Chapter LI: Part 51

The princess, thus delivered from the persecution of the Indian, fell into another no less afflicting to her. The sultan, after he had ordered her a horse, carried her with him to his palace, where he lodged her in the most magnificent apartment, next his own, and gave her a great number of women-slaves to attend her, and a guard of eunuchs. He led her himself into the apartment he assigned her; where, without giving her time to thank him for the great obligation she had to him, he said to her, As I am certain, princess, that you must want rest, I will here take my leave of you till to-morrow, when you will be better able to give me all the circumstances of this strange adventure; and then left her.

The princess of Bengal’s joy was inexpressible to find she was so soon freed from the violence of a man she could not look upon without horror. She flattered herself that the sultan of Caschmire would complete his generosity by sending her back to the prince of Persia, when she told him her story, and asked that favour of him; but she was very much deceived in these hopes, for the sultan of Caschmire resolved to marry her the next day; and for that end had ordered rejoicings to be made by daybreak, by beating of drums and sounding of trumpets, and other instruments expressive of joy, which not only echoed through the palace, but throughout the city.

The princess of Bengal was awakened by those tumultuous concerts, but attributed them to a very different cause from the true one. When the sultan of Caschmire, who had given orders that he should be informed when the princess was ready to receive a visit, came to pay her one; and when he had inquired after her health, he acquainted her that all those rejoicings were to render their nuptials more solemn, and, at the same time, desired her to approve of them. This discourse put her into so great consternation that she fainted away.

The women-slaves who were present ran to her assistance; and the sultan did all he could to bring her to herself again, though it was a long time before they could. But when she recovered, rather than break the promise she had made to prince Firouz Schah, by consenting to marry the sultan of Caschmire, who had proclaimed their nuptials before he had asked her consent, she resolved to feign madness. She began to say the most extravagant things before the sultan, and even rose off her seat to fly upon him; insomuch that the sultan was very much surprised and afflicted that he had made such a proposal so unseasonably.

When he found that her frenzy rather increased than abated, he left her with her women, charging them never to leave her alone, but to take great care of her. He sent often that day to know how she did, but received no other answer but that she was rather worse than better. In short, at night she seemed much worse than she had been all day, insomuch that the sultan of Caschmire was disappointed of the happiness he promised himself.

The princess of Bengal continued to talk wildly, and show other marks of a disordered mind, next day and the following ones; so that the sultan was obliged to send for all the physicians belonging to his court, to consult them about her disease, and to ask them if they could cure her.

The physicians all agreed that there were several sorts and degrees of this distemper, some curable and others not; and told the sultan that they could not judge of the princess of Bengal’s, unless they saw her: upon which the sultan ordered the eunuchs to introduce them into the princess’s chamber, one after another, according to their rank.

The princess, who foresaw what would happen, and feared that, if she let the physicians come near her to feel her pulse, the least experienced of them would soon know that she was in a good state of health, and that her madness was only feigned, flew into such a rage and passion, that she was ready to tear out their eyes who came near her; so none of them durst approach her.

Some of them, who pretended to be more skilful than the rest, and boasted of judging of diseases only by sight, ordered her some potions, which she made the less difficulty to take, well knowing she could be sick or well at pleasure, and that they could do her no harm.

When the sultan of Caschmire saw that his court physicians could not cure her, he called in the most noted and experienced of the city, who had all no better success. Afterwards he sent for the most famous in the kingdom, who met with no better reception than the others from the princess, and what they ordered had no better effect. Afterwards he despatched expresses to the courts of neighbouring princes, with the princess’s case, to be distributed among the most famous physicians, with a promise of a handsome reward to any of them who should come and cure the princess of Bengal, besides travelling charges.

A great many physicians came from all parts, and undertook the cure; but none of them could boast of better success than their fellows, or of restoring the princess’s faculties, since it was a case that did not depend on their skill, but on the will of the princess herself.

During this interval, prince Firouz Schah, disguised in the habit of a dervise, had travelled through a great many provinces and towns, full of grief; and having endured a great deal of fatigue, not knowing which way to direct his course, or if he did not take the very opposite road from what he ought, to hear the tidings he sought. He made diligent inquiry after her at every place he came to, till at last, passing through a great town in India, he heard the people talk very much of a princess of Bengal, who ran mad on the day of the celebration of her nuptials with the sultan of Caschmire. At the name of the princess of Bengal, and supposing that there was no other princess of Bengal than her upon whose account he undertook his travels, he set forwards for the kingdom of Caschmire, on this common report; and on his arrival at the capital city, he went and lodged at a khan, where the same day he was told the story of the princess of Bengal, and the unhappy fate of the Indian, which he richly deserved. By all the circumstances, the prince knew he could not be deceived, but that she was the same princess he had sought so long after.

The prince of Persia, being informed of all these particulars, provided himself against the next day with a physician’s habit, and, having let his beard grow during his travels, he passed for a physician; and, through the greatness of his impatience to see the princess, went to the sultan’s palace, where, presenting himself to the chief of the officers, he told him that perhaps it might be looked upon as a very bold undertaking in him to offer himself as a physician to attempt the cure of the princess after so many had failed; but that he hoped some specifics, which he had had great experience of, and success from, would effect the cure. The chief of the officers told him he was very welcome, that the sultan would receive him with pleasure, and that if he should have the good fortune to restore the princess to her former health, he might expect a considerable reward from the sultan his master’s liberality: Stay a moment, added he, I will come to you again presently.

It had been a long time since any physician had offered himself; and the sultan of Caschmire with great grief had begun to lose all hope of ever seeing the princess of Bengal restored to her former health, that he might marry her, and show how much he loved her. He ordered the officer to introduce to him the physician he had announced.

The prince of Persia was presented to the sultan of Caschmire in the habit and disguise of a physician; and the sultan, without wasting time in superfluous discourse, after having told him the princess of Bengal could not bear the sight of a physician without falling into the most violent transports, which increased her distemper, carried him into a closet, from whence, through a window, he might see her without being seen.

There prince Firouz Schah saw his lovely princess sit carelessly singing a song with tears in her eyes, in which she deplored her unhappy fate, which deprived her, perhaps for ever, of the object she loved so tenderly.

The prince was so sensibly affected at the melancholy condition he found his dear princess in, that he wanted no other signs to comprehend that her distemper was feigned, and that it was for love of him that she was under so grievous a constraint. When he came out of the closet, he told the sultan that he had discovered the nature of the princess’s distemper, and that she was not incurable; but added withal, that he must speak with her in private, and by himself; and, notwithstanding her violent fits at the sight of physicians, he hoped she would hear and receive him favourably.

The sultan ordered the princess’s chamber door to be opened, and prince Firouz Schah went in. As soon as the princess saw him, (taking him by his habit to be a physician) she rose up in a rage, threatening him, and giving him the most abusive language. He made directly towards her; and when he was nigh enough for her to hear him, for he did not wish to be heard by any one else, he said to her, in a low voice, and in a most respectful manner, to make her believe him, Princess, I am not a physician, but the prince of Persia, and am come to procure you your liberty.

The princess, who presently knew the sound of the voice, and the upper features of his face, notwithstanding he had let his beard grow so long, grew calm at once, and a secret joy and pleasure overspread her face, the effect of seeing the person she so much desired so unexpectedly. Her agreeable surprise deprived her for some time of the use of her speech, and gave prince Firouz Schah time to tell her as briefly as possible how despair seized him when he saw the Indian carry her away; the resolution he took afterwards, to leave every thing to find her out wherever she was, and never to return home till he had found her, and forced her out of the hands of the perfidious wretch; and by what good fortune at last, after a long and fatiguing journey, he had the satisfaction to find her in the palace of the sultan of Caschmire. He then desired the princess to inform him of all that happened to her from the time she was taken away till that moment when he had the happiness to converse with her, telling her, that it was of the greatest importance to know this, that he might take the most proper measures to deliver her from the tyranny of the sultan of Caschmire.

The princess of Bengal told the prince how she was delivered from the Indian’s violence by the sultan of Caschmire, as he was returning home from hunting; but how ill she was treated the next day, by a declaration he had made of his precipitate design to marry her that very day, without the least civil office of asking her consent; that this violent and tyrannical conduct put her into a swoon; after which, she thought she had no other way than what she had taken to preserve herself for a prince to whom she had given her heart and faith, or die rather than marry the sultan, whom she neither loved, nor ever could love.

Then the prince of Persia asked her if she knew what was become of the horse after the Indian’s death. To which she answered, that she knew not what orders the sultan had given about it; but believed, after the account she had given him of it, he would take care of it.

As prince Firouz Schah never doubted but that the sultan had the horse, he communicated to the princess his design of making use of it to carry them both back into Persia; and after they had consulted together on the measures they were to take, and that nothing might prevent the execution of them, they agreed that the princess should dress herself the next day, and receive the sultan civilly when he brought him to her, but without speaking to him.

The sultan of Caschmire was overjoyed when the prince of Persia gave him an account what effect his first visit had towards the cure of the princess of Bengal. And the next day, when the princess received him after such a manner as persuaded him her cure was far advanced, he looked upon him as the greatest physician in the world; and seeing her in this state, contented himself with telling her how rejoiced he was to see her so likely soon to recover her health completely. He exhorted her to follow the directions of so thoughtful a physician, to complete what he had so well begun; and then retired, without waiting for her answer.

The prince of Persia, who attended the sultan of Caschmire out of the princess’s chamber, as he accompanied him, asked him if, without failing in due respect, he misfit inquire, How the princess of Bengal came into the dominions of Caschmire thus alone, since her own country lies so far off? This he said on purpose to introduce some discourse about the enchanted horse, and to know what was become of it.

The sultan of Caschmire, who could not penetrate into the prince of Persia’s motive for asking that question, concealed nothing from him; but told him much the same story as the princess of Bengal had done; adding, that he had ordered the enchanted horse to be kept safe in his treasury as a great curiosity, though he knew not the use of it.

Sir, replied the pretended physician, the information which your majesty gives me affords me a means of curing the princess. As she was brought hither on this horse, and the horse is enchanted, she hath contracted something of the enchantment, which can be dissipated only by certain incense which I am acquainted with. If your majesty would be pleased to entertain yourself, your court, and the people of your capital, with the most surprising sight that ever was seen, let the horse be brought into the great square before the palace, and leave the rest to me. I promise to show you, and all that assembly, in a few moments’ time, the princess of Bengal as well in body and mind as ever she was in her life. But, the better to effect what I propose, it would be proper that the princess should be dressed as magnificently as possible, and adorned with the best jewels your majesty has. The sultan would have undertaken much more difficult things to have arrived at the enjoyment of his desires, as he expected to do soon.

The next day the enchanted horse was, by his order, taken out of the treasury, and placed early in the great square before the palace. A report was spread through the town, that there was something extraordinary to be seen, and crowds of people flocked thither from all parts, insomuch that the sultan’s guards were placed to prevent disorder, and to keep space enough round the horse.

The sultan of Caschmire, surrounded with all his nobles and ministers of state, was placed on a scaffold erected on purpose. The princess of Bengal, attended by a vast number of ladies which the sultan had assigned her, went up to the enchanted horse, and the women helped her to get upon its back. When she was fixed in the saddle, and had the bridle in her hand, the pretended physician placed round the horse a great many vessels full of fire, which he had ordered to be brought, and going round it, he cast a strong and grateful perfume into those pots; then, collected in himself, with downcast eyes, and his hands upon his breast, he ran three times about the horse, making as if he pronounced certain words. The moment the pots sent forth a dark cloud of pleasant smell, which so surrounded the princess, that neither she nor the horse were to be discerned, watching his opportunity, the prince jumped nimbly up behind her, and, reaching his hand to the peg, turned it; and just as the horse rose with them into the air, he pronounced these words, which the sultan heard distinctly: Sultan of Caschmire, when you would marry princesses who implore your protection, learn first to obtain their consent.

Thus the prince of Persia recovered and delivered the princess of Bengal, and carried her that same day to the capital of Persia, where he alighted in the midst of the palace, before the king his father’s apartment, who deferred the solemnization of the marriage no longer than till he could make the preparations necessary to render the ceremony pompous and magnificent, and express the interest he took in it.

After the days appointed for the rejoicing were over, the king of Persia’s first care was to name and appoint an ambassador to go to give the king of Bengal an account of what was past, and to demand his approbation and ratification of the alliance contracted by this marriage; which the king of Bengal took as an honour, and granted with great pleasure and satisfaction.

The Story of Prince Ahmed, and the Fairy Pari Banou. [103]

There was a sultan who had peaceably filled the throne of India many years, and had the satisfaction in his old age to have three sons, the worthy imitators of his virtues, who, with the princess his niece, were the ornaments of his court. The eldest of the princes was called Houssain, the second Ali, the youngest Ahmed, and the princess his niece Nouronnihar. [104]

The princess Nouronnihar was the daughter of the younger brother of the sultan, to whom the sultan in his lifetime allowed a considerable revenue. But that prince had not been married long before he died, and left the princess very young. The sultan, in consideration of the brotherly love and friendship that had always subsisted between them, besides a great attachment to his person, took upon himself the care of his daughter’s education, and brought her up in his palace with the three princes; where her singular beauty and personal accomplishments, joined to a lively wit and irreproachable virtue, distinguished her among all the princesses of her time.

The sultan, her uncle, proposed to marry her when she arrived at a proper age, and to contract an alliance with some neighbouring prince by that means; and was thinking seriously on that affair, when he perceived that the three princes his sons loved her passionately. He was very much concerned, but his grief did not proceed from a consideration that their passion prevented his forming the alliance he designed, but the difficulty he foresaw to make them agree, and that the two youngest should consent to yield her up to their elder brother. He spoke to each of them apart; and after having remonstrated on the impossibility of one princess being the wife of three persons, and the troubles they would create if they persisted in their passion, he did all he could to persuade them to abide by a declaration of the princess in favour of one of them; or to desist from their pretensions, and to think of other matches, which he left them free liberty to choose, and suffer her to be married to a foreign prince. But as he found them obstinate, he sent for them altogether, and said to them, Children, since for your good and quiet I have not been able to persuade you no longer to aspire to marry the princess your cousin; and as I have no inclination to make use of my authority, to give her to one preferable before the other two, I fancy I have thought of a proper expedient which will please you all, and preserve the union among you, if you will but hear me, and follow my advice. I think it would not be amiss, if every one travelled separately into different countries, so that you might not meet each other: and as you know I am very curious, and delight in every thing that is rare and singular, I promise my niece in marriage to him that shall bring me the most extraordinary rarity; so that as chance may lead you to form your own judgment of the singularity of the things which you bring, by the comparison you make of them, you will have no difficulty to do yourselves justice by yielding the preference to him who has deserved it; and for the expense of travelling, I will give each of you a sum agreeable to your birth, and the purchase of the rarity you shall go in search after; which shall not be laid out in an equipage and attendants, which by discovering who you are, would not only deprive you of the liberty to acquit yourselves of the inquiry you go about, but prevent your observing those things which merit your attention, and may be most useful to you.

As the three princes were always submissive and obedient to the sultan’s will, and each flattered himself fortune might prove favourable to him, and give him the possession of the princess Nouronnihar, they all consented to it. The sultan gave them the money he promised them; and that very day they issued orders for the preparations for their travels, and took leave of the sultan, that they might be ready to set out early next morning. They all went out at the same gate of the city, each dressed like a merchant, attended by a trusty officer, dressed like a slave, and all well mounted and equipped. They went the first day’s journey together, and slept at the first inn, where the road divided into three different tracks. At night when they were at supper together, they all agreed to travel for a year, and to make that inn their rendezvous; and that the first that came should wait for the rest; that as they had all three taken leave together of the sultan, they might all return together. The next morning by break of day, after they had embraced and wished each other reciprocally good success, they mounted their horses, and took each a different road.

Prince Houssain, the eldest brother, who had heard wonders of the extent, strength, riches, and splendour of the kingdom of Bisnagar, bent his course towards the Indian coast; and, after three months’ travelling, joining himself to different caravans, sometimes over deserts and barren mountains, and sometimes through populous and fertile countries, arrived at Bisnagar, the capital of the kingdom of that name, and the residence of its king. He lodged at a khan appointed for foreign merchants, and having learnt that there were four principal divisions where merchants of all sorts kept their shops, in the midst of which stood the castle, or rather the king’s palace, on a large extent of ground, as the centre of the city, and surrounded with three courts, and each gate distant two leagues from the other, he went to one of these quarters the next day.

Prince Houssain could not view this quarter without admiration. It was large, and divided into several streets, all vaulted and shaded from the sun, and yet very light. The shops were all of the same size and proportion; and all that dealt in the same sort of goods, as well as all the artists, lived in one street.

The multitude of shops stocked with all kinds of merchandises, such as the finest linens from several parts of India, some painted in the most lively colours, and representing men, landscapes, trees, and flowers; silks and brocades, from Persia, China, and other places; porcelain from Japan and China; foot carpets of all sizes; surprised him so much, that he knew not how to believe his own eyes; but when he came to the shops of the goldsmiths and jewellers, (for those two trades were exercised by the same merchants,) he was in a kind of ecstasy, to behold such prodigious quantities of wrought gold and silver, and was dazzled by the lustre of the pearls, diamonds, rubies, emeralds, and other precious stones exposed to sale. But if he was amazed at seeing so many riches in one place, he was much more surprised when he came to judge of the wealth of the whole kingdom, by considering, that except the bramins, and ministers of the idols, who profess a life retired from worldly vanity, there was not an Indian man or woman, through the extent of that kingdom, but wore necklaces, bracelets, and ornaments about their legs and feet, made of pearls, and other precious stones, which appeared with the greater lustre, as they were blacks, which colour admirably set off their brilliancy.

Another thing prince Houssain particularly admired, was the great number of rose sellers, who crowded the streets; for the Indians are so great lovers of that flower, that not one will stir without a nosegay of them in his hand, or a garland of them on his head; and the merchants keep them in pots in the shops, so that the air of the whole quarter, however large, is perfectly perfumed.

After prince Houssain had run through that quarter, street by street, his thoughts fully employed on the riches he had seen, he was very much tired; which a merchant perceiving, civilly invited him to sit down in his shop. He accepted his offer; but had not been seated long before he saw a crier pass by with a piece of carpet on his arm, about six feet square, and cry it at thirty purses. The prince called to the crier, and asked to see the carpeting, which seemed to him to be valued at an exorbitant price, not only for the size of it, but the meanness of the stuff. When he had examined it well, he told the crier, that he could not comprehend how so small a piece of carpeting, and of so indifferent an appearance, could be set at so high a price.

The crier, who took him for a merchant, replied, Sir, if this price seems so extravagant to you, your amazement will be greater when I tell you I have orders to raise it to forty purses, and not to part with it under. Certainly, answered prince Houssain, it must have something very extraordinary in it, which I know nothing of. You have guessed it, sir, replied the crier, and will own it when you come to know, that whoever sits on this piece of carpeting may be transported in an instant wherever he desires to be, without being stopped by any obstacle. [105]

At this discourse of the crier, the prince of the Indies, considering that the principal motive of his travel was to carry the sultan his father home some singular rarity, thought that he could not meet with any which would give more satisfaction. If the carpeting, said he to the crier, has the virtue you assign it, I shall not think it too much; but shall make you a present besides. Sir, replied the crier, I have told you the truth; and it will be an easy matter to convince you of it, as soon as you have made the bargain for forty purses, on condition I show you the experiment. But as I suppose you have not so much with you, and to receive them I must go with you to the khan where you lodge, with the leave of the master of the shop, we will go into the back shop, and I will spread the carpeting; and when we have both sat down, and you have formed the wish to be transported into your apartment at the khan, if we are not transported thither it shall be no bargain, and you shall be at your liberty. As to your present, as I am paid for my trouble by the seller, I shall receive it as a favour, and be very much obliged to you for it.

On the credit of the crier, the prince accepted the conditions, and concluded the bargain; and having obtained the master’s leave, they went into his back-shop: they both sat down on the carpeting; and as soon as the prince formed his wish to be transported into his apartment at the khan, he presently found himself and the crier there in the same situation; and as he wanted not a more sufficient proof of the virtue of the carpeting, he counted to the crier forty purses of gold, and gave him twenty pieces for himself.

In this manner prince Houssain became the possessor of the carpeting, and was overjoyed that at his arrival at Bisnagar he had found so rare a piece, which he never doubted would gain the possession of Nouronnihar. In short, he looked upon it as an impossible thing for the princes, his younger brothers, to meet with any thing to be compared with it. It was in his power, by sitting on this carpeting, to be at the place of rendezvous that very day; but as he was obliged to stay there for his brothers, as they had agreed, and as he was curious to see the king of Bisnagar and his court, and to inform himself of the strength, laws, customs, and religion of the kingdom, he chose to make a longer abode there, and to spend some months in satisfying his curiosity.

It was a custom of the king of Bisnagar to give all strange merchants access to his person once a week; and by that title prince Houssain, who would not be known, saw him often: and as this prince was handsome, witty, and extremely polite, he easily distinguished himself among the merchants, and was preferred before them all by the sultan, who addressed himself to him, to be informed of the person of the sultan of the Indies, and of the government, strength, and riches of his dominions.

The rest of his time the prince spent in seeing what was most remarkable in and about the city; and among those things which were most worthy of admiration, he visited a temple of idols, remarkable for being built all of brass. It was ten cubits square, and fifteen high; and the greatest ornament to it was an idol of the height of a man, of massy gold; its eyes were two rubies, set so artificially, that it seemed to look at those who looked at it, on which side soever they turned: besides this, there was another not less curious, in a village, in the midst of a plain of about ten acres, which was a delicious garden full of roses and the choicest flowers, surrounded with a small wall breast high, to keep the cattle out. In the midst of this plain was raised a terrace, a man’s height, so nicely paved, that the whole pavement seemed to be but one single stone. A temple was erected in the middle of this terrace, with a dome about fifty cubits high, which might be seen for several leagues round. It was thirty cubits long, and twenty broad, built of red marble, highly polished. The inside of the dome was adorned with three rows of fine paintings, in good taste; and there was not a place in the whole temple but what was embellished with paintings, basso relievos, and figures of idols from top to bottom.

Every night and morning there were superstitious ceremonies performed in this temple, which were always succeeded by sports, concerts of music, dancing, singing, and feasts. The ministers of the temple, and the inhabitants of the place, had nothing to subsist on but the offerings of pilgrims, who came in crowds from the most distant parts of the kingdom to perform their vows.

Prince Houssain was also spectator of a solemn feast, which was celebrated every year at the court of Bisnagar, at which all the governors of provinces, commanders of fortified places, all governors and judges of towns, and the bramins most celebrated for their learning, were obliged to be present; and some lived so far off that they were four months in coming. This assembly, composed of such innumerable multitudes of Indians, met in a plain of vast extent, was a glorious sight, as far as the eye could reach. In the centre of this plain was a square of great length and breadth, closed on one side by a large scaffolding of nine stories, supported by forty pillars, raised for the king and his court, and those strangers he admitted to audience once a week; within it was adorned and furnished magnificently; and on the outside were painted fine landscapes, wherein all sorts of beasts, birds, and insects, even flies and gnats, were drawn very naturally. Other scaffolds of at least four or five stories, and painted almost all alike, formed the other three sides. But what was more particular in these scaffolds, they could turn them, and make them change their situation and decorations every hour.

On each side of the square, at some little distance from each other, were ranged 1000 elephants, sumptuously harnessed, and each having upon his back a square wooden castle, finely gilt, in which were musicians and stage-players. The trunks, ears, and bodies of these elephants were painted with cinnabar and other colours, representing grotesque figures.

But what prince Houssain most of all admired, as a proof of the industry, address, and inventive genius of the Indians, was to see the largest of these elephants stand with his four feet on a post fixed into the earth, and standing out of it above two feet, playing and beating time with his trunk to the music. Besides this, he admired another elephant as big as this, set upon a board, which was laid across a strong beam about ten feet high, with a great weight at the other end, which balanced him, while he kept time, by the motions of his body and trunk, with the music, as well as the other elephant. The Indians, after having fastened on the counterpoise, had drawn the other end of the board down to the ground, and made the elephant get upon it.

Prince Houssain might have made a longer stay in the kingdom and court of Bisnagar, where he would have been agreeably diverted by a great variety of other wonders, till the last day of the year, whereon he and his brothers had appointed to meet. But he was so well satisfied with what he had seen, and his thoughts ran so much upon the object of his love, that after his good success in meeting with this carpeting, the beauty and charms of the princess Nouronnihar increased every day the violence of his passion, and he fancied he should be the more easy and happy the nearer he was to her. After he had satisfied the master of the khan for his apartment, and told him the hour when he might come for the key, without telling him how he should go, he shut the door, put the key on the outside, and spreading the carpeting, he and the officer he had brought with him sat down on it, and as soon as he had formed his wish, were transported to the inn at which he and his brothers were to meet, and where he passed for a merchant till they came.

Prince Ali, prince Houssain’s second brother, who designed to travel into Persia, in conformity to the intention of the sultan of the Indies, took that road, having three days after he parted with his brothers joined a caravan; and after four months travelling, arrived at Schiraz, which was then the capital of the kingdom of Persia; and having in the way contracted a friendship with some merchants, passed for a jeweller, and lodged in the same khan with them.

The next morning, while the merchants opened their bales of merchandises, prince Ali, who travelled only for his pleasure, and had brought nothing but necessaries with him, after he had dressed himself, took a walk into that quarter of the town where they sold precious stones, gold and silver works, brocades, silks, fine linens, and other choice and valuable merchandises, and which was at Schiraz called the bezestein. It was a spacious and well-built place, arched over, and the arches supported by large pillars, round which, as well as along the walls, within and without, were shops. Prince Ali soon rambled through the bezestein, and with admiration judged of the riches of the place by the prodigious quantities of the most precious merchandises that were there exposed to view.

But among all the criers who passed backwards and forwards with several sorts of goods, offering to sell them, he was not a little surprised to see one who held in his hand an ivory tube, of about a foot in length, and about an inch thick, and cried it at thirty purses. At first he thought the crier mad, and to inform himself, went to a shop, and said to the merchant, who stood at the door, Pray, sir, is not that man (pointing to the crier, who cried the ivory tube at thirty purses) mad? If he is not, I am very much deceived. Indeed, sir, answered the merchant, he was in his right senses yesterday; and I can assure you he is one of the ablest criers we have, and the most employed of any, as being to be confided in, when any thing valuable is to be sold; and, if he cries the ivory tube at thirty purses, it must be worth as much, or more, on some account or other which does not appear. He will come by presently, and we will call him, and you shall satisfy yourself: in the mean time, sit down on my sofa, and rest yourself.

Prince Ali accepted of the merchant’s obliging offer, and presently afterwards the crier passed by. The merchant called him by his name; and, pointing to the prince, said to him, Tell that gentleman, who asked me if you were in your right senses, what you mean by crying that ivory tube, which seems not to be worth much, at thirty purses. I should be very much amazed myself, if I did not know you were a sensible man. The crier, addressing himself to prince Ali, said, Sir, you are not the only person that takes me for a madman on the account of this tube: you shall judge yourself whether I am or no, when I have told you its property; and I hope you will value it at as high a price as those I have showed it to already, who had as bad an opinion of me as you have.

First, sir, pursued the crier, presenting the ivory tube to the prince, observe, that this tube is furnished with a glass at both ends; and consider, that, by looking through one of them, you see whatever object you wish to behold. I am, said the prince, ready to make you all proper reparation for the scandal I have thrown on you, if you will make the truth of what you advance appear; and, as he had the ivory tube in his hand, after he had looked at the two glasses, he said, Show me at which of these ends I must look, that I may be satisfied. The crier presently showed him; and he looked through, wishing, at the same time, to see the sultan his father, whom he immediately beheld in perfect health, sitting on his throne, in the midst of his council. Afterwards, as there was nothing in the world so dear to him, after the sultan, as the princess Nouronnihar, he wished to see her; and saw her sitting at her toilet, laughing, and in a pleasant humour, with her women about her. [106]

Prince Ali wanted no other proof to persuade him that this tube was the most valuable thing, not only in the city of Schiraz, but in all the world; and believed that, if he should neglect to purchase it, he should never meet again with such another rarity. He said to the crier, I am very sorry that I should have entertained so bad an opinion of you, but hope to make you amends by buying the tube, for I should be sorry if any body else had it: so tell me the lowest price the seller has fixed upon it; and do not give yourself any farther trouble to hawk it about, but go with me, and I will pay you the money. The crier assured him, with an oath, that his last orders were to take no less than forty purses; and, if he disputed the truth of what he said, he would carry him to his employer. The prince believed him, took him with him to the khan where he lodged, told him out the money, and received the tube.

Prince Ali was overjoyed at his bargain; and persuaded himself that, as his brothers would not be able to meet with any thing so rare and admirable, the princess Nouronnihar would be the recompense of his fatigue and trouble. He thought now of only visiting the court of Persia incognito, and seeing whatever was curious in and about Schiraz, till the caravan with which he came returned back to the Indies. He had satisfied his curiosity, when the caravan was ready to set out. The prince joined them, and arrived happily without any accident or trouble, otherwise than the length of the journey and fatigue of travelling, at the place of rendezvous, where he found prince Houssain, and both waited for prince Ahmed.

Prince Ahmed took the road of Samarcande; and the next day after his arrival there, went, as his brothers had done, into the bezestein; where he had not walked long, but he heard a crier, who had an artificial apple in his hand, cry it at five-and-thirty purses. He stopped the crier, and said to him, Let me see that apple, and tell me what virtue or extraordinary property it has, to be valued at so high a rate. Sir, said the crier, giving it into his hand, if you look at the outside of the apple, it is very inconsiderable; but if you consider its properties, virtues, and the great use, and benefit it is of to mankind, you will say it is invaluable, and it is certain that he who possesses it, is master of a great treasure. It cures all sick persons of the most mortal diseases, whether fever, pleurisy, plague, or other malignant distempers; and, if the patient is dying, it will recover him immediately, and restore him to perfect health: and this is done after the easiest manner in the world, merely by the patient’s smelling to the apple.

If one may believe you, replied prince Ahmed, the virtues of this apple are wonderful, and it is indeed invaluable: but what ground has a plain man like myself, who may wish to become the purchaser, to be persuaded that there is no disguise nor exaggeration in the high praises you bestow on it. Sir, replied the crier, the thing is known and averred by the whole city of Samarcande; but, without going any farther, ask all these merchants you see here, and hear what they say; you will find several of them will tell you, they had not been alive this day if they had not made use of this excellent remedy; and, that you may the better comprehend what it is, I must tell you, it is the fruit of the study and experience of a celebrated philosopher of this city, who applied himself all his lifetime to the knowledge of the virtues of plants and minerals, and at last attained to this composition, by which he performed such surprising cures in this city as will never be forgotten; but died suddenly himself, before he could apply his own sovereign remedy, and left his wife and a great many young children behind him in very indifferent circumstances; who, to support her family, and provide for her children, has resolved to sell it.

While the crier was telling prince Ahmed the virtues of the artificial apple, a great many persons came about them, and confirmed what he said; and one among the rest said he had a friend dangerously ill, whose life was despaired of, which was a favourable opportunity to show prince Ahmed the experiment. Upon which prince Ahmed told the crier, he would give him forty purses if he cured the sick person by smelling to it.

The crier, who had orders to sell it at that price, said to prince Ahmed, Come, sir, let us go and make the experiment, and the apple shall be yours; and I say this with the greater confidence, as it is an undoubted fact that it will always have the same effect as it already has had as often as it has been employed to recover from death so many sick persons whose life was despaired of. In short, the experiment succeeded; and the prince, after he had counted out to the crier forty purses, and the other had delivered the apple to him, waited with the greatest impatience for the first caravan that should return to the Indies. In the mean time he saw all that was curious at and about Samarcande, and principally the valley of Sogda, [107] so called from the river which waters it, and is reckoned by the Arabians to be one of the four paradises of the world, for the beauty of its fields and gardens, and the fine palaces, and for its fertility in fruit of all sorts, and all the other pleasures enjoyed there in the fine season.

At last prince Ahmed joined himself to the first caravan that returned to the Indies, and, notwithstanding the inevitable inconveniences of so long a journey, arrived in perfect health at the inn where the princes Houssain and Ali waited for him.

Prince Ali, who came there some time before prince Ahmed, asked prince Houssain, who got thither the first, how long he had been there; who told him, three months: to which he replied, Then certainly you have not been very far. I will tell you nothing now, said prince Houssain, where I have been, but only assure you I was above three months travelling to the place I went to. But then, replied prince Ali, you made a short stay there. Indeed, brother, said prince Houssain, you are mistaken: I resided at one place above four or five months, and might have stayed longer. Unless you flew back, replied prince Ali again, I cannot comprehend how you can have been three months here, as you would make me believe.

I tell you the truth, added prince Houssain, and it is a riddle which I shall not explain to you till our brother Ahmed comes; when I will let you know what rarity I have brought home from my travels. For your part, I know not what you have got, but believe it to be some trifle, because I do not perceive that your baggage is increased. And pray what have you brought? replied prince Ali; for I can see nothing but an ordinary piece of carpeting, with which you cover your sofa, and therefore I think I may return your raillery; and, as you seem to make what you brought a secret, you cannot take it amiss that I do the same with respect to what I have brought.

I look upon the rarity I have purchased, replied prince Houssain, to excel all others whatever, and should not make any difficulty to show it you, and make you agree that it is so, and at the same time tell you how I came by it, without being in the least apprehensive that that which you have got is to be preferred to it. But it is proper that we should stay till our brother Ahmed arrives, that we may all communicate our good fortune to each other.

Prince Ali would not enter into a dispute with prince Houssain on the preference he gave his rarity, but was satisfied and persuaded, that, if his perspective glass was not preferable, it was impossible it should be inferior to it; and therefore agreed to stay till prince Ahmed arrived, to produce his purchase.

When prince Ahmed came to his brothers, and they had embraced with tenderness, and complimented each other on the happiness of meeting together at the same place they set out from, prince Houssain, as the elder brother, assumed the discourse, and said to them, Brothers, we shall have time enough hereafter to entertain ourselves with the particulars of our travels; let us come to that which is of the greatest importance for us to know; and, as I do not doubt you remember the principal motive which engaged us to travel, let us not conceal from each other the curiosities we have brought home, but show them, that we may do ourselves justice beforehand, and see to which of us the sultan our father may give the preference.

To set the example, continued prince Houssain, I will tell you that the rarity which I have brought from my travels to the kingdom of Bisnagar, is the carpeting on which I sit, which looks but ordinary, and makes no show; but, when I have declared its virtues to you, you will be struck with admiration, and will confess you never heard of any thing like it. In short, whoever sits on it, as we do, and desires to be transported to any place, be it ever so far off, is immediately carried thither. I made the experiment myself before I paid down the forty purses, which I most readily gave for it; and when I had fully satisfied my curiosity, at the court of Bisnagar, and had a mind to return, I made use of no other carriage than this wonderful carpet for myself and servant, who can tell you how long we were coming hither. I will show you both the experiment whenever you please. I expect that you shall tell me whether what you have brought is to be compared with this carpet.

Here prince Houssain made an end of commending the excellency of his carpet; and prince Ali, addressing himself to him, said, I must own, brother, that your carpet is one of the most surprising things imaginable, if it has, as I do not doubt in the least, that property you speak of. But you must allow that there may be other things, I will not say more, but at least as wonderful, in another way; and to convince you there are, here is an ivory tube, which appears to the eye no more a rarity than your carpet, and yet merits great attention; it cost me as much, and I am as well satisfied with my purchase as you can be with yours; and you will be so just as to own that I have not been cheated, when you know by experience, that by looking at one end, you see whatever object you wish to behold. I would not have you take my word, added prince Ali, presenting the tube to him; take it, make trial of it yourself.

Prince Houssain took the ivory tube from prince Ali, and clapped that end to his eye which prince Ali showed him, with an intention to see the princess Nouronnihar, and to know how she did; when prince Ali and prince Ahmed, who kept their eyes fixed upon him, were extremely surprised to see his countenance change on a sudden in such a manner as expressed an extraordinary surprise and affliction. Prince Houssain would not give them time to ask what was the matter, but cried out, Alas! princes, to what purpose have we undertaken so long and fatiguing journeys, but with the hopes of being recompensed by the possession of the charming Nouronnihar, when in a few moments that lovely princess will breathe her last. I saw her in her bed, surrounded by her women and eunuchs, who were all in tears, and seem to expect nothing less than to see her give up the ghost. Take the tube, behold yourselves the miserable state she is in, and mingle your tears with mine.

Prince Ali took the tube out of prince Houssain’s hand, and after he had seen the same object with a sensible grief, presented it to prince Ahmed, who took it, to behold the melancholy sight which so much concerned them all.