One Thousand and One Nights

by Richard Burton

  When the merchants saw him, they accosted him and said, “O youth, wilt thou not open thy shop?” As they were bespeaking him, up came a woman, having with her a boy, bareheaded, and [stood] looking at El Abbas, till he turned to her, when she said to him, “O youth, I conjure thee by Allah, look at this boy and have pity on him, for that his father hath forgotten his cap in the shop [he lost to thee]; so if thou will well to give it to him, thy reward be with God! For indeed the child maketh our hearts ache with his much weeping, and God be witness for us that, were there left us aught wherewithal to buy him a cap in its stead, we had not sought it of thee.” “O adornment of womankind,” replied El Abbas, “indeed, thou bespeakest me with thy fair speech and supplicatest me with thy goodly words …But bring me thy husband.” So she went and fetched the merchant, whilst the folk assembled to see what El Abbas would do. When the man came, he returned him the gold he had won of him, all and part, and delivered him the keys of the shop, saying, “Requite us with thy pious prayers.”Therewithal the woman came up to him and kissed his feet, and on like wise did the merchant her husband; and all who were present blessed him, and there was no talk but of El Abbas.

  As for the merchant, he bought him a sheep and slaughtering it, roasted it and dressed birds and [other] meats of various kinds and colours and bought dessert and sweetmeats and fresh fruits. Then he repaired to El Abbas and conjured him to accept of his hospitality and enter his house and eat of his victual. The prince consented to his wishes and went with him till they came to his house, when the merchant bade him enter. So El Abbas entered and saw a goodly house, wherein was a handsome saloon, with a vaulted estrade. When he entered the saloon, he found that the merchant had made ready food and dessert and perfumes, such as overpass description; and indeed he had adorned the table with sweet-scented flowers and sprinkled musk and rose-water upon the food. Moreover, he had smeared the walls of the saloon with ambergris and set [the smoke of burning] aloes-wood abroach therein.

  Presently, El Abbas looked out of the window of the saloon and saw thereby a house of goodly ordinance, lofty of building and abounding in chambers, with two upper stories; but therein was no sign of inhabitants. So he said to the merchant, “Indeed, thou exceedest in doing us honour; but, by Allah, I will not eat of thy victual till thou tell me what is the reason of the emptiness of yonder house.” “O my lord,” answered the other, “that was El Ghitrif’s house and he was admitted to the mercy of God and left none other heir than myself; so it became mine, and by Allah, if thou hast a mind to sojourn in Baghdad, do thou take up thine abode in this house, so thou mayst be in my neighbourhood; for that indeed my heart inclineth unto thee with love and I would have thee never absent from my sight, so I may still have my fill of thee and hearken to thy speech.” El Abbas thanked him and said to him, “Indeed, thou art friendly in thy speech and exceedest [in courtesy] in thy discourse, and needs must I sojourn in Baghdad. As for the house, if it like thee, I will abide therein; so take of me its price.”

  So saying, he put his hand to his poke and bringing out therefrom three hundred dinars, gave them to the merchant, who said in himself, “Except I take the money, he will not abide in the house.” So he pouched the money and sold him the house, taking the folk to witness against himself of the sale. Then he arose and set food before El Abbas and they ate of the good things which he had provided; after which he brought him dessert and sweetmeats. They ate thereof till they had enough, when the tables were removed and they washed their hands with rose-water and willow-flower-water. Then the merchant brought El Abbas a napkin perfumed with the fragrant smoke of aloes-wood, on which he wiped his hand, and said to him, “O my lord, the house is become thy house; so bid thy servant transport thither the horses and arms and stuffs.” El Abbas did this and the merchant rejoiced in his neighbourhood and left him not night nor day, so that the prince said to him, “By Allah, I distract thee from thy livelihood.” “God on thee, O my lord,” replied the merchant, “name not to me aught of this, or thou wilt break my heart, for the best of traffic is thy company and thou art the best of livelihood.” So there befell strait friendship between them and ceremony was laid aside from between them.

  Meanwhile the king said to his vizier, “How shall we do in the matter of yonder youth, the Yemani, on whom we thought to confer largesse, but he hath largessed us with tenfold [our gift] and more, and we know not if he be a sojourner with us or no?” Then he went into the harem and gave the rubies to his wife Afifeh, who said to him, “What is the worth of these with thee and with [other] the kings?” And he answered, “They are not to be found save with the greatest of kings and none may avail to price them with money.” Quoth she, “Whence gottest thou them?” So he recounted to her the story of El Abbas from first to last, and she said, “By Allah, the claims of honour are imperative on us and the king hath fallen short of his due; for that we have not seen him bid him to his assembly, nor hath he seated him on his left hand.”

  [When the king heard his wife’s words], it was as if he had been asleep and awoke; so he went forth of the harem and bade slaughter fowls and dress meats of all kinds and colours. Moreover, he assembled all his retainers and let bring sweetmeats and dessert and all that beseemeth unto kings’ tables. Then he adorned his palace and despatched after El Abbas a man of the chief officers of his household, who found him coming forth of the bath, clad in a doublet of fine goats’ hair and over it a Baghdadi scarf; his waist was girt with a Rustec kerchief and on his head he wore a light turban of Damietta make.

  The messenger wished him joy of the bath and exceeded in doing him worship. Then he said to him, “The king biddeth thee in weal.” “Hearkening and obedience,” answered El Abbas and accompanied the messenger to the king’s palace.

  Now Afifeh and her daughter Mariyeh were behind the curtain, looking at him; and when he came before the king, he saluted him and greeted him with the greeting of kings, whilst all who were present stared at him and at his beauty and grace and perfection. The king seated him at the head of the table; and when Afifeh saw him and straitly considered him, she said, “By the virtue of Mohammed, prince of the Apostles, this youth is of the sons of the kings and cometh not to these parts but for some high purpose!” Then she looked at Mariyeh and saw that her face was changed, and indeed her eyes were dead in her face and she turned not her gaze from El Abbas a glance of the eyes, for that the love of him had gotten hold upon her heart. When the queen saw what had befallen her daughter, she feared for her from reproach concerning El Abbas; so she shut the wicket of the lattice and suffered her not to look upon him more. Now there was a pavilion set apart for Mariyeh, and therein were privy chambers and balconies and lattices, and she had with her a nurse, who served her, after the fashion of kings’ daughters.

  When the banquet was ended and the folk had dispersed, the king said to El Abbas, “I would fain have thee [abide] with me and I will buy thee a house, so haply we may requite thee the high services for which we are beholden to thee; for indeed thy due is imperative [upon us] and thy worth is magnified in our eyes; and indeed we have fallen short of thy due in the matter of distance.” When the prince heard the king’s speech, he rose and sat down and kissing the earth, returned thanks for his bounty and said, “I am the king’s servant, wheresoever I may be, and under his eye.” Then he recounted to him the story of the merchant and the manner of the buying of the house, and the king said, “Indeed, I would fain have had thee with me and in my neighbourhood.”

  Then El Abbas took leave of the king and went away to his own house. Now it befell that he passed under the palace of Mariyeh the king’s daughter, and she was sitting at a window. He chanced to look round and his eyes met those of the princess, whereupon his wit departed and he was like to swoon away, whilst his colour changed and he said, “Verily, we are God’s and to Him we return!” But he feared for himself lest estrangement betide him; so he concealed his secret and discovered not his case to any of the creatures of God the Most High. When he reached hi
s house, his servant Aamir said to him, “O my lord, I seek refuge for thee with God from change of colour! Hath there betided thee a pain from God the Most High or hath aught of vexation befallen thee? Verily, sickness hath an end and patience doth away vexation.” But the prince returned him no answer. Then he brought out inkhorn [and pen] and paper and wrote the following verses:

  Quoth I (and mine a body is of passion all forslain, Ay, and a

  heart that’s all athirst for love and longing pain

  And eye that knoweth not the sweet of sleep; yet she, who caused

  My dole, may Fortune’s perfidies for aye from her abstain!

  Yea, for the perfidies of Fate and sev’rance I’m become Even as

  was Bishr of old time with Hind, a fearful

  swain;

  A talking-stock among the folk for ever I abide; Life and the

  days pass by, yet ne’er my wishes I attain),

  “Knoweth my loved one when I see her at the lattice high Shine as

  the sun that flameth forth in heaven’s blue demesne?”

  Her eye is sharper than a sword; the soul with ecstasy It takes

  and longing leaves behind, that nothing may assain.

  As at the casement high she sat, her charms I might espy, For

  from her cheeks the envious veil that hid them she had

  ta’en.

  She shot at me a shaft that reached my heart and I became The

  bond- man of despair, worn out with effort all in vain.

  Fawn of the palace, knowst thou not that I, to look on thee, The

  world have traversed, far and wide, o’er many a hill and

  plain?

  Read then my writ and pity thou the blackness of my fate, Sick,

  love- distraught, without a friend to whom I may complain.

  Now the merchant’s wife aforesaid, who was the nurse of the king’s daughter, was watching him from a window, unknown of him, and [when she heard his verses], she knew that there hung some rare story by him; so she went in to him and said, “Peace be on thee, O afflicted one, who acquaintest not physician with thy case! Verily, thou exposest thyself unto grievous peril! I conjure thee by the virtue of Him who hath afflicted thee and stricken thee with the constraint of love-liking, that thou acquaint me with thine affair and discover to me the truth of thy secret; for that indeed I have heard from thee verses that trouble the wit and dissolve the body.” So he acquainted her with his case and enjoined her to secrecy, whereof she consented unto him, saying, “What shall be the recompense of whoso goeth with thy letter and bringeth thee an answer thereto?” He bowed his head for shamefastness before her [and was silent]; and she said to him, “Raise thy head and give me thy letter.” So he gave her the letter and she took it and carrying it to the princess, said to her, “Read this letter and give me the answer thereto.”

  Now the liefest of all things to Mariyeh was the recitation of poems and verses and linked rhymes and the twanging [of the strings of the lute], and she was versed in all tongues; so she took the letter and opening it, read that which was therein and apprehended its purport. Then she cast it on the ground and said, “O nurse, I have no answer to make to this letter.” Quoth the nurse, “Indeed, this is weakness in thee and a reproach unto thee, for that the people of the world have heard of thee and still praise thee for keenness of wit and apprehension; so do thou return him an answer, such as shall delude his heart and weary his soul.” “O nurse,” rejoined the princess, “who is this that presumeth upon me with this letter? Belike he is the stranger youth who gave my father the rubies.” “It is himself,” answered the woman, and Mariyeh said, “I will answer his letter on such a wise that thou shalt not bring me other than it [from him].” Quoth the nurse, “So be it.” So the princess called for inkhorn and paper and wrote the following verses:

  O’erbold art thou in that to me, a stranger, thou hast sent These

  verses; ‘twill but add to thee unease and miscontent.

  Now God forbid thou shouldst attain thy wishes! What care I If

  thou have looked on me a look that caused thee languishment?

  Who art thou, wretch, that thou shouldst hope to win me? With thy

  rhymes What wouldst of me? Thy reason, sure, with passion is

  forspent.

  If to my favours thou aspire and covet me, good lack! What leach

  such madness can assain or what medicament?

  Leave rhyming, madman that thou art, lest, bound upon the cross,

  Thou thy presumption in the stead of abjectness repent.

  Deem not, O youth, that I to thee incline; indeed, no part Have I

  in those who walk the ways, the children of the tent.

  In the wide world no house thou hast, a homeless wanderer thou:

  To thine own place thou shall be borne, an object for

  lament.

  Forbear thy verse-making, O thou that harbourest in the camp,

  Lest to the gleemen thou become a name of wonderment.

  How many a lover, who aspires to union with his love, For all his

  hopes seem near, is baulked of that whereon he’s bent!

  Then get thee gone nor covet that which thou shall ne’er obtain;

  So shall it be, although the time seem near and the event.

  Thus unto thee have I set forth my case; consider well My words,

  so thou mayst guided be aright by their intent.

  When she had made an end of her verses, she folded the letter and delivered it to the nurse, who took it and went with it to El Abbas. When she gave it to him, he took it and breaking it open, read it and apprehended its purport; and when he came to the end of it, he swooned away. After awhile, he came to himself and said, “Praised be God who hath caused her return an answer to my letter! Canst thou carry her another letter, and with God the Most High be thy requital?” Quoth she, “And what shall letters profit thee, seeing she answereth on this wise?” But he said, “Belike, she may yet be softened.” Then he took inkhorn and paper and wrote the following verses:

  Thy letter reached me; when the words thou wrot’st therein I

  read, My longing waxed and pain and woe redoubled on my

  head.

  Yea, wonder-words I read therein, my trouble that increased And

  caused emaciation wear my body to a shred.

  Would God thou knewst what I endure for love of thee and how My

  vitals for thy cruelty are all forspent and dead!

  Fain, fain would I forget thy love. Alack, my heart denies To be

  consoled, and ‘gainst thy wrath nought standeth me in stead.

  An thou’dst vouchsafe to favour me,’twould lighten my despair,

  Though but in dreams thine image ‘twere that visited my bed.

  Persist not on my weakliness with thy disdain nor be Treason and

  breach of love its troth to thee attributed;

  For know that hither have I fared and come to this thy land, By

  hopes of union with thee and near fruition led.

  How oft I’ve waked, whilst over me my comrades kept the watch!

  How many a stony waste I’ve crossed, how many a desert

  dread!

  From mine own land, to visit thee, I came at love’s command, For

  all the distance did forbid,’twixt me and thee that spread.

  Wherefore, by Him who letteth waste my frame, have ruth on me And

  quench my yearning and the fires by passion in me fed.

  In glory’s raiment clad, by thee the stars of heaven are shamed

  And in amaze the full moon stares to see thy goodlihead.

  All charms, indeed, thou dost comprise; so who shall vie with

  thee And who shall blame me if for love of such a fair I’m

  sped?

  When he had made an end of his verses, he folded the letter and delivering it to the nurse, charged her keep the secret. So she took it and carrying it to Mariyeh, gave it to her. The princess broke it open and rea
d it and apprehended its purport. Then said she, “By Allah, O nurse, my heart is burdened with an exceeding chagrin, never knew I a dourer, because of this correspondence and of these verses.” And the muse made answer to her, saying, “O my lady, thou art in thy dwelling and thy place and thy heart is void of care; so return him an answer and reck thou not” Accordingly, the princess called for inkhorn and paper and wrote the following verses:

  Thou that the dupe of yearning art, how many a melting wight In

  waiting for the unkept tryst doth watch the weary night!

  If in night’s blackness thou hast plunged into the desert’s heart

  And hast denied thine eyes the taste of sleep and its

  delight,

  If near and far thy toiling feet have trod the ways and thou

  Devils and Marids hast ensued nor wouldst be led aright,

  And dar’dst, O dweller in the tents, to lift thine eyes to me,

  Hoping by stress to win of me the amorous delight,

  Get thee to patience fair, if thou remember thee of that Whose

  issues (quoth the Merciful) are ever benedight.

  How many a king for my sweet sake with other kings hath vied,

  Still craving union with me and suing for my sight!

  Whenas En Nebhan strove to win my grace, himself to me With

  camel- loads he did commend of musk and camphor white,

  And aloes-wood, to boot, he brought and caskets full of pearls

  And priceless rubies and the like of costly gems and bright;

  Yea, and black slaves he proffered me and slave-girls big with

  child And steeds of price, with splendid arms and trappings