HARUN AL-RASHID AND ABU HASAN, THE
MERCHANT OF OMAN.
The Caliph Harun al-Rashid was one night wakeful exceedingly; so
he called Masrur and said to him as soon as he came, "Fetch me
Ja'afar in haste." Accordingly, he went out and returned with
the Wazir, to whom said the Caliph, "O Ja'afar wakefulness hath
mastered me this night and forbiddeth sleep from me, nor wot I
what shall drive it away from me." Replied Ja'afar, "O Commander
of the Faithful, the wise say, 'Looking on a mirror, entering
the Hamman-bath and hearkening unto song banish care and
chagrin.'" He rejoined, "O Ja'afar I have done all this, but it
hath brought me naught of relief, and I swear by my pious
forbears unless thou contrive that which shall abate from me
this insomny, I will smite thy neck." Quoth Ja'afar, "O
Commander of the Faithful, wilt thou do that which I shall
counsel thee?" whereupon quoth the Caliph, "And what is that
thou counselleth?" He replied, "It is that thou take boat with
us and drop down Tigris River with the tide to a place called
Karn al-Sirat, so haply we may hear what we never heard or see
what we never saw, for 'tis said, 'The solace of care is in one
of three things; that a man see what he never before saw or hear
what he never yet heard or tread an earth he erst hath never
trodden.' It may be this shall be the means of remedying thy
restlessness, O Commander of the Faithful, Inshallah! There, on
either side of the river, are windows and balconies one facing
other, and it may be we shall hear or see from one of these
somewhat wherewith our hearts may be heartened." Ja'afar's
counsel pleased the Caliph, so he rose from his place and taking
with him the Wazir and his brother Al-Fazl and Isaac[FN#276] the
boon-companion and Abu Nowas and Abu Dalaf[FN#277] and Masrur
the Sworder,-- And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased
saying her permitted say.
When it was the Nine Hundred and Forty-seventh Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the
Caliph arose from his seat with Ja'afar and the rest of the
party, all entered the wardrobe, where they donned merchant's
gear. Then they went down to the Tigris and embarking in a
gilded boat, dropped down with the stream, till they came to the
place they sought, when they heard the voice of a damsel singing
to the lute and chanting these couplets,
"To him when the wine cup is near I declare, * While in coppice
loud shrilleth and trilleth Hazár,
'How long this repining from joys and delight? * Wake up for this
life is a borrowed ware!'
Take the cup from the hand of the friend who is dear * With
languishing eye-lids and languorous air.
I sowed on his cheek a fresh rose, which amid * His side-locks
the fruit of granado-tree bare.
Thou wouldst deem that the place where he tare his fair
cheek[FN#278] * Were ashes, while cheeks hues incendiary
wear.
Quoth the blamer, 'Forget him! But where's my excuse * When his
side-face is growing the downiest hair?[FN#279]'"
When the Caliph heard this, he said, "O Ja'afar, how goodly is
that voice!"; and the Wazir replied, "O our lord, never smote my
hearing aught sweeter or goodlier than this singing! But, good
my lord, hearing from behind a wall is only half hearing; how
would it be an we heard it from behind a curtain?" Quoth the
Caliph, "Come, O Ja'afar, let us play the parasites with the
master of this house; and haply we shall look upon the
songstress, face to face;" and quoth Ja'afar, "I hear and I
obey." So they landed and sought admittance; when behold, there
came out to them a young man, fair of favour, sweet of speech
and fluent of tongue, who said to them, "Well come and welcome,
O lords that honour me with your presence! Enter in all comfort
and convenience!" So they went in (and he with them) to a saloon
with four faces, whose ceiling was decorated with gold and its
walls adorned with ultramarine.[FN#280] At its upper end was a
dais, whereon stood a goodly row of seats[FN#281] and thereon
sat an hundred damsels like moons. The house-master cried out to
them and they came down from their seats. Then he turned to
Ja'afar and said to him, "O my lord, I know not the honourable
of you from the more honourable: Bismillah! deign he that is
highest in rank among you favour me by taking the head of the
room, and let his brethren sit each in his several stead." So
they sat down, each according to his degree, whilst Masrur abode
standing before them in their service; and the host asked them,
"O my guests, with your leave, shall I set somewhat of food
before you?" and they answered, "Yes." Hearing this he bade his
handmaids bring food, whereupon four damsels with girded waists
placed in front of them a table, whereon were rare meats of that
which flieth and walketh earth and swimmeth seas, sand-grouse
and quails and chickens and pigeons; and written on the raised
edge of the tray were verses such as sorted with the
entertainment. So they ate till they had enough and washed their
hands, after which said the young man, "O my lords, if you have
any want, let us know it, that we may have the honour of
satisfying it." They replied, "'Tis well: we came not to thy
dwelling save for the sake of a voice we heard from behind the
wall of thy house, and we would fain hear it again and know her
to whom it belongeth. So, an thou deem right to vouchsafe us
this favour, it will be of the generosity of thy nature, and
after we will return whence we came." Quoth the host, "Ye are
welcome;" and, turning to a black slave-girl, said to her,
"Fetch me thy mistress such an one." So she went away and
returning with a chair of chinaware, cushioned with brocade, set
it down: then withdrew again and presently returned with a
damsel, as she were the moon on the night of its full, who sat
down on the chair. Then the black girl gave her a bag of satin
wherefrom she brought out a lute, inlaid with gems and jacinths
and furnished with pegs of gold.--And Shahrazad perceived the
dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
When it was the Nine Hundred and Forty-eighth Night,
She continued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when
the damsel came forward, she took her seat upon the chair and
brought out from its case a lute and behold, it was inlaid with
gems and jacinths and furnished with pegs of gold. Then she
tuned its strings, even as saith the poet of her and her lute in
these lines,
"She sits it in lap like a mother fond * And she strikes the
strings that can make it speak:
And ne'er smiteth her right an injurious touch * But her left
repairs of her right the wreak.[FN#282]"
Then she strained the lute to her bosom, bending over it as
mother bendeth over babe, and swept the strings which complained
as child to mother complaineth; after which she played upon it
and began improvisng these couplets,
"An Time my lover restore me I'll blame him fain, * Saying,
'Pass, O my dear, the bowl and in passing drain
The wine which hath never mixed with the heart of man * But he
passes to joy from annoy and to pleasure from pain.'
Then Zephyr arose to his task of sustaining the cup: * Didst e'er
see full Moon that in hand the star hath ta'en?[FN#283]
How oft I talked thro' the night, when its rounded Lune * Shed on
darkness of Tigris' bank a beamy rain!
And when Luna sank in the West 'twas as though she'd wave * O'er
the length of the watery waste a gilded glaive."
When she had made an end of her verse, she wept with sore weeping
and all who were in the place wept aloud till they were well-nigh
dead; nor was there one of them but took leave of his wits and
rent his raiment and beat his face, for the goodliness of her
singing. Then said Al-Rashid, "This damsel's song verily denoteth
that she is a lover departed from her beloved." Quoth her master,
"She hath lost father and mother;" but quoth the Caliph, "This
is not the weeping of one who hath lost mother and father, but
the yearning of one who hath lost him she loveth." And he was
delighted with her singing and said to Isaac, "By Allah, never
saw I her like!"; and Isaac said, "O my lord, indeed I marvel at
her with utterest marvel and am beside myself for delight." Now
Al-Rashid with all this stinted not to look upon the
house-master and note his charms and the daintiness of his
fashion; but he saw on his face a pallor as he would die; so he
turned to him and said, "Ho, youth!" and the other said,
"Adsum!--at thy service, O my lord." The Caliph asked, "Knowest
thou who we are?"; and he answered, "No." Quoth Ja'afar, "Wilt
thou that I tell thee the names of each of us?"; and quoth the
young man "Yes;" when the Wazir said, "This is the Commander of
the Faithful, descendant of the uncle of the Prince of the
Apostles," and named to him the others of the company; after
which quoth Al-Rashid, "I wish that thou acquaint me with the
cause of the paleness of thy face, whether it be acquired or
natural from thy birthtide." Quoth he, "O Prince of True
Believers, my case is wondrous and my affair marvellous; were it
graven with gravers on the eye-corners it were a warner to whoso
will be warned." Said the Caliph, "Tell it to me: haply thy
healing may be at my hand." Said the young man, "O Commander of
the Faithful, lend me thine ears and give me thy whole mind."
And he, "Come; tell it me, for thou makest me long to hear it."
So the young man began,--"Know then, O Prince of True Believers,
that I am a merchant of the merchants of the sea and come from
Oman city, where my sire was a trader and a very wealthy trader,
having thirty ships trafficking upon the main, whose yearly hire
was thirty thousand dinars; and he was a generous man and had
taught me writing and all whereof a wight hath need. When his
last hour drew near, he called me to him and gave me the
customary charge; then Almighty Allah took him and admitted him
to His mercy and may He continue the Commander of the Faithful
on life! Now my late father had partners trading with his coin
and voyaging on the ocean. So one day, as I sat in my house with
a company of merchants, a certain of my servants came in to me
and said, 'O my lord, there is at the door a man who craveth
admittance to thee!' I gave leave and he came in, bearing on his
head a something covered. He set it down and uncovered it, and
behold it was a box wherein were fruits out of season and herbs
conserved in salt and fresh, such as are not found in our land.
I thanked him and gifted him with an hundred dinars, and he went
away grateful. Then I divided these things amongst my friends
and guests who were present and asked them whence they came.
Quoth they, 'They come from Bassorah,' and praised them and went
on to portray the beauties of Bassorah and all agreed that there
was naught in the world goodlier than Baghdad and its people.
Then they fell to describing Baghdad and the fine manners of its
folk and the excellence of its air and the beauty of its
ordinance, till my soul longed for it and all my hopes clave to
looking upon it. So I arose and selling my houses and lands,
ships and slaves, negroes and handmaids, I got together my good,
to wit, a thousand thousand dinars, besides gems and jewels,
wherewith I freighted a vessel and setting out therein with the
whole of the property, voyaged awhile. Then I hired a barque and
embarking therein with all my monies sailed up the river some
days till we arrived at Baghdad. I enquired where the merchants
abode and what part was pleasantest for domicile and was
answered, 'The Karkh quarter.' So I went thither and hiring a
house in a thoroughfare called the Street of Saffron,
transported all my goods to it and took up my lodging therein
for some time. At last one day which was a Friday, I sallied
forth to solace myself taking with me somewhat of coin. I went
first to a cathedral-mosque, called the Mosque of Mansur, where
the Friday service was held, and when we had made an end of
congregational prayers, I fared forth with the folk to a place
hight Karn al-Sirat, where I saw a tall and goodly mansion, with
a balcony overlooking the river-bank and pierced with a lattice-
window. So I betook myself thither with a company of folk and
sighted there an old man sitting, handsomely clad and exhaling
perfumes. His beard forked upon his breast in two waves like
silver-wire, and about him were four damsels and five pages. So I
said to one of the folk, 'What is the name of this old man and
what is his business?'; and the man said, 'His name is Táhir ibn
al-Aláa, and he is a keeper of girls: all who go into him eat and
drink and look upon fair faces.' Quoth I, 'By Allah, this long
while have I wandered about in search of something like
this!'"--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased
saying her permitted say.
When it was the Nine Hundred and Forty-ninth Night,
She pursued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the
young merchant cried, "'By Allah this long while I have gone
about in search of something like this!' So I went up to the
Shaykh, O Commander of the Faithful, and saluting him said to
him, 'O my lord, I need somewhat of thee!' He replied, 'What is
thy need?' and I rejoined, ''Tis my desire to be thy guest
to-night.' He said, 'With all my heart; but, O my son, with me
are many damsels, some whose night is ten dinars, some forty and
others more. Choose which thou wilt have.' Quoth I, 'I choose
her whose night is ten dinars.' And I weighed out to him three
hundred dinars, the price of a month; whereupon he committed me
to a page, who carried me to a Hammam within the house and
served me with goodly service. When I came out of the Bath he
brought me to a chamber and knocked at the door, whereupon out
came a handmaid, to whom said he, 'Take thy guest!' She met me
with welcome and cordiality, laughing and rejoicing, and brought
me into a mighty fine room decorated with gold. I considered her
and saw her like the moon on the night of its fulness having in
attendance on her two damsels as they were constellations. She
made me sit and seating herself by my side, signed to her
slave-girls who set before us a tray covered with dishes of
various kinds of meats, pullets and quails and sand-grouse and
pigeons. So we ate our sufficiency, and never in my life ate I
aught more delicious than this food. When we had eaten she bade
remove the tray and set on the service of wine and flowers,
sweetmeats and fruits; and I abode with her a month in such
case. At the end of that time, I repaired to the Bath; then,
going to the old man, I said to him, 'O my lord, I want her whose
night is twenty dinars.' 'Weigh down the gold,' said he. So I
fetched money and weighed out to him six hundred dinars for a
month's hire, whereupon he called a page and said to him, 'Take
thy lord here.' Accordingly he carried me to the Hammam and
thence to the door of a chamber, whereat he knocked and there
came out a handmaid, to whom quoth he, 'Take thy guest!' She
received me with the goodliest reception and I found in
attendance on her four slave-girls, whom she commanded to bring
food. So they fetched a tray spread with all manner meats, and I
ate. When I had made an end of eating and the tray had been re-
moved, she took the lute and sang thereto these couplets,
'O waftings of musk from the Babel-land! * Bear a message from me
which my longings have planned:
My troth is pledged to that place of yours, * And to friends
there 'biding--a noble band;
And wherein dwells she whom all lovers love * And would hend, but
she cometh to no man's hand.'
I abode with her a month, after which I returned to the Shaykh
and said to him, 'I want the forty dinar one.' 'Weigh out the
money,' said he. So I weighed out to him twelve hundred dinars,
the mensual hire, and abode with her one month as it were one
day, for what I saw of the comeliness of her semblance and the
goodliness of her converse. After this I went to the Shaykh one
evening and heard a great noise and loud voices; so I asked him,
'What is to do?'; and he answered, saying, 'This is the night of
our remarkablest nights, when all souls embark on the river and
divert themselves by gazing one upon other. Hast thou a mind to
go up to the roof and solace thyself by looking at the folk?'
'Yes,' answered I, and went up to the terrace roof,[FN#284]
whence I could see a gathering of people with flambeaux and
cressets, and great mirth and merriment. Then I went up to the
end of the roof and beheld there, behind a goodly curtain, a
little chamber in whose midst stood a couch of
juniper-wood[FN#285] plated with shimmering gold and covered
with a handsome carpet. On this sat a lovely young lady,
confounding all beholders with her beauty and comeliness and
symmetry and perfect grace, and by her side a youth, whose hand
was on her neck; and he was kissing her and she kissing him.
When I saw them, O Prince of True Believers, I could not contain
myself nor knew where I was, so dazed and dazzled was I by her
beauty: but, when I came down, I questioned the damsel with whom
I was and described the young lady to her. 'What wilt thou with
her?' asked she; and I, 'She hath taken my wit.' 'O Abu
al-Hasan, hast thou a mind to her?' 'Ay, by Allah! for she hath
captivated my heart and soul.' 'This is the daughter of Tahir
ibn al-Alaa; she is our mistress and we are all her handmaids;
but knowest thou, O Abu al-Hasan, what be the price of her night
and her day?' 'No!' 'Five hundred dinars, for she is a regret to
the heart of Kings!'[FN#286] 'By Allah, I will spend all I have
on this damsel!' So saying I lay, heartsore for desire, through
the livelong night till the morning, when I repaired to the
Hammam and presently donned a suit of the richest royal raiment
and betaking myself to Ibn al-Alaa, said to him, 'O my lord, I
want her whose night is five hundred dinars.' Quoth he, 'Weigh
down the money.' So I weighed out to him fifteen thousand dinars
for a month's hire and he took them and said to the page, 'Carry
him to thy mistress such an one!' Accordingly he took me and
carried me to an apartment, than which my eyes never saw a
goodlier on the earth's face and there I found the young lady
seated. When I saw her, O Commander of the Faithful, my reason
was confounded with her beauty, for she was like the full moon on
its fourteenth night,"--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day
and ceased to say her permitted say.
When it was the Nine Hundred and Fiftieth Night,
She resumed, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the
young man continued to describe before the Prince of True
Believers the young lady's characteristics, saying, "She was like
the full moon on her fourteenth night, a model of grace and
symmetry and loveliness. Her speech shamed the tones of the
lute, and it was as it were she whom the poet meant in these
verses,
'She cried while played in her side Desire, * And Night o'er hung
her with blackest blee:--
'O Night shall thy murk bring me ne'er a chum * To tumble and
futter this coynte of me?'
And she smote that part with her palm and sighed * Sore sighs and
a-weeping continued she,
'As the toothstick beautifies teeth e'en so * Must prickle to
coynte as a toothstick be.
O Moslems, is never a stand to your tools, * To assist a woman's
necessity?'
Thereat rose upstanding beneath its clothes * My yard, as crying,
'At thee! at thee!'
And I loosed her trouser-string, startling her: * 'Who art thou?'
and I said, 'A reply to thy plea!'
And began to stroke her with wrist-thick yard, * Hurting hinder
cheeks by its potency:
And she cried as I rose after courses three * 'Suit thy gree the
stroke!' and I--'suit thy gree!'
And how excellent is the saying of another![FN#287],
'A fair one, to idolaters if she her face should show, They'd
leave their idols and her face for only Lord would know.
If in the Eastward she appeared unto a monk, for sure, He'd cease
from turning to the West and to the East bend low;
And if into the briny sea one day she chanced to spit, Assuredly
the salt sea's floods straight fresh and sweet would grow.'
And that of another,
'I looked at her one look and that dazed me * Such rarest gifts
of mind and form to see,
When doubt inspired her that I loved her, and * Upon her cheeks
the doubt showed showily.'
I saluted her and she said to me, 'Well come and welcome, and
fair welcome!'; and taking me by the hand, O Prince of True
Believers, made me sit down by her side; whereupon, of the
excess of my desire, I fell a-weeping for fear of severance and
pouring forth the tears of the eye, recited these two couplets,
'I love the nights of parting though I joy not in the same * Time
haply may exchange them for the boons of Union-day:
And the days that bring Union I unlove for single thought, *
Seeing everything in life lacking steadfastness of stay.'
Then she strave to solace me with soft sweet speech, but I was
drowned in the deeps of passion, fearing even in union the pangs
of disunion, for excess of longing and ecstasy of passion; and I
bethought me of the lowe of absence and estrangement and
repeated these two couplets,
'I thought of estrangement in her embrace * And my eyes rained
tears red as 'Andam-wood.
So I wiped the drops on that long white neck; * For
camphor[FN#288] is wont to stay flow of blood.'
Then she bade bring food and there came four damsels,
high-bosomed girls and virginal, who set before us food and
fruits and confections and flowers and wine, such as befit none
save kings. So, O Commander of the Faithful, we ate, and sat
over our wine, compassed about with blooms and herbs of sweet
savour, in a chamber suitable only for kings. Presently, one of
her maids brought her a silken bag, which she opened and taking
thereout a lute, laid it in her lap and smote its strings,
whereat it complained as child complaineth to mother, and she
sang these two couplets,
'Drink not pure wine except from hand of slender youth * Like
wine for daintiness and like him eke the wine:
For wine no joyance brings to him who drains the cup * Save bring
the cup-boy cheek as fair and fain and fine.'
So, I abode with her, O Commander of the Faithful, month after
month in similar guise, till all my money was spent; wherefore I
began to bethink me of separation as I sat with her one day and
my tears railed down upon my cheeks like rills, and I became not
knowing night from light. Quoth she, 'Why dost thou weep?'; and
quoth I, 'O light of mine eyes, I weep because of our parting.'
She asked, 'And what shall part me and thee, O my lord?'; and I
answered, 'By Allah, O my lady, from the day I came to thee, thy
father hath taken of me, for every night, five hundred dinars,
and now I have nothing left. Right soothfast is the saw, 'Penury
maketh strangerhood at home and money maketh a home in
strangerhood'; and indeed the poet speaks truth when he saith,
'Lack of good is exile to man at home; * And money shall house
him where'er he roam.'
She replied, 'Know that it is my father's custom, whenever a
merchant abideth with him and hath spent all his capital, to
entertain him three days; then doth he put him out and he may
return to us nevermore. But keep thou thy secret and conceal thy
case and I will so contrive that thou shalt abide with me till
such time as Allah will;[FN#289] for, indeed, there is in my
heart a great love for thee. Thou must know that all my father's
money is under my hand and he wotteth not its full tale; so,
every morning, I will give thee a purse of five hundred dinars
which do thou offer to my sire, saying, 'Henceforth, I will pay
thee only day by day.' He will hand the sum to me, and I will
give it to thee again, and we will abide thus till such time as
may please Allah.' Thereupon I thanked her and kissed her hand;
and on this wise, O Prince of True Believers, I abode with her a
whole year, till it chanced on a certain day that she beat one
of her handmaids grievously and the slave-girl said, 'By Allah,
I will assuredly torture thy heart, even as thou hast tortured
me!' So she went to the girl's father and exposed to him all
that had passed, first and last, which when Tahir ibn Alaa heard
he arose forthright and coming in to me, as I sat with his
daughter, said, 'Ho, such an one!'; and I said, 'At thy
service.' Quoth he, ''Tis our wont, when a merchant grow poor
with us, to give him hospitality three days; but thou hast had a
year with us, eating and drinking and doing what thou wouldst.'
Then he turned to his pages and cried to them, 'Pull off his
clothes.' They did as he bade them and gave me ten dirhams and
an old suit worth five silvers; after which he said to me, 'Go
forth; I will not beat thee nor abuse thee; but wend thy ways
and if thou tarry in this town, thy blood be upon thine own
head.' So I went forth, O Commander of the Faithful, in my own
despite, knowing not whither to hie, for had fallen on my heart
all the trouble in the world and I was occupied with sad thought
and doubt. Then I bethought me of the wealth which I had brought
from Oman and said in myself, 'I came hither with a thousand
thousand dinars, part price of thirty ships, and have made away
with it all in the house of yonder ill-omened man, and now I go
forth from him, bare and broken-hearted! But there is no Majesty
and there is no Might save in Allah, the Glorious, the Great!'
Then I abode three days in Baghdad, without tasting meat or
drink, and on the fourth day seeing a ship bound for Bassorah, I
took passage in her of the owner, and when we reached our port,
I landed and went into the bazar, being sore anhungered.
Presently, a man saw me, a grocer, whom I had known aforetime,
and coming up to me, embraced me, for he had been my friend and
my father's friend before me. Then he questioned me of my case,
seeing me clad in those tattered clothes; so I told him all that
had befallen me, and he said, 'By Allah, this is not the act of
a sensible man! But after this that hath befallen thee what dost
thou purpose to do?' Quoth I, 'I know not what I shall do,' and
quoth he, 'Wilt thou abide with me and write my outgo and income
and thou shalt have two dirhams a day, over and above thy food
and drink?' I agreed to this and abode with him, O Prince of
True Believers, selling and buying, till I had gotten an hundred
dinars; when I hired me an upper chamber by the river-side, so
haply a ship should come up with merchandise, that I might buy
goods with the dinars and go back with them to Baghdad. Now it
fortuned that one day, there came ships with merchandise, and
all the merchants resorted to them to buy, and I went with them
on board, when behold, there came two men out of the hold and
setting themselves chairs on the deck, sat down thereon. The
merchants addressed themselves to the twain with intent to buy,
and the man said to one of the crew, 'Bring the carpet.'
Accordingly he brought the carpet and spread it, and another
came with a pair of saddle-bags, whence he took a budget and
emptied it on the carpet; and our sights were dazzled with that
which issued therefrom of pearls and corals and jacinths and
carnelians and other jewels of all sorts and colours."--And
Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her
permitted say.
When it was the Nine Hundred and Fifty-first Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the young
merchant, after recounting to the Caliph the matter of the bag
and its containing jewels of all sorts, continued, "Presently, O
Commander of the Faithful, said one of the men on the chairs, 'O
company of merchants, we will sell but this to-day, by way of
spending-money, for that we are weary.' So the merchants fell to
bidding one against other for the jewels and bid till the price
reached four hundred dinars. Then said to me the owner of the
bag (for he was an old acquaintance of mine, and when he saw me,
he came down to me and saluted me), 'Why dost thou not speak and
bid like the rest of the merchants?' I said, 'O my lord, by
Allah, the shifts of fortune have run against me and I have lost
my wealth and have only an hundred dinars left in the world.'
Quoth he, 'O Ománi, after this vast wealth, can only an hundred
dinars remain to thee?' And I was abashed before him and my eyes
filled with tears; whereupon he looked at me and indeed my case
was grievous to him. So he said to the merchants, 'Bear witness
against me that I have sold all that is in this bag of various
gems and precious stones to this man for an hundred gold pieces,
albeit I know them to be worth so many thousand dinars, and this
is a present from me to him.' Then he gave me the saddle-bag and
the carpet, with all the jewels that were thereon, for which I
thanked him, and each and every of the merchants present praised
him. Presently I carried all this to the jewel-market and sat
there to sell and buy. Now among the precious stones was a round
amulet of the handi-work of the masters,[FN#290] weighing half a
pound: it was red of the brightest, a carnelian on both whose
sides were graven characts and characters, like the tracks of
ants; but I knew not its worth. I sold and bought a whole year,
at the end of which I took the amulet[FN#291] and said, 'This
hath been with me some while, and I know not what it is nor what
may be its value.' So I gave it to the broker who took it and
went round with it and returned, saying, 'None of the merchants
will give me more than ten dirhams for it.' Quoth I, 'I will not
sell it at that price;' and he threw it in my face and went
away. Another day I again offered it for sale and its price
reached fifteen dirhams; whereupon I took it from the broker in
anger and threw it back into the tray. But a few days after, as
I sat in my shop, there came up to me a man, who bore the traces
of travel, and saluting me, said, 'By thy leave, I will turn
over what thou hast of wares.' Said I, ''Tis well,' and indeed,
O Commander of the Faithful, I was still wroth by reason of the
lack of demand for the talisman. So the man fell to turning over
my wares, but took nought thereof save the amulet, which when he
saw, he kissed his hand and cried, 'Praised be Allah!' Then said
he to me, 'O my lord, wilt thou sell this?'; and I replied,
'Yes,' being still angry. Quoth he, 'What is its price?' And I
asked, 'How much wilt thou give?' He answered 'Twenty dinars':
so I thought he was making mock of me and exclaimed, 'Wend thy
ways.' But he resumed, 'I will give thee fifty dinars for it.' I
made him no answer, and he continued, 'A thousand dinars.' But I
was silent, declining to reply, whilst he laughed at my silence
and said, 'Why dost thou not return me an answer?' 'Hie thee
home,' repeated I and was like to quarrel with him. But he bid
thousand after thousand, and I still made him no reply, till he
said, 'Wilt thou sell it for twenty thousand dinars?' I still
thought he was mocking me; but the people gathered about me and
all of them said, 'Sell to him, and if he buy not, we will all
up and at him and drub him and thrust him forth the city.' So
quoth I to him, 'Wilt thou buy or dost thou jest?'; and quoth
he, 'Wilt thou sell or dost thou joke?' I said, 'I will sell if
thou wilt buy;' then he said, 'I will buy it for thirty thousand
dinars; take them and make the bargain;' so I cried to the
bystanders, 'Bear witness against him,' adding to him, 'But on
condition that thou acquaint me with the virtues and profit of
this amulet for which thou payest all this money.' He answered,
'Close the bargain, and I will tell thee this;' I rejoined, 'I
sell it to thee;' and he retorted, 'Allah be witness of that
which thou sayst and testimony!' Then he brought out the gold
and giving it to me took the amulet, and set it in his bosom;
after which he turned to me and asked, 'Art thou content?'
Answered I, 'Yes,' and he said to the people, 'Bear witness
against him that he hath closed the bargain and touched the
price, thirty thousand dinars.' Then he turned to me and said,
'Harkye, my poor fellow, hadst thou held back from selling, by
Allah I would have bidden thee up to an hundred thousand dinars,
nay, even to a thousand thousand!' When I heard these words, O
Commander of the Faithful, the blood fled my face, and from that
day there overcame it this pallor thou seest. Then said I to him,
'Tell me the reason of this and what is the use of this amulet.'
And he answered, saying, 'Know that the King of Hind hath a
daughter, never was seen a thing fairer than she, and she is
possessed with a falling sickness.[FN#292] So the King summoned
the Scribes and men of science and Divines, but none of them
could relieve her of this. Now I was present in the assembly; so
I said to him, 'O King, I know a man called Sa'adu'lláh the
Babylonian, than whom there is not on the face of the earth one
more masterly in these matters, and if thou see fit to send me
to him, do so.' Said he, 'Go to him;' and quoth I, 'Bring me a
piece of carnelian.' Accordingly he gave me a great piece of
carnelian and an hundred thousand dinars and a present, which I
took, and with which I betook myself to the land of Babel. Then
I sought out the Shaykh and when he was shown to me I delivered
to him the money and the present, which he accepted and sending
for a lapidary, bade him fashion the carnelian into this amulet.
Then he abode seven months in observation of the stars, till he
chose out an auspicious time for engraving it, when he graved
upon it these talismanic characters which thou seest, and I took
it and returned with it to the King.'"--And Shahrazad perceived
the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
When it was the Nine Hundred and Fifty-second Night,
She continued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the
young man said to the Commander of the Faithful, "'So after the
Shaykh had spoken, I took this talisman and returned with it to
the King. Now the Princess was bound with four chains, and every
night a slave-girl lay with her and was found in the morning
with her throat cut. The King took the amulet and laid it upon
his daughter who was straightway made whole. At this he rejoiced
with exceeding joy and invested me with a vest of honour and
gave alms of much money; and he caused set the amulet in the
Princess's necklace. It chanced, one day, that she embarked with
her women in a ship and went for a sail on the sea. Presently,
one of her maids put out her hand to her, to sport with her, and
the necklace brake asunder and fell into the waves. From that
hour the possessor[FN#293] of the Princess returned to her,
wherefore great grief betided the King and he gave me much
money, saying, 'Go thou to Shaykh Sa'adu'llah and let him make
her another amulet, in lieu of that which is lost.' I journeyed
to Babel, but found the old man dead; whereupon I returned and
told the King, who sent me and ten others to go round about in
all countries, so haply we might find a remedy for her: and now
Allah hath caused me happen on it with thee.' Saying these
words, he took from me the amulet, O Commander of the Faithful,
and went his ways. Such, then, is the cause of the wanness of my
complexion. As for me, I repaired to Baghdad, carrying all my
wealth with me, and took up my abode in the lodgings where I
lived whilome. On the morrow, as soon as it was light, I donned
my dress and betook myself to the house of Tahir ibn al-Alaa,
that haply I might see her whom I loved, for the love of her had
never ceased to increase upon my heart. But when I came to his
home, I saw the balcony broken down and the lattice builded up;
so I stood awhile, pondering my case and the shifts of Time,
till there came up a serving-man, and I questioned him, saying,
'What hath God done with Tahir ibn al-Alaa?' He answered, 'O my
brother, he hath repented to Almighty Allah.[FN#294]' Quoth I,
'What was the cause of his repentance?'; and quoth he, 'O my
brother, in such a year there came to him a merchant, by name
Abu al-Hasan the Omani, who abode with his daughter awhile, till
his wealth was all spent, when the old man turned him out,
broken-hearted. Now the girl loved him with exceeding love, and
when she was parted from him, she sickened of a sore sickness
and came nigh upon death. As soon as her father knew how it was
with her, he sent after and sought for Abu al-Hasan through the
lands, pledging himself to bestow upon whoso should produce him
an hundred thousand dinars; but none could find him nor come on
any trace of him; and she is now hard upon death.' Quoth I, 'And
how is it with her sire?' and quoth the servant, 'He hath sold
all his girls, for grief of that which hath befallen him, and
hath repented to Almighty Allah.' Then asked I, 'What wouldst
thou say to him who should direct thee to Abu al-Hasan the
Omani?'; and he answered, 'Allah upon thee, O my brother, that
thou do this and quicken my poverty and the poverty of my
parents![FN#295]' I rejoined, 'Go to her father and say to him,
Thou owest me the reward for good news, for that Abu al-Hasan
the Omani standeth at the door.' With this he set off trotting,
as he were a mule loosed from the mill, and presently came back,
accompanied by Shaykh Tahir himself, who no sooner saw me than
he returned to his house and gave the man an hundred thousand
dinars which he took and went away blessing me. Then the old man
came up and embraced me and wept, saying, 'O my lord, where hast
thou been absent all this while? Indeed, my daughter hath been
killed by reason of her separation from thee; but come with me
into the house.' So we entered and he prostrated himself in
gratitude to the Almighty, saying, 'Praised be Allah who hath
reunited us with thee!' Then he went in to his daughter and said
to her, 'The Lord hath healed thee of this sickness;' and said
she, 'O my papa, I shall never be whole of my sickness, save I
look upon the face of Abu al-Hasan.' Quoth he, 'An thou wilt eat
a morsel and go to the Hammam, I will bring thee in company with
him.' Asked she, 'Is it true that thou sayst?'; and he answered,
'By the Great God, 'tis true!' She rejoined, 'By Allah, if I
look upon his face, I shall have no need of eating!' Then said
he to his page, 'Bring in thy lord.' Thereupon I entered, and
when she saw me, O Prince of True Believers, she fell down in a
swoon, and presently coming to herself, recited this couplet,
'Yea, Allah hath joined the parted twain, * When no thought they
thought e'er to meet again.'
Then she sat upright and said, 'By Allah, O my lord, I had not
deemed to see thy face ever more, save it were in a dream!' So
she embraced me and wept, and said, 'O Abu al-Hasan, now will I
eat and drink.' The old man her sire rejoiced to hear these
words and they brought her meat and drink and we ate and drank,
O Commander of the Faithful. After this, I abode with them
awhile, till she was restored to her former beauty, when her
father sent for the Kazi and the witnesses and bade write out
the marriage-contract between her and me and made a mighty great
bride-feast; and she is my wife to this day and this is my son by
her." So saying he went away and returned with a boy of rare
beauty and symmetry of form and favour to whom said he, "Kiss
the ground before the Commander of the Faithful." He kissed
ground before the Caliph, who marvelled at his beauty and
glorified his Creator; after which Al-Rashid departed, he and
his company, saying, "O Ja'afar, verily, this is none other than
a marvellous thing, never saw I nor heard I aught more
wondrous." When he was seated in the palace of the Caliphate, he
cried, "O Masrur!" who replied, "Here am I, O my lord!" Then
said he, "Bring the year's tribute of Bassorah and Baghdad and
Khorasan, and set it in this recess.[FN#296]" Accordingly he
laid the three tributes together and they were a vast sum of
money, whose tale none might tell save Allah. Then the Caliph
bade draw a curtain before the recess and said to Ja'afar,
"Fetch me Abu al-Hasan." Replied Ja'afar, "I hear and obey," and
going forth, returned presently with the Omani, who kissed
ground before the Caliph, fearing lest he had sent for him
because of some fault that he had committed when he was with him
in his house. Then said Al-Rashid, "Harkye, O Omani!" and he
replied, "Adsum, O Prince of True Believers! May Allah ever
bestow his favours upon thee!" Quoth the Caliph, "Draw back
yonder curtain." Thereupon Abu al-Hasan drew back the curtain
from the recess and was confounded and perplexed at the mass of
money he saw there. Said Al-Rashid, "O Abu al-Hasan, whether is
the more, this money or that thou didst lose by the
amulet?[FN#297]"; and he answered, "This is many times the
greater, O Commander of the Faithful!" Quoth the Caliph, "Bear
witness, all ye who are present, that I give this money to this
young man." So Abu al-Hasan kissed ground and was abashed and
wept before the Caliph for excess of joy. Now when he wept, the
tears ran down from his eyelids upon his cheeks and the blood
returned to its place and his face became like the moon on the
night of its fulness. Whereupon quoth the Caliph, "There is no
god but the God! Glory be to Him who decreeth change upon change
and is Himself the Everlasting who changeth not!" Saying these
words, he bade fetch a mirror and showed Abu al-Hasan his face
therein, which when he saw, he prostrated himself, in gratitude
to the Most High Lord. Then the Caliph bade transport the money
to Abu al-Hasan's house and charged the young man not to absent
himself from him, so he might enjoy his company as a
cup-companion. Accordingly he paid him frequent visits, till
Al-Rashid departed to the mercy of Almighty Allah; and glory be
to Him who dieth not the Lord of the Seen and the Unseen! And
among tales they tell is one touching
