Chapter I: Preface

It has been justly remarked that “the literature of a nation furnishes the best guide to researches into its character, manners, and opinions, and no department of literature contains a more ample store of data in this respect than the light and popular part consisting of tales, romances, and dramatic pieces.” The lighter literature of mediæval Europe affords us an insight into customs, manners, and superstitions which have long passed away; but in “the unchanging East” the literature of the Asiatic races, produced at the same period, continues to reflect the sentiments and habits of the Hindús, Buddhists, and Muslims at the present day. For among Asiatics belief in astrology, magic, divination, good and bad omens, and evil spirits (rákshasas, dívs, jinn, etc.) who are ever eager to injure human beings is still as prevalent as when the oldest of their popular tales and romances were first written. The child-like, wonder-loving Oriental mind delights in stories of the supernatural, and the more such narratives exceed the bounds of human possibility the greater is the pleasure derived from them;—like our own peasantry, who believed (and not so long since) in “ghosts, fairies, goblins, and witches,” as well as in the frequent apparition of Satan in various forms to delude the benighted traveller, and were fond of listening to “tales of the wild and wonderful” during the long winter evenings.

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The following collection comprises fairly representative Eastern tales; some of which are of common life and have nothing in them of the supernatural, while in others may be found all the machinery of typical Asiatic fictions: gorgeous palaces constructed of priceless gems; wealth galore; enchantments; magical transformations; fairies and jinn, good and evil. Those who think that they are “sensible, practical men” (and are therefore _not_ sensible) would not condescend to read “such a pack of lies”; but there be men, I wot, who entertain no particularly high opinion of themselves, to whom what poor Mr. Buckle called “the lying spirit of Romance” is often a great solace amidst the stern realities of work-a-day life, and, carried away in imagination to regions where all is _as it ought to be_, they for a brief season quite forget “life and its ills, duns and their bills.”

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But few words are necessary to explain the design of the present work. I found the four romances diverting and many of their incidents peculiarly interesting from a comparative folk-lore point of view; and I felt encouraged by the friendly reception of my _Book of Sindibád_ to reproduce them as a companion volume and as a farther contribution to the study of popular fictions. It may be considered by some readers that my notes are too copious. I know that foot-notes have been likened to runaway knocks, calling one downstairs for nothing; but as the book is not specially designed for Eastern scholars (who indeed require none of the information that I could furnish), I was desirous that nothing likely to be obscure to the ordinary reader should pass without explanation and illustration; and since these foot-notes have considerably swelled the bulk of the book and I shall certainly not profit by them, I trust they will not prove altogether useless or superfluous. The abstract of the romance of Hatim Taï—which was an afterthought—and the other matter in the Appendix will be, I venture to think, interesting to readers “of all ranks and ages.”

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It only remains to express my thanks, in the first place, to the learned Orientalist Mr. Edward Rehatsek, of Bombay, for kindly permitting me to reprint his translations from the Persian, with which I have taken a few liberties, but had he revised them himself, I feel sure he would have made very similar alterations: I much regret that want of space prevented me from reproducing more of the shorter stories. In the next place, I (and the reader also, if I am not mistaken) have to thank Pandit Natésa Sástrí, of Madras, for his translation of the Tamil romance, which I have entitled “The King and his Four Ministers.” I must also acknowledge my great indebtedness to Dr. Chas. Rieu, of the British Museum, whose courtesy, great as everybody knows it is, I fear was very frequently sorely tried by my “anxious inquiries”; and to Prof. E. Fagnan, of the École des Lettres, Algiers, and Mr. E. H. Whinfield, who has done good work in Persian literature, for their kind investigations regarding an inedited Turkish story-book. Private friends want no public recognition, but I should consider myself ungrateful did I omit to place also on record my obligations in the course of this work to Dr. David Ross, Principal of the E.C. Training College, Glasgow, to Mr. Leonard C. Smithers, Sheffield, and finally, but certainly not least of all, to my old and trusty friend Mr. Hugh Shedden, Grangemouth. With so much help it may well be thought my work might have been of higher quality than I fear is the case; but there is an ancient saying about expecting “grapes of thorns,” which I have made my excuse in a former work.

W. A. C.

CONTENTS.

PAGE

INTRODUCTION xix

HISTORY OF NASSAR 3
Story of Shah Manssur 12
Story of Hatim Taï and the Benevolent Lady 46
The Painter’s Story 53
The Washerman’s Story 58
The Blind Man’s Story 60
The Benevolent Lady’s Story 64
Story of Prince Kasharkasha 69
CONTINUATION OF THE HISTORY OF NASSAR 98
Story of the Foolish Hermit 112
Story of the Treacherous Vazír 114
Story of the Unlucky Shoayb 118
CONCLUSION OF THE HISTORY OF NASSAR 137

HISTORY OF FARRUKHRÚZ.

CHAPTER I.

How three brothers set out on a trading journey—How the
youngest is cruelly abandoned by his elder brethren—How
he meets with royal favour 147

CHAPTER II.

The hero’s quest of a throne of marvellous gems 154

CHAPTER III.

The hero goes in quest of four treasure-trees, and is
married to the Queen of the Fairies 166

CHAPTER IV.

How the hero pretended to visit Paradise, and caused all
his enemies to perish 182

THE KING AND HIS FOUR MINISTERS 193
Story of the Lost Camel 194
Story of the Hunter and His Faithful Dog 206
Story of the Bráhman’s Wife and the Mungús 211
Story of the Faithless Wife and the Ungrateful Blind Man 215
Story of the Wonderful Mango Fruit 220
Story of the Poisoned Food 226
Story of the Bráhman and the Rescued Snake 231

THE ROSE OF BAKÁWALÍ.

Proem 237

CHAPTER I.

The Astrologers’ prediction at the birth of our
hero—His Father is struck with blindness—His four
Brothers set out in quest of the Rose of Bakáwalí,
to restore their Father’s sight—He secretly follows
them—They fall into the toils of Dilbar, an artful
courtesan, who fleeces them and makes them prisoners 240

CHAPTER II.

The Prince determines to rescue his Brethren—He takes
service with a nobleman, and makes friends with
Dilbar’s confidante, by whose instructions he turns the
tables on Dilbar, and wins all her wealth and her own
person—He tells Dilbar of his design to obtain the Rose
of Bakáwalí, and she warns him of the dangers he must
encounter—He relates the _Story of the Bráhman and the
Lion_—Dilbar exhorts our hero before his departure 247

CHAPTER III.

Showing how the Prince is helped in his quest by
a friendly Demon—Marries Mahmúda, a beautiful
girl—Reaches the Garden of Bakáwalí and plucks the
Rose—Seeing the Fairy Bakáwalí asleep, falls in love
with her—Returns with Mahmúda and rejoins Dilbar, who
liberates his Brethren, before the three set out for
his own country—On the way he is deprived of the Rose
by his Brethren, who return home, and by means of the
Flower restore their Father’s sight 259

CHAPTER IV.

Bakáwalí, on awaking, discovers that her Rose has been
stolen, sets out in search of the thief disguised as a
man, and takes service with the Prince’s Father, the
King of the East—The Fairies build a grand Palace for
the Prince, like that of Bakáwalí—The King hears of the
new Palace—_Story of the Princess and the Demon who
exchanged Sexes_—The Prince’s Father and Brethren,
with Bakáwalí (disguised), visit him at his Palace,
and he discloses himself 272

CHAPTER V.

Bakáwalí returns to her own country, and there writes
a love-letter to the Prince, who sets out to visit
her—The Mother of Bakáwalí discovers that her daughter
is in love with a human being, tosses the Prince high
up into the air, and imprisons Bakáwalí—The Prince
falls into a river, emerges from it in safety, obtains
several magical articles, is changed into a young
woman, then into a foul-visaged Abyssinian, and finally
regains his own form 288

CHAPTER VI.

The Prince comes to the Castle of a fierce Demon
called Sháh Pykar, where he finds Rúh-afzá, cousin of
Bakáwalí, a prisoner—He rescues her from the Demon
and conveys her to her parents—He obtains Bakáwalí in
Marriage and returns with his beauteous Fairy Bride to
his own Palace 303

CHAPTER VII.

Bakáwalí goes to the Court of Indra, where she sings
and dances—The Deity, enraged at her love for a human
being, pronounces a curse upon her—The Prince goes
to Ceylon, where he finds Bakáwalí confined in a
Temple, the lower part of her body being turned into
marble—Chitrawat, the daughter of the Rájá, falls in
love with him, and on his declining her overtures he
is thrown into prison 316

CHAPTER VIII.

The Prince is married to Chitrawat, but, visiting
Bakáwalí every night, his new bride complains to her
Father of his indifference, and the Rájá sends spies
to dog his steps—The Temple is discovered and razed
to the ground, and the Prince is in despair 329

CHAPTER IX.

Bakáwalí is re-born in the house of a Farmer—When she
is of marriageable age the Prince and Chitrawat meet
her and they all three proceed to his own country,
where he is welcomed affectionately by Dilbar and
Mahmúda—Bahrám, the son of Zayn ul-Mulúk’s Vazír,
falls in love with Rúh-afzá, the cousin of Bakáwalí 335