Chapter V (6)

The Lady Bedrulbudour rejoiced at this and the damsels ran, vying with each other in their haste, [615] and opened the palace-door [616] to Alaeddin, their lord; whereupon he entered and [617] going up to his wife's pavilion, [618] found her sitting at the table and the Maugrabin before her, as one slain. So he went up to the princess and kissed her and thanked her for this [that she had done] and rejoiced with an exceeding joy. Then said he to her, "Get thee now into thine inner chamber, thou and thy damsels, and leave me alone, so I may consider of that which I have to do." Accordingly, the Lady Bedrulbudour tarried not, but entered the inner pavilion, she and her women; whereupon Alaeddin arose and locked the door on them and going up to the Maugrabin, put his hand to his sleeve and pulled out the lamp; after which he drew his sword and cut off the sorcerer's head. Then he rubbed the lamp and the Marid, its slave, appeared to him and said, "Here am I, O my lord; what wiliest thou?" Quoth Alaeddin, "I will of thee that thou take up this palace from this country and carry it to the land of China and set it in the place where it was erst, before the Sultan's palace." "Hearkening and obedience, O my lord," replied the Marid [and disappeared], whilst Alaeddin went in and sat with the Lady Bedrulbudour his bride and embraced her and kissed her and she him; and they sat talking and making merry, what while the Marid took up the palace with [619] them and set it down in its place before the Sultan's palace.

Presently Alaeddin called for food; so the slave-girls set the tray before him and he sat, he and the Lady Bedrulbudour his wife, and ate and drank in all joy and gladness till they had taken their sufficiency. Then they removed to the chamber of wine and carousel, where they sat drinking and making merry and kissing one another with all eagerness, for that it was long since they had had easance together; and they ceased not from this till the sun of wine rose in their heads and sleep took them; whereupon they arose and lay down on their bed in all rest and delight. In the morning Alaeddin arose and aroused his wife, whereupon her women came to her and dressed her and busked her and adorned her; whilst he, on his part, donned the richest of raiment, [620] and both were like to fly for joy at their reunion with each other, after their separation, whilst the Lady Bedrulbudour was especially glad, for that she looked to see her father that day.

So much for Alaeddin and the Lady Bedrulbudour; and as for the Sultan, after he had released Alaeddin, he ceased not to mourn for the loss of his daughter and to sit and weep for her, like a woman, at every time and tide; for that she was his only one and he had none other than her. And every day, whenas he arose from his sleep in the morning, he would go hastily to the window and opening it, look towards the place where Alaeddin's palace was erst and weep till his eyes were dried up and their lids ulcered. He arose that day at dawn, according to his wont, and opening the window, looked out and saw before him a building; so he fell to rubbing his eyes and looking closelier, was certified that it was Alaeddin's palace; whereupon he immediately called for the horses. Accordingly, they saddled them and he went down and mounting, rode to Alaeddin's palace. When the latter saw him coming, he went down and meeting him half-way, took him by the hand and carried him up to the pavilion of the Lady Bedrulbudour, his daughter. Now she also longed sore for her father; so she came down and met him at the stair-foot door, over against the lower hall; whereupon he embraced her and fell to kissing her and weeping and on this wise did she also. Then Alaeddin brought them up to the upper pavilion, [621] where they sat down and the Sultan proceeded to question the princess of her case and of that which had befallen her, whilst [622] she acquainted him with all that had happened to her and said to him, "O my father, I breathed not till yesterday, when I saw my husband, and he it is who delivered me from the bondage of a Maugrabin, an accursed sorcerer, methinketh there is not a filthier than he on the face of the earth; and but for my beloved Alaeddin, I had not won free of him and thou hadst not seen me all thy life. Indeed, O my father, there possessed me grief and sore chagrin, not only for my severance from thee, but also for the loss of my husband, to whom I shall be beholden all the days of my life, seeing he delivered me from that accursed enchanter."

Then she went on to acquaint her father with all that had befallen her and to tell him of the Maugrabin's dealings and what he did with her and how he feigned himself a lampseller, who bartered new for old. "And when," [quoth she]; "I saw this [seeming] lack of wit in him, I fell to laughing at him, unknowing his perfidy and his intent; so I took an old lamp that was in my husband's pavilion and sent it by the eunuch, who exchanged it with him for a new lamp; and next day, O my father, at daybreak, we found ourselves in Africa, with the palace and all that was therein; and I knew not the properties of the lamp which I had exchanged, till my husband Alaeddin came to us and contrived against the Maugrabin a device whereby he delivered us from him. Now, except my husband had won to us, it was the accursed one's intent to go in to me perforce; but Alaeddin, my husband gave me a powder, the which I put for him in a cup of wine and gave it him to drink. So he drank it and fell-back as one dead; whereupon my husband Alaeddin came in to me and meknoweth not how he wrought, so that he transported us back from the land of Africa to our place here." And Alaeddin said to the Sultan, "O my lord, when I came up and saw him cast down like one slain and sleeping for the henbane, I said to the Lady Bedrulbudour, 'Go in, thou and thy women, to the inner pavilion.' So she arose and went in, she and her damsels, from that loathsome sight; whilst I went up to the accursed Maugrabin and putting my hand to his sleeve, pulled out the lamp, for that the Lady Bedrulbudour had told me he still carried it there. Then, when I had gotten it, I drew my sword and cut [off] the accursed's [head] and making use of the lamp, bade its servants take us up, with the palace and all that was therein, and set us down here in our place. And if Thy Grace be in doubt of my words, do thou come with me and see the accursed Maugrabin."

So the King arose and going in with Alaeddin to the pavilion, saw the Maugrabin [Iying ]: whereupon he bade forthright take the carcase and burn it and scatter its ashes [to the winds]. Then he embraced Alaeddin and fell to kissing him and said to him, "Excuse me, O my son, for that I was going [623] to bereave thee of thy life, through the wickedness of yonder accursed sorcerer who cast thee into this pit; and indeed, O my son, I was excusable in that which I did with thee, inasmuch as I saw myself bereft of my daughter and mine only one, who is dearer to me than my kingdom, and thou knowest how fathers' hearts yearn upon their children, more by token that I have but the Lady Bedrulbudour." And he went on to excuse himself to him and kiss him; and [624] Alaeddin said to him, "O Lord of the Age, thou didst with me nothing contrary to the law and I also was guiltless of offence; but the thing came all of that vile Maugrabin enchanter." Then the Sultan bade decorate the city and hold festival and rejoicings and commanded the crier to cry in the city that that day was a great festival, wherefore rejoicings should be holden in all the realm during the space of a month, [to wit,] thirty days' time, for the return of the Lady Bedrulbudour his daughter and her husband Alaeddin.

This, then, is what befell Alaeddin with the Maugrabin; but Alaeddin, for all this, was not altogether [625] quit of the accursed enchanter, withal his body had been burned and given to the winds; for that the accursed one had a brother viler than he [and yet more skilled] in magic and geomancy and astrology; [nay, they were even] as saith the proverb, "A bean and it was cloven in twain;" [626] and each dwelt in one quarter of the world, so they might fill it [627] with their sorcery and craft and guile. It chanced one day that the Maugrabin's brother was minded to know how it was with his brother; so he fetched his sand-board and smote it and extracted its figures; then he considered them and examining them throughly, found his brother in the house of the tomb; [628] whereat he mourned and was certified that he was indeed dead. Then he smote the sand a second time, so he might learn how and where he died, and found that he had died in the land of China and by the foulest of deaths and knew that he who slew him was a youth by name Alaeddin. So he rose at once and equipping himself for travel, set out and traversed plains and deserts and mountains months and months, till he came to the land of China [and entering] the city of the sultanate, wherein was Alaeddin, repaired to the Strangers' Khan, where he hired him a lodging and rested there a little.

Then he arose to go round about the thoroughfares of the city, that he might spy him out a means of compassing his fell purpose, the which was to take vengeance of his brother on Alaeddin. So he entered a coffee-house in the market, a mighty fine place whither there resorted great plenty of folk, some to play tables, [629] some draughts [630] and other some chess and what not else. There he sat down and heard those who sat beside him talk of an old woman, an anchoress, by name Fatimeh, who still abode in her place without the city, serving [God], and came not down into the town but two days in the month, avouching her to be possessed of divine gifts galore. [631] When the Maugrabin enchanter heard this, he said in himself, "Now have I found that which I sought. An it please God the Most High, I shall achieve my quest by means of this woman." So [632] he went up to the folk who were speaking of the devout old woman's supernatural powers and said to one of them, "O uncle, I hear you talk of the divine gifts of one she-saint, [633] by name Fatimeh. Who [634] is she and where is her place?" "Wonderful!" cried the man. "What, thou art in our city and hast not heard of the divine gifts of my Lady [635] Fatimeh? Apparently, good man, [636] thou art a stranger, since thou hast never chanced to hear of the fasts of this holy woman and her abhorrence of the world and the goodliness of her piety." "Ay, my lord," replied the Maugrabin, "I am indeed a stranger and arrived but yesternight in this your town; wherefore I beseech thee tell me of the divine gifts of this holy woman and where her place is, for that I have fallen into a calamity and would fain go to her and crave her of prayer, so haply God (to whom belong might and majesty) may deliver me from my stress, by means of her intercession." The man accordingly told him of the divine gifts of the holy woman Fatimeh and her piety and the excellence of her devotion; then, taking him by the hand, he carried him without the city and showed him the way to her abiding-place, which was in a cavern on the top of a little hill; whereupon the Maugrabin thanked him amain for his kindness [636] and returned to his place in the Khan.

Now, by the decree of destiny, Fatimeh came down on the morrow to the city and the enchanter, going forth the Khan in the morning, saw the folk crowding together; so he went up, to see what was toward, and found Fatimeh standing, whilst every one who had a pain or an ache came to her, seeking her blessing and soliciting her prayers, and whenas she stroked him, he was made whole of his ailment. The Maugrabin followed her, till she returned to her cavern, and waited till nightfall, when he arose and entering a sherbet-sellers [637] shop, drank a cup of liquor, [638] then went forth the city, intending for the cavern of Fatimeh the recluse. When he came thither, he entered and saw her sleeping on her back on a piece of matting; so he went up to her and sitting down [639] on her breast, [640] drew his dagger and cried out at her; whereupon she awoke and opening her eyes, saw a man, a Maugrabin, with a drawn dagger, sitting on her breast [641] and offering to kill her. So she feared and trembled and he said to her, "Harkye, an thou say aught or cry out, I will kill thee on the spot. Arise now and do all that I shall bid thee." And he swore an oath to her that, if she did for him that which he should bid her, he would not kill her.

Then he rose from her and she rose also, and he said to her, "Give me thy clothes and take mine." So she gave him her clothes and head-bands and her kerchief and veil; and he said to her, "Now must thou anoint me, to boot, with somewhat, so my face may become like unto shine in colour." Accordingly Fatimeh went within the cavern and bringing out a vial of ointment, took thereof in her palm and anointed his face withal, whereupon it became like unto hers in colour. Then she gave him her staff and taught him how he should walk and how he should do, whenas he went down into the city; moreover, she put her rosary on his neck and finally giving him the mirror, said to him, "Look now; thou differest not from me in aught." So he looked and saw himself as he were Fatimeh herself. [642] Then, when he had gotten his desire, he broke his oath and sought of her a rope; so she brought him a rope and he took her and strangled her therewith in the cavern. When she was dead, he dragged her forth and cast her into a pit therewithout; then, [643] returning to her cavern, he slept there till the day broke, when he arose and going down into the city, came under Alaeddin's pavilion. [644]

The folk gathered about him, believing him to be Fatimeh the Recluse, and he proceeded to do like as she had been used to do, laying hands on those in pain and reciting for this one the Fatiheh [645] and for that a[nother] chapter of the Koran and praying for a third. Then, for the much crowding upon him and the clamour of the folk, the Lady Bedrulbudour heard and said to her women, "See what is to do and what is the cause of this noise." So the Ada of the eunuchs went to see what was toward and returning, said to her, "O my lady, this clamour is because of the Lady Fatimeh. An it please thee bid me fetch her to thee, so thou mayst ask a blessing of her...." And the Lady Bedrulbudour said to him, "Go and bring her to me; marry, this long while past I have still heard of her gifts and excellences and have yearned to see her, so I may ask a blessing of her, for that the folk are beyond measure abundant [in talk] of her [646] virtues." So the Aga went and brought the enchanter, disguised as Fatimeh, before the Lady Bedrulbudour; whereupon the Maugrabin offered up abundance of prayers for her, and none misdoubted of him but that he was Fatimeh the recluse. The princess rose and saluting him, seated him by her side and said to him, "O my Lady Fatimeh, I will have thee with me alway, that I may be blessed in thee and eke that I may learn of thee the ways of God-service and piety and model myself on thee."

Now this was what the accursed sorcerer aimed at; however, the better to accomplish his perfidious intent, [647] he [dissembled and] said to her, "O my lady, I am a poor woman sitting in the desert and it beseemeth not that the like of me should abide in kings' palaces." Quoth the Lady Bedrulbudour, "Have no manner of care, O my lady Fatimeh; I will give thee a place in my house, where thou shalt do thy devotions, and none shall ever go in to thee; nay, here shalt thou serve God better than in thy cavern." And the Maugrabin said to her, "Hearkening and obedience, O my lady; I will not gainsay thy commandment, for that the speech of princes may not be crossed neither disputed; but I beg of thee that my eating and drinking and sitting may be in my closet alone [and] that none may come in upon me. Moreover, I need no rich viands, but every day do thou favour me and send me by thy handmaid a piece of bread and a draught of water to my closet; and when I am minded to eat, I will eat in my closet alone." (Now this the accursed did, of his fear lest his chin veil should be raised, when he ate, and so his case be exposed and they know him for a man by his beard and moustaches.) "O my lady Fatimeh," rejoined the princess, "be easy; nothing shall betide save that which thou wiliest; so rise now [and come] with me, that I may show thee the pavilion [648] which I purpose to order for thine inhabitance with us." So [649] saying, she arose and carrying the sorcerer to the place which she had appointed him wherein to abide, said to him, "O my lady Fatimeh, here shalt thou dwell; this pavilion is in thy name and thou shalt abide therein in all quiet and ease of privacy." And the Maugrabin thanked her for her bounty and prayed for her.

Then the Lady Bedrulbudour took him and showed him the belvedere [650] and the kiosk of jewels, with the four-and-twenty oriels, [651] and said to him, "How deemest thou, O my Lady Fatimeh, of this wonderful pavilion?" [652] "By Allah, O my daughter," replied he, "it is indeed marvellous in the extreme, [653] nor methinketh is its like found in the world; nay, it is magnificent exceedingly; but oh, for one thing which would far increase it in beauty and adornment!" And the princess said to him, "O my Lady Fatimeh, what is lacking to it and what is this thing which would adorn it? Tell me of it; I had thought that it was altogether perfect." "O my lady," answered the sorcerer, "that which lacketh to it is the egg of the bird Roc, which being hung in its dome, there were no like unto this pavilion in all the world." "What is this bird." asked the princess, "and where shall we find its egg?" And the Moor said to her, "O my lady, this is a great bird that taketh up camels and elephants in its talons and flieth with them, of its bigness and greatness; it is mostly to be found in the mountain Caf and the craftsman who builded this palace [654] is able to bring its egg." Then they left that talk and it was the time of the morning-meal. So the slave-girls laid the table and the Lady Bedrulbudour sat down and sought of the accursed sorcerer that he should eat with her; but he refused and rising, entered the pavilion which she had given him, whither the slave-girls carried him the morning-meal.

When it was eventide and Alaeddin returned from the chase, the Lady Bedrulbudour met him and saluted him: whereupon he embraced her and kissed her and looking in her face, saw that she was somewhat troubled and smiled not, against her wont. So he said to her, "What aileth thee, O my beloved? Tell me, hath there befallen thee aught to trouble thee?" And she answered him, saying, "There aileth me nothing; but, O my beloved, I had thought that our palace [655] lacked of nought; however, O my eyes [656] Alaeddin, were there hung in the dome of the upper pavilion [657] an egg of the bird Roc, there were not its like in the world." "And wast thou concerned anent this?" rejoined Alaeddin. "This is to me the easiest of all things; so be easy, for it is enough that thou tell me of that which thou wishest and I will fetch it thee from the abysses of the world on the speediest wise." Then [658] after he had comforted the princess and promised her all she sought, he went straight to his closet and taking the lamp rubbed it; whereupon the Marid at once appeared and said to him, "Seek what thou wilt;" and Alaeddin, "I will have thee bring me a Roc's egg and hang it in the dome of the [upper] pavilion." [659]

When the Marid heard Alaeddin's words, his face frowned and he was wroth and cried out with a terrible great voice, saying, "O denier of benefits, doth it not suffice thee that I and all the slaves of the Lamp are at thy service and wouldst thou eke have me bring thee our liege lady, for thy pleasure, and hang her in the dome of thy pavilion, to divert thee and thy wife? By Allah, ye deserve that I should forthright reduce you both to ashes and scatter you to the winds! But, inasmuch as ye are ignorant, thou and she, concerning this matter and know not its inward from its outward, [660] I excuse you, for that ye are innocent. As for the guilt, it lieth with the accursed one, the surviving [661] brother of the Maugrabin enchanter, who feigneth himself to be Fatimeh the Recluse; for lo, he hath slain Fatimeh in her cavern and hath donned her dress and disguised himself after her favour and fashion and is come hither, seeking thy destruction, so he may take vengeance on thee for his brother; and he it is who taught thy wife to seek this of thee." [662] Therewith he disappeared, and as for Alaeddin, when he heard this, his wit fled from his head and his joints trembled at the cry wherewith the Marid cried out at him; but he took heart and leaving his closet, went in straightway to his wife and feigned to her that his head irked him, of his knowledge that Fatimeh was renowned for the secret of healing [663] all aches and pains. When the Lady Bedrulbudour saw him put his hand to his head and complain of its aching, [664] she asked him what was the cause and he said, "I know not, except that my head irketh me sore." Accordingly she sent forthwith to fetch Fatimeh, so she might lay her hand on his head; whereupon quoth Alaeddin, "Who is this Fatimeh?" And the princess told him how she had lodged Fatimeh the recluse with her in the palace. [665]

Meanwhile the slave-girls went and fetched the accursed Maugrabin, and Alaeddin arose to him, feigning ignorance of his case, and saluted him, as he had been the true Fatimeh. Moreover he kissed the hem of his sleeve and welcomed him, [666] saying, "O my Lady Fatimeh, I beseech thee do me a kindness, since I know thy usances in the matter of the healing of pains, for that there hath betided me a sore pain in my head." The Maugrabin could scarce believe his ears of this speech, [667] for that this was what he sought; so he went up to Alaeddin, as he would lay his hand on his head, after the fashion of Fatimeh the recluse, and heal him of his pain. When he drew near-him, he laid one hand on his head and putting the other under his clothes, drew a dagger, so [668] he might slay him withal. But Alaeddin was watching him and waited till he had all to-drawn the dagger, when he gripped him by the hand and taking the knife from him, planted [669] it in his heart.

When the Lady Bedrulbudour saw this, she cried out and said to him, "What hath this holy anchoress done, that thou burthenest thyself with the sore burden of her blood? Hast thou no fear of God, that thou dost this and hast slain Fatimeh, who was a holy woman and whose divine gifts were renowned?" Quoth he to her, "I have not slain Fatimeh; nay, I have slain him who slew her; for that this is the brother of the accursed Maugrabin enchanter, who took thee and by his sorcery transported the palace with thee to the land of Africa. Yea, this accursed one was his brother and came to this country and wrought these frauds, slaying Fatimeh and donning her clothes and coming hither, so he might take vengeance on me for his brother. Moreover, it was he who taught thee to seek of me a Roc's egg, so my destruction should ensue thereof; and if thou misdoubt of my word, come and see whom I have slain." So saying, he did off the Maugrabin's chin veil and the Lady Bedrulbudour looked and saw a man whose beard covered his face; whereupon she at once knew the truth and said to Alaeddin, "O my beloved, twice have I cast thee into danger of death;" and he said to her, "O Lady Bedrulbudour, thanks to thine eyes, [670] no harm [hath betided me thereof; nay,] I accept with all joy everything that cometh to me through thee." When the princess heard this, she hastened to embrace him and kissed him, saying, "O my beloved, all this was of my love for thee and I knew not what I did; [671] nor indeed am I negligent of thy love." [672] Whereupon Alaeddin kissed her and strained her to his breast and love redoubled between them.

Presently, in came the Sultan; so they told him of all that had passed with the Maugrabin enchanter's brother and showed him the latter, as he lay dead; whereupon he bade burn him and scatter his ashes to the winds. Thenceforward Alaeddin abode with his wife the Lady Bedrulbudour in all peace and pleasure and was delivered from all perils. Then, after a while, the Sultan died and Alaeddin sat down on the throne of the kingdom and ruled and did justice among the people; and all the folk loved him and he lived with his wife, the Lady Bedrulbudour, in all cheer and solace and contentment till there came to them the Destroyer of Delights and the Sunderer of Societies.

FOOTNOTES

[Footnote 1: i.e. (1) Zeyn Alasnam, (2) Codadad. (3) The Sleeper Awakened. (4) Aladdin. (5) Baba Abdallah. (6) Sidi Nouman. (7) Cogia Hassan Alhabbah (8) Ali Baba. (9) Ali Cogia. (10) Prince Ahmed and Pari-Banou. (11) The Sisters who envied their younger Sister.]

[Footnote 2: "M. Galland was aware of the imperfection of the MS. used by him and (unable to obtain a more perfect copy) he seems to have endeavoured to supply the place of the missing portions by incorporating in his translation a number of Persian, Turkish and Arabic Tales, which had no connection with his original and for which it is generally supposed that he probably had recourse to Oriental MSS. (as yet unidentified) contained in the Royal Libraries of Paris." Vol. IX. p. 263. "Of these the Story of the Sleeper Awakened is the only one which has been traced to an Arabic original and is found in the Breslau edition of the complete work, printed by Dr. Habicht from a MS. of Tunisian origin, apparently of much later date than the other known copies.....Galland himself cautions us that the Stories of Zeyn Alasnam and Codadad do not belong to the Thousand and One Nights and were published (how he does not explain) without his authority." p. 264. "It is possible that an exhaustive examination of the various MS. copies of the Thousand and One Nights known to exist in the public libraries of Europe Might yet cast some light upon the origin of the interpolated tales; but, in view of the strong presumption afforded by internal evidence that they are of modern composition and form no part of the authentic text, it can hardly be expected, where the result and the value of that result are alike so doubtful, that any competent person will be found to undertake so heavy a task, except as incidental to some more general enquiry. The only one of the eleven which seems to me to bear any trace of possible connection with the Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night is Aladdin, and it may be that an examination of the MS. copies of the original work within my reach will yet enable me to trace the origin of that favourite story." pp. 268-9.]

[Footnote 3: Histoire d' 'Ala Al-Din ou la Lampe Merveilleuse. Texte Arabe, Publie avec une notice de quelques Manuscrits des Mille et Une Nuits et la traduction de Galland. Par H. Zotenberg. Paris, Imprimerie Nationale, 1888.]

[Footnote 4: For the sake of uniformity and convenience of reference, I use, throughout this Introduction, Galland's spelling of the names which occur in his translation, returning to my own system of transliteration in my rendering of the stories themselves.]

[Footnote 5: i.e. God's.]

[Footnote 6: "La suite des Mille et une Nuits, Contes Arabes trafluits par Dom Chavis et M. Cazotte. Paris 1788." The Edinburgh Review (July, 1886) gives the date of the first edition as 1785; but this is an error, probably founded upon the antedating of a copy of the Cabinet des Fees, certain sets of which (though not actually completed till 1793) are dated, for some publisher's reason, 1785. See also following note.]

[Footnote 7: These four (supplemental) vols. of the Cabinet des Fees (printed in 1793, though antedated 1788 and 1789) do not form the first edition of Chavis and Cazotte's so-called Sequel, which was in 1793 added, by way of supplement, to the Cabinet des Fees, having been first published in 1788 (two years after the completion-in thirty-seven volumes-of that great storehouse of supernatural fiction) under the title of "Les Veillees Persanes" or "Les Veillees du Sultan Schahriar avec la Sultane Scheherazade, histoires incroyables, amusantes et morales, traduites par M. Cazotte et D. Chavis, faisant suite aux Mille et Une Nuits."]

[Footnote 8: I cannot agree with my friend Sir R. F. Burton in his estimate of these tales, which seem to me, even in Caussin de Perceval's corrector rendering and in his own brilliant and masterly version, very inferior, in style, conduct and diction, to those of "the old Arabian Nights," whilst I think "Chavis and Cazotte's Continuation" utterly unworthy of republication, whether in part or "in its entirety." Indeed, I confess the latter version seems to me so curiously and perversely and unutterably bad that I cannot conceive how Cazotte can have perpetrated it and can only regard it as a bad joke on his part. As Caussin de Perceval remarks, it is evident that Shawish (whether from ignorance or carelessness) must, in many instances, have utterly misled his French coadjutor (who had no knowledge of Arabic) as to the meaning of the original, whilst it is much to be regretted that a writer of exquisite genius and one of the first stylists of the 18th century, such as the author of the Diable Amoureux, (a masterpiece to be ranked with Manon Lescaut and Le Neveu de Rameau,) should have stooped to the commission of the flagrant offences against good taste and artistic morality which disfigure well nigh every line of the so-called "Sequel to the 1001 Nights." "Far be it" (as the Arabs say) that we should do so cruel a wrong to so well and justly beloved a memory as that of Jacques Cazotte as to attempt to perpetuate the remembrance of a literary crime which one can hardly believe him to have committed in sober earnest! Rather let us seek to bury in oblivion this his one offence and suffer kind Lethe with its beneficent waters to wash this "adulterous blot" from his else unsullied name.]

[Footnote 9: Lit. "Servants" (ibad) i.e. of God.]

[Footnote 10: i.e. he who most stands in need of God's mercy.]

[Footnote 11: Kebikej is the name of the genie set over the insect kingdom. Scribes occasionally invoke him to preserve their manuscripts from worms.-Note by M. Zotenberg.]

[Footnote 12: Galland calls him "Hanna, c'est... dire Jean Baptiste," the Arabic Christian equivalent of which is Youhenna and the Muslim Yehya, "surnomme Diab." Diary, October 25, 1709.]

[Footnote 13: At this date Galland had already published the first six (of twelve) volumes of his translation (1704-5) and as far as I can ascertain, in the absence of a reference copy (the British Museum possessing no copy of the original edition), the 7th and 8th volumes were either published or in the press. Vol. viii. was certainly published before the end of the year 1709, by which time the whole of vol. ix. was ready for printing.]

[Footnote 14: i.e. Aladdin.]

[Footnote 15: Galland died in 1715, leaving the last two volumes of his translation (which appear by the Diary to have been ready for the prep on the 8th June, 1713) to be published in 1717.]

[Footnote 16: Aleppo.]

[Footnote 17: i.e. Yonhenna Diab.]

[Footnote 18: For "Persian." Galland evidently supposed, in error, that Petis de la Croix's forthcoming work was a continuation of his "Contes Turcs" published in 1707, a partial translation (never completed) of the Turkish version of "The Forty Viziers," otherwise "The Malice of Women," for which see Le Cabinet des Fees, vol. xvi. where the work is, curiously enough, attributed (by the Table of Contents) to Galland himself.]

[Footnote 19: See my terminal essay. My conclusions there stated as to the probable date of the original work have since been completely confirmed by the fact that experts assign Galland's original (imperfect) copy of the Arabic text to the latter part of the fourteenth century, on the evidence of the handwriting, etc.]

[Footnote 20: In M. Zotenberg's notes to Aladdin.]

[Footnote 21: Night CCCCXCVII.]

[Footnote 22: Khelifeh.]

[Footnote 23: Or "favourites" (auliya), i.e. holy men, devotees, saints.]

[Footnote 24: i.e. the geomancers. For a detailed description of this magical process, (which is known as "sand-tracing," Kharu 'r reml,) see posl, p. 199, note 2.{see FN#548}]

[Footnote 25: i.e. "What it will do in the course of its life"]

[Footnote 26: Or "ascendants" (tewali).]

[Footnote 27: i.e. "Adornment of the Images." This is an evident mistake (due to some ignorant copyist or reciter of the story) of the same kind as that to be found at the commencement of the story of Ghanim ben Eyoub, (see my Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Vol I. p. 363 et seq.), where the hero is absurdly stated to have been surnamed at birth the "Slave of Love," a sobriquet which could only have attached itself to him in after-life and as a consequence of his passion for Fitoeh. Sir R. F. Burton suggests, with great probability, that the name, as it stands in the text, is a contraction, by a common elliptical process, of the more acceptable, form Zein-ud-din ul Asnam, i.e. Zein-ud-din (Adornment of the Faith) [he] of the Images, Zein (adornment) not being a name used by the Arabic-speaking races, unless with some such addition as ud-Din ("of the Faith"), and the affix ul Asnam ( "[He] of the Images") being a sobriquet arising from the circumstances of the hero's after-life, unless its addition, as recommended by the astrologers, is meant as an indication of the latter's fore-knowledge of what was to befall him thereafter. This noted, I leave the name as I find it in the Arabic MS.]

[Footnote 28: Sheji nebih. Burton, "Valiant and intelligent."]

[Footnote 29: Syn. "his describers" (wasifihi).]

[Footnote 30: Wa huwa hema caiou fihi bads wasifihi shiran. Burton (apparently from a different text), "and presently he became even as the poets sang of one of his fellows in semblance."]

[Footnote 31: Milah, plural of melih, a fair one.]

[Footnote 32: Khemseh senin. Burton, "fifteen."]

[Footnote 33: Shabb, adult, man between sixteen and thirty.]

[Footnote 34: Femu ghefir min el aalem. Burton, "All the defenders of the realm."]

[Footnote 35: Night CCCCXCVIII.]

[Footnote 36: Syn. "depose."]

[Footnote 37: Lit. "that which proceeded from him."]

[Footnote 38: See ante, p. 3, note.{see FN#23}]

[Footnote 39: Night CCCCXCIX.]

[Footnote 40: i.e. imposed on me the toil, caused me undertake the weariness, of coming to Cairo for nothing.]

[Footnote 41: Forgetting his mother.]

[Footnote 42: i.e. no mortal.]

[Footnote 43: Keszr abouka 'l fulani (vulg. for abika'l fulan). Burton, "Such a palace of thy sire."]

[Footnote 44: i.e. it is not like the journey to Cairo and back.]

[Footnote 45: i.e. in God grant thou mayst.]

[Footnote 46: Or "jade" (yeshm).]

[Footnote 47: Night D.]

[Footnote 48: "Edh dheheb el atic." Burton, "antique golden pieces"; but there is nothing to show that the gold was coined.]

[Footnote 49: The "also" in this clause seems to refer to the old man of the dream.]

[Footnote 50: Keszr, lit. palace, but commonly meaning, in modern Arabic, an upper story or detached corps de logis (pavilion in the French sense, an evident misnomer in the present case).]

[Footnote 51: Lit. "put the key in the lock and opened it and behold, the door of a palace (hall) opened."]

[Footnote 52: Takeli, sing. form of tac, a window. Burton, "recess for lamps."]

[Footnote 53: Lit. "till he join thee with."]

[Footnote 54: Or "Cairo," the name Misr being common to the country and its capital.]

[Footnote 55: Badki tecouli[na]. Badki (lit. after thee) is here used in the modern sense of "still" or "yet." The interrogative prefix A appears to have dropped out, as is not uncommon in manuscripts of this kind. Burton, "After thou assuredst me, saying, &c."]

[Footnote 56: Here she adopts her son's previous idea that the old man of the dream was the Prophet in person.]

[Footnote 57: Night DI.]

[Footnote 58: Cudoum. The common form of welcome to a guest.]

[Footnote 59: Or "upper room" (keszr).]

[Footnote 60: Eight; see ante, p. 14. {see FN#46}]

[Footnote 61: Edh dheheb el kedim.]

[Footnote 62: Edh dhelieb er yemli, lit. sand. (i.e. alluvial) gold, gold in its native state, needing no smelting to extract it. This, by the way, is the first mention of the thrones or pedestals of the images.]

[Footnote 63: Lit. "[With] love and honour" (hubban wa kerametan). a familar phrase implying complete assent to any request. It is by some lexicologists supposed to have arisen from the circumstance of a man answering another, who begged of him a wine-jar (hubb), with the words, "Ay, I will give thee a jar and a cover (kerameh) also," and to have thus become a tropical expression of ready compliance with a petition, as who should say, "I will give thee what thou askest and more."]

[Footnote 64: The slave's attitude before his master.]

[Footnote 65: The like.]

[Footnote 66: Night DII.]

[Footnote 67: i.e. invoked blessings upon him in the manner familiar to readers of the Nights.]

[Footnote 68: Lit. thou [art] indulged therein (ent musamih fiha).]

[Footnote 69: Mehmy (vulg. for mehma, whatsoever) telebtaha minni min en miam. Burton, "whatso of importance thou wouldst have of me."]

[Footnote 70: Lit. "in a seeking (request) ever or at all" (fi tilbeti abdan). Burton, "in thy requiring it."]

[Footnote 71: "Tal aleyya" wect, i.e. I am weary of waiting. Burton, "My tarrying with thee hath been long."]

[Footnote 72: Or "difficult" (aziz); Burton, "singular-fare."]

[Footnote 73: Lit. "If the achievement thereof (or attainment thereunto) will be possible unto thee [by or by dint of] fortitude,"]

[Footnote 74: Lit. "Wealth [is] in (or by) blood."]

[Footnote 75: El berr el atfer. Burton translates, "the wildest of wolds," apparently supposing atfer to be a mistranscription for aefer, which is very possible.]

[Footnote 76: Kewaribji, a word formed by adding the Turkish affix ji to the Arabic kewarib, plural of carib, a small boat. The common form of the word is caribji. Burton reads it, "Kewariji, one who uses the paddle."]

[Footnote 77: Lit "inverted" (mecloubeh). Burton, "the reverse of man's."]

[Footnote 78: Night DIII.]

[Footnote 79: Wehsh. Burton, "a lion."]

[Footnote 80: Lit. "then they passed on till" (thumma fatou ila [an]).]

[Footnote 81: Sic (ashjar anber); though what the Arabic author meant by "trees of ambergris" is more than I can say. The word anber (pro. pounced amber) signifies also "saffron"; but the obbligato juxtaposition of aloes and sandal-wood tends to show that what is meant is the well-known product of the sperm-whale. It is possible that the mention of this latter may be an interpolation by some ignorant copyist, who, seeing two only of the three favourite Oriental scents named, took upon himself to complete the odoriferous trinity, so dear to Arab writers, by the addition of ambergris.]

[Footnote 82: Yas, Persian form of yasm, yasmin or yasimin. Sir R. F. Burton reads yamin and supposes it to be a copyist's error for yasmin, but this is a mistake; the word in the text is clearly yas, though the final s, being somewhat carelessly written in the Arabic MS, might easily be mistaken for mn with an undotted noun.]

[Footnote 83: Lit. "perfect or complete (kamil) of fruits and flowers."]

[Footnote 84: Lit. "many armies" (asakir, pl. of asker, an army), but asker is constantly used in post-classical Arabic (and notably in the Nights) for "a single soldier," and still more generally the plural (asakir), as here, for "soldiers."]

[Footnote 85: Syn. "the gleaming of a brasier" (berc kanoun). Kanoun is the Syrian name of two winter months, December (Kanoun el awwal or first) and January (Kanoun eth thani or second).]

[Footnote 86: So as to form a magic barrier against the Jinn, after the fashion of the mystical circles used by European necromancers.]

[Footnote 87: Night DIV.]

[Footnote 88: Fe-halan tuata, the time-honoured "Ask and it shall be given unto thee."]

[Footnote 89: Sic (berec ed dunya); but dunya (the world) is perhaps meant to be taken here by synecdoche m the sense of "sky."]

[Footnote 90: Syn. "darkness was let down like a curtain."]

[Footnote 91: Lit. "like an earthquake like the earthquakes"; but the second "like" (mithl) is certainly a mistranscription for "of" (min).]

[Footnote 92: Night DV.]

[Footnote 93: Night DVI.]

[Footnote 94: Here we have the word mithl (as or like) which I supplied upon conjecture in the former description of the genie; see ante, p. 24, note.]

[Footnote 95: Medinetu 'l meda'n wa ujoubetu 'l aalem. It is well known (see the Nights passim) that the Egyptians considered Cairo the city of cities and the wonder of the world.]

[Footnote 96: Lit. "How [is] the contrivance and the way the which we shall attain by (or with) it to...."]

[Footnote 97: I.a tehtenim; but the text may also be read la tehettem and this latter reading is adopted by Burton, who translates, "Be not beaten and broken down."]

[Footnote 98: Or "in brief" (bi-tejewwuz). Burton translates, "who maketh marriages," apparently reading bi-tejewwuz as a mistranscription for tetejewwez, a vulgar Syrian corruption of tetezewwej.]

[Footnote 99: Said in a quasi-complimentary sense, as we say, "Confound him, what a clever rascal he is!" See the Nights passim for numerous instances of this.]

[Footnote 100: Quoth Shehrzad to Shehriyar.]

[Footnote 101: Syn. "to work upon her traces or course" (tesaa ala menakibiha).]

[Footnote 102: Night DVII.]

[Footnote 103: Lit. "the thirsty one (es szadi) and the goer-forth by day or in the morning" (el ghadi); but this is most probably a mistranscription for the common phrase es sari (the goer by night) wa 'l ghadi, often used in the sense of "comers and goers" simply. This would be quite in character with the style of our present manuscript, which constantly substitutes sz (sad) for s (sin), e.g. szerai for serai (palace), szufreh, for sufreh (meal-tray), for hheresza for hheresa(he guarded), etc., etc., whilst no one acquainted with the Arabic written character need be reminded how easy it is to mistake a carelessly written-r (ra) for d (dal) or vice-versa]

[Footnote 104: The mosque being the caravanserai of the penniless stranger.]

[Footnote 105: The person specially appointed to lead the prayers of the congregation and paid out of the endowed revenues of the mosque to which he is attached.]

[Footnote 106: Night DVIII.]

[Footnote 107: Burton translates, "these accurseds," reading melaa'n (pl. of melaoun, accursed); but the word in the text is plainly mulaa'bein (objective dual of mulaa'b, a trickster, malicious joker, hence, by analogy, sharper).]

[Footnote 108: Eth thiyab el heririyeh. Burton "silver-wrought."]

[Footnote 109: Netser ila necshetihim (lit. their image, cf. Scriptural "image and presentment") wa szufretihim, i.e. he satisfied himself by the impress and the colour that they were diners, i.e. gold.]

[Footnote 110: Lit. I am now become in confusion of or at him (lianneni alan szirtu fi khejaleh (properly khejleh) minhu). Burton, "for that I have been ashamed of waiting upon him."]

[Footnote 111: Lit. "That which was incumbent on me to him."]

[Footnote 112: Lit. "go to (or for) his service," or, as we should say, "attend him."]

[Footnote 113: Burton, "one of the envious;" but the verb is in the plural.]

[Footnote 114: Night DIX.]

[Footnote 115: Et tsenn er redi. Burton, "the evil."]

[Footnote 116: So that they might hang down and hide his feet and hands, it being a point of Arab etiquette for an inferior scrupulously to avoid showing either of these members in presenting himself (especially for the first time) before his superior.]

[Footnote 117: Lit., "religiousness or devoutness (diyaneh) was by nature in him," i.e. he was naturally inclined to respect religion and honour its professors. Burton, "He was by nature conscientious," which does not quite express the meaning of the text; conscientiousness being hardly an Oriental virtue.]

[Footnote 118: Lit, "I may (or shall) ransom him with m' life till I (or so that I may) unite him therewith."]

[Footnote 119: Iftekeret fi rejul.]

[Footnote 120: Terbiyeh. This word is not sufficiently rendered by "education," which modern use has practically restricted to scholastic teaching, though the good old English phrase "to bring up" is of course a literal translation of the Latin educare.]

[Footnote 121: i.e. "I shall owe it to thee."]

[Footnote 122: Lit. "It is certain to me," Constat mihi, fe-meikeni (vulg. for fe-yekin) indi.]

[Footnote 123: Night DX.]

[Footnote 124: Or perhaps "Would I might."]

[Footnote 125: i.e. the contract of marriage.]

[Footnote 126: See my "Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night" passim, especially Vol. I pp. 190 et seq.]

[Footnote 127: Miheffeh, a kind of howdah with a flat roof or top.]

[Footnote 128: Tekht-rewan, a sort of palanquin drawn or carried by mules or camels wherein she could recline at length. Burton renders Miheffeh bi-tekhtrewan "a covered litter to be carried by camels."]

[Footnote 129: Burton adds here, "Thou wouldst feel ruth for me."]

[Footnote 130: Lit. profit, gain (meksib), i.e. the ninth image, which he was to receive as a reward for the faithful execution of his commission.]

[Footnote 131: Night DXI.]

[Footnote 132: [A] nehnu bedna baud an hukm. The word hukm, which commonly signifies the exercise of government or judicial power, is here used metonymically in the sense of the place of dominion, the seat of government. Burton, "Have we fared this far distance by commandment of my bridegroom?"]

[Footnote 133: Or "God forbid!" (Hhasha), a common interjection, implying unconditional denial.]

[Footnote 134: Lit. "The writing of (or he wrote) his writ upon thee" (ketb kitabiki aleiki).]

[Footnote 135: i.e.. at the Last Day, when men will be questioned of their actions.]

[Footnote 136: Night DXII.]

[Footnote 137: Sic (tentsur), but this is probably a copyist's error for "we may see" (nentsur), the difference being only a question of one or two diacritical points over the initial letter.]

[Footnote 138: Here Burton adds, "Indeed I had well nigh determined to forfeit all my profit of the Ninth Statue and to bear thee away to Bassorah as my own bride, when my comrade and councillor dissuaded me from so doing, lest I should bring about my death."]

[Footnote 139: Night DXIII.]

[Footnote 140: Or (vulg.) "I thank him, etc." (istekthertu aleihi elladhi hefitsaha wa sanaha wa hejeba rouhaku anha). Burton, "Albeit I repeatedly enjoined him to defend and protect her until he concealed from her his face."]

[Footnote 141: Or we may read "went out, glad and rejoicing, with (bi) the young lady;" but the reading in the test is more consonant with the general style of the Nights.]

[Footnote 142: Azaa, strictly the formal sitting in state to receive visits of condolence for the death of a relation, but in modern parlance commonly applied, by extension, to the funeral ceremonies themselves.]

[Footnote 143: El kendil el meshhour. The lamp is however more than once mentioned in the course of the tale by the name of "wonderful" (ajib, see post, p. 88, note 4) so familiar to the readers of the old version.]

[Footnote 144: Night DXIV.]

[Footnote 145: Khilafahu, lit. "the contrary thereof;" but the expression is constantly used (instead of the more correct gheirahu) in the sense of "other than it," "the take," etc.]

[Footnote 146: Or "street-boys" (auladu 'l hhareh).]

[Footnote 147: Zeboun.]

[Footnote 148: Burton adds here, "Counsel and castigation were of no avail."]

[Footnote 149: Lit. "had been recalled" (tuwouffia), i.e. by God to Himself.]

[Footnote 150: This old English and Shakspearean expression is the exact equivalent of the Arabic phrase Khelesza min sherr walidihi. Burton, "freed from [bearing] the severities of his sire."]

[Footnote 151: Kanet wayyishuhu. Burton, "lived only by."]

[Footnote 152: Night DXV.]

[Footnote 153: I prefer this old English form of the Arabic word Meghrebiy (a native of El Meghreb or North-Western Africa) to "Moor," as the latter conveys a false impression to the modern reader, who would naturally suppose him to be a native of Morocco, whereas the enchanter came, as will presently appear, from biladu 'l gherbi 'l jewwaniy, otherwise Ifrikiyeh, i.e. "the land of the Inner West" or Africa proper, comprising Tunis, Tripoli and part of A]geria.]

[Footnote 154: Min biladi 'l gherbi 'l jewwaniy. The Muslim provinces of North-Western Africa, extending from the north-western boundary of Egypt to Cape Nun on the Mogador Coast, were known under the general name of El Meghreb (modern Barbary) and were divided into three parts, to wit (1) El Meghreb el Jewwaniy, Inner, i.e. Hither or Nearer (to Egypt) Barbary or Ifrikiyeh, comprising Tripoli, Tunis and Constantine (part of Algeria), (2) El Meghreb el Aouset, Central Barbary. comprising the rest of Algeria, and (3) El Meghreb el Acszaa, Farther or Outer Barbary, comprising the modern empire of Morocco.]

[Footnote 155: El hieh. Burton translates, "astrology," and astrology (or astronomy); is the classical meaning of the word; but the common meaning in modern Arabic is "the science of physiognomy," cf. the Nights passim. See especially ante, p. 42.]

[Footnote 156: Bi-szaut hezin meksour. Burton, "in a soft voice saddened by emotion."]

[Footnote 157: Burton, "brother-german."]

[Footnote 158: Or "comfort myself in him" (ateazza bihi). Burton "condole with him [over the past]."]

[Footnote 159: Lit. "hid not unto me that" (ma ekhfa aleyya an).]

[Footnote 160: Night DXVI.]

[Footnote 161: Teaziyeti. Burton, "I have now railed in the mourning ceremonies."]

[Footnote 162: El bein ked efjaani fihi, i e. "I have been stricken with separation from him." Burton, "Far distance wrought me this trouble."]

[Footnote 163: Lit. "the being (el ka'n, i.e. that which is, the accomplished fact) there is not from it a refuge or place of fleeing" (mehreb). Burton, "nor hath the creature aught of asylum from the Creator."]

[Footnote 164: Or "consolation" (azaa).]

[Footnote 165: Burton, "I have none to condole with now save thyself"]

[Footnote 166: Night DXVII.]

[Footnote 167: Burton, "finding out."]

[Footnote 168: Lit. "He had no longer a heart to part with him," i.e.. he could not bear him out of his sight, Alaeddin being necessary for the achievement of the adventure of the lamp. See post.]

[Footnote 169: El asha. Burton, "the meat."]