Chapter 27

Enees-el-Jelees and the Khaleefeh and Jaafar

Now this dust was the dust of Jaạfar, the Wezeer of the Khaleefeh, and of his attendants; and the cause of their coming was this:—The Khaleefeh had passed thirty days without remembering the affair of 'Alee the son of El-Faḍl the son of Kháḳán, and no one mentioned it to him, until he came one night to the private apartment of Enees-el-Jelees, and heard her lamenting, as she recited, with a soft voice, the saying of the poet:—

Thine image [is before me] whether distant or near, and my tongue never ceaseth to mention thee.

Her lamentation increased, and lo, the Khaleefeh opened the door, and entered the chamber, and saw Enees-el-Jelees weeping. On beholding the Khaleefeh, she fell at his feet, and, having kissed them three times, recited these two verses:—

O thou of pure origin, and of excellent birth; of ripe-fruitful branch, and of unsullied race!I remind thee of the promise thy beneficence granted, and far be it from thee that thou shouldst forget it.

The Khaleefeh said to her, Who art thou? She answered, I am the present given to thee by 'Alee the son of El-Faḍl the son of Kháḳán; and I request the fulfilment of the promise which thou gavest me, that thou wouldst send me to him with the honorary gift; for I have now been here thirty days, and have not tasted sleep. And upon this, the Khaleefeh summoned Jaạfar El-Barmekee, and said to him, For thirty days I have heard no news of 'Alee the son of El-Faḍl the son of Kháḳán, and I imagine nothing less than that the Sulṭán hath killed him: but, by my head! by the tombs of my ancestors! if any evil event hath happened to him, I will destroy him who hath been the cause of it, though he be the dearest of men in my estimation! I desire, therefore, that thou journey immediately to El-Baṣrah, and bring me an account of the conduct of the King Moḥammad the son of Suleymán Ez-Zeynee to 'Alee the son of El-Faḍl the son of Kháḳán.

So Jaạfar obeyed his commands, and set forth on his journey, and when he approached, and saw this tumult and crowd, he said, What is the occasion of this crowd? They related to him, therefore, the situation in which they were with regard to Noor-ed-Deen; and when he heard their words, he hastened to go up to the Sulṭán, and, having saluted him, acquainted him with the cause of his coming, and told him, that if any evil event had happened to 'Alee Noor-ed-Deen, the Khaleefeh would destroy him who was the cause of it. He then arrested the Sulṭán, and the Wezeer El-Mo'een the son of Sáwee, and gave orders to liberate 'Alee Noor-ed-Deen, and enthroned him as Sulṭán in the place of the Sulṭán Moḥammad the son of Suleymán Ez-Zeynee; after which he remained in El-Baṣrah three days, the usual period of entertainment; and on the morning of the fourth day, 'Alee Noor-ed-Deen said to Jaạfar, I have a longing desire to see the Prince of the Faithful. So Jaạfar said to the King Moḥammad the son of Suleymán, Prepare thyself for travelling; for we will perform the morning-prayers, and depart to Baghdád. He replied, I hear and obey:—and they performed the morning-prayers, and mounted all together, with the Wezeer El-Mo'een the son of Sáwee, who now repented of what he had done. As to 'Alee Noor-ed-Deen, he rode by the side of Jaạfar: and they continued their journey until they arrived at Baghdád, the Abode of Peace.

They then presented themselves before the Khaleefeh, and related to him the case of Noor-ed-Deen; whereupon the Khaleefeh addressed him, saying, Take this sword, and strike off with it the head of thine enemy. And he took it, and approached El-Mo'een the son of Sáwee; but he looked at him, and said to him, I did according to my nature, and do thou according to thine. And Noor-ed-Deen threw down the sword from his hand, and, looking towards the Khaleefeh, said, O Prince of the Faithful, he hath beguiled me. So the Khaleefeh said, Do thou leave him:—and he said to Mesroor, O Mesroor, advance thou, and strike off his head. Mesroor, therefore, did so: and upon this, the Khaleefeh said to 'Alee the son of El-Faḍl the son of Khákán, Request of me what thou wilt. He replied, O my lord, I have no want of the sovereignty of El-Baṣrah, and desire nothing but to have the honour of serving thee.—Most willingly I assent, said the Khaleefeh:—and he summoned the damsel, and when she had come before him, he bestowed favours upon them both: he gave to them one of the palaces of Baghdád, and assigned to them regular allowances, and made Noor-ed-Deen one of his companions at the table; and he remained with him until death overtook him.

Tail-piece to Chapter VI.

Head-piece to Notes to Chapter VI.

Note1.In the old version, the person here named Enees-el-Jelees is called "The Fair Persian;" but I do not find her so described in any copy of the original. The name here given to her may be rendered "the Companion's Cheerer;" "Enees" being a term applied to any person or thing serving as an agreeable, cheering companion; and "Jelees" signifying "a companion," or "one in the habit of sitting with another."

Note2."Khaṭṭeeyeh" is derived from "khaṭṭ," which signifies "writing," but which is also the name of a place (Khaṭṭ Hejer) in the province of El-Baḥreyn, a famous mart for spears. Of the figure of speech employed in the couplet in which this word occurs (considered by the Arabs an elegant mode of ætiology, and called by them "ḥosn et-taạleel") my sheykh gives the following example in a marginal note:—

"And the rain fell not but for the purpose of kissing the ground before thee."

Note3."El-Mo'een" signifies "the Aider," or "the Assistant."

Note4."El-Faḍl," signifying "the Excellence," is here, as a proper name, an abbreviation of "Faḍl-ed-Deen," "the Excellence of the Religion."

Note5.This phrase (a person of auspicious aspect345) is often used by the modern Arabs and the Turks, and signifies "a virtuous or beneficent man."

Note6.This answer is not to be understood in its literal sense; it has become a common form of speech which an Arab often uses for the purpose of obtaining something more than he would venture to demand.

Note7."May it be favourable," or "——beneficial," is a compliment usually addressed to a person who has just been to the bath, and to a man who has just had his head shaved. The reply is, "May God bestow favours upon thee."

Note8.—On the Law respecting Murder and unintentional Homicide.The Ḳur-án ordains that murder shall be punished with death; or, rather, that the free shall die for the free, the slave for the slave, and a woman for a woman; or that the perpetrator of the crime shall pay, to the heirs of the person whom he has killed, if they will allow it, a fine, which is to be divided according to the laws of inheritance.346It also ordains, that unintentional homicide shall be expiated by freeing a believer from slavery, and paying, to the family of the person killed, a fine, unless they remit it.347But these laws are amplified and explained by the same book and by the Imáms.—A fine is not to be accepted for murder unless the crime has been attended by some palliating circumstance. This fine, the price of blood, is a hundred camels; or a thousand deenárs (about 500l.) from him who possesses gold; or, from him who possesses silver, twelve thousand dirhems348(about 300l.). This is for killing a free man; for a woman, halfthat sum; for a slave, his or her value, but that must fall short of the price of blood for the free. A person unable to free a believer must fast two months as in Ramaḍán. The accomplices of a murderer are liable to the punishment of death. By the Sunneh also, a man is obnoxious to capital punishment for the murder of a woman; and by the Ḥanafee law, for the murder of another man's slave. But he is exempted from this punishment who kills his own child or other descendant, or his own slave, or his son's slave, or a slave of whom he is part-owner: so also are his accomplices: and according to Esh-Sháfe'ee, a Muslim, though a slave, is not to be put to death for killing an infidel, though the latter be free. A man who kills another in self-defence, or to defend his property from a robber, is exempt from all punishment. The price of blood is a debt incumbent on the family, tribe, or association, of which the homicide is a member. It is also incumbent on the inhabitants of an enclosed quarter, or the proprietor or proprietors of a field, in which the body of a person killed by an unknown hand is found; unless the person has been found killed in his own house.

Hence it appears, that the punishment with which the Wezeer El-Faḍl threatened his son is not to be regarded as a grave criminal act; especially when we consider the nature of the son's offence: for the slave was the property of the king, and it was not allowable to any other man even to see her without his permission. Many of the characters depicted in the present work would seem incongruous in the extreme, if judged according to European notions of justice and other moral qualities.

Note9."The two professions of the faith," "There is no deity but God," and "Moḥammad is God's Apostle," are generally repeated by a dying Muslim.

Note10.This is said to imply (as my sheykh has remarked in a marginal note) that El-Faḍl was a charitable person who bestowed pensions upon the professors of the Ḳur-án and of science. There are many among the modern Muslims who do so, and numbers also who found and endow public schools.

Note11.—On the Washing, Shrouding, and Burial of the Dead.The ceremonies attendant upon death and burial are nearly the same in the cases of men and women. The face or the head of the dying person is turned towards the direction of Mekkeh. When the spirit is departing, the eyes are closed; and then, or immediately after, the women of the house commence a loud lamentation, in which many of the females of the neighbourhood generally come to join. Hired female mourners are also usually employed; each of whom accompanies her exclamations of "Alas for him!" &c., by beating a tambourine. If possible, the corpse is buried on the day of the death; but when this cannot be done, the lamentation of the women is continued during the ensuing night; and a recitation of several chapters, or of the whole, of the Ḳur-án is performed by one or more men hired for the purpose.

The washing consists, first, in the performance of the ordinary ablution which is preparatory to prayer, with the exception of the cleansing of the mouth and nose; and secondly, in an ablution of the whole body with warm water and soap, or with water in which some leaves of the lote-tree have been boiled. The jaw is bound up, the eyes are closed, and the nostrils &c., are stuffed with cotton; and the corpse is sprinkled with a mixture of water, pounded camphor, dried and pounded leaves of the lote-tree, and sometimes other dried and pulverized leaves, &c., and with rose-water. The ankles are bound together; and the hands placed upon the breast.

The grave-clothing of a poor man consists of a piece or two of cotton, or a kind of bag: but the corpse of a man of wealth is generally wrapped first in muslin; then, in cotton cloth of a thicker texture; next, in a piece of striped stuff of silk and cotton intermixed, or in a ḳafṭán (a long vest) of similar stuff, merely stitched together; and over these is wrapped a Kashmeer shawl. The colours most approved for the grave-clothes are white and green. The body thus shrouded is placed in a bier, which is usually covered with a Kashmeer shawl, and borne on the shoulders of three or four men, generally friends of the deceased.

There are some slight differences in the funeral-ceremonies observed in different Arab countries; but a sufficient notion of them will be conveyed by briefly describing those which prevail in Cairo. The procession to the tomb is generally headed by a number of poor men, mostly blind, who, walking two and two, or three and three, together, chant, in a melancholy tone, the profession (or two professions) of the faith, mentioned above (in Note 9), or sometimes other words. They are usually followed by some male relations and friends of the deceased; and these, by a group of schoolboys, chanting in a higher tone, and one of them bearing a copy of the Ḳur-án, or of one of its thirty sections, placed upon a kind of desk formed of palm-sticks, and covered with an embroidered kerchief. Then follows the bier, borne head-foremost. Friends of the deceased relieve one another in the office of carrying it; and casual passengers often take part in this service, which is esteemed highly meritorious. Behind the bier walk the female mourners, composing a numerous group, often more than a dozen; or, if of a wealthy family, they ride. Each of those who belong to the family of the deceased has a strip of cotton stuff or muslin, generally blue, bound round her head, over the head-veil, and carries a handkerchief, usually dyed blue (the colour of mourning), which she sometimes holds over her shoulders, and at other times twirls with both hands over her head or before her face, while she cries and shrieks almost incessantly; and the hired female mourners, accompanying the group, often celebrate the praises of the deceased in the manner described in the preceding tale, though this was forbidden by the Prophet.—The funeral-procession of a man of wealth is sometimes preceded by several camels, bearing bread and water to give to the poor at the tomb; and closed by the led horses of some of the attendants, and by a buffalo or other animal to be sacrificed at the tomb, where its flesh is distributed to the poor, to atone for some of the minor sins of the deceased.349

The bier used for conveying the corpse of a boy or a female has a cover of wood, over which a shawl is spread; and at the head is an upright piece of wood: upon the upper part of this, in the case of a boy, is fixed a turban, with several ornaments of female head-dress; and in the case of a female, it is similarly decked, but without the turban.

A short prayer is recited over the dead, either in a mosque or in a place particularly dedicated to this service in, or adjacent to, the burial-ground. The body is then conveyed, in the same manner as before, to the tomb. This is a hollow, oblong vault, one side of which faces the direction of Mekkeh, generally large enough to contain four or more bodies, and having an oblong monument of stone or brick constructed over it, with a stela at the head and foot. Upon the former of these two stelæ (which is often inscribed with a text from the Ḳur-án, and the name of the deceased, with the date of his death), a turban, cap, or other head-dress, is sometimes carved, shewing the rank or class of the person or persons buried beneath; and in many cases, a cupola supported by four walls, or by columns, &c., is constructed over the smaller monument. The body is laid on its right side, or inclined by means of a few crude bricks, so that the face is turned towards Mekkeh; and a person is generally employed to dictate to the deceased the answers which he should give when he is examined by the two angels Munkar and Nekeer, whom I have mentioned in No. 21 of the Notes to the Introduction. If the funeral be that of a person of rank or wealth, the bread and water &c. before mentioned are then distributed to the poor.350

The principal ceremonies observedafterthe funeral have been described in Note 15 to Chapter iv.

Note12."The lord (or chief) of the first and the last among mankind" is one of the many appellations of honour given by the Muslims to their Prophet.

Note13.My sheykh remarks, that this is said merely to excite men to generosity; for literally it is not true, as is shown by the memorable example of Kaạb the son of Mámeh, who preferred giving the water with which he was provided to another, and in consequence himself died of thirst.

Note14.We are not to understand that such a slave as Enees-el-Jelees was exposed to the public gaze in a market to which all persons indiscriminately were admitted (for this would be at variance with Eastern usages); but in a special mart to which none were allowed access but persons of wealth who expressed a desire to purchase.

Note15.—On Kissing the Ground, as a Mode of Obeisance.This and several other passages in the present work shew that we are often to understand the expression "kissing the ground before a person" as signifying "touching the ground, and then the lips and forehead, or turban, with the right hand;" and I believe this expression shouldgenerallybe so understood. When I wrote the fourteenth note to the Introduction, I inclined to a contrary opinion, chiefly from recollecting to have read the following translation of a passage of El-Maḳreezee, by the learned De Sacy:—"Ce khalife [El-Ḥákim] ordonna qu'à l'avenir on ne baiseroit plus la terre devant lui; que personne, en le saluant dans les marches publiques, ne baiseroit sa main ou son etrier, parce que cette coutume de seprosternerdevant une créature étoit une invention des Grecs."351But on referring to the original, I find that the words which he renders "cette coutume de se prosterner" signify literally "the bending towards the ground." I suppose, therefore, that his deviating from the literal sense in one case was owing to his adhering to it in another; and not meeting with the proof which I had fancied to exist of his being right, I venture to differ from him in this instance, without fear of being suspected of arrogance, as the kind of obeisance above described isoftencalled "kissing the ground" both by the Arabs and the Persians. I should add that, except in the house, I do not remember to have ever seen the ground actually touched, but nearly so, in making this obeisance, which is still called "kissing the ground" when thus imperfectly performed.

Note16.By this is meant, a place where mud was kneaded to be employed in building. The mortar generally used in the construction of Arab houses is composed of mud in the proportion of one-half, with a fourth part of lime, and the remaining part of the ashes of straw and rubbish.

Note17.See the note immediately preceding.

Note18.In Arabic, "bursh." This kind of mat, composed of palm-leaves (and sometimes, I believe, of the coarse grass mentioned in the next note), is used by the poor to sit upon.

Note19.This kind of grass, called in Arabic "ḥalfeh," and more properly "ḥalfà" (by botanists, poa multiflora, and poa cynosyroïdes), and the "'áḳool" (or hedysarum alhagi), overspread spontaneously most of the alluvial tracts in Egypt which are above the reach of the inundation, and in consequence left uncultivated. The former is used in the manufacture of coarse mats, and the latter serves as pasture for camels. The Wezeer, by taking the round mat and the two bundles of ḥalfà, seems to indicate that he is degraded to a condition as low as that of a maker of coarse mats. [The practice mentioned in the passage to which this note refers is aptly illustrated in El-Maḳreezee's Khiṭaṭ. In his description of the palaces of the Fáṭimee Khaleefehs, he says, "There was in the Great Palace a place known by the name of the Saḳeefeh, where complainants of injustice used to station themselves; and it was a custom of the Khaleefeh to sit there every night, for those of the complainants of injustice who might come to him. When any one, therefore, was wronged, he would stand under the Saḳeefeh, and say, ina loud voice, 'There is no deity but God, Moḥammad is the Apostle of God, 'Alee is the Friend (Welee) of God;' and the Khaleefeh would hear him, and command him to be brought to him, or he would intrust his case to the Wezeer," &c.—Ed.]

Note20.The boats used by the Arabs in the navigation of rivers are generally moored by means of a rope attached to a stake which is driven into the bank.

Note21.By "children of the road" are meant "travellers."

Note22.See Note 55 to Chapter iii.

Note23.The word which I render elevated (mo'allaḳah) is applied to a structure raised upon columns or pillars, &c.

Note24.The "ghaḍà" is a tree of a very inflammable nature, which, in burning, gives out a fierce heat. It grows chiefly in sandy tracts, and is described as resembling the "athl" (or tamarisk), but as being smaller than this tree.

Note25.—On Shaving the Head.I do not know when the custom of shaving the head became general among the Arabs of the towns; but from a remark of Es-Suyooṭee, I think it was not so common about the commencement of the tenth century of the Flight (that is, about the period which this work best illustrates) as it is at present, when it is almost universal among all classes; for in his time, its legality was doubted. He writes thus:—"The Imán El-Ghazálee hath said, 'There is no harm in it in the case of him whose object is cleanliness:' and the apparent sense of his words is, that it is improper in him who desireth to beautify himself for any worldly purpose, as is done by people of bad disposition."352It is added in a marginal note in the copy from which I translate this, "Persons differ respecting the shaving of the head. The opinion generally prevailing is, that it is improper to him who wears not a turban, and allowable to him who does wear one, since he has a substitute:"—"that it is also lawful, unquestionably, in the case of any disease of the head:"—and "that the hanging of the rosary to the neck, and the shaving of the head without a legal necessity, are innovations,"—Hároon Er-Rasheed generally wore the hair of his head sufficiently long to reach below his ears; but shaved it when he performed the pilgrimage;353and many other Muslims in early times did the same. Those who shave the head generally leave a small tuft upon the crown; but most persons of the literary and religious professions, and many others, disapprove of this tuft.

Note26.By the term "sheykhs" we are here to understand "persons of sanctity and of learning." See Note 9 to Chapter i.

Note27.By "the shining moon" is meant "the beautiful cup-bearer, whose face is like the shining moon."

Note28.The Muslims believe that a blessing is derived from witnessing and hearing the devout exercises, recitations, &c., of holy men.

Note29.The "jubbeh" worn in Eastern countries, is a long outer vest, with sleeves which reach nearly to the wrist. It is now generally made of cloth, and is worn by most tradesmen and other persons of the middle and higher classes. It differs somewhat in form in different countries.

Note30.The "melwaṭah" is a garment of which I was unable to obtain a description until I inquired of my friend Mr. Salamé, who informed me that it was the name of a large outer garment which used to be worn over the farajeeyeh. But I afterwards found it stated in one of the marginal notes to a later tale, that the term above mentioned is now pronounced "mellooṭah," and is applied in the present day to an article of dress of cloth or other costly material; particularly to a jubbeh; but thatit is also employed, in allusion to a jubbeh, &c., in a contemptuous sense, or, as I infer, ironically.

Note31.See Note 41 to Chapter iv.

Note32.The "lithám" is a piece of drapery with which a Bedawee often covers the lower part of his face. It frequently prevents his being recognised by another Arab who might make him a victim of blood-revenge; and is a means of disguise seldom employed but by Arabs of the desert.

Note33.The meaning is, that the act would speak for itself, and be long remembered; that the grave of the fisherman would be pointed out as that of one to whom the Khaleefeh had shewn signal favours.

Note34.It is a common custom of Arabs of the lower orders to put the money which they receive, especially when it is the first of the day's gains, to the lips and forehead before depositing it in the pocket; and the same is sometimes done by persons of the middle class.

Note35.Literally, "twenty nuṣfs." See Note 17 to Chapter iii.

Note36.These are the Ḳáḍees of the four great sects, or persuasions, of the Sunnee Muslims. See Note 1 to the Introduction.

Note37.The words "and the Wezeer took him away" are omitted in the Cairo edition.

Note38."Ḳuṭeyṭ" is the diminutive of "ḳiṭṭ,"vulgo"ḳuṭṭ," a "cat," and properly a "he-cat."

Note39.The words which I translate "the place of blood" literally signify "the place of the stagnation of blood;" and are applied to the usual place of decapitation, because the blood is left there to soak into the ground.

Note40.The recompense here alluded to is one to be received at the final retribution; not in the present life.

Note41.This kind of "ḳulleh " is a small, porous, earthen bottle, with a wide mouth. Some specimens of it are figured beneath.

Tail-piece to Notes to Chapter VI.

344See De Sacy, Chrestomathie Arabe, vol. ii. pp. 99 and 120, 2nd ed.

345In Arabic, "maḥḍaru kheyrin" (vulg., "maḥḍar kheyr"); in Turkish, "neek maḥẓar."

346Ch. ii. v. 173.

347Ch. iv. v. 34.

348Or, according to some, ten thousand dirhems.

349More than one is unusual; but, at the funeral of Moḥammad 'Alee Báshà, which I witnessed in Cairo, about eighty buffaloes were thus driven in the procession: in the narrow streets of the city, however, many of them disappeared, one after another, so that few reached the tomb.—Ed.

350If the reader desire more detailed information on the subject of this note, I refer him to my work on the Modern Egyptians, vol. ii. ch. xv.

351Chrestomathie Arabe, vol. i. p. 106; 2nd ed.

352Nuzhet el-Mutaämmil wa-Murshid el-Mutaäh-hil, sect. 7.

353Elmacini Historia Saracenica, page 120.

Head-piece to Chapter VII.

It hath been told me, O happy King, said Shahrazád, that there was, in ancient times, a certain merchant of Damascus,1possessed of wealth, who had a son like the moon at the full, of eloquent tongue, called Ghánim the son of Eiyoob,2the Distracted Slave of Love; and this son had a sister, named Fitneh,3on account of her excessive beauty and loveliness. Their father died, leaving them large property, among which were a hundred loads4of silk and brocade, and bags5of musk, and upon these loads was written, This is intended for Baghdád:—it having been his desire to journey to that city.

So, when God (whose name be exalted!) had taken his soul, andsome time had elapsed, his son took these loads, and journeyed with them to Baghdád.—This was in the time of Hároon Er-Rasheed.—He took leave of his mother and relations and townspeople before his departure, and went forth, placing his dependence upon God (whose name be exalted!), and God decreed him safety, so that he arrived at Baghdád, whither there travelled in his company a party of merchants. He hired for himself a handsome house, and furnished it with carpets and cushions, and suspended curtains in it; and there he deposited those loads, together with the mules and camels, and remained until he had rested himself; and the merchants of Baghdád, and its great men, came and saluted him. He then took a wrapper containing ten pieces of costly stuff, with the prices written upon them, and went forth with them to the market of the merchants, who met him and saluted him, treated him with honour and welcomed him, and seated him at the shop of the Sheykh of the market; and he sold the pieces, gaining, for every piece of gold, two. So Ghánim rejoiced; and he proceeded to sell the stuffs by little and little, and continued to do so for a whole year.

After this, on the first day of the following year, he came to the same market, but found its gate shut, and, inquiring the cause of this, he was answered, One of the merchants hath died, and all the rest of them have gone to walk in his funeral-procession. Wilt thou then, added his informant, gain a recompense6by walking with them?—He replied, Yes;—and he asked respecting the place of the funeral. So they guided him thither; and he performed the ablution,7and walked with the other merchants until they arrived at the place of prayer, where they prayed over the dead. The merchants then walked all together before the corpse to the burial-ground, Ghánim following them, until the procession arrived at the burial-ground outside the city, and they proceeded among the tombs until they came to that in which the corpse was to be deposited. They found that the family of the deceased had pitched a tent over the tomb, and placed there the candles and lamps; and they buried the dead, and the readers sat reciting the Ḳur-án at the tomb. The merchants sat with them; and so also did Ghánim the son of Eiyoob; but he was overcome by bashfulness, saying within himself, I cannot quit them until I have departed with them. They sat listening to the recitation of the Ḳur-án until the period of nightfall, when the servants placed before them the supper and sweetmeats, and they ate till they were satisfied, and washed their hands, and resumed their seats.

The heart of Ghánim was now troubled with reflections upon his merchandize, and he was fearful of the thieves, and said within himself, I am a stranger, and suspected of possessing wealth, and if I pass the night far away from my abode, the thieves will steal the money and the loads. So, fearing for his property, he arose and went forth from among the company, asking their leave to depart on account of some business that he had to transact, and followed the beaten track until he came to the gate of the city: but it was then midnight, and he found the gate of the city shut, and saw no one coming or going, and heard not a sound save the barking of the dogs, and the howling of the wolves; whereupon he exclaimed, There is no strength nor power but in God! I was in fear for my property, and came hither on account of it, and have found the gate shut, and now I have become in fear for my life!—He then returned to seek for himself a place in which to sleep until the morning: and, finding a private burial-place enclosed by four walls, with a palm-tree within it, and a gate-way of hard stone, open, he entered it, and desired to sleep; but sleep came not to him.

Tremor and gloom overcame him, thus lying among the tombs, and he rose upon his feet, and, opening the door, looked out, and beheld a light gleaming in the distance in the direction of the city-gate He advanced a few steps, and saw the light approaching in the way which led to the burial-place in which he was taking refuge; whereupon Ghánim feared for himself, and hastily closed the door, and climbed up into the palm-tree, and concealed himself in the midst of its branches. The light continued to approach the tomb by little and little until it came very near; and as he looked attentively at it, he perceived three black slaves, two of whom were bearing a chest, the other having in his hand an adze and a lantern; and as they drew near, one of the two slaves who were bearing the chest said, What aileth thee, O Ṣawáb?8—to which the other of the two replied, What aileth thee, O Káfoor?9The former rejoined, Were we not here at the hour of nightfall, and did we not leave the door open?—Yes, answered the other: what thou sayest is true.—See then, resumed the first speaker, it is shut and barred.—Upon this, the third, who was carrying the adze and light, and whose name was Bakheet,10said, How small is your sense! Know ye not that the owners of the gardens go forth from Baghdád and repair hither, and, evening overtaking them, enter this place, and shut the door upon themselves, through fear, lest the blacks, like ourselves, should take them and roast them and eatthem?11—Thou hast spoken truth, they answered; but there is none among us of less sense than thyself.—Verily, he replied, ye will not believe me until we enter the burial-place and find some one in it: and I imagine that, if any one be in it, and have seen the light, he hath betaken himself to the top of the palm-tree.

Ghánim in the Palm-tree

When Ghánim heard these words of the slave, he said within himself, How cunning is this slave! May Allah disgrace the blacks for their malice and villainy! There is no strength nor power but in God, the High, the Great! What will deliver me from this difficulty?—The two who were bearing the chest then said to him who had the adze, Climb over the wall, and open to us the door, O Bakheet; for we are fatigued with carrying the chest upon our necks: and if thou open to us the door, we will give thee one of the persons whom we take, and we will fry him for thee excellently, so that not a drop of his fat shall be lost. But he replied, I am afraid of a thing that my little sense hath suggested to me: let us throw over the chest behind the door; for it is our deposite. They said to him, If we throw it, itwill break.—I am afraid, he rejoined, that there may be, within the tomb, robbers who slay men and steal their property; for when evening overtaketh them they enter these places to divide what they have taken.—O thou of little sense, exclaimed the two others; can they enter here?—They then put down the chest, and climbed up the wall, and descended, and opened the door, while the third slave, Bakheet, stood waiting for them with the light, and a basket containing some plaster: after which they seated themselves, having closed the door; and one of them said, O my brother, we are tired with walking and taking up and putting down, and opening the door and shutting it, and it is now midnight, and we have not strength remaining to open the tomb and to bury the chest; wherefore we will sit here three hours to rest ourselves, and then rise and accomplish our business: but each of us shall in the mean time tell his story, and relate all that hath happened to him from beginning to end. So the first, who carried the light, told his story; but it was of a nature unfit to be here repeated;12after which, another of the slaves thus began.

Know, O my brothers, that I was, at the commencement of my career, a boy of eight years, and I used to tell one lie to the slave-merchants every year, so that they fell out with each other in consequence, and the slave-merchant my master, becoming impatient of me, committed me to the broker, desiring him to cry, Who will buy this slave with his fault? He was therefore asked, What is his fault?—and answered, He telleth one lie every year. And a merchant approached the broker, and said to him, How much have they bidden for this slave with his fault? He answered, They have bidden six hundred pieces of silver.—Then thou shalt have twenty for thyself, replied the merchant. So the broker introduced him to the slave-merchant, who received from him the money, and the broker conveyed me to the dwelling of the merchant, and took his brokerage.

The merchant clad me in a dress suitable to my condition, and I continued with him for the remainder of the year, until the new year commenced with prosperity. It was a blessed year, plenteous in the produce of the earth, and the merchants began to give entertainments, every day one taking his turn to do so, until it was my master's turn to give an entertainment in a garden within the city. So he went,and the other merchants also, and he took for them what they required of food and other provisions, and they sat eating and drinking and carousing till noon, when my master wanted something from the house, and said, O slave, mount the mule, and go to the house, and bring, from thy mistress, such a thing, and return quickly.

I obeyed, therefore, and went to the house; but when I approached it, I shrieked out, and shed tears; whereupon the people of the quarter assembled together, old and young; and my master's wife and daughters, hearing my cry, opened the door, and asked me what was the matter. I answered them, My master was sitting beneath an old wall, he and his friends, and it fell upon them; and when I beheld what happened to them, I mounted the mule, and came in haste to inform you. And when his children and wife heard these words, they shrieked, and tore their clothes, and slapped their faces, and the neighbours came to them. Then my master's wife overturned the furniture of the house, one thing upon another, and pulled down its shelves, and broke its shutters and its windows, and smeared its walls with mud and indigo, and said to me. Wo to thee, O Káfoor! Come hither and help me, and demolish these cupboards, and smash these vessels and this China-ware.—So I went to her, and destroyed with her the shelves of the house and all that was upon them, and its cupboards and what they contained, and went about over the terraces and through every place until I had laid waste the whole, crying all the while, Oh my master! My mistress then went forth, with her face uncovered, and only with her head-veil, and the girls and boys went with her, saying to me, O Káfoor, walk on before us, and shew us the place where thy master lieth dead beneath the wall, that we may take him forth from under the ruins, and carry him in a bier, and bring him to the house, and convey his corpse in a handsome manner to the burial. So I walked before them, crying, Oh my master!—and they followed me with their faces and heads uncovered,14crying, Oh our misfortune! Oh our calamity!—and there was none among the men, nor among the women, nor among the children, nor a maiden, nor an old woman, [in the quarter,] who did not accompany us; and all of them slapped themselves in the excess of their lamentation. Thus I went with them through the city; and the people asking the news, they informed them of that which they had heard from me; and the people exclaimed, There is no strength nor power but in God, the High, the Great! We will go to the Wálee, and acquaint him.—And when they arrived before the Wálee, they informed him; and he mounted,and took with him labourers with axes and baskets, and they followed my footsteps, accompanied by a crowd of people.

I preceded them, weeping and crying out, and throwing dust upon my head, and slapping my face; and when I came to the party in the garden, and my master beheld me, I slapped my face, and exclaimed, Oh my mistress! who will have pity upon me after my mistress? Would that I had been her sacrifice!—When my master, therefore, saw me, he was confounded, his countenance became pale, and he said, What aileth thee, O Káfoor, and what is this predicament, and what is the news? I answered him, When thou sentest me to the house to bring thee what thou wantedst, I went thither and entered the house, and found that the wall of the saloon had fallen, and that the whole saloon had tumbled down upon my mistress and her children.—And did not thy mistress, said he, escape? I answered, No: not one of them escaped; and the first of them that died was my mistress the elder.—But did my youngest daughter escape? he asked. I answered, No.—And what, said he, hath become of the mule that I ride: is she safe?—No, O my master, I answered: for the walls of the house and the walls of the stable tumbled down upon all that was in the house; even upon the sheep and the geese and the hens, and all of them became a mass of flesh beneath the ruins; not one of them escaped. He then said to me, And thy master the elder? I answered, No: not one escaped; and now there remains neither house nor inhabitant, nor any trace of them; and as to the sheep and the geese and the hens, the cats and dogs have now eaten them.—And when my master heard my words, the light became darkness before his face, and he was no longer master of his senses nor of his reason, and was unable to stand upon his feet: he was paralyzed, and the strength of his back failed him, and he rent his clothes and plucked his beard and slapped his face and threw his turban from his head, and ceased not to slap his face until the blood flowed from it: and he began to cry, Ah! Oh my children! Ah! Oh my wife! Ah! Oh my misfortune! Unto whom hath happened the like of that which hath happened to me?—The merchants, also, his companions, joined with him in cries and lamentations, and were moved with pity for his case, and rent their clothes; and my master went forth from the garden, beating himself for the calamity that had [as he supposed] befallen him, and redoubled the blows upon his face, seeming as though he were drunk.

And as the party thus went out from the gate of the garden, they beheld a great dust, and heard tumultuous cries, and, looking in thatdirection, saw the crowd approaching them. This crowd was the Wálee and his attendants, and a concourse of people who had come to gratify their curiosity, with the merchant's family behind them, shrieking and crying with violent lamentation and excessive grief; and the first who accosted my master were his wife and children. On beholding these, he was confounded, and laughed, and said to them, How are ye; and what hath happened to you in the house, and what hath befallen you? And when they saw him, they exclaimed, Praise be to God for thy safety! And they threw themselves upon him, and his children clung to him, crying out, Oh our father! Praise be to God for thy safety, O our father!—and his wife said to him, Praise be to God who hath shewn us thy face in safety!—and she was stupified, and her reason fled from her at that which she beheld. She then said to him, How didst thou escape with thy friends?—And how, said he, were ye in the house?—We were all well, they answered, in prosperity and health, and no evil hath befallen our house, save that thy slave Káfoor came to us with his head uncovered and his clothes rent, crying out, Oh my master! Oh my master!—and we said to him, What is the matter, O Káfoor?—and he answered, My master was sitting under a wall in the garden, and it fell upon him, and he died.—By Allah, replied my master, he came to me just now, crying, Oh my mistress! Oh the children of my mistress!—and said, My mistress and her children are all dead!

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