Chapter 25

Tail-piece to Notes to Chapter V.

323Sale's Korán; note near the close of chap. ii.

324See De Sacy, Relation de l'Egypte par Abd-allatif, pp. 381 et seq.; and Quatremère, Histoire des Sultans Mamlouks, vol. i. pp. 109 et seq., a work of very great value, especially for the notes.

325In his "Khiṭaṭ;" description of the principal street of Cairo, and its branches (MS. in my possession).

326In his "Khiṭaṭ;" description of the principal street of Cairo, and its branches; and account of the Kháns.

327Idem; account of the Ḳeysáreeyehs; and description of the principal street of Cairo, and its branches.

328The orthography of this celebrated name is disputed; and I may therefore mention that I have found it written Khall'kán in an Arabic MS. of the year of the Flight 843; and in many MSS. in which the reduplication of thelis not marked, the vowelais given to the first syllable. According to the general opinion of the learned in Cairo, it is Khillikán.

329In his "Khiṭaṭ;" description of the principal street of Cairo.

330In his "Khiṭaṭ;" description of the suburbs or environ (ḍawáḥee) of Cairo—[The latest date in that work, as far as I am aware, is found in the account of the mosques, in two separate places. It is that of the year of the Flight 843 (in the edition recently printed at Cairo); and, as El-Maḳreezee died in the year 845, its occurrence is curious as shewing the likelihood that he continued the composition of his most celebrated work until very near his death. Indeed, it is probable that he never finished it; the seventh and last section, which is mentioned in the Preface, being wanting in all the MSS. This date, in each instance, may be an insertion by a later hand; but the author's History of the Sulṭáns of Egypt was brought down, it is said by himself, to the year preceding his death,—Ed.]

331Marginal note, in my copy of the original, by the sheykh Mohammad 'Eiyád.

332Marginal note, in my copy of the original, by the sheykh Moḥammad 'Eiyád.

333Idem.

334A specimen of this mode of chanting is given in my work on the Modern Egyptians, vol. ii. end of chap. v.

335El-Maḳreezee's "Khiṭaṭ;" account of the hospitals.

336Ḳur-án, ch. v. v. 49.

337"Modern Egyptians," vol. i. ch. xiii.

338It would not be necessary to remark on this explanation of a curious custom if it had not been lately contradicted. Mr. Lane derived his information from Arab authors, and from his friends in Cairo; but D'Ohsson, also, says, in his Tableau Général de l'Empire Othoman, Code Religieux, livre ii. ch. iv. (and the authority of the works from which he translated will hardly be questioned), that the Khaṭeeb "est même tenu de réciter tout leKhouthbésur la chaire,Minnber, en s'appuyant de la main sur la garde d'un sabre, dans tous les temples qui ont été pris avec la ville par la force des armes." The writer alluded to thinks that the use of the sword at Mekkeh proves Mr. Lane to be in error; whereas the custom is observed at Mekkeh because it was taken in war; but not at El-Medeeneh because this city was not so taken.—Ed.

339The iḳámeh see Note 24 to Chapter iv.

340For a more full account of the Friday-prayers, see my work on the Modern Egyptians, vol. i. ch. iii.

341Ammianus Marcellinus, lib. xxii.

342See Note 6 to Chapter iv.

343D'Herbelot, Bibl. Or., article "Cadhi."

Head-piece to Chapter VI.

There was, in El-Baṣrah, a certain King who loved the poor and indigent, and regarded his subjects with benevolence; he bestowed of his wealth upon him who believed in Moḥammad (God bless and save him!) and was such as one of the poets who have written of him hath thus described:—

He used his lances as pens; and the hearts of his enemies, as paper; their blood being his ink:And hence, I imagine, our forefathers applied to the lance the term Khaṭṭeeyeh,2

The name of this King was Moḥammad the son of Suleymán Ez-Zeynee; and he had two Wezeers; one of whom was named El-Mo'een3the son of Sáwee; and the other, El-Faḍl4the son of Kháḳán. El-Faḍl the son of Kháḳán was the most generous of the people of his age, upright in conduct, so that all hearts agreed in loving him, and the wise complied with his counsel, and all the people supplicated for him length of life; for he was a person of auspicious aspect,5a preventer of evil and mischief: but the Wezeer El-Mo'een the son of Sáwee hated others, and loved not good; he was a man of inauspicious aspect; and in the same degree that the people loved Faḍl-ed-Deen the son of Kháḳán, so did they abhor El-Mo'een the son of Sáwee, in accordance with the decree of the Almighty.

Now the King Moḥammad the son of Suleymán Ez-Zeynee was sitting one day upon his throne, surrounded by the officers of his court, and he called to his Wezeer El-Faḍl the son of Kháḳán, and said to him, I desire a female slave unsurpassed in beauty by any in her age, of perfect loveliness, and exquisite symmetry, and endowed with all praiseworthy qualities.—Such as this, replied his courtiers, is not to be found for less than ten thousand pieces of gold. And the Sulṭán thereupon called out to the treasurer, saying, Carry ten thousand pieces of gold to the house of El-Faḍl the son of Kháḳán. So the treasurer did as he commanded, and the Wezeer departed, after the Sulṭán had ordered him to repair every day to the market, and to commission the brokers to procure what he had described, and had commanded also that no female slave of a greater price than one thousand pieces of gold should be sold without having been shewn to the Wezeer.

The brokers, therefore, sold no female slave without shewing her to him, and he complied with the King's command, and thus he continued to do for a considerable time, no slave pleasing him: but on a certain day, one of the brokers came to the mansion of the Wezeer El-Faḍl, and found that he had mounted to repair to the palace of the King; and he laid hold upon his stirrup, and repeated these two verses:—

O thou who hast reanimated what was rotten in the state! Thou art the Wezeer ever aided by Heaven.Thou hast revived the noble qualities that were extinct among men. May thy conduct never cease to be approved by God!

He then said, O my master, the female slave for the procuring ofwhom the noble mandate was issued hath arrived. The Wezeer replied, Bring her hither to me. So the man returned, and, after a short absence, came again, accompanied by a damsel of elegant stature, high-bosomed, with black eyelashes, and smooth cheek, and slender waist, and large hips, clad in the handsomest apparel; the moisture of her lips was sweeter than sirup; her figure put to shame the branches of the Oriental willow; and her speech was more soft than the zephyr passing over the flowers of the garden; as one of her describers hath thus expressed:—

Her skin is like silk, and her speech is soft, neither redundant nor deficient:Her eyes, God said to them, Be,—and they were, affecting men's hearts with the potency of wine.May my love for her grow more warm each night, and cease not until the day of judgment!The locks on her brow are dark as night, while her forehead shines like the gleam of morning.

When the Wezeer beheld her, she pleased him extremely, and he looked towards the broker, and said to him, What is the price of this damsel? The broker answered, The price bidden for her hath amounted to ten thousand pieces of gold, and her owner hath sworn that this sum doth not equal the cost of the chickens which she hath eaten, nor the cost of the dresses which she hath bestowed upon her teachers; for she hath learnt writing and grammar and lexicology, and the interpretation of the Ḳur-án, and the fundamentals of law and religion, and medicine, and the computation of the calendar, and the art of playing upon musical instruments. The Wezeer then said, Bring to me her master:—and the broker immediately brought him; and lo, he was a foreigner, who had lived so long that time had reduced him to bones and skin, as the poet hath said,—

How hath time made me to tremble! For time is powerful and severe.I used to walk without being weary; but now I am weary and do not walk.

And the Wezeer said to him, Art thou content to receive for this damsel ten thousand pieces of gold from the Sulṭán Moḥammad the son of Suleymán Ez-Zeynee? The foreigner answered, As she is for the Sulṭán, it is incumbent on me to give her as a present to him, without price.6So the Wezeer, upon this, ordered that the money should be brought, and then weighed the pieces of gold for the foreigner; after which, the slave-broker addressed the Wezeer, and said, With the permission of our lord the Wezeer, I will speak.—Impart what thou hast to say, replied the Wezeer.—It is my opinion, then, said the broker, that thou shouldst not take up thisdamsel to the Sulṭán to-day; for she hath just arrived from her journey, and the change of air hath affected her, and the journey hath fatigued her; but rather let her remain with thee in thy palace ten days, that she may take rest, and her beauty will improve: then cause her to be taken into the bath, and attire her in clothes of the handsomest description, and go up with her to the Sulṭán: so shalt thou experience more abundant good fortune. And the Wezeer considered the advice of the slave-broker, and approved it. He therefore took her into his palace, and gave her a private apartment to herself, allotting her every day what she required of food and drink and other supplies, and she continued a while in this state of enjoyment.

Noor-ed-Deen embracing the Slave

Now the Wezeer El-Faḍl had a son like the shining full moon, with brilliant countenance, and red cheek, marked with a mole like a globule of ambergris, and with grey down. The youth knew not of this damsel, and his father had charged her, saying, Know that I have purchased thee for the King Moḥammad the son of Suleymán Ez-Zeynee, and that I have a son who hath not left a girl in the quarter without making love to her: therefore keep thyself concealed from him, and beware of shewing him thy face, or suffering him to hear thy voice. The damsel replied, I hear and obey:—and he left her and departed. And it happened, as fate had ordained, that she went one day into the bath which was in the house, and, after certain of the female slaves had bathed her, she attired herself in rich apparel, and her beauty and loveliness increased in consequence. She then went in to the Wezeer's wife, and kissed her hand, and she said to her, May it be favourable,7O Enees-el-Jelees! How didst thou find this bath?—O my mistress, she answered, I wanted nothing but thy presence there. And upon this, the mistress of the house said to the female slaves, Arise, and let us go into the bath. And they complied with her command, and went, accompanied by their mistress, who first charged two young slave-girls to keep the door of the private apartment in which was Enees-el-Jelees, saying to them, Suffer no one to go in to the damsel:—and they replied, We hear and obey. But while Enees-el-Jelees was sitting in her chamber, lo, the Wezeer's son, whose name was 'Alee Noor-ed-Deen, came in, and asked after his mother and the family. The two girls answered, They are gone into the bath. Now the damsel Enees-el-Jelees heard the speech of 'Alee Noor-ed-Deen as she sat in her chamber, and she said within herself, I wonder what this youth is like, of whom the Wezeerhath told me that he hath not left a girl in the quarter without making love to her: by Allah, I have a desire to see him. She then rose upon her feet, fresh as she was from the bath, and, approaching the door of the chamber, looked at 'Alee Noor-ed-Deen, and beheld him to be a youth like the full moon. The sight of him occasioned her a thousand sighs; and a look from the youth, at her, affected him also in the same manner. Each was caught in the snare of the other's love, and the youth approached the two slave-girls, and cried out at them; whereupon they fled from before him, and stopped at a distance, looking to see what he would do. He then advanced to the door of the chamber, and, opening it, went in, and said to the damsel, Art thou she whom my father hath purchased for me? She answered, Yes. And upon this, the youth, who was in a state of intoxication, went up to her, and embraced her, while she, in like manner, threw her arms around his neck, and kissed him. But the two slave-girls, having seen their young master enter the chamber of the damsel Enees-el-Jelees, cried out. The youth, therefore, soon ran forth, and fled for safety, fearing the consequence of his intrusion; and when the mistress of the house heard the cry of the two slave-girls, she came out dripping from the bath, saying, What is the cause of this cry in thehouse? And when she drew near to the two slave-girls whom she had placed at the door of the private chamber, she said to them, Wo to you! What is the matter?—They answered, as soon as they beheld her, Our master 'Alee Noor-ed-Deen came to us and beat us, and we fled from him, and he went into the chamber of Enees-el-Jelees, and when we cried out to thee he fled. The mistress of the house then went to Enees-el-Jelees, and said to her, What is the news?—O my mistress, she answered, as I was sitting here, a youth of handsome person came in to me, and said to me, Art thou she whom my father hath purchased for me?—And I answered, Yes.—By Allah, O my mistress, I believed that what he said was true; and he came up to me and embraced me, and kissed me three times, and he left me overcome by his love.

Upon this, the mistress of the house wept, and slapped her face, and her female slaves did the like, fearing for 'Alee Noor-ed-Deen, lest his father should slay him; and while they were in this state, lo, the Wezeer came in, and inquired what had happened. His wife said to him, Swear that thou wilt listen to that which I shall say. He replied, Well. So she told him what his son had done; and he mourned, and rent his clothes, and slapped his face, and plucked his beard. His wife then said to him, Kill not thyself. I will give thee, of my own property, ten thousand pieces of gold, her price.—But upon this, he raised his head towards her, and said to her, Wo to thee! I want not her price; but I fear the loss of my life and my property.—Wherefore, O my master? she asked.—Knowest thou not, said he, that we have this enemy El-Mo'een the son of Sáwee? When he heareth of this event, he will repair to the Sulṭán, and say to him, Thy Wezeer whom thou imaginest to love thee hath received from thee ten thousand pieces of gold, and purchased therewith a female slave such as no one hath seen equalled, and when she pleased him, he said to his son, Take her; for thou art more worthy of her than the Sulṭán:—and he took her; and the damsel is now with him.—Then the King will say, Thou liest. And he will say to the King, With thy permission, I will break in upon him suddenly, and bring her to thee. And he will give him permission to do so: he will therefore make a sudden attack upon the house, and take the damsel, and conduct her into the presence of the Sulṭán, and he will question her, and she will not be able to deny: he will then say, O my lord, I give thee good counsel, but I am not in favour with thee:—and the Sulṭán will make an example of me, and all the people will make me a gazing-stock, andmy life will be lost.—His wife, however, replied, Acquaint no one; for this thing hath happened privily: commit, therefore, thine affair unto God, in this extremity. And upon this, the heart of the Wezeer was quieted, and his mind was relieved.

Such was the case of the Wezeer.—Now as to Noor-ed-Deen, he feared the result of his conduct, and so passed each day in the gardens, not returning to his mother until towards the close of the night: he then slept in her apartment, and rose before morning without being seen by any one else. Thus he continued to do so for the space of a month, not seeing the face of his father; and at length his mother said to his father, O my master, wilt thou lose the damsel and lose the child? For if it long continue thus with the youth, he will flee his country.—And what is to be done? said he. She answered, Sit up this night, and when he cometh, lay hold upon him, and be reconciled to him, and give him the damsel; for she loveth him, and he loveth her; and I will give thee her price. So the Wezeer sat up the whole night, and when his son came, he laid hold upon him, and would have cut his throat;8but his mother came to his succour, and said to her husband, What dost thou desire to do unto him? He answered her, I desire to slay him. The youth then said to his father, Am I of so small account in thy estimation? And upon this, the eyes of his father filled with tears, and he said to him, O my son, is the loss of my property and my life of small account with thee?—Listen, O my father, rejoined the youth:—and he implored his forgiveness. So the Wezeer rose from the breast of his son, and was moved with compassion for him; and the youth rose, and kissed his father's hand; and the Wezeer said, O my son, if I knew that thou wouldst act equitably to Enees-el-Jelees, I would give her to thee.—O my father, replied the youth, wherefore should I not act equitably towards her? And his father said, I charge thee, O my son, that thou take not a wife to share her place, and that thou do her no injury, nor sell her. He replied, O my father, I swear to thee that I will neither take a wife to share her place, nor sell her:—and he promised him by oaths to act as he had said, and took up his abode with the damsel, and remained with her a year; and God (whose name be exalted!) caused the King to forget the affair of the female slave; but the matter became known to El-Mo'een the son of Sáwee; yet he could not speak of it, on account of the high estimation in which the other Wezeer was held by the Sulṭán.

After this year had expired, the Wezeer Faḍl-ed-Deen the son ofThe Funeral of the Wezeer El-FadlThe Funeral of the Wezeer El-FadlThe Funeral of the Wezeer El-FadlKháḳán entered the oath, and came out in a state of excessive perspiration, in consequence of which the external air smote him, so that he became confined to his bed, and long remained sleepless; and his malady continued unremittingly; so he called, thereupon, his son 'Alee Noor-ed-Deen, and when he came before him, said to him, O my son, verily the means of life are apportioned, and its period is decreed, and every soul must drink the cup of death. I have nothing with which to charge thee but the fear of God, and forethought with regard to the results of thine actions, and that thou conduct thyself kindly to the damsel Enees-el-Jelees.—O my father, said the youth, who is like unto thee? Thou hast been celebrated for virtuous actions, and the praying of the preachers for thee on the pulpits.—O my son, rejoined the Wezeer, I hope for the approbation of God, whose name be exalted! And then he pronounced the two professions of the faith,9and uttered a sigh, and was recorded among the company of the blest. And upon this, the palace was filled with shrieking, and the news reached the ears of the Sulṭán, and the people of the city heard of the death of El-Faḍl the son of Kháḳán, and even the boys in the schools wept for him.10His son 'Alee Noor-ed-Deen arose, and prepared his funeral, and the Emeers and Wezeers and other officers of the state attended it, and among them was the Wezeer El-Mo'een the Son of Sáwee; and as the procession passed out from the mansion, one of the mourners recited these verses:—

I said to the man who was appointed to wash him,—Would that he had yielded obedience to my counsel,—Put away from him the water, and wash him with the tears of honour, shed in lamentation for him:And remove these fragrant substances collected for his corpse, and perfume him rather with the odours of his praise:And order the noble angels to carry him, in honour. Dost thou not behold them attending him?Cause not men's necks to be strained by bearing him: enough are they laden already by his benefits.11

'Alee Noor-ed-Deen for a long time remained in a state of violent grief for the loss of his father; but as he was sitting one day in his father's house, a person knocked at the door, and he rose up and opened it, and lo, there was a man who was one of his father's intimate companions, and he kissed the hand of Noor-ed-Deen, and said to him, O my master, he who hath left a son like thee hath not died. This is the destination of the lord of the first and the last among mankind.12O my master, cheer up thy heart, and give over mourning.—And upon this, 'Alee Noor-ed-Deen arose, and went to the guest-chamber, and removed thither all that he required, and his companions came together to him, and he took again his slave. Ten of the sons of the merchants became his associates, and he gave entertainment after entertainment, and began to be lavish with presents. His steward, therefore, came in to him, and said to him, O my master Noor-ed-Deen, hast thou not heard the saying, He who expendeth and doth not calculate is reduced to poverty? This profuse expenditure, and these magnificent presents, will annihilate the property.—But when 'Alee Noor-ed-Deen heard these words of his steward, he looked at him, and replied, Of all that thou hast said to me, I will not attend to one word. How excellent is the saying of the poet:—

If I be possessed of wealth and be not liberal, may my hand never be extended, nor my foot raised!Shew me the avaricious who hath attained glory by his avarice, and the munificent who hath died through his munificence.13

Know, O Steward, he continued, that if there remain in thy hands what will suffice for my dinner, thou shalt not burden me with anxiety respecting my supper.—So the steward left him, and went his way; and 'Alee Noor-ed-Deen resumed his habits of extravagant generosity: whenever any one of his companions said, Verily this thing is beautiful!—he would reply, It is a present to thee:—and if any said, O my master, verily such a house is delightful!—he would reply, It is a present to thee.

He ceased not to give entertainments to his companions from the commencement of day, one after another, until he had passed in thismanner a whole year; after which, as he was sitting with them, he heard the slave-girl recite these two verses:—

Thou thoughtest well of the days when they went well with thee, and fearedst not the evil that destiny was bringing.Thy nights were peaceful, and thou wast deceived by them: in the midst of their brightness there cometh gloom.

And immediately after, a person knocked at the door: so Noor-ed-Deen rose, and one of his companions followed him without his knowledge; and when he opened the door, he beheld his steward, and said to him, What is the news?—O my master, answered the steward, that which I feared on thy account hath happened to thee.—How is that? asked Noor-ed-Deen. The steward answered, Know that there remaineth not of thy property in my hands, anything equivalent to a piece of silver, or less than a piece of silver; and these are the accounts of thy expenses, and of thy original property. When 'Alee Noor-ed-Deen heard these words, he hung down his head towards the ground, and exclaimed, There is no strength nor power but in God! And the man who had followed him secretly to pry into his case, as soon as he heard what the steward told him, returned to his companions, and said to them, See what ye will do; for 'Alee Noor-ed-Deen hath become a bankrupt. So when Noor-ed-Deen returned to them, grief appeared to them in his countenance, and immediately one of them rose, and, looking towards him, said to him, O my master, I desire that thou wouldst permit me to depart.—Why thus depart to-day? said Noor-ed-Deen. His guest answered, My wife is to give birth to a child this night, and it is impossible for me to be absent from her: I desire, therefore, to go and see her. And he gave him leave. Then another rose, and said to him, O my master Noor-ed-Deen, I desire to-day to visit my brother; for he celebrateth the circumcision of his son. Thus each of them asked leave of him deceitfully, and went his way, until all had departed.

So 'Alee Noor-ed-Deen remained alone; and he called his slave-girl, and said to her, O Enees-el-Jelees, seest thou not what hath befallen me? And he related to her what the steward had told him. She replied, O my master, for some nights past, I have been anxious to speak to thee of this affair; but I heard thee reciting these two verses:—

When fortune is liberal to thee, be thou liberal to all others before she escape from thee:For liberality will not annihilate thy wealth when she is favourable; nor avarice preserve it when she deserteth thee.

And when I heard thee repeat these words, I was silent, and would not make any remark to thee.—O Enees-el-Jelees, he rejoined, thou knowest that I have not expended my wealth but on my companions; and I do not think that they will abandon me without relief.—By Allah, said she, they will be of no use to thee. But he said, I will immediately arise and go to them, and knock at their doors: perhaps I shall obtain from them something which I will employ as a capital wherewith to trade, and I will cease from diversion and sport. So he arose instantly, and proceeded without stopping until he arrived at the by-street in which his ten companions resided; for they all lived in that same street: and he advanced to the first door, and knocked; and there came forth to him a slave-girl, who said to him, Who art thou? He answered, Say to thy master,—'Alee Noor-ed-Deen is standing at the door, and saith to thee, Thy slave kisseth thy hands, looking for a favour from thee.—And the girl entered, and acquainted her master; but he called out to her, saying, Return, and tell him, He is not here.—The girl, therefore, returned to Noor-ed-Deen, and said to him, My master, Sir, is not here. And he went on, saying within myself, If this is a knave, and hath denied himself, another is not. He then advanced to the next door, and said as he had before; and the second also denied himself; and Noor-ed-Deen exclaimed,—

They are gone, who, if thou stoodest at their door, would bestow upon thee the bounty thou desirest.

By Allah, he added, I must try all of them: perchance one of them may stand me in the place of all the others. And he went round to all the ten; but found not that one of them would open the door, or shew himself, or even order him a cake of bread; and he recited the following verses:—

A man in prosperity resembleth a tree, around which people flock as long as it hath fruit;But as soon as it hath dropped all that it bore, they disperse from beneath it, and seek another.Perdition to all the people of this age! for I find not one man of integrity among ten.

He then returned to his slave: his anxiety had increased, and she said to him, O my master, said I not unto thee that they would not profit thee?—By Allah, he replied, not one of them shewed me his face.—O my master, rejoined she, sell of the moveables of the house a little at a time, and expend the produce. And he did so until he had sold all that was in the house, and there remained nothing in his possession; and upon this he looked towards Enees-el-Jelees, and said to her, What shall we do now?—It is my advice, O my master, she answered, that thou arise immediately, and take me to the market, and sell me; for thou knowest that thy father purchased me for ten thousand pieces of gold, and perhaps God may open to thee a way to obtain a part of this price; and if God have decreed our reunion, we shall meet again. But he replied, O Enees-el-Jelees, it is not easy for me to endure thy separation for one hour.—Nor is the like easy to me, said she: but necessity is imperious. And upon this, he took Enees-el-Jelees, his tears flowing down his cheeks, and went and delivered her to the broker, saying to him, Know the value of that which thou art to cry for sale.—O my master Noor-ed-Deen, replied the broker, noble qualities are held in remembrance. Is she not Enees-el-Jelees, whom thy father purchased of me for ten thousand pieces of gold?—He answered, Yes. And the broker thereupon went to the merchants; but he found that they had not all yet assembled; so he waited until the rest had come, and the market was filled with all varieties of female slaves, Turkish and Greek and Circassian and Georgian and Abyssinian; and when he beheld its crowded state, he arose and exclaimed, O merchants! O possessors of wealth! everything that is round is not a nut; nor is everything long, a banana; nor is everything that is red, meat; nor is everything white, fat; nor is everything that is ruddy, wine; nor is everything tawny, a date! O merchants! this precious pearl, whose value no money can equal, with what sum will ye open the bidding for her?—And one of the merchants answered, With four thousand and five hundred pieces of gold.14

The Wezeer El-Mo'een in the Slave-Market

But, lo, the Wezeer El-Mo'een the son of Sáwee was in the market, and, seeing 'Alee Noor-ed-Deen standing there, he said within himself, What doth he want here, having nothing left wherewith to purchase female slaves? Then casting his eyes around, and hearing the broker as he stood crying in the market with the merchants around him, he said within himself, I do not imagine anything else than that he hath become a bankrupt, and come forth with the slave-girl to sell her; and if this be the case, how pleasant to my heart! He then called the crier, who approached him, and kissed the ground before him;15and the Wezeer said to him, I desire this female slave whom thou art crying for sale. The broker, therefore, being unable to oppose his wish, brought the slave and placed her before him; and when he beheld her, and considered her charms, her elegant figure and her soft speech, he was delighted with her, and said to the broker, Towhat has the bidding for her amounted? The broker answered, Four thousand and five hundred pieces of gold. And as soon as the merchants heard this, not one of them could bid another piece of silver or of gold; but all of them drew back, knowing the tyrannical conduct of that Wezeer. El-Mo'een the son of Sáwee then looked towards the broker, and said to him, Why standest thou still? Take away the slave-girl for me at the price of four thousand and five hundred pieces of gold, and thou wilt have five hundred for thyself.—So the broker went to 'Alee Noor-ed-Deen, and said to him, O my master, the slave-girl is lost to thee without price.—How so? said Noor-ed-Deen. The broker answered, We opened the bidding for her at four thousand and five hundred pieces of gold; but this tyrant El-Mo'een the son of Sáwee came into the market, and when he beheld the damsel she pleased him, and he said to me, Ask her owner if he will agree for four thousand pieces of gold, and five hundred for thee:—and I doubt not but he knoweth that the slave belongeth to thee; and if he givethee her price immediately, it will be through the goodness of God; but I know, from his injustice, that he will write thee an order upon some of his agents for the money, and then send to them and desire them to give thee nothing; and every time that thou shalt go to demand it of them, they will say to thee, To-morrow we will pay thee:—and they will not cease to promise thee, and to defer from day to day, notwithstanding thy pride; and when they are overcome by thy importunity they will say, Give us the written order:—and as soon as they have received the paper from thee they will tear it in pieces: so thou wilt lose the price of the slave.

When Noor-ed-Deen, therefore, heard these words of the broker, he said to him, What is to be done? The broker answered, I will give thee a piece of advice, and if thou receive it from me, thou wilt have better fortune.—What is it? asked Noor-ed-Deen.—That thou come to me immediately, answered the broker, while I am standing in the midst of the market, and take the slave-girl from me, and give her a blow with thy hand, and say to her, Wo to thee! I have expiated my oath that I swore, and brought thee to the market, because I swore to thee that thou shouldst be exposed in the market, and that the broker should cry thee for sale.—If thou do this, perhaps the trick will deceive him and the people, and they will believe that thou tookest her not to the market but to expiate the oath.—This, replied Noor-ed-Deen, is the right counsel. So the broker returned into the midst of the market, and, taking hold of the hand of the slave-girl, made a sign to the Wezeer El-Mo'een the son of Sáwee, saying, O my lord, this is her owner who hath just come. Then 'Alee Noor-ed-Deen advanced to the broker, and tore the damsel from him, and struck her with his hand, saying to her, Wo to thee! I have brought thee to the market for the sake of expiating my oath. Go home, and disobey me not again. I want not thy price, that I should sell thee; and if I sold the furniture of the house and everything else of the kind over and over again, their produce would not amount to thy price.—But when El-Mo'een the son of Sáwee beheld Noor-ed-Deen, he said to him, Wo to thee! Hast thou anything left to be sold or bought?—And he would have laid violent hands upon him. The merchants then looked towards Noor-ed-Deen (and they all loved him), and he said to them, Here am I before you, and ye have all known his tyranny.—By Allah, exclaimed the Wezeer, were it not for you, I had killed him! Then all of them made signs, one to another, with the eye, and said, Not one of us will interfere between thee and him. And uponthis, 'Alee Noor-ed-Deen went up to the Wezeer, the son of Sáwee (and Noor-ed-Deen was a man of courage), and he dragged the Wezeer from his saddle, and threw him upon the ground. There was at that spot a kneading-place for mud,16and the Wezeer fell into the midst of it, and Noor-ed-Deen beat him with his fist, and a blow fell upon his teeth, by which his beard became dyed with his blood. Now there were with the Wezeer ten memlooks, and when they saw Noor-ed-Deen treat their master in this manner, they put their hands upon the hilts of their swords, and would have fallen upon him and cut him in pieces; but the people said to them, This is a Wezeer, and this is the son of a Wezeer, and perhaps they may make peace with each other, and ye will incur the anger of both of them; or perhaps a blow may fall upon your master, and ye will all of you die the most ignominious of deaths: it is advisable, therefore, that ye interfere not between them.—And when 'Alee Noor-ed-Deen had ceased from beating the Wezeer, he took his slave-girl, and returned to his house.

El-Mo'een in his Abasement

The Wezeer, the son of Sáwee, then immediately arose, and his dress, which before was white, was now dyed with three colours, the colour of mud, and the colour of blood, and the colour of ashes;17and when he beheld himself in this condition, he took a round mat,18and hung it to his neck, and took in his hand two bundles of coarse grass,19and went and stood beneath the palace of the Sulṭán, and cried out,O King of the age! I am oppressed!—So they brought him before the King, who looked at him attentively, and saw that he was his Wezeer, El-Mo'een the son of Sáwee. He said, therefore, Who hath done thus unto thee?—and the Wezeer cried and moaned, and repeated these two verses:—

Shall fortune oppress me while thou existest; and the dogs devour me when thou art a lion?Shall all else who are dry drink freely from thy tanks, and I thirst in thine asylum when thou art as rain?

—O my lord, he continued, thus is every one who loveth thee and serveth thee: these afflictions always befall him.—And who, said the King again, hath done thus unto thee?—Know, answered the Wezeer, that I went forth to-day to the market of the female slaves with the idea of buying a cook-maid, and saw in the market a slave-girl the like of whom I had never in my life beheld, and the broker said that she belonged to 'Alee Noor-ed-Deen. Now our lord the Sulṭán had given his father ten thousand pieces of gold to buy for him with it a beautiful female slave, and he bought that girl, and she pleased him; so he gave her to his son; and when his father died, the son pursued the path of prodigality, until he sold all his houses and gardens and utensils; and when he had become a bankrupt, nothing else remaining in his possession, he took the slave-girl to the market to sell her, and delivered her to the broker: so he cried her for sale, and the merchants continued bidding for her until her price amounted to four thousand pieces of gold; whereupon I said to myself, I will buy this for our lord the Sulṭán; for her original price was from him. I therefore said, O my son, receive her price, four thousand pieces of gold. But when he heard my words, he looked at me and replied, O ill-omened old man! I will sell her to the Jews and the Christians rather than to thee.—I then said to him, I would not buy her for myself, but for our lord the Sulṭán, who is our benefactor. As soon, however, as he had heard these words from me, he was filled with rage, and dragged me and threw me down from the horse, notwithstanding my advanced age, and beat me, and ceased not to do so until he left me in the state in which thou seest me. Nothing exposed me to all this ill treatment but my coming to purchase this slave-girl for your majesty.—The Wezeer then threw himself upon the ground, and lay weeping and trembling.

Now when the Sulṭán beheld his condition, and had heard his speech, the vein of anger swelled between his eyes, and he lookedtowards the members of his court who were attending him; whereupon forty swordsmen stood before him, and he said to them, Descend immediately to the house of 'Alee the son of El-Faḍl the son of Kháḳán, and plunder it and demolish it, and bring hither him and the slave-girl with their hands bound behind them: drag them along upon their faces, and so bring them before me. They replied, We hear and obey:—and went forth to repair to the house of 'Alee Noor-ed-Deen. But there was in the court of the Sulṭán a chamberlain named 'Alam-ed-Deen Senjer, who had been one of the memlooks of El-Faḍl the son of Kháḳán, the father of 'Alee Noor-ed-Deen; and when he heard the order of the Sulṭán, and saw the enemies prepared to slay his master's son, it was insupportable to him; so he mounted his horse, and proceeded to the house of 'Alee Noor-ed-Deen, and knocked at the door. Noor-ed-Deen came forth to him, and, when he saw him, knew him, and would have saluted him; but he said, O my master, this is not a time for salutation, nor for talking. Noor-ed-Deen said, O 'Alam-ed-Deen, what is the news? He replied, Save thyself by flight, thou and the slave-girl; for El-Mo'een the son of Sáwee hath set up a snare for you, and if ye fall into his hands he will slay you: the Sulṭán hath sent to you forty swordsmen, and it is my advice that ye fly before the evil fall upon you. Then Senjer stretched forth his hand to Noor-ed-Deen with some pieces of gold, and he counted them, and found them to be forty pieces; and he said, O my master, receive these, and if I had with me more, I would give it thee: but this is not a time for expostulating. And upon this, Noor-ed-Deen went in to the damsel, and acquainted her with the occurrence, and she was confounded.

The two then went forth immediately from the city, and God let down the veil of his protection upon them, and they proceeded to the bank of the river, where they found a vessel ready to sail: the master was standing in the midst of it, and saying, He who hath anything to do, whether leave-taking or procuring provisions, or who hath forgotten aught, let him do what he desireth and return; for we are going. And they all replied, We have nothing remaining to do, O master. So, upon this, the master said to his crew, Quick! Loose the rope's end, and pull up the stake.20—And 'Alee Noor-ed-Deen exclaimed, Whither, O master? He answered, To the Abode of Peace, Baghdád. And Noor-ed-Deen embarked, and the damsel with him, and they set the vessel afloat, and spread the sails, and it shot along like a bird with its pair of wings, carrying them forward with a favourable wind.

Meanwhile, the forty men whom the Sulṭán had sent came to the house of 'Alee Noor-ed-Deen, and broke open the doors and entered, and searched all the chambers, but without success; so they demolished the house, and returned, and acquainted the Sulṭán, who said, Search for them in every place where they may be:—and they replied, We hear and obey. The Wezeer El-Mo'een the son of Sáwee then descended to his house, after the Sulṭán had invested him with a robe of honour, and had said to him, None shall take vengeance for thee but myself. And he greeted the King with a prayer for long life, and his heart was set at ease: and the Sulṭán gave orders to proclaim throughout the city, O all ye people! our lord the Sulṭán hath commanded that whoever shall meet with 'Alee Noor-ed-Deen, and bring him to the Sulṭán, shall be invested with a robe of honour, and he will give him a thousand pieces of gold; and he who shall conceal him, or know where he is, and not give information thereof, will merit the exemplary punishment that shall befall him! So all the people began to search for him; but could not trace him.—Such was the case with these people.

Now as to 'Alee Noor-ed-Deen and his slave, they arrived in safety at Baghdád, and the master of the vessel said to them, This is Baghdád, and it is a city of security: winter with its cold hath departed from it, and the spring-quarter hath come with its roses, and its trees are in blossom, and its waters are flowing. And upon this, 'Alee Noor-ed-Deen landed with his slave-girl, and gave the master five pieces of gold. They then walked a little way, and destiny cast them among the gardens, and they came to a place which they found swept and sprinkled, with long maṣṭabahs, and pots suspended filled with water, and over it was a covering of trellis-work of canes extending along the whole length of a lane, at the upper end of which was the gate of a garden; but this was shut. And Noor-ed-Deen said to the damsel, By Allah, this is a pleasant place!—and she replied, O my master, let us sit down a while upon one of these maṣṭabahs. So they mounted and seated themselves there, and they washed their faces and hands, and enjoyed the current of the zephyr, and slept.—Glory be to Him who sleepeth not!

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