One Thousand and One Nights

by Richard Burton

  Who moved thee, fairest one, to use this rigour of disdain And

  slay, with stress of love, the souls that sigh for thee in

  vain?

  If thou recall me not to mind beyond our parting-day, God knows

  the thought of thee with me for ever shall remain!

  Thou smitest me with cruel words, that yet are sweet to me: Wilt

  thou one day, though but in dreams, to look upon me deign?

  I had not thought the ways of Love were languishment and woe And

  stress of soul until, alas! to love thee I was fain.

  I knew not weariness till I the captive of thine eyes Became and

  all my soul was bound in passion’s fatal chain.

  Even my foes have ruth on me and pity my distress: But thou, O

  heart of steel, wilt ne’er have mercy on my pain.

  By God, although I die, I’ll ne’er forget thee, O my hope, Nor

  comfort take, though life itself for love should waste and

  wane!

  When I read these verses, I wept sore and buffeted my face; then I unfolded the scroll, and there fell from it another. I opened it and found these words written therein: “Know, O my cousin, that I acquit thee of my blood and I beseech God to make accord between thee and her whom thou lovest: but if aught befall thee through the daughter of Delileh the crafty, return thou not to her neither resort to any other woman and bear thine affliction patiently, for were not the ordained term of thy life a long one, thou hadst perished long ago: but praised be God, who hath appointed my last day before thine! My peace be upon thee; preserve the cloth with the gazelles figured thereon and let it not leave thee, for it used to keep me company, whenas thou wert absent from me; but I conjure thee, by Allah, if thou chance to fall in with her who wrought these gazelles and it be in thy power to foregather with her, hold aloof from her and do not let her approach thee nor marry her; and if thou happen not on her and find no way to her, look thou company not with any other of her sex. Know that she who wrought these gazelles is the daughter of the King of the Camphor Islands and every year she works a like cloth and despatches it to far countries, that her report and the beauty of her broidery, which none in the world can match, may be bruited abroad, As for thy beloved, the daughter of Delileh, this cloth came to her hand, and she used to ensnare folk with it, showing it to them and saying, ‘I have a sister who wrought this.’ But she lied in this saying, may God bring her to shame! This, then, is my parting counsel to thee, and I have not charged thee thus, but because I know that, after my death, the world will be straitened on thee and belike, by reason of this, thou wilt leave thy native land and wander in foreign countries, and hearing of her who wrought these figures, be minded to foregather with her. Then wilt thou remember me and it shall not avail thee nor wilt thou know my value till after my death.”

  When I had read the scroll and understood what was written therein, I fell again to weeping, and my mother wept because I did; and I ceased not to gaze upon it and weep till nightfall. I abode thus a whole year, at the end of which time the merchants, with whom I am in this caravan, prepared to set out from my native town, and my mother counselled me to equip myself and journey with them, so haply I might find forgetfulness and my sorrow cease from me, saying, “Take comfort and put away from thee this mourning and travel for a year or two or three, till the caravan returns, when peradventure thy breast may be dilated and thy heart lightened.” She ceased not to persuade me thus, till I provided myself with merchandise and set out with the caravan. But all the time of my journey, my tears have never ceased flowing; and at every station where we halt, I open this piece of linen and look on these gazelles and call to mind my cousin Azizeh and weep for her as thou hast seen, for indeed she loved me very dearly and died, oppressed and rejected of me; I did her nought but ill and she did me nought but good. When these merchants return from their journey, I shall return with them, by which time I shall have been a whole year absent; yet is my sorrow greater than ever and my grief and affliction were but increased by my visit to the Islands of Camphor and the Castle of Crystal. The islands in question are seven in number and are ruled by a king, Shehriman by name, who hath a daughter called Dunya; and I was told that it was she who wrought these gazelles and that this thou seest was of her broidery. When I knew this, yearning redoubled on me and I became a prey to consuming languor and drowned in the sea of melancholy thought; and I wept over myself, for that I was become even as a woman, without manly gear like other men, and that there was no recourse for me. From the day of my departure from the Camphor Islands, I have been tearful-eyed and sorrowful-hearted, and I know not whether it will be given me to return to my native land and die by my mother or not, for I am weary of the world.’

  When the young merchant had made an end of telling his story, he wept and groaned and complained and gazed upon the figures wrought on the piece of linen, whilst the tears streamed down his cheeks and he repeated the following verses:

  ‘Needs must thy sorrow have an end,’ quoth many an one ‘and cease

  And I, Needs must your chiding end and let me be at peace.’

  ‘After awhile,’ say they; and I, ‘Who will ensure me life, O

  fools, until the hands of grief their grip of me release?’

  And also these:

  God knows that, since my severance from thee, full sore I’ve

  wept, So sore that needs my eyes must run for very tears in

  debt!

  ‘Have patience,’ quoth my censurers, ‘and thou shalt win them

  yet.’ And I, ‘O thou that blamest me, whence should I

  patience get?’

  Then said he, ‘This, O prince, is my story: hast thou ever heard a stranger one?’ Taj el Mulouk marvelled greatly at the young merchant’s tale and said to him, ‘By Allah, thou hast suffered that which never befell any but thyself, but thou hast life appointed to thee, which thou must needs fulfil; and now I would fain have thee tell me how thou sawest the lady who wrought these gazelles.’ ‘O my lord,’ answered Aziz, ‘I got me access to her by a stratagem, and it was this. When I entered her city with the caravan, I went forth and wandered about the gardens [till I came to one walled in and] abounding in trees, whose keeper was a venerable old man of advanced age. I asked him to whom the garden belonged, and he replied, “To the lady Dunya, the king’s daughter. We are now beneath her palace,” added he; “and when she is minded to divert herself, she opens the private door and walks in the garden and breathes the fragrance of the flowers.” So I said to him, “Favour me by allowing me to sit in the garden till she comes; haply I may be fortunate enough to catch a sight of her as she passes.” “There can be no harm in that,” answered he. So I gave him money and said to him, “Buy us something to eat.” He took the money joyfully and opening the door, admitted me into the garden and carried me to a pleasant spot, where he bade me sit down and await his return. Then he brought me fruit and leaving me, returned after awhile with a roasted lamb, of which we ate till we had enough, my heart yearning the while for a sight of the princess. Presently, as we sat, the postern opened and the keeper said to me, “Rise and hide thyself.” I did so; and behold a black eunuch put out his head through the wicket and said, “O elder, is there any one with thee?” “No,” answered he; and the eunuch said, “Shut the garden gate.” So the keeper shut the gate, and the lady Dunya came in by the private door. When I saw her, methought the moon had risen above the horizon and was shining; so I looked at her a long while and longed for her, as a man athirst longs for water. After a time she withdrew and shut the door; whereupon I left the garden and sought my lodging, knowing that I could not win to her and that I was no mate for her, more by token that I was become like unto a woman, having no manly gear, and she was a king’s daughter and I but a merchant; so how could I have access to the like of her or to any other woman? Accordingly, when my companions made ready for departure, I too made ready and set out with them, and we journeyed till we arrived at
this place, where we met with thee. This then is my story, and peace be on thee!’

  When Taj el Mulouk heard the young merchant’s account of the princess Dunya and her beauty, fires raged in his bosom and his heart and thought were occupied with love for her; passion and longing were sore upon him and he knew not what to do. Then he mounted his horse and taking Aziz with him, returned to his father’s capital, where he assigned the merchant a house and supplied him with all that he needed in the way of meat and drink and clothing. Then he left him and returned to his palace, with the tears running down his cheeks, for report [whiles] stands in stead of sight and very knowledge. He abode thus till his father came in to him and finding him pale-faced, lean of body and tearful eyed, knew that some chagrin had betided him and said to him, ‘O my son, acquaint me with thy case and tell me what hath befallen thee, that thy colour is changed and thy body wasted.’ So he told him all that had passed and how he had heard from Aziz of the princess Dunya and had fallen in love with her on hearsay, without having set eyes on her. ‘O my son,’ said the King, ‘she is the daughter of a king whose country is far distant from ours: so put away this thought from thee and go into thy mother’s palace. There are five hundred damsels like moons, and whichsoever of them pleaseth thee, take her; or else we will seek thee in marriage some one of the kings’ daughters, fairer than the lady Dunya.’ ‘O my father,’ answered Taj el Mulouk, ‘I desire none other, for she it is who wrought the gazelles that I saw, and I must have her; else I will flee into the deserts and waste places and slay myself for her sake.’ Then said his father, ‘O my son, have patience with me, till I send to her father and demand her hand in marriage, as I did with thy mother. It may be that God will bring thee to thy desire; and if her father will not consent, I will shake his kingdom under him with an army, whose van shall be upon him, whilst the rear is yet with me.’ Then he sent for Aziz and said to him, ‘O my son, dost thou know the way to the Camphor Islands?’ ‘Yes,’ answered he; and the King said, ‘It is my wish that thou accompany my Vizier thither.’ ‘I hear and obey, O King of the age,’ replied Aziz; whereupon the King summoned his Vizier and said to him, ‘Devise me some plan, whereby my son’s affair may be rightly managed, and go to the King of the Camphor Islands and demand his daughter in marriage for Tej el Mulouk.’ ‘I hear and obey,’ answered the Vizier. Then Taj el Mulouk returned to his dwelling place and his longing redoubled and impatience and unease were sore upon him; and when the night darkened upon him, he wept and sighed and complained and repeated the following verses:

  The shadows darken and my tears flow aye without avail, Whilst in

  my heart the fires of love rage on and never fail.

  Question the nights of me, and they will testify to thee That I

  in all their endless hours do nought but weep and wait.

  Wakeful for love-longing and grief, I lie and watch the stars All

  night, what while upon my cheeks the tears fall down like

  hail.

  Lowly and helpless I abide, for such as lovers be Have, as it

  were, nor kith nor kin to help them in their bale.

  Then he swooned away and did not recover his senses till the morning, when there came to him one of his father’s servants and standing at his head, summoned him to the King’s presence. So he went with him, and his father seeing that his pallor had increased, exhorted him to patience and promised him union with her he loved. Then he equipped Aziz and the Vizier for the journey and gave them presents for the princess’s father; and they set out and fared on night and day, till they drew near the Camphor Islands, when the Vizier called a halt on the banks of a stream and despatched a messenger to acquaint the King of his arrival. The messenger had not long been gone, when they saw, advancing towards them, the King’s chamberlains and amirs, who met them at a parasang’s distance from the city and escorted them to the royal presence. They laid before the King the gifts with which they were charged and enjoyed his hospitality three days. On the fourth day the Vizier rose and going in to the King, stood before him and acquainted him with the object of his visit; whereat he was perplexed and knew not what answer to make him, for that his daughter was averse from men and did not desire to marry. So he bowed his head awhile, then raised it and calling one of his eunuchs, said to him, ‘Go to thy mistress, the princess Dunya, and repeat to her what thou hast heard and tell her this Vizier’s errand.’ So the eunuch went out and returning after a while, said to the King, ‘O King of the age, when I went to the lady Dunya and told her what I had heard, she was exceeding wroth and made at me with a staff, meaning to break my head; whereupon I fled from her, and she said to me, ‘If my father force me to marry, him whom I wed I will kill.’ Then said the King to the Vizier and Aziz, ‘Salute the King your master and tell him what ye have heard and that my daughter is averse from men and hath no mind to marry.’ So they returned, without having accomplished the object of their journey, and fared on till they rejoined the King and told him what had passed; whereupon he commanded the chief to summon the troops for war. But the Vizier said to him, ‘O King, do not this, for the King is not at fault, seeing that, when his daughter learnt our business, she sent to say that, if her father forced her to marry, she would kill her husband and herself after him: so the refusal comes from her.’ When the King heard this, he feared for Taj el Mulouk and said, ‘If I make war on the King of the Camphor Islands and carry off his daughter, she will kill herself and it will profit me nothing.’ So he told his son how the case stood, and he said, ‘O my father, I cannot live without her; so I will go to her and cast about to get me access to her, though I die in the attempt.’ ‘How wilt thou go to her?’ asked his father; and he answered, ‘In the disguise of a merchant.’ Then said the King, ‘If thou must go and there is no help for it, take with thee Aziz and the Vizier.’ He agreed to this, and the King took money from his treasuries and made ready for him merchandise, to the value of a hundred thousand dinars; and when the night came Taj el Mulouk went to Aziz’s lodging and passed the night there, heart-smitten and taking no delight in food nor sleep; for melancholy was heavy upon him and he was agitated with longing for his beloved. So he besought the Creator to unite him with her and wept and groaned and complained, repeating the following verses: