Vathek; An Arabian Tale

by William Beckford

who was more ridiculous than anyof the rest.

  “Come,” said he, “for the love of your gods, bestow a few slaps on yourchops to amuse me.”

  The old fellow offended at such an address began loudly to weep; but ashe betrayed a villainous drivelling in his tears, the Caliph turned hisback and listened to Bababalouk, who whispered, whilst he held theumbrella over him:

  “Your majesty should be cautious of this odd assembly, which hath beencollected I know not for what. Is it necessary to exhibit suchspectacles to a mighty potentate, with interludes of talapoins more mangythan dogs? Were I you, I would command a fire to be kindled, and at oncepurge the earth of the emir, his harem, and all his menagery.”

  “Tush, dolt,” answered Vathek, “and know that all this infinitely charmsme. Nor shall I leave the meadow till I have visited every hive of thesepious mendicants.”

  Where ever the Caliph directed his course, objects of pity were sure toswarm round him: the blind, the purblind, smarts without noses, damselswithout ears, each to extol the munificence of Fakreddin, who, as well ashis attendant grey-beards, dealt about gratis plasters and cataplasms toall that applied. At noon a superb corps of cripples made itsappearance; and soon after advanced by platoons on the plain thecompletest association of invalids that had ever been embodied till then.The blind went groping with the blind; the lame limped on together; andthe maimed made gestures to each other with the only arm that remained.The sides of a considerable waterfall were crowded by the deaf, amongstwhom were some from Pegu, with ears uncommonly handsome and large, butwere still less able to hear than the rest. Nor were there wantingothers in abundance with hump backs, wenny necks, and even horns of anexquisite polish.

  The emir, to aggrandize the solemnity of the festival in honour of hisillustrious visitant, ordered the turf to be spread on all sides withskins and table cloths, upon which were served up for the good mussulmanspilaus of every hue, with other orthodox dishes, and by the express orderof Vathek, who was shamefully tolerant, small plates of abominations forregaling the rest. This prince on seeing so many mouths put in motionbegan to think it time for employing his own. In spite, therefore, ofevery remonstrance from the chief of his eunuchs, he resolved to have adinner dressed on the spot. The complaisant emir immediately gave ordersfor a table to be placed in the shade of the willows. The first serviceconsisted of fish, which they drew from a river flowing over sands ofgold, at the foot of a lofty hill: these were broiled as fast as taken,and served up with a sauce of vinegar and small herbs that grew on MountSinai; for everything with the emir was excellent and pious.

  The dessert was not quite set on when the sound of lutes from the hillwas repeated by the echoes of the neighbouring mountains. The Caliphwith an emotion of pleasure and surprise, had no sooner raised up hishead than a handful of jasamine dropped on his face. An abundance oftittering succeeded this frolic, and instantly appeared through thebushes the elegant forms of several young females, skipping and boundinglike roes. The fragrance diffused from their hair struck the sense ofVathek, who in an ecstasy, suspending his repast, said to Bababalouk:

  “Are the Peries {82} come down from their spheres? Note her inparticular whose form is so perfect, venturously running on the brink ofthe precipice, and turning back her head as regardless of nothing but thegraceful flow of her robe. With what captivating impatience doth shecontend with the bushes for her veil? Could it be she who threw thejasamine at me?”

  “Aye, she it was; and you too would she throw from the top of the rock,”answered Bababalouk, “for that is my good friend Nouronihar, who sokindly lent me her swing. My dear lord and master,” added he, twisting atwig that hung by the rind from a willow, “let me correct her for herwant of respect: the emir will have no reason to complain, since (batingwhat I owe to his piety) he is much to be censured for keeping a troop ofgirls on the mountains, whose sharp air gives their blood too brisk acirculation.”

  “Peace, blasphemer!” said the Caliph: “speak not thus of her who over hermountains leads my heart a willing captive. Contrive, rather, that myeyes may be fixed upon hers—that I may respire her sweet breath, as shebounds panting along these delightful wilds!”

  On saying these words, Vathek extended his arms towards the hill, anddirecting his eyes with an anxiety unknown to him before, endeavoured tokeep within view the object that enthralled his soul; but her course wasas difficult to follow as the flight of one of those beautiful bluebutterflies of Cachmere, which are at once so volatile and rare.

  The Caliph, not satisfied with seeing, wished also to hear Nouronihar,and eagerly turned to catch the sound of her voice. At last hedistinguished her whispering to one of her companions behind the thicketfrom whence she had thrown the jasamine:

  “A Caliph, it must be owned, is a fine thing to see, but my littleGulchenrouz is much more amiable; one lock of his hair is of more valueto me than the richest embroidery of the Indies. I had rather that histeeth should mischievously press my finger, than the richest ring of theimperial treasure. Where have you left him, Sutlememe? and why is he nownot here?”

  The agitated Caliph still wished to hear more, but she immediatelyretired with all her attendants. The fond monarch pursued her with hiseyes till she was gone out of sight, and then continued like a bewilderedand benighted traveller, from whom the clouds had obscured theconstellation that guided his way. The curtain of night seemed droppedbefore him—everything appeared discoloured. The falling waters filledhis soul with dejection, and his tears trickled down the jasamines he hadcaught from Nouronihar, and placed in his inflamed bosom. He snatched upa shining pebble to remind him of the scene where he felt the firsttumults of love. Two hours were elapsed, and evening drew on before hecould resolve to depart from the place. He often, but in vain, attemptedto go: a soft languor enervated the powers of his mind. Extendinghimself on the brink of the stream, he turned his eyes towards the bluesummits of the mountain, and exclaimed:

  “What concealest thou behind thee? what is passing in thy solitudes?Whither is she gone? O heaven! perhaps she is now wandering in thegrottoes with her happy Gulchenrouz!”

  In the mean time the damps began to descend, and the emir, solicitous forthe health of the Caliph, ordered the imperial litter to be brought.Vathek, absorbed in his reveries, was imperceptibly removed and conveyedback to the saloon that received him the evening before.

  But let us leave the Caliph immersed in his new passion, and attendNouronihar beyond the rocks, where she had again joined her belovedGulchenrouz. This Gulchenrouz was the son of Ali Hassan, brother to theemir, and the most delicate and lovely creature in the world. AliHassan, who had been absent ten years on a voyage to the unknown seas,committed at his departure this child, the only survivor of many, to thecare and protection of his brother. Gulchenrouz could write in variouscharacters with precision, and paint upon vellum the most elegantarabesques that fancy could devise. His sweet voice accompanied the lutein the most enchanting manner; and when he sung the loves of Megnoun andLeileh, or some unfortunate lovers of ancient days, tears insensiblyoverflowed the cheeks of his auditors. The verses he composed (for likeMegnoun, he too was a poet) inspired that unresisting languor sofrequently fatal to the female heart. The women all doated upon him, forthough he had passed his thirteenth year, they still detained him in theharem. His dancing was light as the gossamer waved by the zephyrs ofspring; but his arms which twined so gracefully with those of the younggirls in the dance, could neither dart the lance in the chase, nor curbthe steeds that pastured his uncle’s domains. The bow, however, he drewwith a certain aim, and would have excelled his competitors in the race,could he have broken the ties that bound him to Nouronihar.

  The two brothers had mutually engaged their children to each other; andNouronihar loved her cousin more than her eyes. Both had the same tastesand amusements; the same long languishing looks; the same tresses; thesame fair complexions; and when Gulchenrouz appeared in the dress of hiscousin, he seemed to be more feminine than ev
en herself. If at any timehe left the harem to visit Fakreddin, it was with all the bashfulness ofa fawn that consciously ventures from the lair of its dam; he was howeverwanton enough to mock the solemn old grey-beards to whom he was subject,though sure to be rated without mercy in return. Whenever this happened,he would plunge into the recesses of the harem, and sobbing take refugein the arms of Nouronihar, who loved even his faults beyond the virtuesof others.

  It fell out this evening that after leaving the Caliph in the meadow, sheran with Gulchenrouz over the green sward of the mountain that shelteredthe vale, where Fakreddin had chosen to reside. The sun was dilated onthe edge of the horizon; and the young people, whose fancies were livelyand inventive, imagined they beheld in the gorgeous clouds of the westthe domes of Shadukiam and Ambreabad, where the Peries have fixed theirabode. Nouronihar, sitting on the slope of the hill, supported on herknees the perfumed head of Gulchenrouz. The air was calm, and no soundstirred but the voices of other young girls who were