One Thousand and One Nights

by Richard Burton

  Thou art my wish, thou art my end; And in thy presence, O my

  friend,

  There is for me abiding joy: Thine absence sets my heart a-flame

  For thee distraught, with thee possest, Thou reignest ever in my

  breast,

  Nor in the love I bear to thee Is there for me reproach or shame.

  Life’s veil for me was torn apart, When Love gat hold upon my

  heart

  For Love still rends the veils in twain And brings dishonour on

  fair fame.

  The cloak of sickness I did on; And straight my fault appeared

  and shone.

  Since that my heart made choice of thee And love and longing on

  me came,

  My eyes are ever wet with tears, And all my secret thought

  appears,

  When with my tears’ tumultuous flow Exhales the secret of thy

  name.

  Heal thou my pains, for thou to me Art both disease and remedy.

  Yet him, whose cure is in thy hand, Affliction shall for ever

  claim,

  Thy glances set my heart on fire, Slay me with swords of my

  desire:

  How many, truly, of the best Have fallen beneath Love’s sword of

  flame?

  Yet may I not from passion cease Nor in forgetting seek release;

  For love’s my comfort, pride and law, Public and private, aye the

  same.

  Blest eyes that have of thee their fill And look upon thee at

  their will!

  Ay, of my own unforced intent, The slave of passion I became.

  When the portress heard this foursome song, she cried out, ‘Alas! Alas! Alas!’ and tore her clothes and fell down in a swoon; and the Khalif saw on her body the marks of beating with rods and whips, and wondered greatly. Then the cateress rose and sprinkled water upon her and brought her a fresh dress and put it on her. When the company saw this, their minds were troubled, for they understood not the reason of these things. And the Khalif said to Jaafer, ‘Didst thou not see the marks of beating with rods upon the girl’s body! I cannot keep silence nor be at rest, except I come at the truth of all this and know the story of this damsel and the two bitches.’ ‘O my lord,’ answered Jaafer, ‘they made it a condition with us that we should not speak of what concerns us not, under pain of hearing what should not please us.’ Then said the portress ‘By Allah! O my sister, come and complete thy service to me.’ ‘With all my heart!’ answered the cateress and took the lute and leant it against her breasts. Then she swept the strings with her finger-tips and sang the following verses:

  If we complain of absence, what alas! shall we say? Or if longing

  assail us, where shall we take our way?

  If, to interpret for us, we trust to a messenger, How can a

  message rightly a lover’s plaint convey?

  Or if we put on patience, short is a lover’s life, After his

  heart’s beloved is torn from him away.

  Nothing, alas! is left me but sorrow and despair And tears that

  adown my cheeks without cessation stray.

  Thou that art ever absent from my desireful sight, Thou that art

  yet a dweller within my heart alway,

  Hast thou kept troth, I wonder, with one who loves thee dear,

  Whose faith, whilst time endureth, never shall know decay?

  Or hast thou e’en forgotten her who for love of thee, In tears

  and sickness and passion, hath wasted many a day?

  Alas! though Love unite us again in one embrace, Reproach for thy

  past rigour with me full long shall stay.

  When the portress heard this second song, she gave a loud scream and exclaimed, ‘By Allah! it is good!’ and putting her hand to her clothes, tore them as before and fell down in a swoon. Whereupon the cateress rose and brought her another dress, after she had sprinkled water on her. Then she sat up again and said to the cateress ‘To it again and help me to do the rest of my duty; for there remains but one more song.’ So the cateress took the lute and sang the following verses:

  How long, ah me! shall this rigour last and this inhumanity? Are

  not the tears that I have shed enough to soften thee?

  If thou, of thy relentless will, estrangement do prolong,

  Intending my despite, at last, I pray, contented be!

  If treacherous fortune were but just to lovers and their woe,

  They would not watch the weary night in sleepless agony.

  Have ruth on me, for thy disdain is heavy on my heart; Is it not

  time that thou relent at last, my king, to me?

  To whom but thee that slayest me should I reveal my pain? What

  grief is theirs who love and prove the loved one’s perfidy!

  Love and affliction hour by hour redouble in my breast: The days

  of exile are prolonged; no end to them I see.

  Muslims, avenge a slave of love, the host of wakefulness, Whose

  patience hath been trampled out by passion’s tyranny!

  Can it be lawful, O my wish, that thou another bless With thine

  embraces, whilst I die, in spite of Love’s decree?

  Yet in thy presence, by my side, what peace should I enjoy, Since

  he I love doth ever strive to heap despite on me?

  When the portress heard this third song, she screamed out and putting forth her hand, tore her clothes even to the skirt and fell down in a swoon for the third time, and there appeared once more on her body the marks of beat ing with rods. Then said the three Calenders, ‘Would God we had never entered this house, but had slept on the rubbish-heaps! for verily our entertainment hath been troubled by things that rend the heart.’ The Khalif turned to them and said, ‘How so?’ And they answered, ‘Indeed, our minds are troubled about this matter.’ Quoth he, ‘Are you not then of the household?’ ‘No,’ replied they; ‘nor did we ever see the place till now.’ Said the Khalif, ‘There is the man by you: he will surely know the meaning of all this.’ And he winked at the porter. So they questioned the latter and he replied, ‘By the Almighty, we are all in one boat! I was brought up at Baghdad, but never in my life did I enter this house till to-day, and the manner of my coming in company with them was curious.’ ‘By Allah,’ said they, ‘we thought thee one of them, and now we see thou art but as one of ourselves.’ Then said the Khalif, ‘We are here seven men, and they are but three women: so let us question them of their case, and if they do not answer willingly, they shall do so by force.’ They all agreed to this, except Jaafer, who said, ‘This is not well-advised: let them be, for we are their guests, and as ye know, they imposed on us a condition, to which we all agreed. Wherefore it is better that we keep silence concerning this affair, for but a little remains of the night, and each go about his business.’ And he winked to the Khalif and whispered to him, ‘There is but a little longer to wait, and to-morrow I will bring them before thee and thou canst then question them of their story.’ But the Khalif lifted his head and cried out angrily, ‘I have not patience to wait till then: let the Calenders ask them.’ And Jaafer said, ‘This is not well-advised.’ Then they consulted together, and there was much talk and dispute between them, who should put the question, before they fixed upon the porter. The noise drew the notice of the lady of the house, who said to them, ‘O guests, what is the matter and what are you talking about?’ Then the porter came forward and said to her, ‘O lady, the company desire that thou acquaint them with the history of the two bitches and why thou didst beat them and after fellest to kissing and weeping over them and also concerning thy sister and why she has been beaten with rods, like a man. This is what they charge me to ask thee, and peace be on thee.’ When she heard this, she turned to the others and said to them ‘Is this true that he says of you?’ And they all replied ‘Yes;’ except Jaafer, who held his peace. Then said she, ‘By Allah! O guests, ye have done us a grievous wrong, for we made it
a previous condition with you that whoso spoke of what concerned him not, should hear what should not please him. Is it not enough that we have taken you into our house and fed you with our victual! But the fault is not so much yours as that of her who brought you in to us.’ Then she tucked up her sleeves and smote three times on the floor, saying, ‘Come quickly!’ Whereupon the door of a closet opened and out came seven black slaves, with drawn swords in their hands, to whom said the lady, ‘Bind these babblers’ hands behind them and tie them one with another.’ The slaves did as she bade, and said, ‘O noble lady, is it thy will that we strike off their heads?’ ‘Hold your hands awhile,’ answered she, ‘till I question them of their condition, before ye strike off their heads.’ ‘By Allah, O my lady,’ exclaimed the porter ‘do not slay me for another’s fault, for all have erred and offended save myself. And by Allah, our night would have been a pleasant one, had we not been afflicted with these Calenders, whose presence is enough to lay a flourishing city in ruins.’ And he repeated the following verses:

  How fair a thing is mercy to the great! And how much more to

  those of low estate!

  By all the love that has between us been, Doom not the guiltless

  to the guilty’s fate!

  When the lady heard this, she laughed, in spite of her anger, and coming up to the guests, said to them, ‘Tell me who you are, for ye have but a little while to live, and were you not men of rank and consideration, you had never dared to act thus.’ Then the Khalif said to Jaafer, ‘Out on thee! Tell her who we are, or we shall be slain in a mistake, and speak her fair, ere an abomination befall us.’ ‘It were only a part of thy deserts,’ replied Jaafer. Whereupon the Khalif cried out at him in anger and said, ‘There is a time to jest and a time to be serious.’ Then the lady said to the Calenders, ‘Are ye brothers?’ ‘Not so,’ answered they; ‘we are only poor men and strangers.’ And she said to one of them, ‘Wast thou born blind of one eye?’ ‘No, by Allah!’ replied he; ‘but there hangs a rare story by the loss of my eye, a story which, were it graven with needles on the corners of the eye, would serve as a lesson to those that can profit by example.’ She questioned the two other Calenders, and they made a like reply, saying, ‘By Allah! O our mistress, each one of us comes from a different country and is the son of a king and a sovereign prince ruling over lands and subjects.’ Then she turned to the others and said to them, ‘Let each of you come forward in turn and tell us his history and the manner of his coming hither and after go about his business; but whoso refuses, I will cut off his head.’ The first to come forward was the porter, who said, ‘O my lady, I am a porter. This lady, the cateress, hired me and took me first to the vintner’s, then to the butcher’s, from the butcher’s to the fruiterer’s, from the fruiterer’s to the grocer’s, from the grocer’s to the greengrocer’s, from the greengrocer’s to the confectioner’s and the druggist’s, and thence to this place, where there happened to me with you what happened. This is my story; and peace be on thee!’ At this the lady laughed and said to him, ‘Begone about thy business.’ But he said, ‘By Allah, I will not budge ‘till I hear the others’ stories.’ Then came forward the first Calender and said, ‘Know, O lady, that