Chapter 16

220Es-Suyooṭee,ubi suprà.

221The night of the Ascension.

222Gabriel, who accompanied the Prophet.

223The beast on which he rode from Mekkeh to Jerusalem previously to his ascension. These traditions are from Es-Suyooṭee,ubi suprà.

224This flower is called "fághiyeh," and, more commonly, "temer el-ḥennè;" or, according to some, the fághiyeh is the flower produced by a slip of temer el-ḥennè planted upside down, and superior to the flower of the latter planted in the natural way.

225Es-Suyooṭee,ubi suprà.

226"Benefsej."

227Es-Suyootee.

228"Ás," or "narseen."

229Es-Suyooṭee.

230"Shaḳáïḳ." The "adhriyoon," or "ádharyoon," is said to be a variety of the anemone.

231From the former, or from "noạmán" as signifying "blood," the anemone was named "shaḳáïḳ en-noạmán."

232"Menthoor," or "kheeree."

233Ḥalbet el-Kumeyt, ch. xvii.

234"Narjis."

235Ḥalbet el-Kumeyt,ubi suprà; Es-Suyooṭee,ubi suprà; and El-Ḳazweenee.

236The Arabic names of these flowers are, yásemeen, nisreen, zahr (or zahr nárinj), soosan, reeḥán (or ḥabaḳ), nemám, bahár, uḳ-howán, neelófar, beshneen, jullanár or julnár, khashkhásh, khiṭmee, zaạfarán, 'oṣfur, kettán, báḳillà and lebláb, and lóz.

237"Bán," and "khiláf" or "khaláf." Both these names are applied to the same tree (which, according to Forskal, differs slightly from the salix Ægyptiaca of Linnæus) by the author of the Ḥalbet el-Kumeyt, and by the modern Egyptians.

238Ḥalbet el-Kumeyt, ch. xiv.

239Idem, ch. xi.

240Mishkát el-Maṣábeeḥ, vol. ii. p. 425.

241Ḥalbet el-Kumeyt, ch. xiv.

242Soft boots, worn inside the slippers or shoes.

243This is so vaguely described by the Arab lexicographers that I cannot obtain a definite notion of its form.

244Ḥalbet el-Kumeyt,loco laudato.

245Halbet el-Kumeyt, ch. xiv.

246He was born in the year of the Flight 125, and died in 213, or, according to some, 188.—Abulfedæ Annales, vol. ii. pp. 150 and 675.

247He was born in the year of the Flight 150, and died in 235.—Idem, adnot., pp. 691 et seq.; and Mir-át ez-Zemán, events of the year 235.

248Mir-át ez-Zemán, events of the year 231. He died in this year.

249I believe this Khaleefeh was El-Ma-moon.

250A quarter in Baghdád.

251That is, "My master."—Ed.

252Ḥalbet el-Kumeyt, ch. vii.

253Nuzhet el-Mutaämmil wa-Murshid el-Mutaähhil.

254El-Maḳreezee, in De Sacy's Chrestomathie Arabe, vol. i. p. 265, 2nd ed.

255Ibid.

256El-Maḳreezee, in his "Khiṭaṭ," and his history of the Memlook Sulṭáns, translated by Quatremère; El-Is-ḥáḳee; and D'Ohsson, Tableau Général de l'Empire Othoman.

257D'Ohsson (vol. i. pp. 315 and 316) asserts the Ḳuṭb to be the chief minister of the Ghós; and gives an account somewhat different from that which I offer of the orders under his authority: but perhaps the Turkish Darweeshes differ from the Arab in their tenets on this subject.

258It is said that "the Nuḳabà are three hundred; the Nujabà, seventy; the Abdál, forty; the Akhyár, seven; the 'Omud, four; the Ghós [as before mentioned,] is one. The Nuḳabà reside in El-Gharb [Northern Africa to the west of Egypt]; the Nujabà, in Egypt; the Abdál, in Syria; the Akhyár travel about the earth; the 'Omud, in the corners of the earth; the abode of the Ghós is at Mekkeh. In an affair of need, the Nuḳabà implore relief for the people; then, the Nujabà; then, the Abdál; then, the Akhyár; then, the 'Omud; and if their prayer be not answered, the Ghós implores, and his prayer is answered." (El-Is-ḥáḳee's History, preface.)—This statement, I find, rests on the authority of a famous saint of Baghdád, Aboo-Bekr El-Kettánee, who died at Mekkeh, in the year of the Flight 322. (Mir-át ez-Zemán, events of the year above mentioned.)

259El-Jabartee's History of Modern Egypt, vol. ii., obituary of the year 1201 (MS. in my possession).—The appellation of "the four Ḳuṭbs" is given in Egypt to the seyyid Aḥmad Rifá'ah, the seyyid 'Abd-El-Ḳádir El-Geelánee, the seyyid Aḥmad El-Bedawee, and the seyyid Ibráheem Ed-Dasooḳee, the founders of the four orders of darweeshes most celebrated among the Arabs, called Rifá'eeyeh, Ḳádireeyeh, Aḥmedeeyeh, and Baráhimeh.

260El-Jabartee's History, vol. i., obituary of the year 1188.

261Mir-át ez-Zemán, events of the year 291.

262Mir-át ez-Zemán, events of the year 291.

263Idem, events of the year 218.

264Idem, events of the year 334.

265Nuzhet el-Mutaämmil, &c., sect. 4.

266These are two very celebrated welees.

267The opening chapter of the Ḳur-án.

268El-Jabartee's History, vol. iii., events of the month of Shaạbán, 1215 (A.D. 1800-1801).

269Singers of religious odes.

270El-Jabartee's History, vol. ii., obituary of the year 1207, and events of Rejeb, 1200; and vol. iii., events of Rabeeạ eth-Thánee, 1214.

271El-Is-ḥáḳee, reign of El-Mutawekkil.

272De Sacy's Chrestomathie Arabe, vol. i. pp. 122, 123, 2nd. ed.

273"'Ajáïb el-Makhlooḳát."

274Mir-át ez-Zemán, events of the year above mentioned.

275Sketches of Persia, vol. ii. p. 129.

Head-piece to Chapter IV.--Fisherman drawing his Nets

One night, after the adventure above described, the Khaleefeh Hároon Er-Rasheed said to Jaạfar, his Wezeer, We will go down to-night into the city, and inquire respecting the affairs of those who are at present in authority, and him against whom any one shall complain we will displace. Jaạfar replied, I hear and obey:—and when the Khaleefeh had gone forth with him and Mesroor, and they had passed through several of the market-streets, they proceeded along a lane, and saw there an old man, with a net and basket upon his head, and a staff in his hand, walking at his leisure, and reciting these verses:—

They say to me, Thou shinest among mankind, by thy knowledge, like the moonlight night:But I answer, Abstain from thus addressing me, since there is no knowledge without power:For if they would pawn me, and my knowledge with me, and all my papers and inkhorn too,For one day's food, they would never find the pledge accepted to the day of judgment.As for the poor, and his condition, and his whole life, how full of trouble!In the summer he fails to earn his food, and in winter he warms himself over the fire-pot.2The dogs follow him wherever he goes, and any reviler, and he cannot repel him.If he states his case, and proves himself wronged, the judge will not admit his plea.Such, then, being the poor man's life, his fittest place is in the burial-ground.3

The Khaleefeh, when he heard his recitation, said to Jaạfar, Observe this poor man, and consider these verses; for they indicate his necessity. Then approaching the man, he said to him, O sheykh, what is thine occupation?—O my master, answered the old man, I am a fisherman, and have a family to maintain, and I went forth from my house at noon, and have remained until now, but God hath allotted me nothing wherewith to obtain food for my household; therefore I have hated myself, and wished for death.—Wilt thou, said the Khaleefeh, return with us to the river, and station thyself on the bank of the Tigris, and cast thy net for my luck? If thou wilt do so I will purchase of thee whatever cometh up for a hundred pieces of gold.—The fisherman rejoiced when he heard these words, and said, On my head be your commands: I will return with you.—So he went again to the river, and cast his net, and, having waited till it sank, drew the cords, and dragged back the net, and there came up in it a chest, locked and heavy. When the Khaleefeh saw it, he felt its weight, and found it to be heavy; and he gave a hundred pieces of gold to the fisherman, who went away, while Mesroor, assisted by Jaạfar, took up the chest, and conveyed it, in company with the Khaleefeh, to the palace, where they lighted the candles, and placed the chest before the Khaleefeh. Jaạfar and Mesroor then broke it open, and they found in it a basket of palm-leaves sewed up with red worsted; and they cut the threads, and saw within it a piece of carpet, and, lifting up this, they found beneath it an izár,4and when they had taken up the izár they discovered under it a damsel like molten silver, killed, and cut in pieces.

When the Khaleefeh beheld this, tears ran down his cheeks, and, looking towards Jaạfar, he exclaimed, O dog of Wezeers, shall people be murdered in my time, and be thrown into the river, and becomeburdens upon my responsibility? By Allah, I must retaliate for this damsel upon him who killed her, and put him to death!—Then said he to Jaạfar, By the truth of my descent from the Khaleefehs of the sons of El-'Abbás, if thou do not bring to me him who killed this woman, that I may avenge her upon him, I will crucify thee at the gate of my palace, together with forty of thy kinsmen!5And the Khaleefeh was enraged.—Grant me, said Jaạfar, a delay of three days.—I grant thee the delay, replied the Khaleefeh. Jaạfar then went forth from his presence, and took his route through the city, sorrowful, and saying within himself, How shall I discover him who killed this damsel, that I may take him before the Khaleefeh? And if I take to him any other person, he will become a weight upon my conscience. I know not what to do.—For three days he remained in his house, and on the fourth day the Khaleefeh sent to summon him, and, when he had presented himself before him, said to him, Where is the murderer of the damsel?—O Prince of the Faithful, answered Jaạfar, am I acquainted with things hidden from the senses, that I should know who is her murderer? The Khaleefeh, incensed at this answer, gave orders to crucify him at the gate of his palace, and commanded a crier to proclaim through the streets of Baghdád, Whosoever desireth to amuse himself by seeing the crucifixion of Jaạfar El-Barmekee, the Wezeer of the Khaleefeh, and the crucifixion of his kinsmen, at the gate of the Khaleefeh's palace, let him come forth and amuse himself.—So the people came forth from every quarter to see the crucifixion of Jaạfar and his kinsmen; and they knew not the cause of this. The Khaleefeh then gave orders to set up the crosses; and they did so, and placed the Wezeer and his kinsmen beneath, to crucify them, and were awaiting the Khaleefeh's permission, while the people wept for Jaạfar and his relatives.

But while they were thus waiting, a handsome and neatly-dressed young man came forward quickly through the crowd, and, approaching the Wezeer, said to him, Safety to thee from this predicament, O chief of Emeers, and refuge of the poor! It was I who killed the woman whom ye found in the chest: kill me therefore for her, and retaliate her death upon me.—When Jaạfar heard these words, he rejoiced for his own deliverance, and grieved for the young man: but while he was speaking to him, lo, an old sheykh pressed hastily through the crowd to him and the young man, and, having saluted them, said, O Wezeer, believe not the words of this young man, for no one killed the damsel but myself; therefore retaliate her death uponme. The young man, however, said, O Wezeer, this is an old man, imbecile through age; he knoweth not what he saith: it was I who killed her; avenge her therefore upon me.—O my son, said the sheykh, thou art young, and wilt find pleasure in the world; and I am old, and satiated with the world: I will be a ransom for thee and for the Wezeer and his kinsmen; and no one killed the damsel but myself: by Allah, therefore, hasten to retaliate upon me.

On witnessing this scene, the Wezeer was astonished; and he took the young man and the sheykh to the Khaleefeh, and said, O Prince of the Faithful, the murderer of the damsel hath come.—Where is he? said the Khaleefeh. This young man, answered Jaạfar, saith, I am the murderer;—and this sheykh accuseth him of falsehood, and saith, Nay, butIam the murderer.—The Khaleefeh, looking towards the sheykh and the young man, said, Which of you killed this damsel? The young man answered, No one killed her but myself:—and the sheykh said also, No one killed her but myself. The Khaleefeh therefore said to Jaạfar, Take them both and crucify them.—If the murderer be one, replied Jaạfar, to kill the other would be unjust. The young man then said, By Him who raised the heavens and spread out the earth, it was I who killed the damsel:—and he gave an account of the manner of his killing her, and described what the Khaleefeh had found. The Khaleefeh therefore was convinced that the young man was he who had killed the damsel; and he was astonished, and said, What was the cause of thy killing this damsel unjustly, and of thy confessing the murder without being beaten,6and thy saying, Retaliate her death upon me? The young man answered as follows:—

The Young Man presenting the Apples to his Wife

Know, O Prince of the Faithful, that this damsel was my wife, and the daughter of my uncle: this sheykh was her father, and is my uncle. I married her when she was a virgin, and God blessed me with three male children by her; and she loved me and served me, and I saw in her no evil. At the commencement of this month she was attacked by a severe illness, and I brought to her the physicians, who attended her until her health returned to her; and I desired them to send her to the bath; but she said to me, I want something before I enter the bath, for I have a longing for it.—What is it? said I. She answered, I have a longing for an apple, to smell it, and take a bite from it. So I went out immediately into the city, and searched for the apple, and would have bought it had its price been a piece of gold: but I could not find one. I passed the next night full ofthought, and when the morning came I quitted my house again and went about to all the gardens, one after another; yet I found none in them. There met me, however, an old gardener, of whom I inquired for the apple, and he said to me, O my son, this is a rare thing, and not to be found here, nor anywhere except in the garden of the Prince of the Faithful at El-Baṣrah, and preserved there for the Khaleefeh. I returned therefore to my wife, and my love for her so constrained me that I prepared myself and journeyed fifteen days, by night and day, in going and returning, and brought her three apples which I purchased of the gardener at El-Baṣrah for three pieces of gold; and, going in, I handed them to her; but she was not pleased by them,and left them by her side. She was then suffering from a violent fever, and she continued ill during a period of ten days.

After this she recovered her health, and I went out and repaired to my shop, and sat there to sell and buy;7and while I was thus occupied, at mid-day there passed by me a black slave, having in his hand an apple, with which he was playing: so I said to him, Whence didst thou get this apple, for I would procure one like it?—Upon which he laughed, and answered, I got it from my sweetheart: I had been absent, and came, and found her ill, and she had three apples; and she said to me, My unsuspecting husband journeyed to El-Baṣrah for them, and bought them for three pieces of gold:—and I took this apple from her.—When I heard the words of the slave, O Prince of the Faithful, the world became black before my face, and I shut up my shop, and returned to my house, deprived of my reason by excessive rage. I found not the third apple, and said to her, Where is the apple? She answered, I know not whither it is gone. I was convinced thus that the slave had spoken the truth, and I arose, and took a knife, and throwing myself upon her bosom, plunged the knife into her: I then cut off her head and limbs, and put them in the basket in haste, and covered them with the izár, over which I laid a piece of carpet: then I put the basket in the chest, and, having locked this, conveyed it on my mule, and threw it with my own hands into the Tigris.8

And now, continued the young man, I conjure thee by Allah, O Prince of the Faithful, to hasten my death in retaliation for her murder, as I dread, otherwise, her appeal for vengeance upon me on the day of resurrection:9for when I had thrown her into the Tigris without the knowledge of any one, I returned to my house, and found my eldest boy crying, though he knew not what I had done to his mother: so I said to him, What maketh thee cry?—and he answered, I took one of the apples that my mother had, and went down with it into the street to play with my brothers, and a tall black slave snatched it from me, and said to me, Whence came this to thee? I answered him, My father made a journey for it, and brought it from El-Baṣrah, for the sake of my mother; for she is sick: he bought three apples for three pieces of gold:—but he took it from me and beat me, and went away with it; and I am afraid that my mother may beat me on account of the apple.—When I heard my son's story, I discovered that the slave had forged a lie against the daughter of my uncle, and found that she had been killed unjustly; and as I was weepingbitterly for what I had done, this sheykh, my uncle and her father, came to me, and I informed him of the event; and he seated himself by me, and wept. We wept until midnight, and continued our mourning for her five days, ceasing not to the present day to bewail her death. By the honour of thine ancestors, therefore, hasten my death, to retaliate her murder upon me.

The Khaleefeh wondered at the young man's story, and said, By Allah, I will not put to death any but the wicked slave; for the young man is excusable. Then looking towards Jaạfar, he said to him, Bring before me this wicked slave who hath been the cause of the catastrophe; or, if thou bring him not, thou shalt be put to death in his stead. So the Wezeer departed weeping, and saying, Whence shall I bring him? Not every time that the jar is struck doth it escape being broken! I have no stratagem to employ in this affair: but He who delivered me in the first case may deliver me in the second. By Allah, I will not go out from my house for three days; and the Truth, whose perfection be extolled, will do what He willeth!—So he remained in his house three days, and on the fourth day he caused the Ḳáḍee to be brought, and made his testamentary arrangements; and as he was bidding farewell to his children, and weeping, lo, the messenger of the Khaleefeh came and said to him, The Prince of the Faithful is in a most violent rage, and hath sent me to thee; and he hath sworn that this day shall not pass until thou art put to death if thou do not bring to him the slave.

On hearing this, Jaạfar wept, and his children wept with him; and when he had bidden them all farewell except his youngest daughter, he approached her for the same purpose. He loved her more than all his other children; and he pressed her to his bosom, and wept at the thought of his separation from her; but, in doing this, he felt something round in her pocket, and said to her, What is in thy pocket? She answered, O my father, it is an apple; our slave Reyḥan10brought it, and I have had it four days; he would not give it me until he had received from me two pieces of gold.—At this mention of the slave and the apple, Jaạfar rejoiced, and exclaimed, O ready Dispeller of trouble!11—and immediately he ordered that the slave should be brought before him. He was therefore brought in, and he said to him, Whence came this apple?—O my master, he answered, I went out five days ago, and, entering one of the by-streets of the city, I saw some children playing, and one of them had this apple: and I snatched it from him, and beat him; and he cried, andsaid, That belongs to my mother, and she is sick: she wanted my father to bring her an apple, and he made a journey to El-Baṣrah, and brought back for her three apples which he bought for three pieces of gold; and I took this to play with it:—then he cried again; but, paying no regard to him, I took it away and brought it hither; and my little mistress bought it of me for two pieces of gold.—When he heard this story, Jaạfar was filled with wonder at discovering that this distressing event, and the murder of the damsel, had been occasioned by his slave; and he took the slave and went with him to the Khaleefeh, who ordered that the story should be committed to writing, and published.

The Wezeer finding the Apple

Jaạfar then said to him, Wonder not, O Prince of the Faithful, at his tale, for it is not more extraordinary than the story of the WezeerNoor-ed-Deen, and Shems-ed-Deen, his brother.—What story, said the Khaleefeh, can be more wonderful than this?—O Prince of the Faithful, replied Jaạfar, I will not relate it to thee unless on the condition that thou exempt my slave from the punishment of death. The Khaleefeh said, I give thee his blood:—and Jaạfar, thereupon, commenced the relation of the story as follows:—

Know, O Prince of the Faithful, that there was, in Cairo,12a Sulṭán,13just and beneficent, who had a wise and well-informed Wezeer, possessing a knowledge of the affairs of the world, and of the art of government. This minister was an aged man, and he had two sons, like two moons: the name of the elder was Shems-ed-Deen, and that of the younger, Noor-ed-Deen;14and the latter was more distinguished than the former by handsomeness and comeliness: there was no one in his day more handsome, so that the fame of his charms spread through the neighbouring regions, and some of the inhabitants of those parts travelled to his country merely to obtain a sight of him. And it came to pass that their father died, and the Sulṭán mourned for him, and, turning his regards towards the two sons, took them into his favour, invested them with robes of honour, and said to them, Ye two are instated in your father's office:—at which they rejoiced, and kissed the ground before him. They observed the ceremonies of mourning15for their father during a period of a whole month, and entered upon the office of Wezeers, each of them discharging the duties of this station for a week at a time; and whenever the Sulṭán had a desire to go forth on a journey, he took one of them with him.

Now it happened, one night, that the Sulṭán purposed commencing a journey on the following morning; and it was the turn of the elder Wezeer to accompany him; and as the two brothers were conversing together that night, the elder said, O my brother, it is my wish that we should both marry on one night.—Do, O my brother, as thou desirest, answered the younger; and I will comply with that which thou shalt say. So they agreed to do this. The elder then said to his brother, If God so decree that we obtain the betrothal of two maidens, and accomplish our marriage on the same night, and theygive birth to children on the same day, and God will that thy wife have a son, and my wife have a daughter, we will marry them to each other, for they will be cousins.—And what, O my brother, said Noor-ed-Deen, wilt thou require of my son as the dowry of thy daughter? He answered, I will require of thy son, as the dowry of my daughter, three thousand pieces of gold, and three gardens, and three farms; for if the young man make any other contract than this, it will not be proper. But when Noor-ed-Deen heard this proposal, he exclaimed, What is this dowry that thou imposest upon my son? Dost thou not know that we are two brothers, and that we are both Wezeers, of one dignity? It were incumbent on thee to offer thy daughter to my son as a free gift, without any dowry; for thou knowest that the male is more honourable than the female, and my child is a male, and by him shall our memory be preserved: not by thy daughter.—What sayest thou of her? asked his brother.—That our memory will not be preserved by her among the nobles, answered Noor-ed-Deen. But thou desirest, added he, to act with me according to the opinion of him who saith, If thou desire to drive away a person who would buy, demand of him a high price.—I see thee, replied Shems-ed-Deen, to have committed a fault, in making thy son more honourable than my daughter: thou art doubtless deficient in judgment, and destitute of good disposition, seeing that thou mentionest the partnership in the office of Wezeer, when I admitted thee not to share it with me excepting in my pity for thee, and that thou mightest assist me: but talk as thou wilt: since thou hast said this, by Allah, I will not marry my daughter to thy son, though thou offer me her weight in gold.—On hearing these words of his brother, Noor-ed-Deen was enraged, and said, I will not marry my son to thy daughter.—I will not accept him as a husband for her, replied Shems-ed-Deen; and if I were not purposing a journey, I would do to thee deeds that should serve as warnings to others: however, when I return, God will do what He willeth.—When Noor-ed-Deen heard this, he was full of anger, and became unconscious of existence: but he concealed his feelings; and each of the two brothers passed the night apart from the other; and in the morning the Sulṭán set out on his journey, and, crossing over to the island,16proceeded towards the Pyramids, accompanied by the Wezeer Shems-ed-Deen.

Noor-ed-Deen passed that night in a state of the utmost rage; and when the morning came he arose, and, having performed the morning-prayers, went to his closet and took out from it a pair of small saddle-bags, which he filled with gold; and as he reflected upon the words ofhis brother, and the contempt which he had shewn him, and the pride that he had manifested towards him, he repeated these verses:—

Travel. Thou wilt find a friend in the place of him thou leavest; and fatigue thyself; for by labour are the sweets of life obtained.To a man of intelligence and education there is no glory in a constant residence: therefore quit thy native place, and go abroad.I have observed that the stagnation of water corrupteth it; if it floweth, it becometh sweet; but otherwise, it doth not.If the full moon never set, the eye of the contemplative would not on every occasion pay regard to it:The lions, if they left not the forest, would capture no prey; and the arrow, if it quitted not the bow, would not strike the mark:The grains of gold upon their native bed are regarded as mere dust; and the aloes-wood, where it groweth, is a kind of firewood:If exported, it becometh an object of high demand; but if not, it attaineth no kind of distinction.

He then ordered one of his young men to saddle for him a dapple mule, tall, and of quick pace; and he did so, placing upon her a saddle adorned with gold, with stirrups of Indian steel, and housings of the velvet of Iṣpahán; and she resembled a bride displayed before her husband. He ordered him also to place upon her a carpet of silk, and a prayer-carpet,17and to put the saddle-bags beneath the latter; and when this was done, he said to the young man and the slaves, I have a desire to take a ride for my amusement outside the city, towards the province of Ḳalyoob, and shall be absent three nights; and let none of you follow me, for my heart is contracted.

The Pyramids

Having thus said, he mounted his mule in haste, and, taking with him a small supply of food, departed from the city, turning his face towards the open country. The hour of noon overtook him not untilhe entered the city of Bilbeys, where he alighted to repose himself and rest his mule, and ate; after which he took from this place what he required for himself, and some provender for his mule, and, having placed these provisions upon her, went forth again into the plain, and before noon on the second following day, he entered Jerusalem.18Here he alighted again, and rested himself and his beast, and ate: he then placed his saddle-bags under his head, and spread his carpet, and slept, still overcome by anger. He passed the night in this place; and in the morning he remounted, and he continued to urge on his mule until he arrived at Aleppo,19where he alighted at a Ḳhán, and remained three days to give rest to himself and his mule, and to enjoy the air of the place: which having done, he determined to prosecutehis journey, and mounted his mule, and went forth. He knew not whither to direct his course; but travelled on until he arrived at the city of El-Baṣrah; and scarcely was he aware that the night had overtaken him, when he alighted there at a Khán, where he took off the saddle-bags from the mule, and spread the prayer-carpet, committing the mule, with her equipage, to the care of the door-keeper, and ordering him to walk her about a little.

The Mule of Noor-ed-Deen

The door-keeper did so; and it happened that the Wezeer of El-Baṣrah, sitting at a window of his palace, saw the mule, and, observing her costly equipage, thought that she must belong to some Wezeer or King; and as he attentively regarded her he was surprised, and said to one of his pages, Bring before me that door-keeper. So the page went and brought him; and the door-keeper, approaching, kissed the ground before him. The Wezeer, who was an aged person, then said to this man, Who is the owner of this mule, and what is his appearance?—O my lord, answered the door-keeper, her owner is a young man of elegant person, of the sons of the merchants, and of a dignified and grave aspect. On hearing this, the Wezeer arose, and, mounting his horse,20went to the Khán, and introduced himself to the young man, who, as soon as he saw him approaching, rose to meet him, and embraced him. The Wezeer, after he had alighted from his horse, saluted him and welcomed him, and, seating him by his side, said to him, Whence, O my son, hast thou come; and for what purpose?—O my lord, answered Noor-ed-Deen, I have come from the city of Cairo: my father was Wezeer there; and he hath departed to receive the mercy of God;—and he informed him of all that had happened to him from first to last, adding, I have determined that I will not return until I shall have seen all the cities and countries of the world.—O my son, replied the Wezeer, obey not the suggestions of thy mind, lest thou expose thyself to destruction; for the countries are waste, and I fear on thy account the issues of fortune. So saying, he ordered that the saddle-bags should be placed again on the mule, together with the carpet of silk and the prayer-carpet, and took Noor-ed-Deen with him to his house, where he lodged him in an elegant apartment, and treated him with honour and kindness; and, conceiving a strong affection for him, said to him, O my son, I have become an old man, and I have no male child; God, however, hath blessed me with a daughter who resembleth thee in comeliness, and I have rejected many persons who have been her suitors: but now, love for thee hath entered my heart; wilt thou then take my daughter as thy hand-maid to serve thee, andbe her husband? If thou consent to this, I will go up to the Sulṭán of El-Baṣrah, and will say to him, This is the son of my brother;—and I will introduce thee to him, that I may make thee Wezeer in my place, and I will remain in my house; for I am now aged.—Noor-ed-Deen, on hearing this proposal of the Wezeer of El-Baṣrah, hung down his head, and then answered, I hear and obey.

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