THE SIXTH VOYAGE OF SINDBAD THE SAILOR.
IFEEL convinced, my friends, that you all wonder how I could be tempted again to expose myself to the caprice of fortune, after I had undergone so many perils in my other voyages. I am astonished myself when I think of it. It was fate alone that impelled me, at the expiration of a year, to venture a sixth time on the changeful sea, notwithstanding the tears and entreaties of my relations and friends, who did all in their power to persuade me to stay at home.
“Instead of taking the route of the Persian Gulf, I passed through some of the provinces of Persia and the Indies, and arrived at a seaport, where I embarked in a good ship, with a captain who was determined to make a long voyage. Long indeed it proved, but at the same time unfortunate; for the captain and pilot lost their way, and did not know how to steer. They at length found out where we were; but we had no reason to rejoice at the discovery, for the captain astonished us all by suddenly quitting his post, and uttering the most lamentable cries. He threw his turban on the deck, tore his beard, and beat his head, like a man distraught. We asked the reason of this violent grief, and he replied, ‘I am obliged to announce to you that we are in the greatest peril. A rapid current is hurrying the ship along, and we shall all perish in less than a quarter of an hour. Pray Allah to deliver us from this dreadful danger, for nothing can save us unless he takes pity on us.’ He then gave orders for setting the sails; but the ropes broke in the attempt, and the ship became entirely unmanageable, and was dashed by the current against the foot of a rock, where it split and went to pieces. Nevertheless we had time to disembark our provisions, as well as the most valuable part of the cargo.
“When we were assembled on the shore the captain said, ‘God’s will be done. Here we may dig our graves, and bid each other an eternal farewell; for we are in a place so desolate that no one who ever was cast on this shore returned to his own home.’ This speech increased our distress, and we embraced each other with tears in our eyes, deploring our wretched fate.
“The mountain, at the foot of which we were, formed one side of a large and long island. The coast was covered with the remains of vessels which had been wrecked on it; and the scattered heaps of bones, which lay strewn about in every direction, convinced us of the dreadful fact that many lives had been lost in this spot. Almost incredible quantities of merchandise of every sort were heaped up on the shore.
“In every other region it is common for a number of small rivers to discharge themselves into the sea; but here a large river of fresh water takes its course from the sea, and runs along the coast through a dark cave, the entrance to which is extremely high and wide. The most remarkable feature in this place is, that the mountain is composed of rubies, crystals, and other precious stones. Here, too, a kind of pitch, or bitumen, distils from the rock into the sea, and the fishes which eat it return it in the form of ambergris, which the waves leave on the shore. The majority of the trees are aloes, and are equal in beauty to those of Comari.
Sindbad sleeps on the raft.
“To complete the description of this place, from which no vessel ever returns, I have only to mention that it is impossible for a ship to avoid being dragged thither, if it comes within a certain distance. If a sea breeze blows, the wind assists the current, and there is no remedy; and if the wind comes from land, the high mountain impedes its effect, and causes a calm, which allows the current full force, and then it whirls the ship against the coast, and dashes it to pieces as it shattered ours. In addition to this, the mountain is so steep that it is impossible to reach the summit, or indeed to escape by any means.
“We remained on the shore, quite heart-broken, expecting to die. We had divided our provisions equally, so that each person lived a longer or a shorter time according to the manner in which he husbanded his portion.
“Those who died first were interred by the others. I had the dismal office of burying my last companion; for, besides managing my share of provisions with more care than the rest had shown in the consumption of theirs, I had also a store which I kept concealed from my comrades. Nevertheless, when I buried the last of them, I had so little food left that I imagined I must soon follow him; so I dug a grave and resolved to throw myself into it, since no one remained to perform this last office for me. I must confess that whilst I was thus employed, I could not avoid reproaching myself as the sole cause of my misfortune, and most heartily did I repent this last voyage. Nor was I satisfied with reproaching myself, but I bit my hands in my despair, and had nearly put an end to my existence.
“But Allah still had pity on me, and inspired me with the thought of going to the river which lost itself in the recesses of the cave. I examined the stream with great attention; and it occurred to me that, as the river ran under ground, it must in its course come out to daylight again. I therefore conjectured that if I constructed a raft, and placed myself on it, the current of the water might perhaps bring me to some inhabited country. If I perished, it was but altering the manner of my death; but if, on the contrary, I got safely out of this fatal place, I should not only escape the cruel death by which my companions perished, but might also meet with some fresh opportunity of enriching myself.
“These reflections made me work at my raft with fresh vigour. I made it of thick pieces of wood and great cables, of which there was abundance on the coast: I tied them closely together, and formed a strong framework. When it was completed, I placed on it a cargo of rubies, emeralds, ambergris, crystal, and also some gold and silver stuffs. When I had stowed all these things so as to balance the raft, and fastened them to the planks, I embarked on my vessel, guiding it with two little oars which I had provided; and driving along with the current, I resigned myself to the will of God.
“As soon as I was under the vault of the cavern I lost the light of day; the current carried me on, but I was unable to discern its course. I rowed for some days in this obscurity without ever perceiving the least ray of light. At one time the vault of the cavern was so low that my head almost struck against it; and this rendered me very attentive to avoid the danger when it recurred. During this time I consumed no more of my provisions than was absolutely necessary to sustain nature: but, frugal as I was, they came to an end. I then fell into a sweet sleep. I cannot tell whether I slept long; but when I awoke I was surprised to find myself in an open country, near a bank of the river, to which my raft was fastened, and in the midst of a large concourse of blacks. I rose and saluted them; they spoke to me, but I could not understand them.
“At this moment I felt so transported with joy that I could scarcely believe myself awake. Being at length convinced that my deliverance was not a dream, I pronounced aloud these Arabic words, ‘Invoke the Almighty, and he will come to thy assistance; thou needst not care for aught besides. Close thine eyes, and while thou sleepest Allah will change thy fortune from evil to good.’
“One of the blacks, who understood Arabic, hearing me speak thus, advanced towards me, and spoke as follows: ‘Brother, be not surprised at seeing us; we live in this country, and we came hither to-day to this river, which flows from the neighbouring mountain, to water our fields by cutting canals to admit the water. We observed that the current bore something along, and we immediately ran to the bank to see what it was, and perceived this raft; one of us instantly swam to it, and guided it to shore. We fastened it as you see, and were waiting for you to wake. We entreat you to relate to us your history, which must be very extraordinary; tell us how you could venture on this river, and from whence you came.’ I requested him first to give me some food, and promised to satisfy their curiosity when I had eaten.
“They produced several kinds of meat, and when I had satisfied my hunger I related to them all that had happened to me. They appeared to listen to my story with great admiration. As soon as I had finished my history, their interpreter told me that I had astonished them with my relation, and I must go myself to the king, to recount my adventures; for they were of too extraordinary a nature to be repeated by any one but by the person himself to whom they had happened. I replied that I was ready to do anything they wished. The blacks then sent for a horse, which arrived shortly after; they placed me on it, and while some walked by my side to show me the way, certain stalwart fellows hauled the raft out of the water, and followed me, carrying it on their shoulders, with the bales of rubies.
“We went together to the city in Serendid, for this was the name of the island; and the blacks presented me to their king. I approached the throne on which he was seated, and saluted him in the manner adopted towards sovereigns in India, namely, by prostrating myself at his feet and kissing the earth. The prince made me rise; and receiving me with an affable air, he seated me by his side. He first asked me my name; I replied that I was called Sindbad, surnamed the Sailor, from having made several voyages; and ended, that I was a citizen of Baghdad. ‘How then,’ said the monarch, ‘came you into my dominions, and from whence have you arrived?’
“I concealed nothing from the king, but related to him all you have heard me tell; he was so pleased with it that he ordered the history of my adventures to be written in letters of gold, that it might be preserved amongst the archives of his kingdom. The raft was then produced, and the bales were opened in his presence. He admired the aloe-wood and ambergris, but above all the rubies and emeralds, as he had none in his treasury equal to them in value.
“Perceiving that he examined my valuables with pleasure, and that he looked repeatedly at the rarest of them, I prostrated myself before him, and took the liberty of saying, ‘O king, not only am I your servant, but the cargo of my raft also is at your disposal, if your majesty will do me the honour of accepting it.’ The king smiled, and replied that he did not desire to possess anything which belonged to me; that as God had given me these things, I ought not to be deprived of them; that instead of diminishing my riches, he should add to them; and that when I left his dominions I should carry with me proofs of his liberality. I could only reply to this by praying for his prosperity and by praising his generosity.
“He ordered one of his officers to attend me, and placed some of his own servants at my disposal. The officers faithfully fulfilled the charge with which they were entrusted and conveyed all the bales to the place appointed for my lodging. I went every day at certain hours to pay my court to the king, and employed the rest of my time in seeing the city and whatever was most worthy of my attention.
“The island of Serendid is situated exactly under the equinoctial line, so that the days and nights are of equal length. It is eighty parasangs long, and as many in breath. The principal town is situated at the extremity of a beautiful valley, formed by a mountain which is in the middle of the island, and which is by far the highest in the world: it is discernible at sea at a distance of three days’ sail. Rubies and many sorts of minerals are found there, and most of the rocks are formed of emery, which is a sort of metallic rock used for cutting precious stones.
“All kinds of rare and curious plants and trees, particularly the cedar and cocoa tree, grow here in great abundance, and there are pearl fisheries on the coast, at the mouth of the rivers; some of the valleys also contain diamonds. I made a devotional journey up the mountain, to the spot where Adam was placed on his banishment from Paradise; and I had the curiosity to ascend to the summit.
“When I came back to the city I entreated the king to grant me permission to return to my native country, and he acceeded to my request in the most obliging and honourable manner. He commanded me to receive a rich present from his treasury; and when I went to take my leave, he placed in my hands another gift, still more considerable than the first, and at the same time gave me a letter for the Commander of the Believers, our sovereign lord, saying, ‘I request you to deliver for me this letter and this present to the Caliph Haroun Alraschid, and to assure him of my friendship. I took the present and the letter with the greatest respect, and promised his majesty that I would most punctually execute the orders with which he was pleased to honour me. Before I embarked, the king sent for the captain and the merchants with whom I was to sail, and charged them to pay me all possible attention.
“The letter of the King of Serendid was written on the skin of a certain animal, highly prized in that country on account of its rareness. It is of a yellowish colour. The letter itself was in characters of azure, and it contained the following words in the Indian language:—
“ ‘THE KING OF THE INDIES, WHO IS PRECEDED BY A THOUSAND
ELEPHANTS; WHO LIVES
IN A PALACE, THE ROOF OF WHICH GLITTERS WITH THE LUSTRE OF AN
HUNDRED THOUSAND RUBIES, AND WHO POSSESSES IN HIS
TREASURY TWENTY THOUSAND CROWNS
ENRICHED WITH DIAMONDS,
TO THE CALIPH HAROUN
ALRASCHID.
“ ‘Although the present that we send you be inconsiderable, yet receive it as a brother and a friend, in consideration of the friendship we bear you in our heart. We feel happy in having an opportunity of testifying this friendship to you. We ask the same share in your affections, as we hope we deserve it, being of a rank equal to that you hold. We salute you as a brother. Farewell.’
“The present comprised, firstly, a vase made of one single ruby, pierced and worked into a cup of half a foot in height and an inch thick, filled with fine round pearls, all weighing half a drachm each; secondly, the skin of a serpent, which had scales as large as an ordinary coin, and which possessed the peculiar virtue of preserving those who lay on it from all disease; thirdly, fifty thousand drachms of the most exquisite aloe-wood, together with thirty pieces of camphor as large as pistachio-nuts; and lastly, a female slave of the most enchanting beauty, whose clothes were covered with jewels.
“The ship set sail, and, after a long but fortunate voyage, we landed at Balsora, from whence I returned to Baghdad. The first thing I did after my arrival was to execute the commission I had been intrusted with. I took the letter of the King of Serendid, and presented myself at the gate of the Commander of the Faithful, followed by the beautiful slave, and some of my family, who carried the presents which had been committed to my care. I mentioned the reason of my appearance there, and was immediately conducted to the throne of the caliph. I prostrated myself at his feet, explained my errand, and gave him the letter and the present. When he read the contents, he inquired of me whether it was true that the King of Serendid was as rich and powerful as he reported himself to be in his letter.
“I prostrated myself a second time, and when I arose, replied, ‘Com mander of the Faithful, I can assure your majesty that the King of Serendid does not exaggerate his riches and grandeur: I have seen his wealth and magnificence. The splendour of his palace cannot fail to excite admiration. When this prince wishes to appear in public, a throne is prepared for him on the back of an elephant; on this he sits, and proceeds between two rows, composed of his ministers, favourites, and others belonging to the court. Before him, on the same elephant, sits an officer with a golden lance in his hand, and behind the throne another stands with a pillar of gold, on the top of which is placed an emerald about half a foot long and an inch thick. The king is preceded by a guard of a thousand men habited in silk and gold stuffs, and mounted on elephants richly caparisoned.
“ ‘While the king is on his march, the officer who sits before him on the elephant proclaims from time to time with a loud voice: ‘This is the great monarch, the powerful and tremendous Sultan of the Indies, whose palace is covered with a hundred thousand rubies, and who possesses twenty thousand diamond crowns. This is the crowned monarch, greater than ever was Solima, or the great Mihragè.’
“ ‘After he has pronounced these words, the officer who stands behind the throne cries, in his turn: ‘This monarch, who is so great and powerful, must die, must die, must die!’ The first officer then resumes: ‘Glory be to him who lives and dies not.’
“ ‘The King of Serendid is so just that there are no judges in his capital, nor in any other part of his dominions; his people do not want them. They know and observe with exactness the true principles of justice, and never deviate from their duty; therefore tribunals and magistrates would be useless among them.’
“The caliph was satisfied with my discourse, and said: ‘The wisdom of this king appears in his letter; and after what you have told me, I must confess that such wisdom is worthy of such subjects, and such subjects worthy of their ruler.’ With these words he dismissed me with a rich present.”
“Sindbad here finished his discourse, and his visitors retired; but Hindbad, as usual, received his hundred sequins. The guests and the porter returned on the following day, and Sindbad began the relation of his seventh and last voyage in these terms:—
