At last some viziers, the sultan’s favourites, who judged of prince Ahmed’s grandeur and power by the figure he made, abused the liberty the sultan gave them of speaking to him, to make him jealous of his son. They represented to him that it was but common prudence to know where the prince had retired, and how he could afford to live at such a rate, since he had no revenue nor income assigned him, and that he seemed to come to court only to brave him, by affecting to show that he wanted nothing of him to live like a prince, and that it was to be feared he might stir up the people’s favour, and dethrone him.
The sultan of the Indies was so far from thinking that prince Ahmed could be capable of so wicked a design, as his favourites would make him believe, that he said to them, You are mistaken; my son loves me, and I am the more assured of his tenderness and fidelity, as I have given him no reason to be disgusted.
Upon these last words, one of the favourites took an opportunity to say, Your majesty, in the opinion of the most sensible people, could not have taken a better method than what you have done with the three princes, respecting their marriage with the princess Nouronnihar; but who knows whether prince Ahmed has submitted to his fate with the same resignation as prince Houssain? May not he imagine that he alone deserved her, and that your majesty, by leaving that matter to be decided by chance, has done him injustice?
Your majesty may say, added the malicious favourite, that prince Ahmed has given no sign of dissatisfaction; that our fears are vain; that we are too easily alarmed, and are to blame to suggest to you suspicions of this sort, which may, perhaps, be unfounded, against a prince of your blood. But, sir, pursued the favourite, it may be also these suspicions may be well grounded. Your majesty is sensible, that in so nice and important an affair, you cannot be too much upon your guard, and should take the safest course. Consider, it is the prince’s business to dissemble, amuse, and deceive you; and the danger is the greater, as the prince resides not far from your capital; and if your majesty give but the same attention that we do, you may observe that every time he comes, he and his attendants are fresh, and their clothes and their horses’ housings are clean and bright, as if they were come from the maker’s hands, and their horses look as if they had only been walked out. These are sufficient signs that prince Ahmed does not come a great way; so that we should think ourselves wanting in our duty if we did not make our humble remonstrances, that, for your own preservation and the good of your people, you might take such measures as you shall think fit.
When the favourite had made an end of this long speech, the sultan said, Be it as it will, I do not believe my son Ahmed is so wicked as you would persuade me he is; however, I am obliged to you for your good advice, and do not doubt that it proceeds from a good intention.
The sultan of the Indies said this, that his favourites might not know the impressions their discourse had made on his mind. He was, however, so much alarmed by it, that he resolved to have prince Ahmed watched, unknown to his grand vizier. For this end, he sent for the female magician, who was introduced by a private door into his closet. You told me the truth, said he, when you assured me my son Ahmed was alive, for which I am obliged to you. You must do me another pleasure. I have seen him since, and he comes to my court every month; but I cannot learn from him where he resides, and I did not wish to force his secret out of him, but believe you are capable of satisfying my curiosity, without letting him, or any of my court, know any thing of the matter. You know that at this present time he is here with me, and is used to go away without taking leave of me, or any of my court. Go immediately upon the road, and watch him so well, as to find out where he retires, and bring me word.
The magician left the sultan, and knowing the place where prince Ahmed found his arrow, went immediately thither, and hid herself near the rocks, so that nobody could see her.
The next morning prince Ahmed set out by day-break, without taking leave either of the sultan or any of his court, according to custom. The magician seeing him coming, followed him with her eyes, till on a sudden she lost sight of him and his attendants.
The steepness of the rocks formed an insurmountable barrier to men, whether on horseback or on foot, so that the magician judged that there were but two ways; either that the prince retired into some cavern, or into some place under ground, the abode of genies or fairies. When she thought the prince and his attendants were out of sight, and returned into the cavern or subterraneous place she imagined, she came out of the place where she had hid herself, and went directly to the hollow way where she had seen them go in. She entered it, going and returning several times, and proceeding to the spot where it terminated in many windings, looking carefully about on all sides. But notwithstanding all her diligence, she could perceive no opening, nor the iron gate which prince Ahmed discovered: for this door was to be seen by and opened to none but men, and only to such men whose presence was agreeable to the fairy Pari Banou, and not at all to women.
The magician, who saw it was in vain for her to search any farther, was obliged to be satisfied with the discovery she had made, and returned to give the sultan an account. When she had told him what she had done, she added, Your majesty may easily understand, after what I have had the honour to tell you, it will be no difficult matter to give you the satisfaction you desire concerning prince Ahmed’s conduct. I will not tell you now what I think, but choose to let you know in a way that will not suffer you to doubt of it. To do this, I only ask time, and that you will have patience, and give me leave to do it, without inquiring what measures I design to take.
The sultan was very well pleased with the magician’s conduct, and said to her, Do you as you think fit; I will wait patiently the event of your promises. And to encourage her, he made her a present of a diamond of great value, telling her it was only an earnest of the ample recompense she should receive when she had done him that important piece of service, which he left to her management.
As prince Ahmed, after he had obtained the fairy Pari Banou’s leave to go to the sultan of the Indies’ court, never failed once a month, and the magician knowing the time, went a day or two before to the foot of the rock, where she lost sight of the prince and his attendants, and waited there with an intention to execute the project she had formed.
The next morning prince Ahmed went out as usual at the iron gate, with the same attendants as before, and passed by the magician, whom he knew not to be such; and seeing her lie with her head upon the rock, and complaining as if she was in great pain, he pitied her, turned his horse about, and went to her, and asked her what was the matter with her, and what he could do to relieve her.
The artful sorceress, without lifting up her head, looked at the prince in a manner to increase his compassion, already excited, and answered in broken words and sighs, as if she could hardly fetch her breath, that she was going to the city, but in the way thither was taken with so violent a fever, that her strength failed her, and she was forced to stop and lie down where he saw her, far from any habitation, and without any hopes of assistance.
Good woman, replied prince Ahmed, you are not so far from help as you imagine. I am ready to assist you, and convey you where you shall not only have all possible care taken of you, but where you will find a speedy cure; only get up, and let one of my people take you behind him.
At these words, the magician, who pretended sickness only to know where the prince lived, what he did, and what was his situation, did not refuse the charitable offer he made her so freely; and, to show her acceptance of it rather by her actions than by her words, she made many affected efforts to get up, pretending that the violence of her illness prevented her. At the same time, two of the prince’s attendants alighting off their horses, helped her up, and set her behind another. They mounted their horses again, and followed the prince, who turned back to the iron gate, which was opened by one of his retinue, who rode before. When he came into the outward court of the fairy’s palace, without dismounting himself, he sent to tell her he wanted to speak with her.
The fairy Pari Banou came with all imaginable haste, not knowing what made prince Ahmed return so soon; who, not giving her time to ask him the reason, said, My princess, I desire you would have compassion on this good woman, pointing to the magician, who was taken off the horse by two of his retinue: I found her in the condition you see her in, and promised her the assistance she stands in need of. I recommend her to your care, and am persuaded that you, from inclination, as well as at my request, will not abandon her.
The fairy Pari Banou, who had her eyes fixed upon the pretended sick woman all the time that the prince was talking to her, ordered two of her women who followed her to take her from the two men that held her, and carry her into an apartment of the palace, and take as much care of her as of herself.
Whilst the two women executed the fairy’s commands, she went up to prince Ahmed, and whispering him in the ear, said, Prince, I commend your compassion, which is worthy of you and your birth. I take great pleasure in gratifying your good intention; but give me leave to tell you, I am afraid it will be but ill rewarded. This woman is not so sick as she pretends to be; and I am very much mistaken if she is not sent hither on purpose to occasion you great trouble. But do not be concerned, let what will be devised against you; be persuaded that I will deliver you out of all the snares that shall be laid for you. Go and pursue your journey.
This discourse of the fairy’s did not in the least alarm prince Ahmed. My princess, said he, as I do not remember I ever did, or designed to do, any body an injury. I cannot believe any body can have a thought of doing me one; but if they have, I shall not forbear doing good, whenever I have an opportunity. So saying, he took leave of the fairy, and set forward again for his father’s capital, where he soon arrived, and was received as usual by the sultan, who constrained himself as much as possible, to disguise the trouble arising from the suspicions suggested by his favourites.
In the mean time, the two women to whom the fairy Pari Banou had given her orders carried the magician into a very fine apartment, richly furnished. First, they set her down upon a sofa, with her back supported with a cushion of gold brocade, while they made a bed on the same sofa before her, the quilt of which was finely embroidered with silk, the sheets of the finest linen, and the coverlid cloth of gold. When they had put her into bed, (for the old sorceress pretended that her fever was so violent, she could not help herself in the least,) one of the women went out, and returned soon again with a china cup in her hand, full of a certain liquor, which she presented to the magician, while the other helped her to sit up. Drink this liquor, said she; it is the water of the fountain of lions, and a sovereign remedy against all fevers whatsoever. You will find the effect of it in less than an hour’s time.
The magician, to dissemble the better, took it, after a great deal of entreaty, as if she was very much averse to take that potion; but at last she took the china cup, and shaking her head as if she did great violence to herself, swallowed the liquor. When she was laid down again, the two women covered her up. Lie quiet, said she who brought her the china cup, and get a little sleep if you can: we will leave you, and hope to find you perfectly cured when we come an hour hence.
The magician, who came not to act a sick part long, but only to discover prince Ahmed’s retreat, and what made him leave his father’s court, being fully satisfied in what she wanted to know, would willingly have declared that the potion had then had its effects, so great was her desire to return to the sultan, to inform him of the success of her commission: but as she had been told that the potion did not operate immediately, she was forced to wait the women’s return.
The two women came again at the time they said they should, and found the magician up and dressed, and seated on the sofa; who, when she saw them open the door of the apartment, cried out, O the admirable potion! it has wrought its cure much sooner than you told me it would, and I have waited a long time with impatience, to desire you to carry me to your charitable mistress, to thank her for her kindness, for which I shall always be obliged to her, since being thus cured as by a miracle, I would not lose time, but prosecute my journey.
The two women, who were fairies as well as their mistress, after they had told the magician how glad they were that she was cured so soon, walked before her, and conducted her through several apartments, all more superb than that wherein she lay, into a large hall, the most richly and magnificently furnished of all the palace.
Pari Banou was seated in this hall, on a throne of massy gold, enriched with diamonds, rubies, and pearls of an extraordinary size, and attended on each hand by a great number of beautiful fairies, all richly dressed. At the sight of so much majesty, the magician was not only dazzled, but was so struck, that after she had prostrated herself before the throne, she could not open her lips to thank the fairy, as she proposed. However, Pari Banou saved her the trouble, and said to her, Good woman, I am glad I had an opportunity to oblige you, and to see you are able to pursue your journey. I will not detain you; but perhaps you may not be displeased to see my palace: follow my women, and they will show it you.
The old sorceress, who had not power nor courage to say a word, prostrated herself a second time, with her head on the carpet that covered the foot of the throne, and so took her leave, and was conducted by the two fairies through all the same apartments which were shown to prince Ahmed at his first arrival there, and at sight of their uncommon magnificence, she made frequent exclamations. But what surprised her most of all was, that the two fairies told her, that all she saw and admired so much was a mere sketch of their mistress’s grandeur and riches; and that in the extent of her dominions she had so many palaces that they could not tell the number of them, all of different plans and architecture, and equally magnificent and superb. In talking of many other particulars, they led her at last to the iron gate at which prince Ahmed brought her in, and after she had taken her leave of them, and thanked them for their trouble, they opened it, and wished her a good journey.
After the magician had gone a little way, she turned back again to observe the door and know it again, but all in vain; for, as was before observed, it was invisible to her and all other women. Except in this circumstance, she was very well satisfied with executing the commission she had undertaken, and posted away to the sultan. When she came to the capital, she went by a great many by-ways to the private door of the palace. The sultan being informed of her arrival, sent for her into his apartment, and perceiving a melancholy hang upon her countenance, he thought she had not succeeded, and said to her, By your looks I surmise that your journey has been to no purpose, and that you have not made the discovery I expected from your diligence. Sir, replied the magician, your majesty must give me leave to represent to you, that you ought not to judge by my looks whether or no I have acquitted myself well in the execution of the commands you were pleased to honour me with; but by the faithful report I shall make you of all that has happened to me, and by which you will find that I have not neglected any thing that could render me worthy of your approbation. The melancholy you observe in my face proceeds from another cause than the want of success, which I hope your majesty will have all the reason in the world to be content with. I do not tell you the cause; the relation I am going to give will, if you have patience, inform you of it.
Then the magician related to the sultan of the Indies how she pretended to be sick, prince Ahmed compassionating her, had her carried into a subterraneous abode, and presented and recommended her himself to a fairy of incomparable beauty, desiring her by her care to restore her health. Then she told him with how much condescension the fairy presently ordered two fairies that attended her, to take care of her, and not to leave her till she was recovered; which great condescension, said she, could proceed from no other person but from a wife to a husband. Afterwards the old sorceress failed not to exaggerate on her surprise at the front of the palace, which she said had not its fellow in the world, while the two fairies held her by each arm, like a sick person, as she feigned to be, that could not walk or support herself. She gave a particular account of the care they took of her, after they had led her into another apartment; of the potion they made her drink, and of the quickness of her cure, which she pretended as well as her sickness, though she doubted not the virtue of the draught; the majesty of the fairy seated on a throne, brilliant with jewels, the value of which exceeded all the riches of the kingdom of the Indies, and all the other riches, beyond computation, contained in that vast palace.
Here the magician, finishing the relation of the success of her commission, and continuing her discourse, said, What does your majesty think of these unheard-of riches of the fairy? Perhaps you will say, you are struck with admiration, and rejoice at the good fortune of prince Ahmed your son, who enjoys them in common with the fairy. For my part, sir, I beg of your majesty to forgive me, if I take the liberty to remonstrate to you, that I think otherwise, and that I shudder when I consider the misfortunes which may happen to you from it. And this is the cause of the melancholy which I could not so well dissemble, but that you soon perceived it. I would believe that prince Ahmed, by his own good disposition, is incapable of undertaking any thing against your majesty; but who can answer that the fairy, by her attractions and caresses, and the influence she has already over him, may not inspire him with a dangerous design of dethroning your majesty, and seizing the crown of the Indies? This is what your majesty ought to consider as a serious affair of the utmost importance.
Though the sultan of the Indies was very well persuaded that prince Ahmed’s natural disposition was good, yet he could not help being moved at the discourse of the old sorceress, and said, I thank you for the pains you have taken, and your wholesome caution. I am so sensible of the great importance it is to me, that I shall take advice upon it.
He was consulting with his favourites, when he was told of the magician’s arrival. He ordered her to follow him to them. He acquainted them with what he had learnt, and communicated to them also the reason he had to fear the fairy’s influence over the prince, and asked them what measures they thought most proper to be taken to prevent so great a misfortune. One of the favourites, taking upon himself to speak for the rest, said, Your majesty knows who must be the author of this mischief. In order to prevent it, now he is in your court, and in your power, you ought not to hesitate to put him under arrest; I will not say, take away his life, for that would make too much noise; but make him a close prisoner while he lives. This advice all the other favourites unanimously applauded.
The magician, who thought it too violent, asked the sultan leave to speak, which being granted, she said, Sir, I am persuaded the zeal of your counsellors for your majesty’s interest makes them propose arresting prince Ahmed: but they will not take it amiss if I offer to your and their consideration, that if you arrest the prince you must also detain his retinue. But they are all genies. Do they think it will be so easy to surprise, seize, and secure their persons? Will they not disappear, by the property they possess of rendering themselves invisible, and transport themselves instantly to the fairy, and give her an account of the insult offered her husband? And can it be supposed she will let it go unrevenged? But would it not be better, if by any other means, which might not make so great a noise, the sultan could secure himself against any ill designs prince Ahmed may have against him, and not involve his majesty’s honour, or any body suspect him of any ill design? If his majesty has any confidence in my advice, as genies and fairies can do things impracticable to men, he will pique prince Ahmed’s honour, and engage him by means of the fairy to procure certain advantages, under pretence of deriving a great return, —for which he will be obliged to him. For example, every time your majesty takes the field, you are obliged to be at a great expense, not only in pavilions and tents for yourself and army, but likewise in mules and camels, and other beasts of burden, to carry their baggage. Might not you engage him to use his interest with the fairy, to procure you a tent which might be carried in a man’s hand, and which should be so large as to shelter your whole army.
I need say no more to your majesty. If the prince brings such a tent, you may make a great many other demands of the same nature, so that at last he may sink under the difficulties and the impossibility of executing them, however fertile in means and inventions the fairy, who has enticed him from you by her enchantments, may be; so that in time he will be ashamed to appear, and will be forced to pass the rest of his life with his fairy, excluded from any commerce with this world; and then your majesty will have nothing to fear from him, and cannot be reproached with so detestable an action as the shedding of a son’s blood, or confining him in a prison for life.
When the magician had finished her speech, the sultan asked his favourites if they had any thing better to propose; and finding them all silent, determined to follow the magician’s advice, as the most reasonable and most agreeable to his mild manner of government.
The next day, when the prince came into his father’s presence, who was talking with his favourites, and had sat down by him, after a conversation on different subjects, the sultan addressing himself to prince Ahmed, said, Son, when you came and dispelled those clouds of melancholy which your long absence had brought upon me, you made the place you had chosen for your retreat a mystery to me. I was satisfied with seeing you again, and knowing that you was content with your condition, and wished not to penetrate into your secret, which I found you did not care I should. I know not what reason you had thus to treat a father, who ever did and still continues to express what interest he takes in your happiness. I know your good fortune. I rejoice with you, and very much approve of your conduct in marrying a fairy so worthy of your love, and so rich and powerful, as I am informed. Powerful as I am, it was not possible for me to have procured so great a match for you. Now you are raised to so high a rank, as to be envied by every body, but a father like me, I not only desire you to preserve the good understanding we have lived in hitherto, but that you will use all your credit with your fairy to obtain for me her assistance, when I may want it. I therefore will make a trial of your interest this day.
You are not insensible at what a great expense, not to say trouble to my generals, officers, and myself, every time I take the field, they provide tents and pavilions, and mules and camels, and other beasts of burden, to carry them. If you consider the pleasure you would do me, I am persuaded you could easily procure from her a pavilion that might be carried in a man’s hand, and which would extend over my whole army; especially when you let her know it is for me. Though it may be a difficult thing, she will not refuse you. All the world, knows fairies are capable of doing most extraordinary things.
Prince Ahmed never expected that the sultan his father would have asked such a thing, which at first sight appeared to him so difficult, not to say impossible. Though he knew not absolutely how great the power of genies and fairies was, he doubted whether it extended so far as to furnish such a tent as his father desired. Moreover he had never asked any thing like it of the fairy Pari Banou, but was satisfied with the continual proofs she had given him of her passion, that he forgot nothing to persuade her that his heart perfectly corresponded without any views of interest, beyond maintaining himself in her good graces; therefore he was in the greatest embarrassment what answer to make. At last, he replied, If, sir, I have concealed from your majesty what happened to me, and what course I took after the finding my arrow, the reason was, that I thought it was of no great importance to you to be informed of them; and though I know not how this mystery has been revealed to you, I cannot deny but your information is very just. I have married the fairy you speak of. I love her, and am persuaded she loves me. But I can say nothing as to the influence your majesty believes I have over her. It is what I have not yet made an experiment of, nor thought of, and should be very glad you would dispense with my undertaking it, and let me enjoy the happiness of loving and being beloved, with all the disinterestedness I proposed to myself. But the demand of a father is a command upon every child, who, like me, thinks it his duty to obey him in every thing. And though it is with the greatest reluctance imaginable, I will not fail to ask my wife the favour your majesty desires, but will not promise you to obtain it; and if I should not have the honour to come again to pay you my respects, that shall be the sign that I have not had success: but beforehand, I desire you to forgive me, and consider that you yourself have reduced me to this extremity.
Son, replied the sultan of the Indies, I should be very sorry that what I ask of you should give you reason to cause me the grief of never seeing you more. I find you do not know the power a husband has over a wife; and yours would show that her love to you was very indifferent, if she, with the power she has as a fairy, should refuse you so trifling a request as this I desire you to ask of her for my sake. Lay aside your fears, which proceed from your believing yourself not to be loved so well as you love her. Go; only ask her. You will find the fairy loves you better than you imagine; and remember, that people, for want of asking, often lose great advantages. Think with yourself, that as you love her, you could refuse her nothing; therefore, if she loves you, she will not deny your requests.
All this discourse of the sultan of the Indies could not persuade prince Ahmed, who would rather he would have asked any thing else, than to expose him to the hazard of displeasing his dear Pari Banou; and so great was his vexation, that he left the court two days sooner than he used to do.
When he returned, the fairy, to whom he always before appeared with a gay countenance, asked him the cause of the alteration she perceived in his looks; and finding, that instead of answering her, he inquired after her health, to avoid satisfying her, she said to him, I will answer your question when you have answered mine. The prince declined it a long time, protesting that nothing was the matter with him; but the more he denied it, the more she pressed him, and said to him, I cannot bear to see you in this condition: tell me what makes you so uneasy, that I may remove the cause of it, whatever it may be; for it must be very extraordinary if it is out of my power, unless it be the death of the sultan your father; in that case, time, with all that I will contribute on my part, will comfort you.
Prince Ahmed could not long withstand the pressing instances of the fairy. Madam, said he, God prolong the sultan my father’s life, and bless him to the end of his days. I left him alive, and in perfect health; therefore that is not the cause of the melancholy you perceive in me. The sultan is the occasion of it, and I am the more concerned, because he has imposed upon me the disagreeable necessity of importuning you. First, you know the care I have taken, with your approbation, to conceal from him the happiness I have to see you, to love you, to deserve your favour and love, and to have received the pledge of your faith, after having pledged my faith with you. How he has been informed of it I cannot tell.
Here the fairy Pari Banou interrupted prince Ahmed, and said, But I know. Remember what I told you of the woman who made you believe she was sick, on whom you took so much compassion. It is she who has acquainted the sultan your father with what you have taken so much care to hide from him. I told you she was no more sick than you or I, and she has made it appear so; for, in short, after the two women, whom I charged to take care of her, had given her the water sovereign against all fevers, which, however, she had no occasion for, she pretended that water had cured her, and was brought to take her leave of me, that she might go the sooner to give an account of the success of her undertaking. She was in so much haste, that she would have gone away without seeing my palace, if I had not, by bidding my two women show it her, given her to understand that it was worth her seeing. But go on, and tell me what is the necessity your father has imposed on you to be so importunate, which I desire you will be persuaded you can be.
Madam, pursued prince Ahmed, you may have observed that hitherto I have been content with your love, and have never asked you any other favour: for what, after the possession of so amiable a wife, can I desire more? I know how great your power is, but I have taken care not to make trial of it. Consider then, I conjure you, that it is not me, but the sultan my father, who, indiscreetly, as I think, asks of you a pavilion large enough to shelter him, his court, and army, from the violence of the weather, when he takes the field, and which a man may carry in his hand. Once more, remember, it is not I, but the sultan my father, who asks this favour.
Prince, replied the fairy, smiling, I am sorry that so small a matter should disturb you, and make you so uneasy as you appeared to me. I see plainly two things have contributed towards it: one is, the law you have imposed upon yourself, to be content with loving me, and being beloved by me, and to deny yourself the liberty of asking me the least favour that might try my power. The other, I do not doubt, whatever you may say, was, you thought that what your father asked of me was out of my power. As to the first, I commend you for it, and shall love you the better, if possible, for it; and for the second, I must tell you, that what the sultan you father asks of me is a trifle; and upon occasions. I can do much more difficult things. Therefore be easy, and persuaded, that far from thinking myself importuned, I shall always take a great deal of pleasure in whatever you can desire me to do for your sake. Then the fairy sent for her treasurer, to whom, when she came, she said, Nourgihan,[108](which was her name,) bring me the largest pavilion in my treasury. Nourgihan returned presently with a pavilion, which could not only be held, but concealed in the palm of the hand, when it was closed, and presented it to her mistress, who gave it prince Ahmed to look at.
When prince Ahmed saw the pavilion which the fairy called the largest in her treasury, he fancied she had a mind to banter him, and his surprise appeared presently in his countenance, which Pari Banou perceiving, burst out a laughing. What! prince, cried she, do you think I jest with you? You will see presently that I am in earnest. Nourgihan, said she to her treasurer, taking the tent out of prince Ahmed’s hand, go and set it up, that the prince may judge whether the sultan his father will think it large enough.
The treasurer went out immediately with it from the palace, and carried it to such a distance, that when she had set it up, one end reached to the palace. The prince, so far from thinking it small, found it large enough to shelter two armies as numerous as that of the sultan his father, and then said to Pari Banou, I ask my princess a thousand pardons for my incredulity: after what I have seen, I believe there is nothing impossible to you. You see, said the fairy, that the pavilion is larger than your father may have occasion for; but you are to observe, that it has one property, that it becomes larger or smaller, according to the army it is to cover, without applying any hands to it.
The treasurer took down the tent again, reduced it to its first size, and brought it and put it into the prince’s hands. He took it, and without staying any longer than till the next day, mounted his horse, and went with the usual attendants to the sultan his father.
The sultan, who was persuaded that such a tent as he asked for was beyond all possibility, was in great surprise at the prince’s diligence. He took the tent, and after he had admired its smallness, his amazement was so great that he could not recover himself when he had set it up in the great plain before mentioned, and found it large enough to shelter an army twice as large as he could bring into the field. Looking upon this circumstance to be a superfluity that might be troublesome in the use, prince Ahmed told him, that its size would always be in proportion to his army.
To outward appearance the sultan expressed great obligations to the prince his son for so noble a present, desiring him to return his thanks to the fairy Pari Banou; and to show what a value he set on it, he ordered it to be carefully laid up in his treasury. But within himself he conceived a greater jealousy than what his flatterers and the magician had suggested to him; considering that by the fairy’s assistance, the prince his son might perform things that were infinitely above his own power notwithstanding his greatness and riches, therefore, more intent upon his ruin, he went to consult the magician again, who advised him to engage the prince to bring some of the water of the fountain of lions.
In the evening, when the sultan was surrounded as usual by all the court, and the prince came to pay his respects among the rest, he addressed himself to him in these words: Son, said he, I have already expressed to you how much I am obliged to you for the present of the tent you have procured me, which I look upon as the most valuable thing in my treasury; but you must do one thing more for me, which will be no less agreeable to me. I am informed that the fairy your spouse makes use of a certain water, called the water of the fountain of lions, which cures all sorts of fevers, even the most dangerous; and as I am perfectly well persuaded my health is dear to you, I do not doubt but you will ask her for a bottle of that water for me, and bring it me, as a sovereign remedy which I may make use of when I have occasion. Do me this other important piece of service, and thereby complete the duty of a good son towards a tender father.
Prince Ahmed, who believed that the sultan his father would have been satisfied with so singular and useful a tent as that which he had brought, and that he would not have imposed any new task upon him which might hazard the fairy’s displeasure, was thunderstruck at this new request, notwithstanding the assurance she had given him of granting him whatever lay in her power. After a long silence, he said, I beg of your majesty to be assured, that there is nothing I would not undertake to procure you, which may contribute to the prolonging of your life, but I could wish it might not be by the means of my wife. For this reason I dare not promise to bring the water. All I can do is, to assure you I will ask it of her; but it will be with as great reluctance as when I asked for the tent.
The next morning prince Ahmed returned to the fairy Pan Banou, and related to her sincerely and faithfully all that had passed at the sultan his father’s court, from the giving of the tent, which he told her he received with the utmost gratitude for the favour she had done him, to the new request he had charged him to make for him. And when he had done, he added: But, my princess, I only tell you this is a plain account of what passed between me and my father. I leave you to your own pleasure, whether you will gratify or reject this his new desire. It shall be as you please.
No, no, replied the fairy Pari Banou, I am glad that the sultan of the Indies knows that you are not indifferent to me. I will satisfy him, and whatever advice the magician can give him, (for I see that he hearkens to her) he shall find no fault with you or me. There is a great deal of wickedness in this demand, as you will understand by what I am going to tell you. The fountain of lions is situated in the middle of a court of a great castle, the entrance into which is guarded by four fierce lions, two of which sleep alternately, while the other two are awake. But let not that frighten you. I will give you means to pass by them without any danger.
The fairy Pari Banou was at that time very hard at work with her needle; and as she had by her several clues of thread, she took up one, and presenting it to prince Ahmed, said, First take this clue of thread; I will tell you presently the use of it. In the second place, you must have two horses; one you must ride yourself, and the other you must lead, which must be loaded with a sheep cut into four quarters, that must be killed to-day. In the third place, you must be provided with a bottle, which I will give you, to bring the water in. Set out early to-morrow morning, and when you have passed the iron gate, throw before you the clue of thread, which will roll till it comes to the gates of the castle. Follow it, and when it stops, as the gates will be open, you will see the four lions. The two that are awake will, by their roaring, wake the other two. Be not frightened, but throw each of them a quarter of the sheep, and then clap spurs to your horse, and ride to the fountain. Fill your bottle without alighting, and then return with the same expedition. The lions will be so busy eating, they will let you pass by them.
Prince Ahmed set out the next morning at the time appointed him by the fairy, and followed her directions punctually. When he arrived at the gates of the castle, he distributed the quarters of the sheep among the four lions, and passing through the midst of them with intrepidity, got to the fountain, filled his bottle, and returned as safe and sound as he went. When he had got a little distance from the castle gates he turned about, and perceiving two of the lions coming after him, he drew his sabre, and prepared himself for defence. But as he went forwards, he saw one of them turned out of the road at some distance, and showed by his head and tail that he did not come to do him any harm, but only to go before him, and that the other stayed behind to follow. He therefore put his sword again into its scabbard. Guarded in this manner, he arrived at the capital of the Indies: but the lions never left him till they had conducted him to the gates of the sultan’s palace; after which they returned the same way they came, though not without frightening all that saw them, who fled or hid themselves to avoid them, though they walked gently, and showed no signs of fierceness.
A great many officers came to attend the prince while he dismounted, and conducted him to the sultan’s apartment who was at that time conversing with his favourites. He approached the throne, laid the bottle at the sultan’s feet, and kissed the rich carpet which covered the footstool, and, rising, said, I have brought you, sir, the salutary water, which your majesty so much desired to keep among your other rarities in your treasury; but at the same time wish you such extraordinary health, as never to have occasion to make use of it.
After the prince had made an end of his compliment, the sultan placed him on his right hand, and then said to him, Son, I am very much obliged to you for this valuable present; as also for the great danger you have exposed yourself to on my account, which I have been informed of by the magician, who knows the fountain of lions; but do me the pleasure, continued he, to inform me by what address, or rather, by what incredible power, you have been preserved.
Sir, replied prince Ahmed, I have no share in the compliment your majesty is pleased to make me; all the honour is due to the fairy my spouse, and I take no other merit than that of having followed her good advice. Then he informed the sultan what that advice was by the relation of this his expedition, and how he had conducted himself. When he had done, the sultan, who showed outwardly all the demonstrations of joy, but secretly became more and more jealous, retired into an inward apartment, where he sent for the magician.
The magician, at her arrival, saved the sultan the trouble to tell her of the success of prince Ahmed’s journey, which she had heard of before she came, and therefore was prepared with the infallible means. This thought she communicated to the sultan, who declared it the next day to the prince, in the midst of all his courtiers, in these words: Son, said he, I have one thing more to ask of you, after which, I shall expect nothing more from your obedience, nor your interest with your wife. This request is, to bring me a man not above a foot and a half high, and whose beard is thirty feet long, who carries upon his shoulders a bar of iron of five hundred weight, which he uses as a quarter-staff, and who can speak.
Prince Ahmed, who did not believe that there was such a man in the world as his father described, would gladly have excused himself; but the sultan persisted in his demand, and told him the fairy could do more incredible things.
Next day the prince returned to the subterraneous kingdom of Pari Banou, to whom he told his father’s new demand, which, he said, he looked upon to be a thing more impossible than the two first: for, added he, I cannot imagine there is or can be such a man in the world: without doubt, he has a mind to try whether I am silly enough to go about to seek it; or if there is such a man, he seeks my ruin. In short, how can he suppose that I should lay hold of a man so small, armed as he describes? what arms can I make use of to reduce him to submission? If there are any means, I beg you will tell me how I may come off with honour this time also.
Do not affright yourself prince, replied the fairy; you ran a risk in fetching the water of the fountain of lions for your father; but there is no danger in finding out this man. It is my brother, Shaibar, who is so far from being like me, though we both had the same father, that he is of so violent a nature, that nothing can prevent his giving bloody marks of his resentment for a slight offence; yet, on the other hand, is so good as to oblige any one in whatever they desire. He is made exactly as the sultan your father has described him; and has no other arms than a bar of iron of five hundred pounds weight, without which he never stirs, and which makes him respected. I will send for him, and you shall judge of the truth of what I tell you; but be sure to prepare yourself not to be frightened at his extraordinary figure when you see him. What! my queen, replied prince Ahmed, do you say Schaibar is your brother? Let him be ever so ugly or deformed, I shall be so far from being frightened at the sight of him, that I shall love and honour him, and consider him as my nearest relation.
The fairy ordered a gold chafing-dish to be set with a fire in it under the porch of her palace, with a box of the same metal, which was a present to her, out of which, taking some incense, and throwing it into the fire, there arose a thick cloud of smoke.
Some moments after, the fairy said to prince Ahmed, Prince, there comes my brother; do you see him? The prince immediately perceived Schaibar, who was but a foot and a half high, coming gravely with his heavy bar on his shoulder; his beard thirty feet long, which supported itself before him, and a pair of thick mustaches in proportion, tucked up to his ears, and almost covering his face: his eyes were very small, like a pig’s, and deep sunk in his head, which was of an enormous size, and on which he wore a pointed cap: besides all this, he had a hump behind and before.
If prince Ahmed had not known that Schaibar was Pari Banou’s brother, he would not have been able to look at him without fear; but knowing first who he was, he waited for him with the fairy, and received him without the least concern.
Schaibar, as he came forwards, looked at the prince with an eye that would have chilled his soul in his body, and asked Pari Banou, when he first accosted her, who that man was? To which she replied, He is my husband, brother; his name is Ahmed; he is son to the sultan of the Indies. The reason why I did not invite you to my wedding was, I was unwilling to divert you from the expedition you were engaged in, and from which I heard with pleasure you returned victorious; on his account I have taken the liberty now to call for you.
At these words, Schaibar, looking on prince Ahmed with a favourable eye, which however, diminished neither his fierceness nor savage look, said, Is there any thing, sister, wherein I can serve him? he has only to speak. It is enough to me that he is your husband, to engage me to do for him whatever he desires. The sultan his father, replied Pari Banou, has a curiosity to see you, and I desire he may be your guide to the sultan’s court. He needs but lead me the way; I will follow him, replied Schaibar. Brother, replied Pari Banou, it is too late to go to-day, therefore stay till to-morrow morning; and in the mean time, as it is fit you should know all that has passed between the sultan of the Indies and prince Ahmed since our marriage, I will inform you this evening.
The next morning, after Schaibar had been informed of all that was proper for him to know, he set out with the prince Ahmed, who was to present him to the sultan. When they arrived at the gates of the capital, the people no sooner saw Schaibar, but they ran and hid themselves in the shops and houses, shutting their doors; while others, taking to their heels, communicated their fears to all they met, who staid not to look behind them, but ran too; insomuch that Schaibar and prince Ahmed, as they went along, found all the streets and squares desolate, till they came to the palace, where the porters, instead of preventing Schaibar from entering, ran away too; so that the prince and he advanced without any obstacle to the council-hall, where the sultan was seated on his throne and giving audience. Here likewise the officers, at the approach of Schaibar, abandoned their posts, and gave them free admittance.
Schaibar, carrying his head erect, went fiercely up to the throne, without waiting to be presented by prince Ahmed, and accosted the sultan of the Indies in these words: You have asked for me, said he: see, here I am: what would you have with me?
The sultan, instead of answering him, clapt his hands before his eyes, and turned away his head, to avoid the sight of so terrible an object. Schaibar was so much provoked at this uncivil and rude reception, after he had given him the trouble to come so far, that he instantly lifted up his iron bar, and saying, Speak, then let it fall on his head and killed him, before prince Ahmed could intercede in his behalf. All that he could do was to prevent his killing the grand vizier, who sat not far from him on his right hand, representing to him that he had always given the sultan his father good advice. These are they then, said Schaibar, who gave him bad; and as he pronounced these words, he killed all the other viziers on the right and left, flatterers and favourites of the sultan, who were prince Ahmed’s enemies. Every time he struck, he killed some one or other, and none escaped but they who, not rendered motionless by fear, saved themselves by flight.
When this terrible execution was over, Schaibar came out of the council-hall into the midst of the court-yard with the iron bar upon his shoulder, and looking at the grand vizier, who owed his life to prince Ahmed, he said, I know here is a certain female magician, who is a greater enemy of the prince my brother-in-law than all those base favourites I have chastized; let her be brought to me presently. The grand vizier immediately sent for her, and as soon as she was brought, Schaibar said, knocking her down with the iron bar, Take the reward of thy pernicious counsel, and learn to feign sickness again: he then left her dead on the spot.
After this he said, This is not yet enough; I will treat the whole city after the same manner, if they do not immediately acknowledge prince Ahmed my brother-in-law for their sultan, and sultan of the Indies. Then all that were present made the air ring with the repeated acclamations of Long life to sultan Ahmed; and immediately after he was proclaimed through the whole town. Schaibar made him be clothed in the royal vestments, installed him on the throne, and after he had made all swear homage and fidelity to him, went and fetched his sister Pari Banou, whom he brought with great pomp, and made her to be owned sultaness of the Indies.
As for prince Ali and princess Nouronnihar, as they had no hand in the conspiracy against prince Ahmed, who was now avenged, nor knew of any such conspiracy, prince Ahmed assigned them a considerable province, with its capital, where they spent the rest of their lives. Afterwards he sent an officer to prince Houssain, to acquaint him with the change, and make him an offer of which province he liked best; but that prince thought himself so happy in his solitude, that he bid the officer return the sultan his brother thanks for the kindness he designed him, assuring him of his submission; and that the only favour he desired of him was to give him leave to live retired in the place he had made choice of for his retreat.
The Story of the Sisters who envied their younger Sister.
There was a prince of Persia, named Khosrouschah,[109]who, when he first came to his crown, in order to obtain a knowledge of the world, took great pleasure in night adventures. He often disguised himself, attended by a trusty minister, disguised like him, and rambled through the whole city, and met with a great many particular adventures, which, said Scheherazade to the sultan, I shall not at present entertain your majesty with; but I hope you will hear with pleasure what happened to him upon his first ramble, which was in a little time after his accession to his father’s throne, who dying in a good old age, left him heir to the kingdom of Persia.
After the ceremonies of his deceased father’s funeral-rites, and his own coronation, were over, the new sultan Khosrouschah, as well from inclination as duty, went out one evening, attended by his grand vizier, disguised like himself, to observe what passed. As he went through a street in that part of the town inhabited only by the meaner sort of people, he heard some people talking very loud; and going up close to the house, from whence the noise came, and looking through a crack in the door, perceived a light, and three sisters sitting on a sofa, conversing together after supper. By what the eldest said, he presently understood the subject of their discourse was wishes; For, said she, since we have got upon wishes, mine shall be to have the sultan’s baker for my husband, for then I shall eat my fill of that bread, which by way of excellence is called the sultan’s bread: let us see if your tastes are as good as mine. For my part, replied the second sister, I wish I was the sultan’s chief cook’s wife; for then I should eat of the most excellent ragouts; and as I am persuaded that the sultan’s bread is common in the palace, I should not want any of that; therefore you see, sister, addressing herself to her eldest sister, that I have a better taste than you.
Then the youngest sister, who was very beautiful, and had more charms and wit than the two eldest, spoke in her turn: For my part, sisters, said she, I shall not limit my desires to such trifles, but take a higher flight; and since we are upon wishing, I wish to be the sultan’s wife. I would make him father of a prince, whose hair should be gold on one side of his head, and silver on the other; when he cries, the tears that fall from his eyes shall be pearl; and when he smiles, his vermilion lips shall look like a rose-bud fresh blown.
The three sisters’ wishes, particularly the youngest’s, seemed so singular to the sultan Khosrouschah, that he resolved to gratify them in their desires; and without communicating this his design to his grand vizier, he charged him only to take notice of the house, and bring the three sisters before him the next day.
The grand vizier, in executing the sultan’s orders, would but just give the three sisters time to dress themselves to appear before him, without telling them the reason. He brought them to the palace, and presented them to the sultan, who said to them, Do you remember the wishes you made last night, when you were all in so pleasant a mood? Speak the truth; I must know what they were.
At these unexpected words of the sultan, the three sisters were very much confounded. They cast down their eyes and blushed, and the colour which rose in the cheeks of the youngest quite captivated the sultan’s heart. Modesty, and fear lest they might have offended the sultan by their discourse, kept them silent. The sultan perceiving it, to encourage them, said, Fear nothing, I did not send for you to distress you; and since I see that is the effect of the question I ask you, without my intending it, and I know the wish of each, I will relieve you from your fears. You, added he, that wished to be my wife, you shall have your desire this day; and you, continued he, addressing himself to the two eldest sisters, you shall also be married to my chief baker and cook.
As soon as the sultan had declared his pleasure, the youngest sister, setting the eldest an example, threw herself at the sultan’s feet, to express her gratitude. Sir, said she, my wish, since it has come to your majesty’s knowledge, was only by way of conversation and amusement. I am unworthy of the honour you do me, and ask pardon for my boldness. The two other sisters would have excused themselves also; but the sultan interrupting them, said, No, no; it shall be so; every one’s wish shall be fulfilled.
The nuptials were all celebrated that day, as the sultan had resolved, but after a different manner. The youngest sister’s were solemnized with all the rejoicings usual at the marriages of the sultans of Persia; and those of the other two sisters according to the quality and distinction of their husbands; the one as the sultan’s chief baker, and the other as head cook.
The two elder sisters felt strongly the disproportion of their marriages to that of their younger sister. This consideration made them far from being content, though they were arrived at the utmost height of their wishes, and much beyond their hopes. They gave themselves up to an excess of jealousy, which not only disturbed their joy, but was the cause of great troubles and afflictions to the sultaness their younger sister. They had not an opportunity to communicate their thoughts to each other upon the preference the sultan had given her to their prejudice, but were altogether employed in preparing themselves for the celebration of their marriages. Some days afterwards, when they had an opportunity of seeing each other at the public baths, the eldest sister said to the other, Well, sister, what say you to our sister’s great fortune? Is not she a fine person to be a sultaness! I must own, said the other sister, I cannot conceive what charms the sultan could discover in her, to be so bewitched by a young jade. You know in what a state we have both seen her. Was it a reason sufficient for him not to cast his eyes on you, because she was somewhat younger than us? You were as worthy of his bed; and in justice he ought to have preferred you.
Sister, said the elder, I should not have said any thing, if the sultan had but pitched upon you; but that he should choose that hussy, is what grieves me. But I will revenge myself; and you, I think, are as much concerned as I; therefore I would have us contrive measures together, that we may act in concert in a common cause, and communicate to me what you think the likeliest way to mortify her, while I, on my side, will inform you what my desire of revenge shall suggest to me.
After this wicked plot, the two sisters saw each other very frequently, and always consulted how they might disturb and interrupt the happiness of the sultaness their younger sister. They proposed a great many ways, but in deliberating about the manner of executing them, they found so many difficulties, that they durst not attempt them. In the mean time, they often went together to make her visits with a detestable dissimulation, and every time gave her all the marks of friendship they could imagine, to persuade her how overjoyed they were to have a sister raised to so high a fortune. The sultaness, on her part, always received them with all the demonstrations of esteem and value they could expect from a sister who was not puffed up with her high dignity, and loved them as cordially as before.
Some months after her marriage, the sultaness found herself to be with child. The sultan expressed great joy, which was communicated to all the court, and spread throughout the capital of Persia. Upon this news, the two sisters came to pay their compliments, and entering into discourse with her sister about her lying-in, they proffered their service to deliver her, desiring her, if she was not provided with a midwife, to accept of them.
The sultaness said to them most obligingly, Sisters, I should desire no better, if it was absolutely in my power to make choice of you. I am however obliged to you for your good-will, but must submit to what the sultan shall order on this occasion. Let your husbands employ their friends to make interest, and get some courtier to ask this favour of the sultan; and if he speaks to me about it, be assured that I shall not only express the pleasure he does me, but thank him for making choice of you.
The two husbands applied themselves to some courtiers their patrons, and begged of them to use their interest to procure their wives the honour they aspired to. Those patrons exerted themselves so much in their behalf, that the sultan promised them to consider of it, and was as good as his word; for in conversation with the sultaness, he told her that he thought her sisters were the most proper persons to assist her in her labour; but would not name them before he asked her consent. The sultaness, sensible of the deference the sultan so obligingly paid her, said to him, Sir, I was prepared to do as your majesty shall please to command me. But since you have been so kind as to think of my sisters, I thank you for that regard you have shown them for my sake; and therefore I shall not dissemble, that I had rather have them than strangers.
Then the sultan Khosrouschah named the sultaness’s two sisters to be her midwives; and from that time they went backwards and forwards to the palace, overjoyed at the opportunity they should have of executing the detestable wickedness they had meditated against the sultaness their sister.
When the sultaness’s reckoning was out, she was safely delivered of a young prince, as bright as the day; but neither his innocence nor beauty were capable of moving the cruel hearts of the merciless sisters. They wrapped him up carelessly in his blankets, and put him into a basket, which they abandoned to the stream of a small canal which ran under the sultaness’s apartment, and declared she was delivered of a little dead dog, which they produced. This disagreeable news was announced to the sultan, who conceived so much anger thereat, as might have proved fatal to the sultaness, if his grand vizier had not represented to him that he could not, without injustice, make her answerable for the caprices of nature.
In the mean time, the basket in which the little prince was exposed was carried by the stream beyond a wall which bounded the prospect of the sultaness’s apartment, and from thence floated with the current down the gardens. By chance the intendant of the sultan’s garden, one of the principal and most considerable officers of the kingdom, walking in the garden by the side of this canal, and perceiving a basket floating, called to a gardener, who was not far off, and bid him come presently to him, and reach him that basket, which he showed him that he might see what was in it. The gardener, with a spade which he had in his hand, brought the basket to the side of the canal, took it up, and gave it to him.
The intendant of the gardens was extremely surprised to see in the basket a child, which, though he easily knew it to be but just born, had very fine features. This officer had been married several years, and though he had always been desirous of having children, Heaven had never blessed him with any. This accident interrupted his walk: he made the gardener follow him with the child; and when he came to his own house, which was situated at the entrance into the gardens of the palace, he went into his wife’s apartment. Wife, said he, as we have no children of our own, God has sent us one. I recommend him to you; provide him a nurse presently, and take as much care of him as if he were our own son; for, from this moment, I acknowledge him as such. The intendant’s wife received the child with great joy, and took particular pleasure in the care of him. The intendant himself would not inquire too narrowly whence the child came. He saw plainly it came not far off the sultaness’s apartment; but it was not his business to examine too closely into what had passed, nor to create disturbances in a place where peace was so necessary.
The year after the sultaness was brought to bed of another prince, on whom the unnatural sisters had no more compassion than on his brother; but exposed him likewise in a basket, and set him adrift in the canal, pretending this time that the sultaness was delivered of a cat. It was happy also for this child that the intendant of the gardens was walking by the canal side, who had it carried to his wife, and charged her to take as much care of it as of the first; which suited as well her inclination, as it was agreeable to the intendant.
The sultan of Persia was more enraged this time against the sultaness than before, and she had felt the effects of his anger, if the grand vizier’s remonstrances had not prevailed.
The third time the sultaness lay in she was delivered of a princess, which innocent babe underwent the same fate as the princes her brothers; for the two sisters being determined not to put an end to their detestable schemes, till they had seen the sultaness their younger sister at least cast off, turned out, and humbled, exposed this child also on the canal. But the princess was preserved from certain death by the compassion and charity of the intendant of the gardens, as well as the two princes her brothers.
To this inhumanity the two sisters added a lie and deceit as before. They produced a piece of wood, and affirmed it to be a false birth which the sultaness was delivered of.
The sultan Khosrouschah could no longer contain himself, when he was informed of the new extraordinary birth. What! said he, this woman, unworthy of my bed, will fill my palace with monsters, if I let her live any longer! No, it shall not be, added he: she is a monster herself, and I must rid the world of her. He pronounced this sentence of death, and ordered the grand vizier to see it executed.
The grand vizier, and the courtiers who were present, cast themselves at the sultan’s feet, to beg of him to revoke that sentence. Your majesty, I hope, will give me leave, said the grand vizier, to represent to you, that the laws which condemn persons to death were made to punish crimes: the three extraordinary labours of the sultaness are not crimes; for in what can she be said to have contributed towards them? A great many other women have had, and have the same every day, and are to be pitied; but not punished. Your majesty may abstain from seeing her, and let her live. The affliction in which she will spend the rest of her life after the loss of your favour, will be a punishment great enough.
The sultan of Persia considered with himself, and found that it was injustice in him to condemn the sultaness to death for extraordinary births, and said, Let her live then; I will give her life; but it shall be on this condition, that she shall desire to die more than once every day. Let a wooden shed be built for her at the gate of the principal mosque, with iron bars to the windows, and let her be put into it, in the coarsest habit; and every Mussulman that shall go into the mosque to prayers shall spit in her face. —If any one fail, I will have him exposed to the same punishment; and that I may be punctually obeyed, I charge you, vizier, to appoint persons to see this done.
The sultan pronounced this last sentence in such a tone, that the grand vizier durst not open his mouth; and it was executed, to the great satisfaction of the two envious sisters. A shed was built, and the sultaness, truly worthy of compassion, as soon as her month was up, was put into it, and exposed ignominiously to the contempt of the people; which usage, as she did not deserve, she bore with a constancy which excited the admiration, as well as compassion, of those who judged of things better than the vulgar.
The two princes and the princess were nursed and brought up by the intendant of the gardens and his wife, with all the tenderness of a father and mother; and as they advanced in age, they all showed marks of superior greatness, (and the princess in particular, a charming beauty,) which discovered itself every day by their docility and good inclinations above trifles, and different from those of common children, and by a certain air which could only belong to princes and princesses. All this increased the affections of the intendant and his wife, who called the eldest prince Bahman, and the second Perviz, both of them names of the most ancient sultans of Persia, and the princess Parizade, which name also had been borne by several sultanesses and princesses of the kingdom.[110]
As soon as the two princes were old enough, the intendant provided proper masters to teach them to read and write; and the princess their sister, who was often with them when they were learning their lessons, showing a great desire to learn to read and write, though much younger than they, the intendant was so much taken with that disposition of hers, that he employed the same master to teach her also. Her emulation, vivacity, and piercing wit, made her in a little time as great a proficient as her brothers.
From that time, the brothers and sister had all the same masters in all the other arts, in geography, poetry, history, even the secret sciences; all which came so easily to them, and in a little time they made so wonderful a progress, that their masters were amazed, and frankly owned, that if they held on so but a little longer, they could teach them no farther. At the hours of recreation, the princess learned to sing, and play upon all sorts of instruments; and when the princes were learning to ride, she would not permit them to have that advantage over her, but went through all exercises with them, learning to ride, bend the bow, and dart the reed or javelin, and oftentimes outstrip them in the race.
The intendant of the gardens was so overjoyed to find his adopted children so accomplished in all the perfections of body and mind, and that they answered so well the charge he had been at upon their education, that he resolved to be still at a greater expense; for whereas he had till then been content only with his lodge at the entrance of the garden, and kept no country-house, he purchased a country-seat at a small distance from the city, surrounded with a large tract of arable land, meadows, and woods. As the house was not sufficiently handsome nor convenient, he pulled it down, and spared no expense to make it magnificent. He went every day to hasten, by his presence, the great number of workmen he employed; and as soon as there was an apartment ready to receive him, he passed several days together there, when his presence was not necessary at court; and by the same exertions, the house was furnished in the richest manner, answerably to the magnificence of the edifice. Afterwards he made gardens, according to the plan drawn by himself, after the manner of the great lords in Persia. He took in a large compass of ground for a park, which he walled round, and stocked with fallow deer, that the princes and princess might divert themselves with hunting when they pleased.
When this country-seat was finished and fit for habitation, the intendant of the gardens went and cast himself at the sultan’s feet, and, after representing to him how long he had served him, and the infirmities of age which he found growing upon him, he begged he would permit him to resign his charge into his majesty’s hands, and retire. The sultan gave him leave with the more pleasure, because he was satisfied with his long services, both in his father’s reign and his own; and when he granted it, he asked him what he should do to recompense him. Sir, replied the intendant of the gardens, I have received so many obligations from your majesty, and the late sultan your father, of happy memory, that I desire no more than the honour of dying in your favour.