Arabian Nights (Barnes & Noble Classics Series)

“The good man having made this purchase, put on the habit of a dervise, in order to pass his life in peace; and arranged many cells in his house, where he soon established a small community of dervises.ⁱ The report of his virtue was soon generally spread abroad, and failed not to attract the attention and visits of great numbers of the principal inhabitants, as well as of the common people. At length he was honoured and respected by almost every one. Men came from a great distance to request him to offer up prayers for them; and all who remained in retirement with him, published abroad the report of the blessings they thought they received from Heaven through his means.

“The great reputation of this man at length reached the town from whence he had come; and the envious man hearing of it, was so vexed, that he left his house and all his affairs, with the determination to go and destroy his former neighbour. For this purpose, he went to the hospital of dervises, whose charitable founder received him with every possible mark of friendship. The envious man told him that he had come with the express design of communicating an affair of great importance to him; but that he must speak to him in private. ‘In short,’ said he, ‘in order that no one may hear us, let us, I pray you, walk in your court; and when night comes on, order all the dervises to their cells.’ The chief of the dervises did as he requested.

“When the envious man found himself alone with the good dervise, he began to relate to him whatever came into his thoughts, while they walked from one end of the court to the other; till observing they were just at the edge of the well, he gave him a push, and thrust him into it; and there was no one by to witness this wicked act. Then he went away directly to the gate of the house, and passing out unseen, returned home well satisfied with his journey, and highly pleased to think that the object of his envy was no more. In this idea, however, he was deceived.

“It was a most fortunate thing for the dervise that this well was inhabited by fairies and genii, who were ready to assist him. They caught and supported him in their arms in such a way, that he received not the least injury. He naturally supposed there was something very extraordinary in his having sustained, without injury, a fall that would under ordinary circumstances have cost him his life; and yet he could not perceive anything to account for his safety. He soon, however, heard a voice say, ‘Do you know anything of this man, to whom we have been so serviceable?’ and some other voices answered, ‘No.’ The first then resumed, ‘I will tell you. This man, with the most charitable and benevolent intentions in the world, left the town where he lived, and came to settle in this place, with the hope of being able to cure one of his neighbours of the envy and hatred the latter had conceived against him. He soon became so universally esteemed, that the envious man could not endure the thought, and determined, therefore, to put an end to his late neighbour’s existence. This design he would have executed, had it not been for the assistance we afforded this good man, whose reputation is so great, that the Sultan, who resides in the neighbouring town, was coming to visit him to-morrow, in order to recommend the Princess, his daughter, to the holy dervises.’

“Another voice then asked what occasion the Princess had for the prayers of the dervise; and the first answered, ‘Are you ignorant then, that she is possessed by the power of the Genie Maimoun, the son of Dimdim, who has fallen in love with her? But I know how this good dervise can cure her. The thing is by no means difficult, as you shall hear. In his hospital there is a black cat, which has a white spot at the end of her tail, about the size of a small coin. Let him only pull out seven hairs from this white spot, and burn them; and then with the smoke perfume the head of the Princess. The moment she feels the smoke, she will be so thoroughly cured and free from Maimoun, the son of Dimdim, that he will never again be able to come near her.’

“The other dervises who were seeking for him were delighted at his appearance. He related to them in a few words, the cunning and wicked attempt of the guest he had entertained the day before;—and then retired to his cell. Presently the black cat, which had been mentioned in the discourse of the fairies and genii, came to him to be taken notice of as usual. He took it up, and plucked out seven hairs from the white spot in its tail; these he put aside, to use whenever he should have occasion for them.

“The sun had not long risen above the horizon, when the Sultan, who wished to neglect no means which he thought gave any chance of curing the Princess, arrived at the gate. He ordered his guards to wait, and went in accompanied by the principal officers. The dervises received him with the greatest respect. The Sultan directly took the chief aside, and said to him, ‘Worthy sheikh, you are perhaps already acquainted with the cause of my visit?’ The dervise answered modestly, ‘My lord, if I do not deceive myself, it is the illness of the Princess, that has been the occasion of my seeing you; an honour of which I am unworthy.’—‘You are right,’ replied the Sultan, ‘and you will restore almost my life to me if, by means of your prayers I obtain the recovery of my daughter’s health.’—‘If your Majesty,’ answered the worthy man, ‘will have the goodness to suffer the Princess to come here, I flatter myself that, with the help and favour of God, she shall return in perfect health.’

“The Prince, rejoiced at the idea of his daughter’s cure, immediately sent for the Princess, who soon appeared, accompanied by a numerous train of female slaves and eunuchs, and veiled in such a manner, that her face could not be seen. The chief of the dervises made the slaves hold a shovel over the head of the Princess; and so soon as he threw the seven white hairs upon some burning coals, which by his direction had been brought in the shovel, the Genie Maimoun, the son of Dimdim, uttered a violent scream, and left the Princess quite at liberty. The first thing she did was to put her hand to the veil which covered her face, and lift it up to see where she was. ‘Where am I?’ she cried; ‘who has brought me here?’—At these words the Sultan could not conceal his joy. He embraced his daughter; he kissed her eyes; and then took the hand of the dervise and kissed it. ‘Do ye judge!’ said he to his officers; ‘What return does he deserve, who has cured my daughter?’ They all answered, that he was worthy of her hand. ‘This is the very reward I was meditating for him!’ the Sultan cried; ‘and from this moment I proclaim him my son-in-law.’

“One day, as he was walking with his courtiers, the good dervise who was thus raised to the throne of his father-in-law observed the envious man among the crowd in the road. He called one of the viziers who accompanied him, telling him in a whisper to bring that man, whom he pointed out, and to be sure not to alarm him. The vizier obeyed; and when the envious man was in the presence of the Sultan, the latter addressed him in these words: ‘I am very happy, my friend, to see you; go directly, ’ said he, speaking to an officer, ‘and count out from my treasury a thousand pieces of gold; nay more, deliver to him twenty bales of the most valuable merchandise my magazines contain, and let a sufficient guard escort him home.’ After having given the officer this commission, he dismissed the envious man, and continued his walk.

“When I had told this history to the Genie who had assassinated the Princess of the Isle of Ebony, I applied the moral to myself. ‘O Genie,’ I said, ‘you may observe how this benevolent monarch acted towards the envious man, and was not only ready to forget that he had attempted his life, but even sent him back laden with the benefits I have mentioned.’ In short, I employed all my eloquence to persuade him to imitate so excellent an example, and to pardon me. But I found it impossible to alter his resolution.

“ ‘All that I can do for you,’ he said, ‘is to spare your life; yet do not flatter yourself that I shall suffer you to depart safe and well. I must at least make you feel what I can do by my enchantments.’ At these words he violently seized me, and carrying me through the vaulted roof of the subterranean palace, which opened at his approach, he soared up with me so high, that the earth appeared to me only like a small white cloud. From this height he again descended as quick as lightning, and alighted on the top of a mountain. On this spot he took up a handful of earth, and pronouncing, or rather muttering certain words, of which I could not understand the meaning, threw it over me: ‘Quit the figure of a man,’ he cried, ‘and assume that of an ape.’ He immediately disappeared, and I remained quite alone, changed into an ape, overwhelmed with grief, in an unknown country, and ignorant whether I was near the dominions of the King, my father.

“I descended the mountain, and came to a flat, level region, the extremity of which I did not reach till I had travelled a month; at length I arrived at the seacoast. There was at this time a profound calm, and I perceived a vessel about half a league from the shore. Taking advantage of this fortunate circumstance, I broke off a large branch from a tree, and dragged it to the beach. I then got astride it, with a stick in each hand to serve for oars. In this manner I rowed myself along towards the vessel, and when I was sufficiently near to be seen, I presented a most extraordinary sight to the sailors and passengers who were upon deck. They looked at me with admiration and astonishment. In due time I got alongside, and taking hold of a rope I climbed up to the deck. But as I could not speak I found myself in the greatest embarrassment. In fact, the danger I now ran was not less imminent than that I had before experienced when I was in the power of the Genie.

“The merchants who were on board were both scrupulous and superstitious, and thought that I should be the cause of some misfortune to them during their voyage, if they received me. ‘I will kill him,’ cried one, ‘with a blow of this handspike.’ ‘Let me shoot an arrow through his body,’ exclaimed another;—‘And then let us throw his body into the sea,’ said a third. They would not have failed to execute their different threats, if I had not run to the captain, and thrown myself at his feet. In this supplicating posture I laid hold of the hem of his garment; and he was so struck with this action, as well as with the tears that fell from my eyes, that he took me under his protection, declaring that if any one did me the slightest injury he would make him repent it. He even caressed and encouraged me. In spite of the loss of my speech, I showed him by means of signs how much I was obliged to him.

“The wind which succeeded this calm was not a strong one, but it was favourable. It did not change for fifty days, and it carried us safely into the harbour of a large city, commercial, well-built, and populous. Here we cast anchor. This city was of considerable importance, as it was the capital of a powerful kingdom. Our vessel was immediately surrounded by a multitude of small boats, filled with people, who came either to congratulate their friends on their arrival, or to get tidings from them as to what they had seen in the country they had come from; while some came from mere curiosity to see a ship which had arrived from a distance.

“Among the rest some officers stepped on board, and desired, in the name of the Sultan, to speak to the merchants who were with us. ‘The Sultan, our sovereign,’ said one of them to the merchants, who immediately appeared, ‘has charged us to express to you the pleasure your arrival gives him, and entreats each of you to take the trouble of writing a few lines upon this roll of paper. That you may understand his motive for this, I must inform you, he had a first vizier who, besides showing great ability in the management of affairs, wrote in the most perfect style. This minister died a few days since. The Sultan is very much afflicted at his loss, and, as he values proficiency in writing beyond everything, he has taken a solemn oath to appoint as his vizier that person who shall write as well as the last vizier did. Many have presented specimens of their abilities, but he has not yet found any one throughout the empire whom he has thought worthy to occupy the vizier’s place.’

“Each of those merchants who thought they could write well enough to aspire to this high dignity, wrote whatever they thought proper. When they had done, I advanced and took the paper from the hands of him who held it. Everybody, and particularly the merchants who had written, cried out in alarm, thinking, that I meant either to destroy it or throw it into the water; but they were soon undeceived, when they saw me hold the paper very properly, and make a sign that I also wished to write in my turn. Their fears were now changed to astonishment. Yet, as they had never seen an ape that could write, and as they could not believe I was more skilful than other animals of my species, they wished to take the roll from my hands; but the captain still continued to take my part. ‘Suffer him to try,’ he said;—‘let him write; if he only blots the paper, I promise you I will instantly punish him: but if on the contrary he writes well, as I hope he will, for I have never seen any ape more clever and ingenious, nor one who seemed so well to understand every thing, I declare that I will adopt him as my son. I once had a son, who did not possess half so much ability as I find in this ape.’

“As they now all ceased to oppose my design, I took the pen, and did not leave off writing till I had given an example of six different sorts of characters used in Arabia. Each specimen contained either a distich, or an impromptu stanza of four lines, in praise of the Sultan. My writing not only excelled that of the merchants, but I dare say they had never seen any so beautiful in that whole country. When I had finished, the officers took the roll and carried it to the Sultan.

“The monarch paid no attention to any of the specimens of writing except mine, which pleased him so much, that he said to the officers: ‘Take the finest and most richly caparisoned horse from my stable, and the most magnificent robe of brocade you can find, to adorn the person of him who has written these six varieties of character, and bring him to me.’ At this order of the Sultan’s, the officers could not forbear laughing.

“This conduct irritated him so much that he would have punished them, had they not said, ‘We entreat your Majesty to pardon us; these words were not written by a man, but by an ape.’—‘What do you say?’ cried the Sultan; ‘Are not these wonderful specimens of writing from the hand of man?’—‘No, sire,’ answered one of the officers; ‘we assure your Majesty that we saw an ape write them.’ This matter appeared so wonderful to the Sultan, that he felt very desirous of seeing me. ‘Do as I command you,’ said he to the officer, ‘and hasten to bring me this extraordinary ape.’

“The officers returned to the vessel, and showed their order to the captain, who said the Sultan should be obeyed. They immediately dressed me in a robe of very rich brocade, and carried me on shore, where they set me on a horse, and brought me to the Sultan, who was waiting in his palace for me, with a considerable number of people belonging to the court, whom he had assembled to do me honour. The march commenced; while the gate, the streets, public buildings, windows, and terraces of palaces and houses were filled with an immense number of persons of every age and sex, whom curiosity had drawn together from all quarters of the town to see me; for the report had got abroad in an instant that the Sultan had chosen an ape for his grand vizier. After having afforded a very uncommon sight to all these people, who ceased not to express their surprise by loud and repeated shouts, I arrived at the Sultan’s palace.

“I found the Prince seated on his throne, amidst the nobles of his court. I made him three low bows, and at the last reverence, I prostrated myself, and kissed the earth by his feet. I then rose, and seated myself exactly like an ape. None of the assembly could withhold their admiration; nor did they comprehend how it was possible for an ape to be so well acquainted with the form and respect attached to sovereigns; nor was the Sultan less astonished than the courtiers. The whole ceremony of audience would have been complete if I had only been able to add speech to my actions; but apes never speak, and the advantage of having once been a man, could not in that respect assist me.

“The Sultan dismissed the courtiers, and there remained with him only the chief of his eunuchs, a little slave, and myself. He went from the hall of audience into his own apartment, where he ordered a repast to be served up. While he was at table, he made me a sign to come and eat with him. As a mark of my obedience, I got up, kissed the ground, and then seated myself at table; I ate, however, with much modesty and moderation.

“Before the table was cleared, I perceived a writing-desk, and requested by signs that it might be brought to me. As soon as I had it, I wrote upon a large peach some lines of my own composition, setting forth my gratitude to the Sultan. His astonishment at reading them, after I presented the peach to him, was greater than ever. When the dishes were taken away, the servants brought a particular sort of wine, of which he desired them to give me a glass. I drank it, and then wrote some fresh verses, which explained the state in which I now found myself, after my numerous sufferings. The Sultan, having read these also, exclaimed: ‘A man who could be capable of acting thus, would be one of the greatest men that ever lived.’ The Prince then ordered a chessboard to be brought, and asked me, by a sign, if I could play, and would engage with him? I kissed the ground, and putting my hand on my head, I showed him I was ready to receive that honour. He won the first game, but the second and third ended in my favour. Perceiving that this somewhat disconcerted him, I wrote a stanza to amuse him, and presented it to him. The verse set forth how two powerful armed bodies fought the whole day with the greatest ardour, but made peace in the evening, and passed the night together very tranquilly upon the field of battle.

“All these circumstances appearing to the Sultan greatly to exceed what he had ever seen or heard of the address and ingenuity of apes, he wished to have more witnesses of these prodigies. He had a daughter, who was called the Queen of Beauty; he therefore desired the chief of the eunuchs to bring her. ‘Go,’ said he to that officer, ‘and bring your lady here; I wish her to partake of the pleasure I enjoy.’ The chief of the eunuchs went, and brought back the Princess with him. When she entered her face was uncovered, but she was no sooner fairly within the apartment than she instantly drew her veil about her, and said to the Sultan, ‘Your Majesty must have forgotten yourself. I am surprised that you order me to appear before men.’—‘What is this, daughter?’ answered the Sultan. ‘It seems that you are the person who has forgotten herself. There is no one here but the little slave, the eunuch, and myself; and we are always at liberty to see your face. Why, then, do you hide your face in your veil, and assert that I have done wrong in ordering you to come here?’—‘Sir,’ replied the Princess, ‘your Majesty will be convinced I am not mistaken. The ape, or rather the creature which you see there under that form, is not an ape, but a young Prince, the son of a great King. He has been changed into an ape by enchantment. A Genie, the son of the daughter of Eblis, has been guilty of this malicious action, after he had cruelly killed the Princess of the Isle of Ebony, daughter of King Epitimarus.’

“The Sultan was astonished at this speech, and turning to me, asked, but not now by signs, whether what his daughter said was true?—As I could not speak, I put my hand upon my head to show that she had spoken the truth. ‘How came you to know, daughter,’ said the King, ‘that the Prince had been transformed into an ape by means of enchantment?’—‘Sir,’ replied the Princess, ‘your Majesty may recollect that when I was a child, I had an old woman as one of my attendants. She was very well skilled in magic, and taught me seventy rules of that science, by virtue of which I could instantly cause your capital to be transported to the middle of the ocean—nay, beyond Mount Caucasus. By means of this science I know all persons who have been enchanted the moment I behold them; not only who they are, but by whom also they were enchanted. Be not therefore surprised that I have at first sight discovered this Prince, in spite of the charm which prevented him from appearing in your eyes what he really is.’—‘My dear daughter!’ exclaimed the Sultan, ‘I did not think you were so skilful.’—‘Sir,’ added the Princess, ‘these things are curious, and worthy of being studied; but I do not think it becomes me to boast of my knowledge.’—‘Since this is the case,’ replied the Sultan, ‘you can dissolve the enchantment under which this Prince suffers.’—‘I can, sir,’ said she, ‘and restore him to his own form.’—‘Do so, then,’ said the Sultan. ‘You could not do me a greater favour, as I wish to have him for my grand vizier, and bestow you upon him for a wife.’—‘I am ready, sir,’ answered the Princess, ‘to obey you in all things you may please to command.’

“The Queen of Beauty then went to her apartment, and returned with a knife, which had some Hebrew characters engraved upon the blade. She desired the Sultan, the chief of the eunuchs, the little slave, and myself, to go down into a secret court of the palace; and then leaving us under a gallery which surrounded the court, she went into the middle of it, where she described a large circle, and traced several words, both in the ancient Arabic characters and in those which are called the characters of Cleopatra.

“When she had done this, and prepared the circle as she required it to be, she went and placed herself in the midst of it, where she began her incantations, and repeated several verses from the Koran. By degrees the air was darkened, as if night was coming on, and the whole world seemed vanishing. We were seized with the greatest fear, and this was the more increased when we saw the Genie, the son of the daughter of Eblis,^j suddenly appear, in the shape of a huge, terrible lion.

“So soon as the Princess perceived this monster, she said to it, ‘Dog, how darest thou, instead of cringing before me, present thyself under this horrible form, thinking to alarm me?’—‘And how darest thou, replied the lion, ‘break the treaty, which we have made and confirmed by a solemn oath, not to injure each other?’—‘Wretch!’ cried the Princess, ‘thou art he whom I have to reproach on that account.’—‘Thou shalt pay dearly,’ interrupted the lion, ‘for the trouble thou hast given me in coming here.’ In saying this, he opened his dreadful jaws, and advanced to devour her. But she, being on her guard, sprang back, and had just time to pluck out a hair from her head; and pronouncing two or three words, she changed it into a sharp scythe, with which she immediately cut the lion in two pieces through the middle.

“The two parts of the lion directly disappeared, and the head only remained, which changed into a large scorpion. The Princess then took the form of a serpent, and began a fierce combat with the scorpion, which, finding itself in danger of being defeated, changed into an eagle, and flew away. But the serpent then became another eagle, black and more powerful, and went in pursuit of it. We now lost sight of them for some time.

“Shortly after they had disappeared, the earth opened before us, and a black and white cat appeared. The hairs of this creature stood quite on end, and it mewed and cried in a horrible manner. A black wolf closely followed it, and gave it no respite. The cat, being hard pressed, changed into a worm, and finding itself near a pomegranate, which had fallen by accident from a tree that grew upon the bank of a deep but narrow canal, instantly made a hole in the fruit, and concealed itself there. The pomegranate at once began to swell, and became as large as a gourd, which rose up as high as the gallery, and rolled backwards and forwards there several times; it then fell down to the bottom of the court, and broke into a thousand pieces.

“The wolf in the meantime transformed itself into a cock, and running to the seeds of the pomegranate, began swallowing them one after the other as fast as possible. When it had eaten all it could see, it came to us with its wings extended, and crowed loudly, as if to inquire of us whether there were any more seeds. There was one lying on the border of the canal, which the cock, on returning, perceived. He ran towards it as quickly as possible; but at the very instant when his beak was upon it, the seed rolled into the canal, and changed into a small fish. The cock then flew into the canal, and, changing to a pike, pursued the little fish. They were both two hours under water, and we knew not what was become of them; when suddenly we heard some horrible cries that made us tremble. Soon after we saw the Genie and the Princess all on fire. They darted flames against each other with their breath, and at last came to a close attack. Then the fire increased, and everything about was encompassed with smoke and flame, which rose to a great height. We were afraid, and not without reason, that the whole palace would be burnt; but we soon had a much stronger cause for terror; for the Genie having disengaged himself from the Princess, came towards the gallery where we stood, and blew his flames all over us. This would have destroyed us, if the Princess, running to our assistance, had not compelled him by her cries, to retreat to a distance, and defend himself against her. In spite, however, of all the haste she made, she could not prevent the Sultan from having his head singed and his face scorched; the chief of the eunuchs, too, was killed on the spot, and a spark flew into my right eye and blinded me. Both the Sultan and I expected to perish, when we suddenly heard the cry of ‘Victory, victory!’ and the Princess immediately appeared to us in her own form, while the Genie lay at our feet reduced to a heap of ashes.

“The Princess approached us; and then immediately asked for a cup of water, which was brought by the young slave, whom the fire had not injured. She took it, and after pronouncing some words over it, she threw some of the water upon me, and said, ‘If thou art an ape by enchantment, change thy form, and take that of a man, which thou hadst before.’ She had hardly concluded, when I again became a man, as I had been before I was changed, except that I had lost one eye.

“I was preparing to thank the Princess, but she did not give me time. Turning to the Sultan, her father, she said, ‘Sire, I have gained the victory over the Genie, as your Majesty may see, but it is a victory which has cost me dear. I have but a few moments to live, and you will not have the satisfaction of carrying out the marriage you intended. In this dreadful combat the fire has penetrated my body, and I feel that it will soon consume me. This would not have happened if I had perceived the last seed of the pomegranate when I was in the shape of a cock, and had swallowed it as I did the others. The Genie had taken that form as a last resource, and on that depended the success of the combat, which would then have been fortunate, and without danger to me, had I perceived my enemy’s stratagem. I did not perceive it; and this omission obliged me to have recourse to fire, and fight with that powerful weapon, between heaven and earth, as you saw me do. In spite of his dreadful power and experience, I convinced him that my knowledge and art were greater than his. I have at length conquered and reduced him to ashes; but I cannot escape the death which I feel approaching.’

“When the Princess had finished this account of the battle, the Sultan, in a tone which showed how much he was agitated by the recital, answered, ‘You see, my daughter, the state to which your father is reduced. Alas! I am only astonished that I still live. The eunuch, your governor, is dead, and the Prince, whom you have delivered from enchantment, has lost an eye.’ He could say no more, for his tears and sobs stopped his utterance. Both his daughter and myself were extremely affected at his sufferings, and mingled our tears with his.

“While we were abandoning ourselves to the expression of our sorrow, the Princess suddenly exclaimed, ‘I burn! I inwardly burn!’ The fire which had been consuming her, had at last seized her whole body, and she did not cease to call out, ‘I burn!’ till death put an end to her almost insupportable sufferings. The effect of this fire was so extraordinary, that in a few minutes she was reduced, like the Genie, to a heap of ashes.

“I need not say how much this dreadful and melancholy sight dismayed and grieved us. I would rather have continued an ape, or a dog, my whole life, than have seen my benefactress perish in such a horrid manner. The Sultan, too, on his part, was beyond measure afflicted. He uttered the most lamentable cries, violently beating his head and breast, till at last, yielding to despair, he fainted, and I feared even his life would fall a sacrifice to his excessive sorrow.

“The cries of the Sultan brought the eunuchs and officers to his assistance, and they found great difficulty in restoring him to consciousness. There was no occasion for either the monarch or myself to give them a very long detail of this adventure to convince them of the propriety of our sorrow; the two heaps of ashes, to which the Princess and the Genie had been reduced, were quite sufficient proof. As the Sultan could scarcely support himself, he was obliged to lean upon two officers to get to his apartment.

“As soon as the knowledge of the late tragical event was spread through the palace and the city, every one lamented the melancholy fate of the Princess, surnamed the Queen of Beauty, and sympathized in the grief of the Sultan. All put on mourning for seven days, and performed many ceremonies. The ashes of the Genie they scattered in the wind, but collected those of the Princess in a costly vase, and preserved them. This vase was then deposited in a superb mausoleum, which was erected on the very spot where the ashes had been found.

“The grief which preyed upon the Sultan for the loss of his daughter brought on a disease that confined him to his bed for a whole month. He had not quite recovered his health when he called me to him, and said: ‘Listen, Prince, and attend to the order which I am going to give you; if you fail to execute it, your life will be the forfeit.’ I assured him I would obey. Then he proceeded thus: ‘I have always lived in a state of the greatest happiness, nor had any unfortunate event ever occurred under my rule. Your arrival has destroyed my peace. My daughter is dead; her governor is no more; and I have escaped with my life only by a miracle. You are the cause of all these misfortunes, for which I can find no consolation. These are the reasons which induce me to desire you will leave me unmolested; but go immediately, for if you remain here any longer, it will be the cause of my death also, since I am persuaded your presence is productive only of misfortune. This is all that I have to say to you. Go, and beware how you appear again in my kingdom. If you disobey me, no consideration shall prevent my making you repent it.’ I wished to speak, but he prevented me by some angry words; and I was obliged to leave his palace.

“Driven to and fro, rejected and abandoned by every one, I knew not what was to become of me. Before I left the city I went to a bath, had my beard and eyebrows shaved, and put on the dress of a calender. I then began my journey, lamenting less my own miserable condition than the death of the two beautiful Princesses, which I had occasioned. I travelled through many countries without making myself known. At last I resolved to visit Baghdad, in hopes of being able to present myself to the Commander of the Faithful, and excite his compassion by the recital of my strange history. I arrived here this evening, and the first person I met was the calender, my brother, who has already related his life. You know, madam, what happened afterwards, and how I came to have the honour of being at your house.”

When the second calender had finished his history, Zobeidè, to whom he had addressed himself, said, “You have done well, and I give you leave to go whenever you please.” But instead of taking his departure, he entreated her to grant him the same favour she had vouchsafed to the other calender, near whom he took his place. Then the third calender, knowing it was his turn to speak, addressed himself, like the others, to Zobeidè, and began his history as follows:—