The Project Gutenberg EBook of Princess Badoura, by Laurence Housman This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. Title: Princess Badoura A tale from the Arabian Nights Author: Laurence Housman Illustrator: Edmund Dulac Release Date: February 14, 2016 [EBook #51219] Language: English Character set encoding: UTF-8 *** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PRINCESS BADOURA *** Produced by Madeleine Fournier. Images from the Collection of The Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County. Princess Badoura Princess Badoura A tale from the Arabian Nights Retold by Laurence Housman illustrated by Edmund Dulac Hodder and Stoughton Transcriber's Note: You may click on the plates to display a larger version. List of Illustrations Princess Badoura Frontispiece page Dahnash and Meymooneh 'As she rose up through clouds there passed one she knew by his tail to be Dahnash.' 16 The King of China and Badoura 'The King came in haste, and found that which till now he had only pretended, concerning his daughter, apparently come true.' 24 Camaralzaman as an Astrologer 'At last the King heard him, and said to the Vizier, "Go down and bring the Astrologer in."' 40 Camaralzaman Cures Badoura 'She ran forth, and threw herself into the arms of Camaralzaman.' 48 Camaralzaman Finds the Talisman 'The Prince saw the girdle, and knotted within its folds, a large stone.' 64 Prince Camaralzaman and the Birds 'In the leaves overhead he saw one furiously attacking another with beak and claw.' 72 Badoura Watching the Ship 'It so happened as the ship came into the harbour, Badoura was looking out towards the sea.' 88 Capture of Camaralzaman 'The captain of the ship goes to capture Camaralzaman at the command of Badoura.' 96 The Final Marriage Procession 112 A Tale from The Arabian Nights Retold by Laurence Housman The Sultan Shahriar stands out to fame as the greatest monogamist in all history. Having been deceived by his first wife, he caused her to be put to death, and then proceeded to avenge himself upon a thousand others. Faithful to his monogamic instincts, he married a fresh wife every day, and on the morning of the next became a widower. Having thus achieved faith to a thousand dead maidens—all equally beloved in turn—he may, in his heart of hearts, have found that change, so doggedly insisted on, did but mean boredom, and so may readily have welcomed any excuse to relax a performance to which he had bound himself by many religious oaths. But, if he had a heart, the old Eastern chronicler has neglected to tell us what was in it; and at the point where his sacrificial bridals have become monotonous, the interest of the story shifts from bridegroom to bride, and Scheherazade, daughter of the Grand Vizier, witty, courageous, resourceful, and most prolix of all delightful tale-tellers, adventurously enters the royal menage, and becomes his only surviving wife. For Scheherazade, intent on saving the lives of others, brings her bridesmaid with her, a younger sister named Dinarzade; and when the morning light comes to tell her that death is near, Dinarzade—prompted thereto beforehand— stirs in her attendant place at the foot of the couch, and asks for the sake of old times that one last tale may be told. Shahriar, at the bride's humble request, grants permission, and from that moment is in the toils of the plot which has made his name so secondary in importance to hers. Scheherazade, 'to do a great right, does a little wrong': by her entrancing powers of narrative, always interrupted when the interest of each story is at its height, she breeds in her tyrant lord infirmity of will, and destroys the only principle of conduct wherewith he set out to teach woman her place. For the thousand and one nights which have given their name to the world's most famous collection of stories, he lives blissfully forsworn, postponing the execution of his wife to another day; and at the end, repenting him of his vows, does [Pg 1] [Pg 2] [Pg 3] what we still make our kings do in England when justice has gone astray, and bestows his 'free pardon' upon innocence. The story which is here retold, with many of its life-saving prolixities omitted, has the distinction of being, according to some versions, the last of all: it witnesses the accomplishment of the task which Scheherazade set out to perform. With the story of Badoura, the woman of beauty and brain, who, personating her husband, ruled a Kingdom, and without jealousy provided him at the end of his wanderings with a second wife—in this story Scheherazade, her great act of statesmanship concluded, adumbrates what woman set free to use her own resources can do. And in this reflection of her own great adventurous self the series concludes. Through a thousand dim dawns, with the issue still in doubt, she has led the forlorn hope for all the other women whose lives she would save; and when her tyrant relents, and in his promise to spare her life spares theirs as well, she kneels and gratefully kisses his feet. The History of Badoura, Princess of China, and of Camaralzaman, The Island Prince The story of Aboulhassan, the Prince of Persia, had come to an end and the light of morning was full. Then said Dinarzade, 'Another story, O sister, another story!' Scheherazade made answer, 'If my Lord will suffer me to live for another day, there is yet one more tale that I could tell. The history of Prince Camaralzaman and of his bride Badoura is far more entrancing than that which I have just given; but it is too long to be told now.' Then she was silent; and Shahriar could not bring himself to order her death till he had heard that story also. So once more he let his oath stay unfulfilled and deferred sentence; and the next night, wakened in the small hours towards dawn, Scheherazade, opening a mouth of loveliness and filling it with wise and sweet words, took up the thread of her tale and began: O King, live for ever! About twenty days' sail from the coast of Persia there lies in the open sea an island which is called Khaledan, a country wealthy and prosperous and containing many large and well-inhabited towns. Its ruler in ancient times was a king named Shahzaman. As a reward for his many virtues, he had gathered about him a large and well- proportioned household, four wives, the daughters of kings, and sixty concubines; but, in spite of so generous a provision for that which only Heaven can bestow, he had no son; and as time went on, and he grew old, his bones wasted, and his heart became filled with affliction; and he said to his Vizier, 'Now in a little while I shall die; then will my name perish, and my Kingdom pass to others, for I have not a son to come after me. Tell me, is there anything I can do to avert so great a calamity?' His Vizier answered, 'When human means fail, it is then that we must rely on Heaven, for often these evils are sent to remind us of our dependence on Him who alone holds power. Fast, therefore, and pray, and perform ablutions, and when that is done make a great banquet, and call to it the poor and needy; it may be that among them will be found one pure and righteous soul whose blessing will thus descend on thee, for the fulfilment of thy desire.' The King did as his Vizier advised: he made a great feast, and called to it all whose poverty might give virtue to their petition: and bidding them pray that he might have a son, caused meat to be set before them; so they did eat and were filled. This holy act had the desired effect; one of the King's four Queens immediately conceived, and in course of time presented him with a son as fair as a full moon on a cloudless night. When the midwives and nurses carried him to his father, the King, seeing his beauty and transported with joy at the event, named him Camaralzaman, that is to say Moon of the Age; and he sent out orders, on pain of death to any who disobeyed, that for seven days the drums were to beat and every house in the city to be decorated in sign of thanksgiving. Never were such rejoicings heard. The Prince was reared and educated with all care and magnificence until he attained the age of fifteen. For the polish of his manners and the enlightenment of his brain the wisest and most accomplished men in the Kingdom were chosen; and since from the first he displayed a modest and docile disposition, combined with a fine understanding, he became, as he approached the years of manhood, the most virtuous and eligible heir to a throne that monarch or people could find it in their hearts to desire. He was of surpassing comeliness and grace, perfect in form and stature; and his father loved him so tenderly that he could scarcely bear to be away from him either by night or day. This devotion to his son was, indeed, so excessive, that the King himself was perturbed by it, for always accompanying it was a terror lest the Prince might die. One day he said to his Grand Vizier, 'How came it that my happiness in the possession of such a son gives me anxiety rather than rest? When I was childless I was miserable, and now that the desire of my heart has been satisfied, I am full of dread lest he also should die childless and my hope of posterity fail? Calamities and accidents come when we least expect them, and so it seems to me now that the Prince being vigorous and strong is in greater danger of death than I who am near the grave. For him a thousand perils are waiting, while I have nothing to fear but old age. If, therefore, I may not see my son married in my own lifetime I shall die in a state more miserable than that which I endured before he was born.' His Vizier said, 'The Prince is still full young, but nothing forbids that he should marry if, by the will of Allah, we can find one worthy of him.' 'As for that,' said the King, 'Heaven cannot have willed to send into the world a form of beauty and of virtue so pre- eminent without also providing a fitting match for it. Doubt not, if the Prince himself is willing, that some maiden not too far beneath him will be found capable of sustaining the honour.' So Shahzaman sent for his son, and Camaralzaman came and stood before him, and when he saw the King seated in [Pg 4] [Pg 5] [Pg 6] [Pg 7] [Pg 8] [Pg 9] [Pg 10] state upon his throne, though not having his lords round him, the Prince bade reverence take the place of love, and with his head bowed down toward the ground waited in submission for the royal word to be spoken. Thus he stood before his father humbly as a stranger; for never before had the King so received him, and he wondered why he had been summoned, and in his heart there was a fear. The King perceiving his reserve said to him, 'My son, can you now guess for what reason I have sent for you?' But the Prince answered, 'My lord, I would not so presume; for it is not in the power of one so young as I am to fathom the thoughts of the hearts of Kings. Only when I hear the true reason from your Majesty's lips will my brain become enlightened.' So he spoke, with all the decorum, and deference, and virtue, and prudent modesty which had been instilled in him by the preceptors of his youth; and Shahzaman, his father, loved him for it, and said in his heart, 'Never was King blessed with such a son as I.' Then he said to the Prince, 'What thou lackest in years of man's estate thou hast already gained in wisdom and understanding; therefore as a man I speak to thee. Know, then, it is my wish that thou shouldst marry, so that before my days are ended I may rejoice in the assurance of my posterity.' When Camaralzaman heard these words he no longer hung his head, but stood up straight; and as he made answer to the King his face flushed and his eyes grew bright; and said he, 'O my father, is it into bondage you would deliver me ere I become a man? Lo, here am I, the son of Kings, and all my life till now have I been free, and my soul has been free within me, because I have not gone in the way of women nor inclined my heart toward them; but if I marry, then by their cunning and guile will my soul and my freedom be taken from me. Far rather would I drink the cup of death.' When King Shahzaman heard that, the light of day darkened before him, for never until now had his son gone against his wish or disobeyed his word. But, because he loved the youth very tenderly, he forgave him and thought not at this time to punish him; for he said to himself, 'At present he is full young, and excess of virtue hath caused his manhood to slumber.' So he forbore, and waited till another year should have passed, and withdrew not from his son the light and favour of his countenance. So Camaralzaman continued in undisturbed life to receive the instructions of his preceptors, and every day he increased in beauty and comeliness of form, in modesty of mind, and in grace of manner and in elegance of deportment. Added to which, he became accomplished in verse, and eloquence, and rhetoric and the divine sciences, so that the flower of his form and the honey of his understanding made together a thing of inconceivable loveliness and attraction. Even as a magical willow-branch bearing peach-blossom and fruit at one season, so was he. Now when another year was completed, his father having once more consulted with the Grand Vizier, sent for him again, and said, 'This time, O my son, listen to my word, and obey; for now have thy years touched manhood, and unless thou beget children thy virtue and wisdom are wasted. Therefore if thou wilt marry her whom I shall now choose for thee, I will also make thee ruler over all my dominions; so with mine eyes shall I see my kingdom and my posterity established, and rejoice in thee before I die.' But the Prince had listened so well to the preceptors set over him to guard his virtue, and had pondered so deeply the books which wise men had written in their old age, when delight had fled from them and when all that they had done in the past seemed only to be vanity, that his mind, even though his heart softened to his father's request, remained as aforetime. Therefore, abasing himself in fear and reverence at the King's feet, he said, 'O my father, not so can I find happiness, or strength, or wisdom wherewith to rule others, seeing that if I marry I cease to be ruler of myself. In all things outward it is Allah's will that I should obey you; but in this which comes from within and concerns myself alone, I can obey the voice of no man, however wise he may be. Yet, by all the seers and poets and soothsayers is the same thing told, that woman is a calamity, and that from her spring all the weaknesses and afflictions of men.' And so saying with sweetness and modulation of tone, and grace of gesture, Camaralzaman began to recite to his father all the words of the poets; and there was not a poet who had written poetry in his old age whose verses did not bear out the contention. So when the King had heard the verses of the poets and the words of the ancients arrayed against him, he returned no answer; for he said to himself: 'I doubt not but that before another year shall have run that voice within will have spoken differently to my son than it speaks now, and the words of the sages will have far less weight with him then than the glance of some woman's eye.' Once more, therefore, letting his tenderness extinguish his resentment, he forgave the Prince's disobedience and received him back into his favour. But to his Grand Vizier Shahzaman said, 'Now twice, O Vizier, have I come to thee for advice, and what profit has it been? When I consulted thee first as to marrying my son thy word was for it; yet no sooner did I mention it to him than his mind rebelled. This time also, it was on thy advice that I sought to bribe him by the offer of power; but when I offered him the Crown, so little did he care that he seemed almost not to have heard me. What better advice, then, wilt thou give me now so that my patience may be rewarded and my heart obtain its desire?' [Pg 11] [Pg 12] [Pg 13] [Pg 14] [Pg 15] [Pg 16] [Pg 17] Dahnash and Meymooneh. 'At she rose up through clouds there passed one she knew by his tail to be Dahnash.' (p. 27) The Vizier answered, 'O King, thy son hath presumed on thy forbearance, knowing well thy tenderness, and when thou hast spoken with him it hath been privately and as a father. But when a year hence the time comes to speak with him again on this matter, then speak not to him privately any more, but before all the people, with the emirs and the viziers and the troops standing by. Then he will no longer dare to oppose thee, since to do so before all those witnesses would be an offence treasonable and worthy of death.' So the King accepted the advice of his Vizier, and when another year had gone by he summoned the Prince to his presence on a day of festival, when all about him were the dignitaries and chamberlains of his court, the viziers of the provinces, and the emirs of neighbouring states who paid tribute to Shahzaman as their Sultan. Thus he sat in all his power and splendour, and Camaralzaman came in and drew near, and stood before him, being then in his eighteenth year, with the early bloom of manhood beginning to show upon his cheek. Allah, who loves to give beauty to virtue, had clothed him in comeliness and crowned his features with joy; his eyes were like pools of deep water and their glances flashed like a fountain in the sun; and from head to foot whether he moved or stood he was perfect in dignity and grace. As he approached, thrice he bent and kissed the ground in sign of obedience and reverence, and thereafter stood upright, with hands folded behind his back, waiting to hear the King's pleasure. Shahzaman spoke. 'Once more, O my son, I have sent for thee to declare my will. Twice ere this have I been tender and patient, not forcing an inclination that was not ripe. But now thou art come to man's estate, and the season of waiting is ended. Therefore my command is that thou marry a daughter of kings, whom presently I shall choose for thee; so shall I have joy in thee before I die, seeing the establishment of my posterity.' When Camaralzaman heard these words he shut fast his lips and stood speechless for a while. But as his eye fell on all those lords assembled as witnesses as to what he should say, wrath kindled in his blood and the fire of youth mounted to his brain and he spoke swiftly and unadvisedly. 'Surely,' he said, 'thou art a man of great age and little sense thus to talk, having already been answered! Twice before hast thou asked me, and twice have I refused. Thinkest thou with all these cooks to make a better broth of me, having thyself failed? I swear now that rather than marry I will drink the cup of perdition and die: for no man shall possess himself of my body to give it to another while my will is contrary!' And so saying Camaralzaman unclasped his hands from behind his back, and rolling up his sleeves stood before his father all quivering with anger. Greatly was Shahzaman, the King, disturbed at receiving so public an affront from the son whom he loved so tenderly. For a moment he sat speechless, seeing in the eyes of those around him the reflection of his humiliation and shame; then his energy returned to him, and rising from his throne he uttered so terrible a cry of wrath that at once Camaralzaman became conscious of the enormity of his offence, and his hasty anger departed leaving only contrition and fear. Then, at the King's command, the memlooks came and seized him, and having first bound his hands, dragged him before the throne. The extremity of Shahzaman's wrath now broke into words, and while the Prince stood speechless before him, his head bowed down and with drops of anguish upon his brow, he loaded him with a volume of abuse which did not spare even the Queen's unblemished reputation. 'Woe to thee,' he cried, 'baseborn child of iniquity and deceit! Is it thus that a King is to be answered in the presence of his people? Is it thus that a son nurtured in the tenderest affection casts insult on the head of his father. Had such language been uttered by one of the common people, it had been less disgraceful and more pardonable than coming from thee.' Then he commanded the memlooks to take him away and imprison him in the deepest dungeon of the castle, which had [Pg 18] [Pg 19] [Pg 20] [Pg 21] long stood neglected and empty. Servants of the Prince hearing of that order went in haste and prepared the chamber for his reception; they swept the walls of its cobwebs, and wiped the damp from the floors; they placed in it a bedstead, and on it laid a mattress and a leather covering and cushions; they also provided a large lantern and a candle, for even in the daytime the place was dark. To this dungeon came Camaralzaman escorted by his guard, and when all had been made secure and a eunuch set outside to keep watch, there they left him. Camaralzaman threw himself upon the couch weeping, for bitterly now did he repent of his injurious conduct to his father; yet even in his affliction he ceased not to inveigh against marriage. 'Malediction upon women!' he cried, 'alas, why were they invented to give sting to the affections and divide father and son! Had Allah refrained from creating women, certainly I should not have been here!' Thus in his misfortune did Camaralzaman find truths to comfort him. Meanwhile the King, his father, was suffering an equal affliction, and lacking the philosophy of youth he sought to find comfort in laying the blame for all that had happened upon the Grand Vizier. 'See, O Vizier!' he cried, 'what comes of taking counsel with thee! Thou alone hast been the cause of my son's undoing; for had I spoken to him privately on this matter as aforetime, he would not have answered me otherwise than as a son should and in such manner as would have made forgiveness possible. Now, therefore, since we are brought to this pass by the foolishness of thy wisdom, it is for thee to devise means by which we may find a remedy.' The Vizier replied: 'O King, let the Prince stay where he is for another fifteen days, so shall he have time to cool himself. I doubt not that thereafter his mind toward marriage will be all that your heart can desire. Better to him then will seem the bride's chamber than the stone walls of his prison.' Shahzaman took the Vizier's advice and slept on it, or rather slept not at all, for the loss of his son so troubled him that he lay awake all night tossing restlessly from side to side and longing for the light of day. Far better did Camaralzaman fare; for when night came the eunuch brought lantern and candle, and having prepared a table set food before him. The Prince ate little and thought much, sorrow for his ill-conduct having severed his appetite in half, and when he had finished he called for water and washed his hands from all taint of food; then he performed the ablution preparatory to prayer, and recited with his accustomed regularity the prayers of sunset and nightfall. After that he sat upon the couch reciting extracts from the Koran: he recited the chapters from 'The Cow' and 'The Family of Emran' and 'The Two Preventives'; and having done all these things he commended his soul to Allah and laid himself down upon the couch, whereon was a mattress of figured satin showing its pattern on both sides and stuffed abundantly with ostrich plumes. And when sleep drew near he took off his outer raiment and clothed himself in a fine shirt of waxed linen, and wrapped about his head a kerchief of blue muslin so that he seemed like the moon on its fourteenth night. Then with the lantern at his feet and the candle at his head, he covered himself with the sheet and fell into the sleep of the just from which he awakened not till after the third hour, knowing nought of the hidden event which then awaited him, or what Allah, who knoweth all secrets, had decreed should befell. The King of China and Badoura. 'The King came in haste, and found that which till now he had only pretended, concerning his daughter, apparently come true.' (p. 51) Now in the floor of this dungeon was an old well malodorous and foul through long disuse; and in this well dwelt a female Genie or Efreet, named Meymooneh, a monster of bad ancestry and of tremendous power to set evil above good. Toward midnight, when the hour for her nightly wanderings had come, Meymooneh rose up like a bubble from [Pg 22] [Pg 23] [Pg 24] [Pg 25] [Pg 26] the bottom of the well and lifting her head over the brim saw a light which had not been there formerly and under it a couch whereon lay some one asleep. Full of wonder, she drew up her feet to earth, and advancing, cautiously turned back the coverlet from the sleeper's face. Thereafter she stood for a whole hour lost in wonder and astonishment at the beauty which she found there: perfect in all its lines and colour and texture was the loveliness of the sleeping youth, and there arose from his body an odour like fragrant musk. Meymooneh snuffed at it, and her heart became enlarged, lifting her thoughts toward Heaven. 'Blessed be Allah!' she cried, 'surely He must be good to have created this thing.' And as she continued to gaze, her mind acquired a benevolence which had long since been strange to it. 'By Allah,' she said, 'in no way will I injure him; rather will I watch over and protect him from any that may seek to do him harm.' And so saying she stooped over the youth and kissed him between the eyes. Then elated of heart she spread her wings and smiting the earth with her heel sprang upward and floated away into space, till the heavens about her were clear. As she rose up through clouds she heard above her head a flapping of wings, and there passed one she knew by his tail to be Dahnash, an Efreet greatly inferior in power to herself. After him she went like a hawk, pounced and caught him by the scruff. Dahnash, perceiving into whose clutches he had fallen, quivered through all his members, and imploring pardon for his existence cried, 'I conjure thee by the Most High Name and the sign on the Seal of Solomon that this time and for the present thou shouldst release me. So will I go upon my errand and return presently.' Then said Meymooneh, 'By the high oath which thou hast sworn, what errand art thou after?' Dahnash answered, 'I have seen once with mine eyes that which should make the wicked virtuous, and the foul-minded clean; therefore I am in haste to make known the story of it to others less virtuous than thou art; so that they too may see it and find reward.' 'Though I am more virtuous than thou art,' replied Meymooneh, 'yet shalt thou tell me thy story, else I will pluck off every scale from thy body and every feather from thy wings and throw thee to the bottomless pit. And if what thou tellest be not true then also shalt thou fare as I have said.' Then said Dahnash,' O Meymooneh, if my word be not true, invent for me what tortures thou wilt and I will accept them. I am come to-night from the farthest isles of China, which are the dominions of King Gaiour, who is lord also of the Seas and of the Seven Palaces. There have I seen the Princess, his daughter, for whom also these palaces were built; surely there is none like her in all the world! Her hair is as dark as the night of separation and exile, and her face is like the dawn when lovers meet to embrace; her nose hath both point and edge, and her cheeks are like petals of anemone filled with wine. When she speaks, wisdom flows from her tongue; and when she moves, her feet faint with delight under the burden of the loveliness laid on them. The King's love for her is so great that there is no limit to what he will bestow on her if only it may add to her happiness; therefore in her honour hath he built the seven palaces: the first is of crystal, the second of marble, the third of steel, the fourth of onyx, the fifth silver, the sixth is of inlaid gold, and the seventh of all manner of jewels. Also these palaces are most sumptuously furnished, and around them lie gardens embellished with everything that can soothe the senses and delight the eye. Yet all this is but as a shade when the beauty of the Princess shines in the midst of it. Because the fame of her incomparable loveliness has gone far and wide, many kings and powerful princes come to demand her hand in marriage. But so tender is the King's love for her, that in all these years without her free consent he has married her to none. Many a time has he sought to persuade her, but it is all in vain. 'For where,' says the Princess, 'shall I have honour and freedom such as I enjoy now? Here I sit at thy side in council and am a ruler over men; but if I marry then will my husband rule me.' And now there has come to the court of King Gaiour, another monarch, so dreaded and so powerful that his suit cannot be refused. Nevertheless the Princess, whose name is Badoura, will not consent; and having threatened to kill herself rather than submit, the King now treats her as insane in order to excuse himself, and hath shut her up in one of her palaces with ten old women to look after her. There she has been confined for a whole year, but the imprisonment has done nothing either to change her will or diminish the enchantment of her beauty. So to-night when I saw her lying asleep every evil thought and passion died within me, for so holy is her beauty that I respected her even as I respect myself. Come, Meymooneh, and you shall see what is indeed a miracle and a wonder!' So far had Dahnash proceeded, when Meymooneh impatiently interrupted him. First, she cuffed him over the head, and then spitting in his face cried with laughter, 'O fool, what eyes have you to behold beauty, or what tongue to tell of it? This Princess that you speak of is, I doubt not, a poor insignificant creature not worth looking at. What would you say, then, if I shewed you my own beloved? Little talk would there be then of this fine Princess of yours; you would have but to look at him once and you would go crazy with jealousy.' Dahnash replied humbly, 'O Mistress of language and of facts, far be it from me to deny beauty that you yourself have verified; but neither can I deny that which I, in turn, have beheld and think to be incomparable. All I can ask, therefore, is that you should accompany me to the bedchamber of this adorable Princess, where she now lies sleeping, and judge for yourself.' 'Not so,' answered Meymooneh, 'wherefore should I travel to the far ends of China merely to prove thy folly and thy falsehood? Here close at hand is the tower wherein my beloved lies prisoner; come, then, and see for yourself the face of him whose loveliness even in sleep puts all other beauty to scorn.' So they descended, and passing through the roof and floors of the tower came to the dungeon below, where Camaralzaman lay sleeping. There by the bedside Meymooneh put forth her hand and drew back the sheet; and [Pg 27] [Pg 28] [Pg 29] [Pg 30] [Pg 31] [Pg 32] [Pg 33] Dahnash gazed with awe and remained silent, for doubt swayed him. Nevertheless after a while he said, 'O Meymooneh, though my word may seem hard to believe, yet do I still say that she whom I saw is fairer than this youth; and needs must it be so, since the fairest woman is by her sex made fairer than the fairest man. But for that, these two whom we contend over might be twin flowers from the same stem, so like are they.' When Meymooneh heard that she struck him a hard blow over the head with her wing, crying, 'Go, accursed one, fly back to China, lift up thy beloved and bring her quickly to this place; so when we see them side by side shall it be manifest which one is the more beautiful. Then if I am right thou shalt pay forfeit to me, and if thou art right I will pay.' Then with inconceivable swiftness Dahnash departed; and within an hour returned bearing the Princess in his arms. She was clad in a gown of finest silk with two borders of gold, and when the Efreet laid her upon the bed beside Camaralzaman, the two proved to be so alike that they might have been twin brother and sister. Nevertheless Meymooneh and Dahnash continued to say each to each, 'My beloved is more beautiful than thine.' Nor was agreement possible between them. Therefore after much strife, wherein Dahnash, though physically worsted, stuck to his opinion, they determined to refer the matter to an arbitrator, and by his sentence to abide. Then Meymooneh struck the ground with her foot and cried 'Kashkash!' Instantly the earth opened and there arose from it an Efreet hideous to look upon; he was blind of an eye, and lame of a leg, and upon his back he carried a hump bigger than the rest of his body; and when he saw Meymooneh he prostrated himself before her, saying, 'O Mistress and daughter of Kings, what dost thou require of me?' Meymooneh told him of the contention that had arisen between them, and showing him the Prince and Princess lying side by side called on him to say which was the more beautiful of the two. But Kashkash, having considered them for a while with great attention, replied, 'When mortals are endowed with such beauty as these, then only themselves can decide. Let us, then, awake them each in turn, and the one that draws from the other the most violent protestations of love and admiration shall be esteemed the more beautiful.' This proposal was approved both by Meymooneh and Dahnash. Thereupon Meymooneh transformed herself into a flea, and leaping upon Camaralzaman's neck bit him in a soft place. The youth put up his hand and rubbed to allay the smarting; then moving sideways he touched something that stirred, and starting up saw by his side a maiden of most marvellous beauty. No sooner had he beheld her than all his reasons against marriage were confounded and put to flight; and he said within his heart, 'What God desireth will come to pass, and what He desireth not will not happen.' Then taking the Princess by the hand, he endeavoured gently to rouse her, and ceasing not to invoke her with words and kisses of tenderness, he would infallibly have awakened her had not Dahnash bound her by a spell. Then, seeing how fast she slept, 'What!' cried the Prince, 'must the love of Camaralzaman admit an impediment such as this? Awake, O beloved!' Carried away by his words he was tempted for a moment to assail her rudely, but then the nobility of his nature reasserted itself and respect for her beauty and innocence constrained him. Then he bethought himself, and said, 'Doubtless this is the honourable maiden to whom the King, my father, intended to marry me. Oh why, instead of argument, did he not show me her face? So would none of this trouble have come about!' Then perceiving upon the Princess's finger a ring, he drew it off and exchanged it for his own, saying, 'Since I may not yet possess myself of the owner I will take this.' And having so done, he turned his back to her and slept. Then Meymooneh, jealous of the testimony which Camaralzaman had given to the Princess's beauty, transformed herself again into a flea, and entering beneath the clothes of Badoura, the beloved of Dahnash, bit her sharply; whereupon she opened her eyes and sat up; and there at her side beheld a youth snoring in his sleep, with eyelashes shading roseate cheeks and a mouth like the seal of Solomon. No sooner had she seen him than her heart was filled with contending emotions. 'Oh me!' she cried, 'what disgrace is this that has come upon me to be lying in the same bed with a stranger? But, by Allah, he is so beautiful that I have much ado not to love him to distraction. Nay, if this be the Prince who came demanding my hand in marriage of my father, I would have been willing to marry him ten times over had I but known beforehand.' So saying she seized Camaralzaman by the arm and shook him so violently that, saving for the enchantment, he must surely have awakened. Thereat she lost patience. 'Self-satisfied youth,' she cried, 'is this the way to behave to a Princess upon the night of her bridal? What? has so much beauty made thee proud?' Then as love began to devour her heart, 'O my lord,' she cried, 'light of mine eyes, and moon of my existence, arise, awake out of sleep!' And forthwith seizing his hand she began kissing it. While she was doing so she saw her ring upon his little finger, and uttered a cry of astonishment; while even greater became her amaze when she found upon her own hand a strange ring. This, she thought, must surely mean that she had become wedded to him in her sleep, so putting away all false modesty and fear she lay down again by his side, and fell fast asleep. Then Meymooneh and Dahnash, seeing how evenly between the pair the balance of love and admiration was divided, composed their difference; and Dahnash, taking the sleeping Princess upon his shoulder, carried her back to China. [Pg 34] [Pg 35] [Pg 36] [Pg 37] [Pg 38] [Pg 39] When Camaralzaman awoke the next morning to find no maiden at his side, he supposed that the King, his father, had caused her to be carried away secretly, in order that thereby his desire for her might be increased. So he called to the slave who guarded him and said, 'Tell me of the lady who slept with me last night: how came she, and who brought her?' The slave replied, 'O Prince, there was no lady; how could any lady get in while I slept all night across the doorway, and had the key?' This answer so infuriated the Prince that he fetched the slave a buffet which knocked him over; then tying him to the well rope he let him down into the well, though it was the middle of winter; and this he continued to do, now up, now down, saying as he did so, 'When thou hast told me the truth I will let thee go.' After a while the unfortunate slave, at the last gasp for wretchedness, cried, 'O Prince, restore to me my life and I will tell thee all.' So Camaralzaman drew him up and laid him to drain upon the floor. Then the eunuch, with shiverings and chattering of teeth, said, 'Alas, Master, in my present plight I have not tongue nor wits to tell thee the whole story. Suffer me to go hence and get dry, then will I return.' So Camaralzaman let him go. Camaralzaman as an Astrologer. 'At last the King heard him, and said to the Vizier, "Go down and bring the Astrologer in."' (p. 67) Off ran the eunuch, and without stopping came even as he was into the presence of Shahzaman, the King. Shahzaman was complaining to the Grand Vizier of the misery he had endured and the restless night he had passed, when the slave entered all a-drench with wetness and forthwith uttered his tidings. 'O King,' he cried, 'insanity hath seized on thy son, and thus hath he done to me! He saith there hath been a lady in his bed, when there hath been no lady; and because I cannot tell him how she came or how she went, or where now he can find her, see from what a drowning I have escaped!' When the King heard these words his sorrow for his son and his wrath against the Vizier knew no bounds. 'Go, accursed,' he cried, 'this is thy doing. Go to the Prince and discover the true cause of his malady; then come again and tell me.' So the Vizier hastened, treading upon his skirts as he went forth in fear of the King's anger, and coming to the tower found the Prince not mad at all, but seated upon the couch reciting verses from the Koran with the utmost composure. 'O Prince,' cried the Vizier, 'the mere sight of thee relieves me of affliction; but so have I the more reason to complain of that vile slave who attends on thee, and hath said shameful things concerning thee to thy father, the King.' 'I also,' answered the Prince, 'have great reason to complain of him; but let that be for a while, and tell me now what has become of the lady who slept with me last night? For I know my father must have sent her to me for a just purpose, and to cure me of my folly: which indeed she hath done. So let that sweet remedy return to me and you shall find me sane.' 'Of a truth, Prince,' replied the Vizier, 'the King, thy father, sent no lady to thee, and all that thou sayest now is mystery. Bethink thee, shut in here a prisoner, how canst thou have seen any lady with thine eyes except in a dream?' 'O ill-omened old man,' cried the Prince, 'thou wilt be saying next that I saw her only with my ears!' And approaching the Vizier he seized him by the beard, which was long, and twisting it this way and that, cried, 'Tell me the truth, or I will treat thee as I did the slave!' [Pg 40] [Pg 41] [Pg 42] [Pg 43] Then the Vizier, to save himself from further ill-treatment, replied even as the slave had done, and said, 'O Prince, I am not free to reveal the secrets of my master, but I will take to him any message wherewith you may be pleased to entrust me.' 'Go, then,' answered the Prince, 'and tell my father that I repent of my former words and will marry the lady he sent to me last night, but no other, though he should put me to a thousand deaths!' So the Vizier, as soon as Camaralzaman had let go of his beard, returned in haste to the King and said to him, 'O my lord, what the slave says is true; the Prince hath been seized with insanity of the most violent kind; yea, he heareth with his eyes, and seeth with his ears, and declareth a lady hath slept with him, whom he will marry and no other.' Then Shahzaman went himself to see the Prince and to learn the truth of this matter, for he doubted the Vizier's word. And when he came to the prison, his son received him with so much respect, and contrition and devotion, that he turned upon the Vizier with eyes of anger and reproach, crying, 'O wretch, why hast thou afflicted me with lies?' But the Vizier only shook his head sorrowfully, waiting for the truth to reveal itself. Then said the King, 'O my son, what day of the week is it?' Camaralzaman answered, 'To-day is Saturday, to-morrow is Sunday, the next day is Monday, then comes Tuesday, then Wednesday, then Thursday and then Friday.' 'Praise be to Allah!' cried the King, 'my son is not mad, for he knows the days of the week.' Then he said to Camaralzaman, 'Tell me, my son, who is this lady who, you say, slept with you last night; for truly I know nothing about her.' 'O my lord,' replied the Prince, 'I pray that you cease to mock me, for though I have deserved it through my folly, yet now am I ready and eager to marry this lady whom you have chosen for me, since her beauty delights me, and her manners, even in her sleep, fascinate me.' On hearing these words the King was as much astonished as the Vizier had been; but the countenance of his son was so full of ingenuousness and truth that he was not as incredulous as the others had been before him. 'I swear to you, my son,' said he, 'that I know nothing of this matter. What my Vizier has told you, he invented to appease your anger. But now tell me everything, just as it happened, for whether it be true or no, this event has given me cause for rejoicing.' Then the Prince sat down by his father's side and told him everything, and when he had finished he showed him the ring for proof that his tale was true; and the King was so convinced by his son's manner and by all the incidents of the story, that he had not a word to say against it. Therefore was his heart uplifted, and he said to Camaralzaman, 'Though all these things be mysteries in the hands of Allah, so deep that we may not fathom them, yet now hast thou convinced me that thou art not as was said of thee. Keep, therefore, that precious mind to which Heaven hath given light, and possess thyself in patience till the mystery hath resolved itself.' But Camaralzaman replied, 'Alas, O my father, to what term of imprisonment dost thou now condemn me? for if thou canst not find for me this maiden who hath ravished my heart, surely I shall die of anguish. So great is my love and my distraction that I cannot wait for her even an hour.' Upon this the King smote his palms together, and cried, 'Now are we in the hands of Allah, where no mortal power can avail!' Then he took his son gently by the hand and led him back to the palace: and there the Prince threw himself down upon a bed of sickness, too weak to rise or look up: and Shahzaman seated himself at his side, mourning and weeping for his grief, and leaving him neither by day or night. But after a while his Vizier came to him and said, 'O King of the Age, how long shall thy people seek for thee, and not find thee? Thy troops murmur that they have none to lead them to the field, and in the city corruption grows rife because the seat of judgment stays empty. This sickness into which the Prince has fallen comes only from grief; and as his grief increases thine, so does thine give nourishment to his. Therefore I entreat your Majesty to provide some better relief for the complaint both of the Prince and of the people. Here in the city his spirits languish and his strength returns not; but take him to the palace which is upon the shore looking toward the islands; there shall his soul, on the days when thou art absent, find peace and refreshment. And do thou, O King, on two days in each week return to the affairs of state, which need thy presence, to give audiences and to hold councils, else out of these two evils which are upon us there may grow a greater.' [Pg 44] [Pg 45] [Pg 46] [Pg 47] [Pg 48] [Pg 49] Camaralzaman Cures Badoura. 'She ran forth, and threw herself into the arms of Camaralzaman.' (p. 71) So Shahzaman did as his Vizier advised him, and caused the Prince to be carried, all wasted as he was with grief, to a pavilion which was upon the shore, and there on the days when affairs of state caused the King to be absent Camaralzaman lay and looked out over the sea. While these things were happening in the land of Khaledan, Dahnash had conveyed the Princess of China safely back to her own bed. There the next morning she awoke, unstained by travel and with her raiment undisturbed; nor was she conscious that she had been anywhere but where she now was. No sooner, therefore, did she perceive on looking to left and right that the youth who had lain in her bosom was no longer near her than her heart became agitated and her reason confounded, and she uttered a loud cry. All her women came running; and her nurse, who was the chief, inquired what misfortune had befallen her. The Princess, who continued to search among the bedclothes, said, 'Vexatious and contrary old woman, what have you done with the beautiful youth who slept last night in my bosom, or how comes it that I have mislaid him?' At these words the nurse was shocked in her morals and confounded in her understanding, and she answered, 'O mistress, what mean these disgraceful words! Surely thy bosom is guiltless of any such deed, and no youth, whether beautiful or otherwise, has been near thee.' Badoura answered, 'He had black eyes and a lovely face, and a mouth like the seal of Solomon, and his eyebrows were joined where I kissed them; and he was here sleeping at my side from nightfall to nigh upon daybreak.' 'Princess,' answered her nurse, 'thou hast had an unpermissible dream and art talking non-sense. No such young man hath been near thee, nor would I have permitted it.' Then the Princess lifting her hand in anger saw upon it the ring which Camaralzaman had given her in exchange for her own, and cried to her nurse, 'Woe to thee, O deceitful! Have I also dreamed this ring which is not mine and lost that which belonged to me?' And so saying she started to belabour her nurse so unmercifully, that she would assuredly have killed her had not all the other women and the eunuchs lifted up their voices in lamentation; whereupon the Princess, who greatly disliked loud noises, desisted. So the nurse, escaping from her vengeance, fled and acquainted the King with all that had happened and with the story which the Princess had told her. The King came in haste and found that which till now he had only pretended concerning his daughter apparently come true. For excess of reason had fled to her brain, and rushing this way and that she was searching for her beloved in every cupboard, and under every article of furniture, crying, 'Where is the beautiful youth who slept in my bosom last night? He belongs to me; he is mine. If I do not find him I shall die.' When her father saw and heard this he inquired no further, but ordered the slaves and eunuchs to seize her, and bind her with chains lest she should do herself or others an injury. So they put a chain about her neck and fastened her to a window of the palace looking toward the sea, that so by the will of Allah her thoughts might have rest and her reason be restored. And the King, loving her tenderly and greatly distressed at the condition she had fallen into, caused a proclamation to be issued to all sages, astrologers, and men skilled in such matters saying, 'Whosoever shall cure my daughter of her present malady, to him will I give her hand in marriage together with the half of my kingdom; and whoso fails to cure her, having offered, his head will I strike off and set it above the gates of my palace as a warning to others.' This he continued to do till forty of the wisest physicians and astrologers had lost their heads. Then the supply foiled; and the Princess, whom the offer of any husband other than the one she sighed for threw into paroxysms of wrath, was as far from a cure at the end as at the beginning. Thus she remained for the space of three years, sitting at a window wit...