,77 the son of King Khaṣeeb. My father was greatly
afflicted at this announcement; and when he had reared me until I had
nearly attained the age of fifteen years, the astrologers came again, and
informed him that the horseman had fallen into the sea, and that it had been
thrown down by King 'Ajeeb, the son of King Khaṣeeb; on hearing which,
he prepared for me this dwelling, and here left me to remain until the
completion of the term, of which there now remain ten days. All this he did
from fear lest King 'Ajeeb should kill me.
When I heard this, I was filled with wonder, and said within myself, I am
King 'Ajeeb, the son of King Khaṣeeb, and it was I who threw down the
horseman; but, by Allah, I will neither kill him nor do him any injury. Then
said I to the youth, Far from thee be both destruction and harm, if it be the
will of God, whose name be exalted: thou hast nothing to fear: I will remain
with thee to serve thee, and will go forth with thee to thy father, and beg of
him to send me back to my country, for the which he will obtain a reward.
The youth rejoiced at my words, and I sat and conversed with him until
night, when I spread his bed for him, and covered him, and slept near to his
side. And in the morning I brought him water, and he washed his face, and
said to me, May God requite thee for me with every blessing. If I escape
from King 'Ajeeb, I will make my father reward thee with abundant
favours.—Never, I replied, may the day arrive that would bring thee
misfortune. I then placed before him some refreshments, and after we had
eaten together, we passed the day conversing with the utmost cheerfulness.

I continued to serve him for nine days; and on the tenth day the youth
rejoiced at finding himself in safety, and said to me, O my brother, I wish
that thou wouldst in thy kindness warm for me some water, that I may wash
myself and change my clothes; for I have smelt the odour of escape from
death, in consequence of thy assistance. —With pleasure, I replied;—and I
arose, and warmed the water; after which, he entered a place concealed
from my view, and, having washed himself and changed his clothes, laid
himself upon the mattress to rest after his bath. He then said to me, Cut up
for me, O my brother, a water-melon, and mix its juice with some sugar:—
so I arose, and, taking a melon, brought it upon a plate, and said to him,
Knowest thou, O my master, where is the knife?—See, here it is, he
answered, upon the shelf over my head. I sprang up hastily, and took it from
its sheath, and as I was drawing back, my foot slipped, as God had decreed,

and I fell upon the youth, grasping in my hand the knife, which entered his
body, and he died instantly. When I perceived that he was dead, and that I
had killed him, I uttered a loud shriek, and beat my face, and rent my
clothes, saying, This is, indeed, a calamity! O what a calamity! O my Lord,
I implore thy pardon, and declare to Thee my innocence of his death!
Would that I had died before him! How long shall I devour trouble after
trouble!
With these reflections I ascended the steps, and, having replaced the trap-
door, returned to my first station, and looked over the sea, where I saw the
vessel that had come before, approaching, and cleaving the waves in its
rapid course. Upon this I said within myself, Now will the men come forth
from the vessel, and find the youth slain, and they will slay me also:—so I
climbed into a tree, and concealed myself among its leaves, and sat there till
the vessel arrived and cast anchor, when the slaves landed with the old
sheykh, the father of the youth, and went to the place, and removed the
earth. They were surprised at finding it moist, and, when they had
descended the steps, they discovered the youth lying on his back, exhibiting
a face beaming with beauty, though dead, and clad in white and clean
clothing, with the knife remaining in his body. They all wept at the sight,
and the father fell down in a swoon, which lasted so long that the slaves
thought he was dead. At length, however, he recovered, and came out with
the slaves, who had wrapped the body of the youth in his clothes. They then
took back all that was in the subterranean dwelling to the vessel, and
departed.
I remained, O my mistress, by day hiding myself in a tree, and at night
walking about the open part of the island. Thus I continued for the space of
two months; and I perceived that, on the western side of the island, the
water of the sea every day retired, until, after three months, the land that
had been beneath it became dry. Rejoicing at this, and feeling confident
now in my escape, I traversed this dry tract, and arrived at an expanse of
sand; whereupon I emboldened myself, and crossed it. I then saw in the
distance an appearance of fire, and, advancing towards it, found it to be a
palace, overlaid with plates of copper, which, reflecting the rays of the sun,
seemed from a distance to be fire: and when I drew near to it, reflecting
upon this sight, there approached me an old sheykh, accompanied by ten
young men who were all blind of one eye, at which I was extremely

surprised. As soon as they saw me, they saluted me, and asked me my story,
which I related to them from first to last; and they were filled with wonder.
They then conducted me into the palace, where I saw ten benches, upon
each of which was a mattress covered with a blue stuff;78 and each of the
young men seated himself upon one of these benches, while the sheykh
took his place upon a smaller one; after which they said to me, Sit down, O
young man, and ask no question respecting our condition, nor respecting
our being blind of one eye. Then the sheykh arose, and brought to each of
them some food, and the same to me also; and next he brought to each of us
some wine: and after we had eaten, we sat drinking together until the time
for sleep, when the young men said to the sheykh, Bring to us our
accustomed supply:—upon which the sheykh arose, and entered a closet,
from which he brought, upon his head, ten covered trays. Placing these
upon the floor, he lighted ten candles, and stuck one of them upon each
tray; and, having done this, he removed the covers, and there appeared
beneath them ashes mixed with pounded charcoal. The young men then
tucked up their sleeves above the elbow, and blackened their faces, and
slapped their cheeks,79 exclaiming, We were reposing at our ease, and our
impertinent curiosity suffered us not to remain so! Thus they did until the
morning, when the sheykh brought them some hot water, and they washed
their faces, and put on other clothes.
On witnessing this conduct, my reason was confounded, my heart was so
troubled that I forgot my own misfortunes, and I asked them the cause of
their strange behaviour; upon which they looked towards me, and said, O
young man, ask not respecting that which doth not concern thee; but be
silent; for in silence is security from error.—I remained with them a whole
month, during which, every night they did the same; and at length I said to
them, I conjure you by Allah to remove this disquiet from my mind, and to
inform me of the cause of your acting in this manner, and of your
exclaiming, We were reposing at our ease, and our impertinent curiosity
suffered us not to remain so!—if ye inform me not, I will leave you, and go
my way; for the proverb saith, When the eye seeth not, the heart doth not
grieve.—On hearing these words, they replied, We have not concealed this
affair from thee but in our concern for thy welfare, lest thou shouldst
become like us, and the same affliction that hath befallen us happen also to
thee. I said, however, Ye must positively inform me of this matter.—We

give thee good advice, said they, and do thou receive it, and ask us not
respecting our case; otherwise thou wilt become blind of one eye, like us:—
but I still persisted in my request; whereupon they said, O young man, if
this befall thee, know that thou wilt be banished from our company. They
then all arose, and, taking a ram, slaughtered and skinned it, and said to me,
Take this knife with thee, and introduce thyself into the skin of the ram, and
we will sew thee up in it, and go away; whereupon a bird called the rukh'80
will come to thee, and, taking thee up by its talons, will fly away with thee,
and set thee down upon a mountain: then cut open the skin with this knife,
and get out, and the bird will fly away. Thou must arise, as soon as it hath
gone, and journey for half a day, and thou wilt see before thee a lofty
palace, encased with red gold, set with various precious stones, such as
emeralds and rubies, &c.; and if thou enter it thy case will be as ours; for
our entrance into that palace was the cause of our being blind of one eye;
and if one of us would relate to thee all that hath befallen him, his story
would be too long for thee to hear.
They then sewed me up in the skin, and entered their palace; and soon after,
there came an enormous white bird, which seized me, and flew away with
me, and set me down upon the mountain; whereupon I cut open the skin,
and got out; and the bird, as soon as it saw me, flew away. I rose up quickly,
and proceeded towards the palace, which I found to be as they had
described it to me; and when I had entered it, I beheld, at the upper end of a
saloon, forty young damsels, beautiful as so many moons, and
magnificently attired, who, as soon as they saw me, exclaimed, Welcome!
Welcome! O our master and our lord! We have been for a month expecting
thee. Praise be to God who hath blessed us with one who is worthy of us,
and one of whom we are worthy!—After having thus greeted me, they
seated me upon a mattress, and said, Thou art from this day our master and
prince, and we are thy handmaids, and entirely under thy authority. They
then brought to me some refreshments, and, when I had eaten and drunk,
they sat and conversed with me, full of joy and happiness. So lovely were
these ladies, that even a devotee, if he saw them, would gladly consent to be
their servant, and to comply with all that they would desire. At the approach
of night they all assembled around me, and placed before me a table of
fresh and dried fruits, with other delicacies that the tongue cannot describe,
and wine; and one began to sing, while another played upon the lute. The

wine-cups circulated among us, and joy overcame me to such a degree as to
obliterate from my mind every earthly care, and make me exclaim, This is
indeed a delightful life! I passed a night of such enjoyment as I had never
before experienced; and on the morrow I entered the bath; and, after I had
washed myself, they brought me a suit of the richest clothing, and we again
sat down to a repast.
In this manner I lived with them a whole year; but on the first day of the
new year, they seated themselves around me, and began to weep, and bade
me farewell, clinging to my skirts.—What calamity hath befallen you? said
I. Ye have broken my heart.—They answered, Would that we had never
known thee; for we have associated with many men, but have seen none
like thee. May God, therefore, not deprive us of thy company.—And they
wept afresh. I said to them, I wish that you would acquaint me with the
cause of this weeping.—Thou, they replied, art the cause; yet now, if thou
wilt attend to what we tell thee, we shall never be parted; but if thou act
contrary to it, we are separated from this time; and our hearts whisper to us
that thou wilt not regard our warning.—Inform me, said I, and I will attend
to your directions:—and they replied, If then thou wouldst inquire
respecting our history, know that we are the daughters of Kings: for many
years it hath been our custom to assemble here, and every year we absent
ourselves during a period of forty days; then returning, we indulge
ourselves for a year in feasting and drinking. This is our usual practice; and
now we fear that thou wilt disregard our directions when we are absent
from thee. We deliver to thee the keys of the palace, which are a hundred in
number, belonging to a hundred closets. Open each of these, and amuse
thyself, and eat and drink, and refresh thyself, excepting the closet that hath
a door of red gold; for if thou open this, the consequence will be a
separation between us and thee. We conjure thee, therefore, to observe our
direction, and to be patient during this period.—Upon hearing this, I swore
to them that I would never open the closet to which they alluded; and they
departed, urging me to be faithful to my promise.

I remained alone in the palace, and at the approach of evening I opened the
first closet, and, entering it, found a mansion like paradise, with a garden
containing green trees loaded with ripe fruits, abounding with singing birds,
and watered by copious streams. My heart was soothed by the sight, and I
wandered among the trees, scenting the fragrance of the flowers, and
listening to the warbling of the birds as they sang the praises of the One, the
Almighty.81 After admiring the mingled colours of the apple resembling the
hue upon the cheek of a beloved mistress and the sallow countenance of the
perplexed and timid lover, the sweet-smelling quince diffusing an odour
like musk and ambergris, and the plum shining as the ruby, I retired from
this place, and, having locked the door, opened that of the next closet,
within which I beheld a spacious tract planted with numerous palm-trees,

and watered by a river flowing among rose-trees, and jasmine, and
marjoram, and eglantine, and narcissus, and gilliflower, the odours of
which, diffused in every direction by the wind, inspired me with the utmost
delight. I locked again the door of the second closet, and opened that of the
third. Within this I found a large saloon, paved with marbles of various
colours, and with costly minerals and precious gems, and containing cages
constructed of sandal and aloes-wood with singing birds within them, and
others upon the branches of trees which were planted there. My heart was
charmed, my trouble was dissipated, and I slept there until the morning. I
then opened the door of the fourth closet, and within this door I found a
great building in which were forty closets with open doors; and, entering
these, I beheld pearls, and rubies, and chrysolites, and emeralds, and other
precious jewels such as the tongue cannot describe. I was astonished at the
sight, and said, Such things as these, I imagine, are not found in the treasury
of any King. I am now the King of my age, and all these treasures, through
the goodness of God, are mine, together with forty damsels under my
authority who have no man to share them with me.
Thus I continued to amuse myself, passing from one place to another, until
thirty-nine days had elapsed, and I had opened the doors of all the closets
excepting that which they had forbidden me to open. My heart was then
disturbed by curiosity respecting this hundredth closet, and the Devil, in
order to plunge me into misery, induced me to open it. I had not patience to
abstain, though there remained of the appointed period only one day: so I
approached the closet, and opened the door; and when I had entered, I
perceived a fragrant odour, such as I had never before smelt, which
intoxicated me so that I fell down insensible, and remained some time in
this state: but at length recovering, I fortified my heart, and proceeded. I
found the floor overspread with saffron, and the place illuminated by golden
lamps and by candles, which diffused the odours of musk and ambergris;
and two large perfuming-vessels filled with aloes-wood and ambergris, and
a perfume compounded with honey, spread fragrance through the whole
place. I saw also a black horse, of the hue of the darkest night, before which
was a manger of white crystal filled with cleansed sesame, and another,
similar to it, containing rose-water infused with musk: he was saddled and
bridled, and his saddle was of red gold. Wondering at the sight of him, I
said within myself, This must be an animal of extraordinary qualities;—and,

seduced by the Devil, I led him out, and mounted him; but he moved not
from his place: I kicked him with my heel; but still he moved not: so I took
a miḳra'ah and struck him with it; and as soon as he felt the blow he uttered
a sound like thunder, and, expanding a pair of wings, soared with me to an
immense height through the air, and then alighted upon the roof of another
palace, where he threw me from his back, and, by a violent blow with his
tail upon my face, as I sat on the roof, struck out my eye, and left me.82
In this state I descended from the roof, and below I found the one-eyed
young men before mentioned, who, as soon as they beheld me, exclaimed,
No welcome to thee!—Receive me, said I, into your company:—but they
replied, By Allah, thou shalt not remain with us:—so I departed from them,
with mournful heart and weeping eye, and, God having decreed me a safe
journey hither, I arrived at Baghdád, after I had shaved my beard, and
become a mendicant.83

CONTINUATION OF THE STORY OF THE LADIES OF BAGHDÁD, &c.

The mistress of the house then looked towards the Khaleefeh and Jaạfar and
Mesroor, and said to them, Acquaint me with your histories:—upon which
Jaạfar advanced towards her, and related to her the same story that he had
told to the portress before they entered; and when she had heard it, she
liberated them all. They accordingly departed, and when they had gone out
into the street, the Khaleefeh inquired of the mendicants whither they were
going. They answered that they knew not whither to go: whereupon he
desired them to accompany his party; and then said to Jaạfar, Take them
home with thee, and bring them before me to-morrow, and we will see the
result. Jaạfar, therefore, did as he was commanded, and the Khaleefeh
returned to his palace; but he was unable to sleep during the remainder of
the night.
On the following morning he sat upon his throne, and when his courtiers
had presented themselves before him, and departed, excepting Jaạfar, he
said to him, Bring before me the three ladies and the two bitches and the
mendicants. So Jaạfar arose, and brought them, and, placing the ladies
behind the curtains, said to them, We have forgiven you on account of your
previous kindness to us, and because ye knew us not; and now I acquaint
you that ye are in the presence of the fifth of the sons of El-'Abbás, Hároon

Er-Rasheed; therefore relate to him nothing but the truth. And when the
ladies heard the words which Jaạfar addressed to them on the part of the
Khaleefeh, the eldest of them advanced, and thus related her story:—

THE STORY OF THE FIRST OF THE THREE LADIES OF BAGHDÁD.

O Prince of the Faithful, my story is wonderful; for these two bitches84 are
my sisters, born to my father, but of another mother; and I am the youngest
of the three. After the death of our father, who left us five thousand pieces
of gold, these my two sisters married, and when they had resided some time
with their husbands, each of the latter prepared a stock of merchandise, and
received from his wife a thousand pieces of gold, and they all set forth on a
journey together, leaving me here; but after they had been absent four years,
my sisters' husbands lost all their property, and abandoned them in a strange
land, and they returned to me in the garb of beggars. When I first saw them
in this state, I knew them not; and, as soon as I recognised them, I
exclaimed, How is it that ye are in this condition?—O our sister, they
answered, thy inquiry now is of no use: the Pen hath written what God hath
decreed.85—I sent them, therefore, to the bath, and, having clad them in new
apparel, said to them, O my sisters, ye are my elders, and I am young; so ye
shall be to me in the places of my father and mother. The inheritance which
I shared with you God hath blessed; partake then of its increase, for my
affairs are prosperous; and I and ye shall fare alike.—I treated them with the
utmost kindness, and during a whole year they remained with me, and
enriched themselves by the money that I had given them; but after this
period they said to me, It will be more agreeable to us to marry again, for
we can no longer abstain from doing so.—O my sisters, I replied, ye have
seen no happiness in marriage: a good husband in this age is rarely found,
and ye have already had experience of the marriage-state. They, however,
heeded not my words; but married against my consent: yet I gave them
dowries from my own property, and continued to them my protection. They
went to their husbands, and the latter, after they had resided with them a
short time, defrauded them of all that they possessed, and, setting forth on a
journey, left them destitute: so again they returned to me, and, in a state of
nudity, implored my forgiveness, saying, Be not angry with us; for though
thou art younger than we, thou hast more mature sense; and we promise
thee that we will never again mention the subject of marriage. I replied, Ye
are welcome, O my sisters; for I have no one dearer to me than yourselves:

—and I received them, and treated them with every kindness, and we
remained happily together for the space of a year.

After this I resolved to fit out a vessel for a mercantile voyage:86
accordingly, I stocked a large ship with various goods and necessary
provisions, and said to my sisters, Will ye rather stay at home during my
voyage, or will ye go with me?—to which they answered, We will
accompany thee during the voyage, for we cannot endure to be separated
from thee. I therefore took them with me, and we set sail; but first I divided
my property into two equal portions; one of which I took with me, and the
other I concealed, saying within myself, Perhaps some evil accident may
happen to the ship, and our lives may be prolonged; in which case, when we
return we shall find that which will be of service to us.—We continued our
voyage by day and night, till at length the vessel pursued a wrong course,
and the captain knew not whither to steer. The ship had entered a different
sea from that which we wished to cross, and for some time we knew it not;
but for ten days we had a pleasant wind, and after this, a city loomed before
us in the distance. We asked the captain what was the name of this city; and
he answered, I know it not; I have never seen it till this day, nor have I ever
before in the course of my life navigated this sea: but as we have come

hither in safety, ye have nothing to do but to enter this city and land your
goods, and, if ye find opportunity, sell or exchange there: if not, we will rest
there two days, and take in fresh provisions. So we entered the port of the
city, and the captain landed, and after a while returned to us, saying, Arise,
and go up into the city, and wonder at that which God hath done unto his
creatures, and pray to be preserved from his anger. And when we had
entered the city, we found all its inhabitants converted into black stones. We
were amazed at the sight, and as we walked through the market-streets,
finding the merchandise and the gold and silver remaining in their original
state, we rejoiced, and said, This must have been occasioned by same
wonderful circumstance. We then separated in the streets, each of us
attracted from his companions by the wealth and stuffs in the shops.
As for myself, I ascended to the citadel, which I found to be a building of
admirable construction; and, entering the King's palace, I found all the
vessels of gold and silver remaining in their places, and the King himself
seated in the midst of his Chamberlains and Viceroys and Wezeers, and clad
in apparel of astonishing richness. Drawing nearer to him, I perceived that
he was sitting upon a throne adorned with pearls and jewels, every one of
the pearls shining like a star: his dress was embroidered with gold, and
around him stood fifty memlooks, attired in silks of various descriptions,
and having in their hands drawn swords. Stupefied at this spectacle, I
proceeded, and entered the saloon of the Ḥareem, upon the walls of which
were hung silken curtains; and here I beheld the Queen, attired in a dress
embroidered with fresh pearls, and having upon her head a diadem adorned
with various jewels, and necklaces of different kinds on her neck. All her
clothing and ornaments remained as they were at first, though she herself
was converted into black stone. Here also I found an open door, and,
entering it, I saw a flight of seven steps, by which I ascended to an
apartment paved with marble, furnished with gold-embroidered carpets, and
containing a couch of alabaster, ornamented with pearls and jewels; but my
eyes were first attracted by a gleam of light, and when I approached the spot
whence it proceeded, I found a brilliant jewel, of the size of an ostrich's egg,
placed upon a small stool, diffusing a light like that of a candle. The
coverings of the couch above mentioned were of various kinds of silk, the
richness of which would surprise every beholder; and I looked at them with
wonder. In this apartment I likewise observed some lighted candles, and

reflected that there must then have been some person there to light them. I
passed thence to another part of the palace, and continued to explore the
different apartments, forgetting myself in the amazement of my mind at all
these strange circumstances, and immersed in thoughts respecting what I
beheld, until the commencement of night, when I would have departed; but
could not find the door: so I returned to the place in which were the lighted
candles, and there I laid myself upon the couch, and, covering myself with a
quilt, repeated some words of the Ḳur-án, and endeavoured to compose
myself to sleep; but I could not. I continued restless: and at midnight I heard
a recitation of the Ḳur-án, performed by a melodious and soft voice; upon
which I arose, and, looking about, saw a closet with an open door, and I
entered it, and found that it was an oratory: lighted lamps were suspended
in it, and upon a prayer-carpet spread on the floor sat a young man of
handsome aspect. Wondering that he had escaped the fate of the other
inhabitants of the city, I saluted him; and he raised his eyes, and returned
my salutation: and I then said to him, I conjure thee by the truth of that
which thou art reading in the Book of God, that thou answer the question
which I am about to ask thee:—whereupon he smiled, and replied, Do thou
first acquaint me with the cause of thine entrance into this place, and then I
will answer thy question: so I told him my story, and inquired of him the
history of this city. Wait a little, said he;—and he closed the Ḳur-án, and,
having put it in a bag of satin, seated me by his side. As I now beheld him,
his countenance appeared like the full moon, and his whole person
exhibited such perfect elegance and loveliness, that a single glance at him
drew from me a thousand sighs, and kindled a fire in my heart. I repeated
my request that he would give me an account of the city; and, replying, I
hear and obey, he thus addressed me:—

Know that this city belonged to my father and his family and subjects; and
he is the King whom thou hast seen converted into stone; and the Queen
whom thou hast seen is my mother. They were all Magians, worshipping
fire in the place of the Almighty King;87 and they swore by the fire and the
light, and the shade and the heat, and the revolving orb. My father had no
son, till, in his declining years, he was blest with me, whom he reared until I
attained to manhood. But, happily for me, there was, in our family, an old
woman, far advanced in age, who was a Muslimeh, believing in God and
his Apostle in her heart, though she conformed with my family in outward
observances; and my father confided in her, on account of the faithfulness
and modesty that he had observed in her character, and shewed her great
favour, firmly believing that she held the same faith as himself; therefore,

when I had passed my infancy, he committed me to her care, saying, Take
him, and rear him, and instruct him in the ordinances of our faith, and
educate him and serve him in the best manner. The old woman accordingly
received me, but took care to instruct me in the faith of El-Islám, teaching
me the laws of purification, and the divine ordinances of ablution, together
with the forms of prayer; after which she made me commit to memory the
whole of the Ḳur-án. She then charged me to keep my faith a secret from
my father, lest he should kill me; and I did so; and a few days after, the old
woman died. The inhabitants of the city had now increased in their impiety
and arrogance, and in their dereliction of the truth; and while they were in
this state, they heard a crier proclaim with a voice like thunder, so as to be
audible to both the near and the distant, O inhabitants of this city, abstain
from the worship of fire, and worship the Almighty King!—The people
were struck with consternation, and, flocking to my father, the King of the
city, said to him, What is this alarming voice which hath astounded us by its
terrible sound?—but he answered them, Let not the voice terrify you, nor
let it turn you from your faith:—and their hearts inclined to his words; so
they persevered in the worship of fire, and remained obstinate in their
impiety during another year, until the return of the period at which they had
heard the voice the first time. It was then heard a second time; and again, in
the next year, they heard it a third time; but still they persisted in their evil
ways, until, drawing down upon themselves the abhorrence and indignation
of Heaven, one morning, shortly after daybreak, they were converted into
black stones, together with their beasts and all their cattle. Not one of the
inhabitants of the city escaped, excepting me; and from the day on which
this catastrophe happened, I have continued occupied as thou seest, in
prayer, and fasting, and reading the Ḳur-án: but I have become weary of this
solitary state, having no one to cheer me with his company.
On hearing these words, I said to him, Wilt thou go with me to the city of
Baghdád, and visit its learned men and lawyers, and increase thy
knowledge? If so, I will be thy handmaid, though I am the mistress of my
family, and have authority over a household of men. I have here a ship
laden with merchandise, and destiny hath driven us to this city, in order that
we might become acquainted with these events: our meeting was
predestined.—In this manner I continued to persuade him until he gave his
consent. I slept that night at his feet, unconscious of my state through