Tales from the Arabic — Volume 03 eBook

Tales from the Arabic — Volume 03 by John Payne (poet)

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Table of Contents

Page 1

Calcutta (1814-18) Text. 183

Sindbad the Sailor and Hindbad the Porter

Note.

As the version of the sixth and seventh voyages of Sindbad the Sailor contained in[FN#197] the Calcutta Edition (1814-18) of the first two hundred Nights and in the text of the Voyages published by M. Langles (Paris, 1814) differs very materially from that of the complete Calcutta (1839-42) Edition[FN#198] (which is, in this case, practically identical with those of Boulac and Breslau), adopted by me as my standard text in the translation of “The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night,” the story of the seventh voyage in particular turning upon an altogether different set of incidents, related nearly as in the old version of M. Galland, I now give a translation of the text of the two voyages in question afforded by the Calcutta (1814-18) Edition, corrected and completed by collation with that of M. Langles, from which it differs only in being slightly less full.  It will be observed that in this version of the story the name Sindbad is reserved for the Sailor, the porter being called Hindbad.

Sindbad the Sailor and Hindbad the porter.

On the morrow they[FN#199] returned to their place, as of their wont, and betook themselves to eating and drinking and merry-making and sporting till the last of the day, when Sindbad bade them hearken to his relation concerning his sixth voyage, the which (quoth he) is of the most extraordinary of pleasant stories and the most startling [for that which it compriseth] of tribulations and disasters.  Then said he,

The sixth voyage of Sindbad the Sailor.

“When I returned from my fifth voyage, I gave myself up to eating and drinking and passed my time in solace and delight and forgot that which I had suffered of stresses and afflictions, nor was it long before the thought of travel again presented itself to my mind and my soul hankered after the sea.  So I brought out the goods and binding up the bales, departed from Baghdad, [intending] for certain of the lands, and came to the sea-coast, where I embarked in a stout ship, in company with a number of other merchants of like mind with myself, and we [set out and] sailed till we came among certain distant islands and found ourselves in difficult and dangerous case.

[One day], as the ship was sailing along, and we unknowing where we were, behold, the captain came down [from the mast] and casting his turban from his head, fell to buffeting his face and plucking at his beard and weeping and supplicating [God for deliverance].  We asked him what ailed him, and he answered, saying, ’Know, O my masters, that the ship is fallen among shallows and drifteth upon a sand-bank of the sea.  Another moment [and we shall be upon it].  If we clear the bank, [well and good]; else, we are all dead men and not one of us will be saved; wherefore pray ye to God the Most High, so haply He may deliver us from these deadly perils, or we shall lose our lives.’  So saying, he mounted [the mast] and set the sail, but at that moment a contrary wind smote the ship, and it rose upon the crest of the waves and sank down again into the trough of the sea.

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Now there was before us a high mountain,[FN#200] rising [abruptly] from the sea, and the ship fell off into an eddy,[FN#201] which bore it on till presently it struck upon the skirt[FN#202] of the mountain and broke in sunder; whereupon the captain came down [from the mast], weeping, and said, ’God’s will be done!  Take leave of one another and look yourselves out graves from to-day, for we have fallen into a predicament[FN#203] from which there is no escape, and never yet hath any been cast away here and come off alive.’  So all the folk fell a-weeping and gave themselves up for lost, despairing of deliverance; friend took leave of friend and sore was the mourning and lamentation; for that hope was cut off and they were left without guide or pilot.[FN#204] Then all who were in the ship landed on the skirt of the mountain and found themselves on a long island, whose shores were strewn with [wrecks], beyond count or reckoning, [of] ships that had been cast away [there] and whose crews had perished; and there also were dry bones and dead bodies, heaped upon one another, and goods without number and riches past count So we abode confounded, drunken, amazed, humbling ourselves [in supplication to God] and repenting us [of having exposed ourselves to the perils of travel]; but repentance availed not in that place.

In this island is a river of very sweet water, issuing from the shore of the sea and entering in at a wide cavern in the skirt of an inaccessible mountain, and the stones of the island are all limpid sparkling crystal and jacinths of price.  Therein also is a spring of liquid, welling up like [molten] pitch, and when it cometh to the shore of the island, the fish swallow it, then return and cast it up, and it becometh changed from its condition and that which it was aforetime; and it is crude ambergris.  Moreover, the trees of the island are all of the most precious aloes-wood, both Chinese and Comorin; but there is no way of issue from the place, for it is as an abyss midmost the sea; the steepness of its shore forbiddeth the drawing up of ships, and if any approach the mountain, they fall into the eddy aforesaid; nor is there any resource[FN#205] in that island.

So we abode there, daily expecting death, and whoso of us had with him a day’s victual ate it in five days, and after this he died; and whoso had with him a month’s victual ate it in five months and died also.  As for me, I had with me great plenty of victual; so I buried it in a certain place and brought it out, [little by little,] and fed on it; and we ceased not to be thus, burying one the other, till all died but myself and I abode alone, having buried the last of my companions, and but little victual remained to me.  So I said in myself, ‘Who will bury me in this place?’ And I dug me a grave and abode in expectation of death, for that I was in a state of exhaustion.  Then, of the excess of my repentance, I blamed and reproached myself for my much [love of] travel and said, ‘How long wilt thou thus imperil thyself?’ And I abode as I were a madman, unable to rest; but, as I was thus melancholy and distracted, God the Most High inspired me with an idea, and it was that I looked at the river aforesaid, as it entered in at the mouth of the cavern in the skirt of the mountain, and said in myself, ‘Needs must this water have issue in some place.’

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So I arose and gathering wood and planks from the wrecks, wrought of them the semblance of a boat [to wit, a raft,] and bound it fast with ropes, saying, ’I will embark thereon and fare with this water into the inward of the mountain.  If it bring me to the mainland or to a place where I may find relief and safety, [well and good]; else I shall [but] perish, even as my companions have perished.’  Then I collected of the riches and gold and precious stuffs, cast up there, whose owners had perished, a great matter, and of jacinths and crude ambergris and emeralds somewhat past count, and laid all this on the raft [together with what was left me of victual].  Then I launched it on the river and seating myself upon it, put my trust in God the Most High and committed myself to the stream.

The raft fared on with me, running along the surface of the river, and entered into the inward of the mountain, where the light of day forsook me and I abode dazed and stupefied, unknowing whither I went.  Whenas I hungered, I ate a little of the victual I had with me, till it was all spent and I abode expecting the mercy of the Lord of all creatures.[FN#206] Presently I found myself in a strait [channel] in the darkness and my head rubbed against the roof of the cave; and in this case I abode awhile, knowing not night from day, whilst anon the channel grew straiter and anon widened out; and whenas my breast was straitened and I was confounded at my case, sleep took me and I knew neither little nor much.

When I awoke and opened my eyes, I found myself [in the open air] and the raft moored to the bank of the stream, whilst about me were folk of the blacks of Hind.  When they saw that I was awake, they came up to me, to question me; so I rose to them and saluted them.  They bespoke me in a tongue I knew not, whilst I deemed myself in a dream, and for the excess of my joy, I was like to fly and my reason refused to obey me.  Then there came to my mind the verses of the poet and I recited, saying: 

Let destiny with loosened rein its course appointed fare And lie thou down to sleep by night, with
     heart devoid of care;
For ’twixt the closing of an eye and th’opening thereof, God hath it in His power to change a case
     from foul to fair.

When they heard me speak in Arabic, one of them came up to me and saluting me [in that language], questioned me of my case.  Quoth I, ’What [manner of men] are ye and what country is this?’ ‘O my brother,’ answered he, ’we are husbandmen and come to this river, to draw water, wherewithal to water our fields; and whilst we were thus engaged to-day, as of wont, this boat appeared to us on the surface of the water, issuing from the inward of yonder mountain.  So we came to it and finding thee asleep therein, moored it to the shore, against thou shouldst awake.  Acquaint us, therefore, with thy history and tell us how thou camest hither and whence thou enteredst this river and what land is behind yonder

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Now he was the king of the land of Serendib,[FN#207] and he welcomed me and entreated me with kindness, bidding me be seated and admitting me to his table and converse.  So I talked with him and called down blessings upon him and he took pleasure in my discourse and showed me satisfaction and said to me, ‘What is thy name?’ ‘O my lord,’ answered I, ’my name is Sindbad the Sailor;’ and he said, ‘And what countryman art thou?’ Quoth I, ‘I am of Baghdad.’  ’And how earnest thou hither?’ asked he.  So I told him my story and he marvelled mightily thereat and said, ’By Allah, O Sindbad, this thy story is marvellous and it behoveth that it be written in characters of gold.’

Then they brought the raft before him and I said to him, ’O my lord, I am in thy hands, I and all my good.’  He looked at the raft and seeing therein jacinths and emeralds and crude ambergris, the like whereof was not in his treasuries, marvelled and was amazed at this.  Then said he, ’O Sindbad, God forbid that we should covet that which God the Most High hath vouchsafed unto thee!  Nay, it behoveth us rather to further thee on thy return to thine own country.’  So I called down blessings on him and thanked him.  Then he signed to one of his attendants, who took me and established me in a goodly lodging, and the king assigned me a daily allowance and pages to wait on me.  And every day I used to go in to him and he entertained me and entreated me friendly and delighted in my converse; and as often as our assembly broke up, I went out and walked about the town and the island, diverting myself by viewing them.

Now this island is under the Equinoctial line; its night is still twelve hours and its day the like.  Its length is fourscore parasangs and its breadth thirty, and it is a great island, stretching between a lofty mountain and a deep valley.  This mountain is visible at a distance of three days’ journey and therein are various kinds of jacinths and other precious stones and metals of all kinds and all manner spice-trees, and its soil is of emery, wherewith jewels are wrought.  In its streams are diamonds, and pearls are in its rivers.[FN#208] I ascended to its summit and diverted myself by viewing all the marvels therein, which are such as beggar description; after which I returned to the king and sought of him permission to return to my own country.  He gave me leave, after great pressure, and bestowed on me abundant largesse from his treasuries.  Moreover, he gave me a present and a sealed letter and said to me, ’Carry this to the Khalif Haroun er Reshid and salute him for us with abundant salutation.’  And I said, ‘I hear and obey.’

Page 5

Now this letter was written with ultramarine upon the skin of the hog-deer, the which is goodlier than parchment or paper and inclineth unto yellow, and was to the following effect:  ’From the King of Hind, before whom are a thousand elephants and on the battlements of his palace a thousand jewels, [to the Khalif Haroun er Reshid, greeting].  To proceed:[FN#209] we send thee some small matter of presents, which do thou accept and be to us as a brother and a friend, for that the love of thee aboundeth in our heart and we would have thee to know that we look to thee for an answer.  Indeed, we are sharers with thee in love and fear, ceasing[FN#210] never to do thee honour; and for a beginning, we send thee the Book of the Quintessence of Balms and a present after the measure of that which is fallen to our lot.  Indeed, this is unworthy of thy rank, but we beseech thee, O brother, to favour us by accepting it, and peace be on thee!’

Now this present was a cup of ruby, a span high and a finger’s length broad, full of fine pearls, each a mithcal[FN#211] in weight and a bed covered with the skin of the serpent that swalloweth the elephant, marked with spots, each the bigness of a dinar, whereon whoso sitteth shall never sicken; also an hundred thousand mithcals of Indian aloes-wood and thirty grains of camphor, each the bigness of a pistachio-nut, and a slave-girl with her paraphernalia, a charming creature, as she were the resplendent moon.  Then the king took leave of me, commending me to the merchants and the captain of the ship, and I set out, with that which was entrusted to my charge and my own good, and we ceased not to pass from island to island and from country to country, till we came to Baghdad, when I entered my house and foregathered with my family and brethren.

Then I took the present and a token of service from myself to the Khalif and [presenting myself before him], kissed his hands and laid the whole before him, together with the King of Hind’s letter.  He read the letter and taking the present, rejoiced therein with an exceeding joy and entreated me with the utmost honour.  Then said he to me, ’O Sindbad, is this king, indeed, such as he avoucheth in this letter?’ I kissed the earth and answered, saying, ’O my lord, I myself have seen the greatness of his kingship to be manifold that which he avoucheth in his letter.  On the day of his audience,[FN#212] there is set up for him a throne on the back of a huge elephant, eleven cubits high, whereon he sitteth and with him are his officers and pages and session-mates, standing in two ranks on his right hand and on his left.  At his head standeth a man, having in his hand a golden javelin, and behind him another, bearing a mace of the same metal, tipped with an emerald, a span long and an inch thick.  When he mounteth, a thousand riders take horse with him, arrayed in gold and silk; and whenas he rideth forth, he who is before him proclaimeth and saith, “This is the

Page 6

The Khalif marvelled at my speech and said, ’How great is this king!  Indeed, his letter testifieth of him; and as for the magnificence of his dominion, thou hast acquainted us with that which thou hast seen; so, by Allah, he hath been given both wisdom and dominion.’  Then he bestowed on me largesse and dismissed me, so I returned to my house and paid the poor-rate[FN#216] and gave alms and abode in my former easy and pleasant case, forgetting the grievous stresses I had suffered.  Yea, I cast out from my heart the cares of travel and traffic and put away travail from my thought and gave myself up to eating and drinking and pleasure and delight.”

Sindbad the Sailor and Hindbad the porter.

When Sindbad the Sailor had made an end of his story, all who were present marvelled at that which had befallen him.  Then he bade his treasurer give the porter an hundred mithcals of gold and dismissed him, charging him return on the morrow, with the rest of the folk, to hear the history of his seventh voyage.  So the porter went away to his house, rejoicing; and on the morrow he presented himself with the rest of the guests, who sat down, as of their wont, and occupied themselves with eating and drinking and merry-making till the end of the day, when their host bade them hearken to the story of his seventh voyage.  Quoth Sindbad the Sailor,

The seventh voyage of Sindbad the Sailor.

“When I [returned from my sixth voyage, I] forswore travel and renounced commerce, saying in myself, ‘What hath befallen me sufficeth me.’  So I abode at home and passed my time in pleasance and delight, till, one day, as I sat at mine ease, plying the wine-cup [with my friends], there came a knocking at the door.  The doorkeeper opened and found without one of the Khalif’s pages, who came in to me and said, ‘The Commander of the Faithful biddeth thee to him.’  So I accompanied him to the presence of the Khalif and kissing the earth before him, saluted him.  He bade me welcome and entreated me with honour and said to me, ’O Sindbad, I have an occasion with thee, which I would have thee accomplish for me.’  So I kissed his hand and said, ’O my lord, what is the lord’s occasion with the slave?’ Quoth he, ’I would have thee go to the King of Serendib and carry him our letter and our present, even as he sent us a present and a letter.’

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At this I trembled and replied, ’By the Most Great God, O my lord, I have taken a loathing to travel, and whenas any maketh mention to me of travel by sea or otherwise, I am like to swoon for affright, by reason of that which hath befallen me and what I have suffered of hardships and perils.  Indeed, I have no jot of inclination left for this, and I have sworn never again to leave Baghdad.’  And I related to him all that had befallen me, first and last; whereat he marvelled exceedingly and said, ’By the Most Great God, O Sindbad, never was heard from time immemorial of one whom there betided that which hath betided thee and well may it behove thee never again to mention travel!  But for my sake go thou this once and carry my letter to the King of Serendib and return in haste, if it be the will of God the Most High, so we may not remain indebted to the king for favour and courtesy.’  And I answered him with ’Hearkening and obedience,’ for that I dared not gainsay his commandment

Then he gave me the present and letter and money for my expenses.  So I kissed his hand and going out from before him, repaired to the sea-coast, where I took ship with many other merchants and we sailed days and nights, till, after a prosperous voyage, God vouchsafed us a safe arrival at the island of Serendib.  We landed and went up to the city, where I carried the letter and present to the king and kissing the earth fell [prostrate before him], invoking blessings on him.  When he saw me, ‘Welcome to thee, O Sindbad!’ quoth he.  ’By the Most Great God, we have longed for thy sight and the day is blessed on which we behold thee once more.’  Then he took my hand and seating me by his side, welcomed me and entreated me friendly and rejoiced in me with an exceeding joy; after which he fell to conversing with me and caressing me and said, ’What brings thee to us, O Sindbad?’ I kissed his hand and thanking him, said, ’O my lord, I bring thee a present and a letter from my lord the Khalif Haroun er Reshid.’  Then I brought out to him the present and the letter and he read the latter and accepted the former, rejoicing therein with an exceeding joy.

Now this present was a horse worth ten thousand dinars and all its housings and trappings of gold set with jewels, and a book and five different kinds of suits of apparel and an hundred pieces of fine white linen cloths of Egypt and silks of Suez and Cufa and Alexandria and a crimson carpet and another of Tebaristan[FN#217] make and an hundred pieces of cloth of silk and flax mingled and a goblet of glass of the time of the Pharaohs, a finger-breadth thick and a span wide, amiddleward which was the figure of a lion and before him an archer kneeling, with his arrow drawn to the head, and the table of Solomon son of David,[FN#218] on whom be peace; and the contents of the letter were as follows:  ’From the Khalif Haroun er Reshid, unto whom and to his forefathers (on whom be peace) God hath vouchsafed the rank of the noble and exceeding glory,

Page 8

When the king had read this letter, he rejoiced with an exceeding joy and bestowed on me great store of presents and entreated me with the utmost honour.  Some days after this, I sought of him leave to depart, but he granted it not to me save after much pressing.  So I took leave of him and shipped with divers merchants and others, intending for my own country and having no desire for travel or traffic.  We sailed on, without ceasing, till we had passed many islands; but, one day, as we fared on over a certain tract of the sea, there came forth upon us a multitude of boats full of men like devils, clad in chain-mail and armed with swords and daggers and bows and arrows, and surrounded us on every side.  They entreated us after the cruellest fashion, smiting and wounding and slaying those who made head against them, and taking the ship, with the crew and all that were therein, carried us to an island, where they sold us all for a low price.  A rich man bought me and taking me into his house, gave me to eat and drink and clothed me and entreated me kindly, till my heart was comforted and I was somewhat restored.

One day my master said to me, ‘Knowest thou not some art or handicraft?’ And I answered, saying, ‘O my lord, I am a merchant and know nought but traffic.’  Quoth he, ’Knowest thou how to shoot with a bow and arrows?’ And I replied, ‘Yes, I know that.’  So he brought me a bow and arrows and mounting me behind him on an elephant, set out with me, at the last of the night, and fared on till we came to a forest of great trees; whereupon he made me climb a high and stout tree and giving me the bow and arrows, said to me, ’Sit here, and when the elephants come hither by day, shoot at them, so haply thou shalt hit one of them; and if any of them fall, come at nightfall and tell me.’  Then he went away and left me trembling and fearful.  I abode hidden in the tree till the sun rose, when the elephants came out and fared hither and thither among the trees, and I gave not over shooting at them with arrows, till I brought down one of them.  So, at eventide, I went and told my master, who rejoiced in me and rewarded me; then he came and carried away the dead elephant.

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On this wise I abode a while of time, every day shooting an elephant, whereupon my master came and carried it away, till, one day, as I sat hidden in the tree, there came up elephants without number, roaring and trumpeting, so that meseemed the earth trembled for the din.  They all made for the tree whereon I was and the girth whereof was fifty cubits, and compassed it about.  Then a huge elephant came up to the tree and winding his trunk about it, tugged at it, till he plucked it up by the roots and cast it to the ground.  I fell among the elephants, and the great elephant, coming up to me, as I lay aswoon for affright, wound his trunk about me and tossing me on to his back, made off with me, accompanied by the others; nor did he leave faring on with me, and I absent from the world, till he brought me to a certain place and casting me down from off his back, went away, followed by the rest.  I lay there awhile, till my trouble subsided and my senses returned to me, when I sat up, deeming myself in a dream, and found myself on a great hill, stretching far and wide and all of elephants’ bones.  So I knew that this was their burial-place and that they had brought me thither on account of the bones.

Then I arose and fared on a day and a night, till I came to the house of my master, who saw me pale and disfeatured for fear and hunger.  He rejoiced in my return and said to me, ’By Allah, thou hast made my heart ache on thine account; for I went and finding the tree torn up by the roots, doubted not but the elephants had destroyed thee.  Tell me then how it was with thee.’  So I told him what had befallen me and he marvelled exceedingly and rejoiced, saying, ’Knowst thou where this hill is?’ ‘Yes, O my lord,’ answered I. So he took me up with him on an elephant and we rode till we came to the elephants’ burial-place.

When he saw those many bones, he rejoiced therein with an exceeding joy and carried away what he had a mind to thereof.  Then we returned to his house and he entreated me with increased favour and said to me, ’Verily, O my son, thou hast directed us to a passing great gain, may God requite thee with all good!  Thou art free for the sake of God the Most High.  Every year these elephants used to kill of us much people on account of these bones; but God delivered thee from them and thou hast done us good service in the matter of these bones, of which thou hast given us to know; wherefore thou meritest a great recompense, and thou art free.’  ‘O my lord,’ answered I, ’may God free thy neck from the fire!  I desire of thee that thou give me leave to return to my own country.’  ‘So be it,’ replied he; ’but we have a fair, on occasion whereof the merchants come hither to us and take of us these elephants’ bones.  The time of the fair is now at hand, and when they come to us, I will send thee with them and give thee somewhat to bring thee to thine own country.’

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I blessed him and thanked him and abode with him in all honour and consideration, till, after a little, the merchants came, even as he had said, and bought and sold and bartered; and when they were about to depart, my master came to me and said, ’The merchants are about to depart; arise, that thou mayst go with them to thy country.’  So I betook myself to the folk, and behold, they had bought great store of elephants’ bones and bound up their loads and embarked in the ship; and my master took passage for me with them and paid my hire and all that was chargeable upon me.[FN#220] Moreover, he gave me great store of goods and we set sail and passed from island to island, till we traversed the sea and arrived at the port of our destination; whereupon the merchants brought out their goods and sold; and I also brought out that which was with me and sold it at a good profit.

Then I bought of the best and finest of the produce and rarities of the country and all I had a mind to and a good hackney[FN#221] and we set out again and traversed the deserts from country to country till we came to Baghdad.  Then I went in to the Khalif and saluted him and kissed his hand; after which I acquainted him with all that had passed and that which had befallen me.  He rejoiced in my deliverance and thanked God the Most High; then he caused write my story in letters of gold and I betook myself to my house and foregathered with my brethren and family.  This, then,” added Sindbad, “is the last of that which befell me in my travels, and praise be to God, the One, the Creator, the Maker!”

When Sindbad the Sailor had made an end of his story, he bade his servant give the porter an hundred mithcals of gold and said to him, “How now, my brother!  Hast ever in the world heard of one whom such calamities have betided as have betided me and hath any suffered that which I have suffered of afflictions or undergone that which I have undergone of hardships?  Wherefore it behoveth that I have these pleasures in requital of that which I have undergone of travail and humiliations.”  So the porter came forward and kissing the merchant’s hands, said to him, “O my lord, thou hast indeed suffered grievous perils and hast well deserved these bounteous favours [that God hath vouchsafed thee].  Abide, then, O my lord, in thy delights and put away from thee [the remembrance of] thy troubles; and may God the Most High crown thine enjoyments with perfection and accomplish thy days in pleasance until the hour of thine admission [to His mercy]!”

Therewithal Sindbad the Sailor bestowed largesse upon him and made him his boon-companion, and he abode, leaving him not night or day, to the last of their lives.  Praise be to God the Glorious, the Omnipotent, the Strong, the Exalted of estate, Creator of heaven and earth and land and sea, to whom belongeth glorification!  Amen.  Amen.  Praise be to God, the Lord of the Worlds!  Amen.

Note.

Page 11

As stated In the Prefatory Note to my “Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night,” four printed Editions (of which three are more or less complete) exist of the Arabic text of the original work, namely those of Calcutta (1839-42), Boulac (Cairo), Breslau (Tunis) and Calcutta (1814-18).  The first two are, for purposes of tabulation, practically identical, one whole story only,[FN#222] of those that occur in the Calcutta (1839-42) Edition, (which is the most complete of all,) being omitted from that of Boulac; and I have, therefore, given but one Table of Contents for these two Editions.  The Breslau Edition, though differing widely from those of Calcutta (1839-42) and Boulac in contents, resembles them in containing the full number (a thousand and one) of Nights, whilst that of Calcutta (1814-18) is but a fragment, comprising only the first two hundred Nights and the Voyages of Sindbad, as a separate Tale.

The subscribers to my “Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night” and the present “Tales from the Arabic” have now before them a complete English rendering (the first ever made) of all the tales contained in the four printed (Arabic) Texts of the original work and I have, therefore, thought it well to add to this, the last Volume of my Translation, full Tables of Contents of these latter, a comparison of which will show the exact composition of the different Editions and the particulars in which they differ from one another, together with the manner in which the various stories that make up the respective collections are distributed over the Nights.  In each Table, the titles of the stories occurring only in the Edition of which it gives the contents are printed in Italics and each Tale is referred to the number of the Night on which it is begun.

The Breslau Edition, which was printed from a Manuscript of the Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night alleged to have been furnished to the Editor by a learned Arab of Tunis, whom he styles “Herr M. Annaggar” (Quære En Nejjar, the Carpenter), the lacunes found in which were supplemented from various other Ms. sources indicated by Silvestre de Sacy and other eminent Orientalists, is edited with a perfection of badness to which only German scholars (at once the best and worst editors in the world) can attain.  The original Editor, Dr. Maximilian Habicht, was during the period (1825- 1839) of publication of the first eight Volumes, engaged in continual and somewhat acrimonious[FN#223] controversy concerning the details of his editorship with Prof.  H. L. Fleischer, who, after his death, undertook the completion of his task and approved himself a worthy successor of his whilom adversary, his laches and shortcomings in the matter of revision and collation of the text being at least equal in extent and gravity to those of his predecessor, whilst he omitted the one valuable feature of the latter’s work, namely, the glossary of Arabic words, not occurring in the dictionaries, appended to the earlier volumes.

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As an instance of the extreme looseness with which the book was edited, I may observe that the first four Vols. were published without tables of contents, which were afterwards appended en bloc to the fifth Volume.  The state of corruption and incoherence in which the printed Text was placed before the public by the two learned Editors, who were responsible for its production, is such as might well drive a translator to despair:  the uncorrected errors of the press would alone fill a volume and the verse especially is so corrupt that one of the most laborious of English Arabic scholars pronounced its translation a hopeless task.  I have not, however, in any single instance, allowed myself to be discouraged by the difficulties presented by the condition of the text, but have, to the best of my ability, rendered into English, without abridgment or retrenchment, the whole of the tales, prose and verse, contained in the Breslau Edition, which are not found in those of Calcutta (1839-42) and Boulac.  In this somewhat ungrateful task, I have again had the cordial assistance of Captain Burton, who has (as in the case of my “Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night”) been kind enough to look over the proofs of my translation and to whom I beg once more to tender my warmest thanks.

Some misconception seems to exist as to the story of Seif dhoul Yezen, a fragment of which was translated by Dr. Habicht and included, with a number of tales from the Breslau Text, in the fourteenth Vol. of the extraordinary gallimaufry published by him in 1824-5 as a complete translation of the 1001 Nights[FN#224] and it has, under the mistaken impression that this long but interesting Romance forms part of the Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, been suggested that a complete translation of it should be included in the present publication.  The Romance in question does not, however, in any way, belong to my original and forms no part of the Breslau Text, as will be at once apparent from an examination of the Table of Contents of the latter (see post, p. 261), by which all the Nights are accounted for.  Dr. Habicht himself tells us, in his preface to the first Vol. of the Arabic Text, that he found the fragment (undivided into Nights) at the end of the fifth Volume of his Ms., into which other detached tales, having no connection with the Nights, appear to have also found their way.  This being the case, it is evident that the Romance of Seif dhoul Yezen in no way comes within the scope of the present work and would (apart from the fact that its length would far overpass my limits) be a manifestly improper addition to it.  It is, however, possible that, should I come across a suitable text of the work, I may make it the subject of a separate publication; but this is, of course, a matter for future consideration.

Table of contents of the Calcutta (1839-42)
and Boulac editions of the Arabic text of
the book of the thousand nights and one
night.

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Night

Introduction.—­Story of King Shehriyar and his Brother.
          a.  Story of the Ox and the Ass
     1.  The Merchant and the Genie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .i
          a.  The First Old Man’s Story . . . . . . . . . . . . .i
          b.  The Second Old Man’s Story. . . . . . . . . . . . ii
          c.  The Third Old Man’s Story . . . . . . . . . . . . ii
     2.  The Fisherman and the Genie. . . . . . . . . . . . . .iii
          a.  Story of the Physician Douban . . . . . . . . . . iv
               aa.  Story of King Sindbad and his Falcon. . . . .v
               ab.  Story of the King’s Son and the Ogress. . . .v
          b.  Story of the Enchanted Youth. . . . . . . . . . .vii
     3.  The Porter and the Three Ladies of Baghdad . . . . . . ix
          a.  The First Calender’s Story. . . . . . . . . . . . xi
          b.  The Second Calender’s Story . . . . . . . . . . .xii
               ba.  Story of the Envier and the Envied[FN#225]xiii
          c.  The Third Calender’s Story. . . . . . . . . . . .xiv
          d.  The Eldest Lady’s Story . . . . . . . . . . . . xvii
          e.  The Story of the Portress . . . . . . . . . . .xviii
     4.  The Three Apples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .xix
     5.  Noureddin Ali of Cairo and his Son Bedreddin Hassan. . xx
     6.  Story of the Hunchback . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .xxv
          a.  The Christian Broker’s Story. . . . . . . . . . .xxv
          b.  The Controller’s Story. . . . . . . . . . . . .xxvii
          c.  The Jewish Physician’s Story. . . . . . . . . xxviii
          d.  The Tailor’s Story. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xxix
          e.  The Barber’s Story. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xxxi
               ea.  Story of the Barber’s First Brother . . . xxxi
               eb.  Story of the Barber’s Second Brother. . . xxxi
               ec.  Story of the Barber’s Third Brother . . .xxxii
               ed.  Story of the Barber’s Fourth Brother. . .xxxii
               ee.  Story of the Barber’s Fifth Brother . . .xxxii
               ef.  Story of the Barber’s Sixth Brother . . xxxiii
     7.  Noureddin Ali and the Damsel Enis el Jelis . . . . .xxxiv
     8.  Ghanim ben Eyoub the Slave of Love . . . . . . . . .xxxix
          a.  Story of the Eunuch Bekhit. . . . . . . . . . .xxxix
          b.  Story of the Eunuch Kafour. . . . . . . . . . .xxxix
     9.  The History of King Omar ben Ennuman and his Sons Sherkan and Zoulmekanxlv
          a.  Story of Taj el Mulouk and the Princess Dunya . cvii
               aa.  Story of Aziz and Azizeh. . . . . . . . cxliii
          b.  Bakoun’s Story of the Hashish-Eater . . . . . cxliii
          c.  Hemmad the Bedouin’s Story. . . . . . . . . . .cxliv
     10.  The Birds and Beasts and the Son of Adam. . . . . .cxlvi
     11.  The Hermits

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Table of contents of the Breslau (Tunis)
edition of the Arabic text of the book of
the thousand nights and one night.

Night
Introduction.—­Story of King Shehriyar and his Brother.
a.  Story of the Ox and the Ass
1.  The Merchant and the Genie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .i
a.  The First Old Man’s Story . . . . . . . . . . . . iv
b.  The Second Old Man’s Story. . . . . . . . . . . . vi
c.  The Third Old Man’s Story . . . . . . . . . . . viii
2.  The Fisherman and the Genie. . . . . . . . . . . . . viii
a.  Story of the Physician Douban . . . . . . . . . . xi
aa.  Story of the Jealous Man and the Parrot[FN#226]xiv
ab.  Story of the King’s Son and the Ogress. . . xv
b.  Story of the Enchanted Youth. . . . . . . . . . .xxi
3.  The Porter and the Three Ladies of Baghdad . . . . xxviii
a.  The First Calender’s Story. . . . . . . . . . xxxvii
b.  The Second Calender’s Story . . . . . . . . . . . xl
ba.  The Envier and the Envied . . . . . . . . xlvi
c.  The Third Calender’s Story. . . . . . . . . . . liii
d.  The Eldest Lady’s Story . . . . . . . . . . . .lxiii
e.  Story of the Portress . . . . . . . . . . . . .lxvii
4.  The Three Apples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . lxix
5.  Noureddin Ali of Cairo and his Son Bedreddin Hassan.lxxii
6.  Story of the Hunchback . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .cii
a.  The Christian Broker’s Story. . . . . . . . . . cvii
b.  The Controller’s Story. . . . . . . . . . . . . cxix
c.  The Jewish Physician’s Story.

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Table of contents of the unfinished
Calcutta (1814-18) edition (first two hundred
nights only) of the Arabic text of the book
of the thousand nights and one night.

Introduction.
          a.  The Ox and the Ass
     1.  The Merchant and the Genie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .i
          a.  The First Old Man’s Story . . . . . . . . . . . . ii
          b.  The Second Old Man’s Story[FN#236]. . . . . . . . iv
     2.  The Fisherman and the Genie. . . . . . . . . . . . . viii
          a.  The Physician Douban. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xi
               aa.  The Merchant and the Parrot . . . . . . . .xiv
               ab.  The King’s Son and the Ogress . . . . . . . xv
          b.  The Enchanted Youth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .xxi
     3.  The Porter and the Three Ladies of Baghdad . . . . xxviii
          a.  The First Calender’s Story. . . . . . . . . . .xxxix
          b.  The Second Calender’s Story . . . . . . . . . . xlii
               ba.  The Envier and the Envied . . . . . . . . xlvi
          c.  The Third Calender’s Story. . . . . . . . . . . liii
          d.  The Eldest Lady’s Story[FN#237] . . . . . . . . lxiv
     4.  The Three Apples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . lxviii
     5.  Noureddin Ali of Cairo and his Son Bedreddin Hassan.lxxii
     6.  Isaac of Mosul’s Story of Khedijeh and the Khalif El Mamounxciv
     7.  Story of the Hunchback . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ci
          a.  The Christian Broker’s Story. . . . . . . . . . .cix
          b.  The Cook’s Story[FN#238]. . . . . . . . . . . . cxxi
          c.  The Jewish Physician’s Story. . . . . . . . . .cxxix
          d.  The Tailor’s Story. . . . . . . . . . . . . . cxxxvi
          e.  The Barber’s Story. . . . . . . . . . . . . . cxliii
               ea.  Story of the Barber’s First Brother . . . cxlv
               eb.  Story of the Barber’s Second Brother. .cxlviii
               ec.  Story of the Barber’s Third Brother . . . .cli
               ed.  Story of the Barber’s Fourth Brother. . . clii
               ee.  Story of the Barber’s Fifth Brother . . . cliv
               ef.  Story of the Barber’s Sixth Brother . . clviii
     8.  Ali ben Bekkar and Shemsennehar. . . . . . . . . . clxiii
     9.  Noureddin Ali

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Alphabetical table of the first lines of the
verse in the “Tales from the Arabic.”

N.B.—­The Roman numerals denote the volume, the Arabic the page

A Damsel made for love and decked with subtle grace, iii. 192. 
A fair one, to idolaters if she herself should show, iii. 10. 
A sun of beauty she appears to all who look on her, iii. 191. 
A white one, from her sheath of tresses now laid bare, ii. 291. 
After your loss, nor trace of me nor vestige would remain, iii. 41. 
Algates ye are our prey become; this many a day and night, iii. 6. 
All intercessions come and all alike do ill succeed, ii. 218. 
An if my substance fail, no one there is will succour me, i. 6. 
An if ye’d of evil be quit, look that no evil ye do, ii. 192. 
Assemble, ye people of passion, I pray, iii. 31. 
Awaken, O ye sleepers all, and profit, whilst it’s here, ii. 234.

Beard of the old he-goat, the one-eyed, what shall be, ii. 231. 
Behold, I am clad in a robe of leaves green, ii. 242. 
But for the spying of the eyes [ill-omened,] we had seen, i. 50. 
By Allah, but that I trusted that I should meet you again, ii. 266. 
By Him whom I worship, indeed, I swear, O thou that mine eye dost fill, ii. 213.

Damascus is all gardens decked for the pleasance of the eyes, iii. 9. 
Drink ever, O lovers, I rede you, of wine, ii. 230.

El Abbas from Akil his stead is come again, iii. 108. 
Endowed with amorous grace past any else am I, ii 253.

Fair fall the maid whose loosened locks her cheeks do overcloud! iii. 191. 
Fair patience practise, for thereon still followeth content, iii. 116. 
Fair patience use, for ease still followeth after stress, iii. 117. 
For the uses of food I was fashioned and made, ii. 223. 
“Forget him,” quoth my censurers, “forget him; what is he?” iii. 42. 
Fortune its arrows all, through him I love, let fly, iii. 31. 
Full many a man incited me to infidelity, i. 205.

God judge betwixt me and her lord!  Away, i. 48. 
God keep the days of love-delight!  How dearly sweet they were! i. 225. 
God keep the days of love-delight!  How passing sweet they were! ii. 96
God knows I ne’er recalled thy memory to my thought, iii. 46.

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Had we thy coming known, we would for sacrifice, i. 13. 
Haste not to that thou dost desire; for haste is still unblest, ii. 88. 
He who Mohammed sent, as prophet to mankind, i. 50. 
His love he’d have hid, but his tears denounced him to the spy, iii. 42
His love on him took pity and wept for his dismay, ii. 210. 
How long, O Fate, wilt thou oppress and baffle me? ii. 69. 
How long shall I thus question my heart that’s drowned in woe? iii. 42. 
How long will ye admonished be, without avail or heed? iii. 40. 
How many, in Yemameh, dishevelled widows plain! i. 50.

I am content, for him I love, to all abide, iii. 25. 
I am filled full of longing pain and memory and dole, iii. 15. 
I am the champion-slayer he warrior without peer, iii. 94. 249——­
I clipped her in mine arms and straight grew drunken with the scent, iii. 125. 
I fear to be seen in the air, ii. 255. 
I marvel for that to my love I see thee now incline, iii. 112. 
I saw thee, O thou best of all the human race, display, i. 46. 
I swear by his life, yea, I swear by the life of my love without peer, iii. 21. 
If I must die, then welcome death to heal, iii. 23. 
If, in his own land, midst his folk, abjection and despite, ii. 196. 
I’m the crown of every sweet and fragrant weed, ii. 255. 
In every rejoicing a boon[FN#240] midst the singers and minstrels am I, ii. 258
In my soul the fire of yearning and affliction rageth aye, iii. 65. 
Indeed, thou’st told the tale of kings and men of might, iii. 87. 
It chances whiles that the blind man escapes a pit, ii. 51. 
It is as the jasmine, when it I espy, ii. 236.

Let destiny with loosened rein its course appointed fare, iii. 211
Like a sun at the end of a cane in a hill of sand, iii. 190. 
Like the full moon she shows upon a night of fortune fair, iii. 191. 
Lo, since the day I left you, O my masters, iii. 24. 
Look at the moss-rose, on its branches seen, ii. 256.

May the place of my session ne’er lack thee!  Oh, why, iii. 118
Me, till I stricken was therewith, to love thou didst excite, iii. 113
Midst colours, my colour excelleth in light, ii. 258. 
Most like a wand of emerald my shape it is, trow I, ii. 245. 
My flower a marvel on your heads doth show, ii. 254. 
My fortitude fails, my endeavour is vain, ii. 95. 
My fruit is a jewel all wroughten of gold, ii. 245. 
My heart will never credit that I am far from thee, ii. 275. 
My secret is disclosed, the which I strove to hide, iii. 89. 
My watering lips, that cull the rose of thy soft cheek, declare, iii. 134.

No good’s in life (to the counsel list of one who’s purpose-whole), i. 28.

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O amir of justice, be kind to thy subjects, iii. 24. 
O friends, the East wind waxeth, the morning draweth near, iii. 123. 
O friends, the tears flow ever, in mockery of my pain, iii. 116. 
O hills of the sands and the rugged piebald plain, iii. 20. 
O thou that blamest me for my heart and railest at my ill, ii. 101. 
O thou that questionest the lily of its scent, ii. 256. 
O son of Simeon, give no ear to other than my say, iii. 36. 
O’er all the fragrant flowers that be I have the pref’rence aye, ii. 235. 
O’erbold art thou in that to me, a stranger, thou hast sent, iii. 83. 
Oft as my yearning waxeth, my heart consoleth me, ii. 228. 
One of the host am I of lovers sad and sere, ii. 252.

Pease on thee!  Would our gaze might light on thee once more! ii. 89. 
Peace on you, people of my troth!  With peace I do you greet, ii. 224.

Quoth I (and mine a body is of passion all forslain), iii. 81.

Rail not at the vicissitudes of Fate, ii. 219. 
Ramazan in my life ne’er I fasted, nor e’er, i. 49.

Say, by the lightnings of thy teeth and thy soul’s pure desire, iii. 19. 
She comes in a robe the colour of ultramarine, iii. 190. 
Sherik ben Amrou, what device avails the hand of death to stay? i. 204. 
Some with religion themselves concern and make it their business all, i. 48. 
Still by your ruined camp a dweller I abide, ii. 209. 
Still do I yearn, whilst passion’s fire flames in my liver are, iii. 111

The absent ones’ harbinger came us unto, iii. 153. 
The billows of thy love o’erwhelm me passing sore, ii. 226. 
The crown of the flow’rets am I, in the chamber of wine, ii. 224. 
The Merciful dyed me with that which I wear, ii. 245. 
The season of my presence is never at an end, ii. 246. 
The two girls let me down from fourscore fathoms’ height, i. 49. 
The zephyr’s sweetness on the coppice blew, ii. 235. 
They have departed, but the steads yet full of them remain, ii. 239. 
They have shut out thy person from my sight, iii. 43. 
Thou that the dupe of yearning art, how many a melting wight, iii. 86. 
Thou that wast absent from my stead, yet still with me didst bide, iii. 46. 
Thy haters say and those who malice to thee bear, iii. 8. 
Thy letter reached me; when the words thou wrot’st therein I read, iii. 84. 
Thy loss is the fairest of all my heart’s woes, iii. 43. 
Thy presence honoureth us and we, i. 13. 
To his beloved one the lover’s heart’s inclined, iii. 22. 
’Twere better and meeter thy presence to leave, ii. 85. 
’Twere fitter and better my loves that I leave, i. 26.

Unto its pristine lustre your land returned and more, iii. 132. 
Unto me the whole world’s gladness is thy nearness and thy sight, iii. 15. 
Upon the parting day our loves from us did fare, iii. 114.

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Were not the darkness still in gender masculine, iii. 193. 
What strength have I solicitude and long desire to bear, iii. 20. 
When in the sitting-chamber we for merry-making sate, iii. 135. 
Whenas mine eyes behold thee not, that day, iii. 47. 
Whenas the soul desireth one other than its peer, ii 207. 
Wind of the East, if thou pass by the land where my loved ones dwell, I pray, ii. 204, 271. 
Would God upon that bitterest day, when my death calls for me, i. 47
Would we may live together, and when we come to die, i. 47.

Ye chide at one who weepeth for troubles ever new, iii. 30. 
Ye know I’m passion-maddened, racked with love and languishment, ii. 230. 
Your coming to-me-ward, indeed, with “Welcome!  Fair welcome!” I hail, iii. 136. 
Your water I’ll leave without drinking, for there, i. 210.

INDEX TO THE NAMES OF THE “TALES FROM THE ARABIC”

N.B.-The Roman numerals denote the volume, the Arabic the page

Abbas (El) and the King’s Daughter of Baghdad, iii. 53. 
Abbaside, Jaafer ben Yehya and Abdulmelik ben Salih the, i. 183. 
Abdallah ben Nafi and the King’s Son of Cashghar, ii. 195. 
Abdulmelik ben Salih the Abbaside, Jaafer ben Yehya, and, i. 183. 
Abou Sabir, Story of, i. 90. 
Abou Temam, Story of Ilan Shah and, i. 126. 
Actions, Of the Issues of Good and Evil, i. 103. 
Advantages of Patience, Of the, i. 89. 
Affairs, Of Looking to the Issues of, i. 80. 
Ali of Damascus and Sitt el Milah, Noureddin, iii. 3. 
Appointed Term, Of the, i. 147. 
Arab of the Benou Tai, En Numan and the, i. 203. 
Asleep and Awake, i. 5. 
Ass, the Sharpers, the Money-Changer and the, ii. 41. 
Awake, Asleep and, i. 5. 
Azadbekht and his Son, History of King, i. 61

Baghdad, El Abbas and the King’s Daughter of, iii. 53. 
Barmecides, Er Reshid and the, i. 189. 
Barmecides, Haroun er Reshid and the Woman of the, i. 57. 
Bekhtzeman, Story of King, i. 115. 
Benou Tai, En Numan and the Arab of the, i. 203. 
Bibers el Bunducdari and the Sixteen Officers of Police, El Melik ez Zahir Rukneddin, ii. 117. 
Bihkerd, Story of King, i. 121. 
Bihzad, Story of Prince, i. 99. 
Bunducdari (El) and the Sixteen Officers of Police, El Melik ez Zahir Rukneddin Bibers, ii. 117.

Cairo (The Merchant of) and the Favourite of the Khalif El Mamoun El Hakim bi Amrillah, iii.
     171. 
Cashghar, Abdallah ben Nafi and the King’s Son of, ii. 195. 
Caution was the Cause of his Death, The Man whose, i 291. 
Chamberlain’s Wife, The King and his, ii. 53. 
Clemency, Of, i. 120. 
Cook, The Lackpenny and the, i. 9. 
Craft, Women’s, ii. 287. 
Credulous Husband, The, i. 270.

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Dadbin (King) and his Viziers, Story of, i. 104. 
Damascus (Noureddin Ali of) and Sitt el Milah, iii. 3. 
Daughter of the Poor Old Man, The Rich Man who married his Fair, i. 247. 
Daughters, The Two Kings and the Vizier’s, iii. 145. 
David and Solomon, i. 275. 
Death, The Man whose Caution was the Cause of his, i. 291. 
Destiny, Of, i. 136. 
Dethroned King whose Kingdom and Good were restored to him, The, i. 285. 
Disciple’s Story, The, i. 283. 
Draper’s Wife, The Old Woman and the, ii. 55. 
Druggist, The Singer and the, i. 229.

Eighth Officer’s Story, The, ii. 155. 
Eleventh Officer’s Story, The, ii. 175. 
Endeavour against Persistent Ill Fortune, Of the Uselessness of, i. 70. 
Envy and Malice, Of, i. 125.

Favourite and her Lover, The, iii. 165. 
Favourite of the Khalif El Mamoun el Hakim bi Amrillah, The Merchant of Cairo and the, iii. 171. 
Fifteenth Officer’s Story, The, ii. 190. 
Fifth Officer’s Story, The, ii. 144. 
Firouz and his Wife, i. 209. 
First Officer’s Story, The, ii. 122. 
Forehead, Of that which is written on the, i. 136. 
Fortune, Of the Uselessness of Endeavour against Persistent Ill, i. 70. 
Foul-favoured Man and his Fair Wife, The, ii. 61. 
Fourteenth Officer’s Story, The, ii. 183. 
Fourth Officer’s Story, The, ii. 142. 
Fuller and his Wife, The, i. 261.

Girl, The Journeyman and the, ii. 17. 
God, Of the Speedy Relief of, i. 174. 
God, Of Trust in, i. 114. 
Governor, Story of the Man of Khorassan, his Son and his, i. 218.

Hakim (El) bi Amrillah, The Merchant and the Favourite of the Khalif El Mamoun, iii. 171. 
Haroun er Reshid, Tuhfet el Culoub and, ii. 203. 
Haroun er Reshid and the Woman of the Barmecides, i. 57. 
Hawk and the Locust, The, ii. 50. 
Hejjaj (El) and the Three Young Men, i. 53. 
Hind and his Vizier, The King of, ii. 105. 
Hindbad the Porter, Sindbad the Sailor and, iii. 199. 
Husband, The Credulous, i. 270.

Ibn es Semmak and Er Reshid, i. 195. 
Ibrahim and his Son, Story of King, i. 138. 
Idiot and the Sharper, The, i. 298. 
Ilan Shah and Abou Temam, Story of, i. 126. 
Ill Effects of Precipitation, Of the, i. 98. 
Ill Fortune, Of the Uselessness of Endeavour against Persistent, i 70. 
Issues of Affairs, Of Looking to the, i. 80. 
Issues of Good and Evil Actions, Of the, i. 103.

Jaafer ben Yehya and Abdulmelik ben Salih the Abbaside, i. 183. 
Jest of a Thief, A Merry, ii. 186. 
Jesus, The Three Men and our Lord, i. 282. 
Journeyman and the Girl, The, ii. 17.

Khalif, El Mamoun El Hakim bi Amrillah, The Merchant of Cairo and the Favourite of the, iii.
     171. 
Khalif Omar ben Abdulaziz and the Poets, The, i. 45. 
Khelbes and his Wife and the Learned Man, i. 301. 
Khorassan, his Son and his Governor, Story of the Man of, i. 218. 
King Azadbekht and his Son, History of, i. 61. 

Page 31

Lackpenny and the Cook, The, i. 9. 
Lavish of House and Victual to one whom he knew not, The Man who was, i. 293. 
Learned Man, Khelbes and his Wife and the, i. 301. 
Lewdness, The Pious Woman accused of, ii. 5. 
Locust, The Hawk and the, ii. 50. 
Looking to the Issues of Affairs, Of, i. 80. 
Lover, The Favourite and her, iii. 165.

Malice, Of Envy and, i. 125. 
Mamoun (El) El Hakim bi Amrillah, The Merchant and the Favourite of the Khalif, iii. 171. 
Mamoun (El) and Zubeideh, i. 199. 
Man whose Caution was the Cause of his Death, The, i. 291. 
Man and his Fair Wife, The Foul-favoured, ii. 61. 
Man of Khorassan, his Son and his Governor, Story of the, i. 218. 
Man who was lavish of House and Victual to One whom he knew not, The, i 293. 
Mariyeh, El Abbas and, iii. 53. 
Marriage to the Poor Old Man, The Rich Man who gave his Fair Daughter in, i. 247. 
Melik (El) Ez Zahir Rukneddin Bibers el Bunducdari and the Sixteen Officers of Police, ii. 117. 
Men and our Lord Jesus, The Three, i. 282. 
Merchant of Cairo and the Favourite of the Khalif El Maraoun El Hakim bi Amrillah, The, iii.
     171. 
Merchant and the King, The Old Woman, the, i. 265. 
Merchant and his Sons, The, i. 81. 
Merchant, The Unlucky, i. 73. 
Merchants, The Sharper and the, ii. 46. 
Merouzi (El) and Er Razi, ii. 28. 
Merry Jest of a Thief, A, ii. 186. 
Money-Changer and the Ass, The Sharpers, the, ii. 41.

Ninth Officer’s Story, The, ii. 167. 
Noureddin Ali of Damascus and Sitt el Milan, iii, 3. 
Numan (En) and the Arab of the Benou Tai, i. 203.

Officer’s Story, The First, ii. 122. 
Officer’s Story, The Second, ii. 134. 
Officer’s Story, The Third, ii. 137. 
Officer’s Story, The Fourth, ii. 142. 
Officer’s Story, The Fifth, ii. 144. 
Officer’s Story, The Sixth, ii. 146. 
Officer’s Story, The Seventh, ii. 150. 
Officer’s Story, the Eighth, ii. 155. 
Officer’s Story, The Ninth, ii. 167. 
Officer’s Story, The Tenth, ii. 172. 
Officer’s Story, The Eleventh, ii. 175. 

Page 32

Patience, Of the Advantages of, i. 89. 
Physician by his Wife’s Commandment, The Weaver who became a, ii. 21. 
Picture, The Prince who fell in love with the, i. 256. 
Pious Woman accused of Lewdness, The, ii. 5. 
Poets, The Khalif Omar ben Abdulaziz and the, i. 45. 
Police, El Melik ez Zahir Rukneddin Bibers el Bunducdari and the Sixteen Officers of, ii. 117. 
Poor Old Man, The Rich Man who gave his Fair Daughter in Marriage to the, i. 247. 
Porter, Sindbad the Sailor and Hindbad the, iii. 199
Precipitation, Of the Ill Effects of, i. 98
Prince Bihzad, Story of, i. 99. 
Prince who fell in Love with the Picture, The, i. 256. 
Prisoner and how God gave him Relief, Story of the, i. 174.

Quintessence of Things, The King who knew the, i. 230.

Razi (Er) and El Merouzi, ii. 28. 
Rehwan (Er), King Shah Bekht and his Vizier, i. 215. 
Relief of God, Of the Speedy, i. 174. 
Relief, Story of the Prisoner and how God gave him, i. 174. 
Reshid (Er) and the Barmecides, i. 189. 
Reshid (Er), Ibn es Semmak and, i. 195. 
Reshid (Er), Tuhfet el Culoub and, ii. 203. 
Reshid (Haroun er) and the Woman of the Barmecides, i. 57. 
Rich Man who gave his Fair Daughter in Marriage to the Poor Old Man, The, i. 247. 
Rich Man and his Wasteful Son, The, i. 252.

Sabir (Abou), Story of, i. 90. 
Sailor and Hindbad the Porter, Sindbad the, iii. 199. 
Second Officer’s Story, The, ii. 134. 
Selim and Selma, ii. 81. 
Selma, Selim and, ii. 81. 
Semmak (Ibn es) and Er Reshid, i. 195. 
Seventh Officer’s Story, The, ii. 150. 
Seventh Voyage of Sindbad the Sailor, The, iii. 224. 
Shah Bekht and his Vizier Er Rehwan, King, i. 215. 
Sharper, The Idiot and the, i. 298. 
Sharper and the Merchant, The, ii. 46
Sharper, Story of the Old, ii. 187. 
Sharpers who cheated each his Fellow, The Two, ii. 28. 
Sharpers, The Money-Changer and the Ass, The, ii. 41. 
Shehriyar, Shehrzad and, ii. 111, iii. 141, 157. 
Shehrzad and Shehriyar, ii. 111, iii. 141, 157. 
Sindbad the Sailor and Hindbad the Porter, iii. 199. 
Sindbad the Sailor, The Seventh Voyage of, iii. 224. 
Sindbad the Sailor, The Sixth Voyage of, iii. 203. 
Singer and the Druggist, The, i. 229. 
Sitt el Milah, Noureddin Ali of Damascus and, iii. 3. 
Sixteen Officers of Police, El Melik ez Zahir Rukneddin Bibers el Bunducdari and the, ii. 117. 

Page 33

Tai, En Numan and the Arab of the Benou. i. 203. 
Temam (Abou), Story of Ilan Shah and, i. 126. 
Ten Viziers, The, i. 61
Tenth Officer’s Story, The, ii. 172
Term, Of the Appointed, i. 147. 
Thief, A Merry Jest of a, ii. 186. 
Thiefs Story, The, ii. 165. 
Thief and the Woman, The, i. 278
Things, The King who knew the Quintessence of, i. 239
Third Officer’s Story, The, ii. 137. 
Thirteenth Officer’s Story, The, ii. 181. 
Three Men and our Lord Jesus, The, i. 282. 
Three Young Men, El Hejjaj and the, i. 53. 
Tither, The Unjust King and the, i. 273. 
Trust in God, Of, 114. 
Tuhfet el Culoub and Er Reshid, ii. 203. 
Twelfth Officer’s Story, The, ii.  I79. 
Two Kings and the Vizier’s Daughters, The, iii. 145

Unjust King and the Tither, The, i. 272
Unlucky Merchant, The, i 73. 
Uselessness of Endeavour against Persistent Ill Fortune, Of the, i. 70

Vizier, The King of Hind and his, ii. 105. 
Vizier Er Rehwan, King Shah Bekht and his, i. 215. 
Vizier’s Daughters, The Two Kings and the, iii. 145,
Viziers, Story of King Dadbin and his. i. 104. 
Viziers, The Ten, i. 61. 
Voyage of Sindbad the Sailor, The Seventh, iii. 224. 
Voyage of Sindbad the Sailor, The Sixth, iii. 203.

Wasteful Son, The Rich Man and his, i. 252. 
Weaver who became a Physician by his Wife’s Commandment, The ii. 21. 
Wife, The King and his Chamberlain’s, ii. 53. 
Wife, The Old Woman and the Draper’s, ii. 55. 
Wife, Firouz aad his, i. 209. 
Wife, The Fuller and his, i. 261. 
Wife and the Learned Man, Khelbes and his, i. 301. 
Woman accused of Lewdness, The Pious, ii. 5. 
Woman of the Barmecides, Haroun er Reshid and the, i. 57. 
Woman, The Thief and the, i. 278. 
Woman (The Old) and the Draper’s Wife, ii. 55. 
Woman (The Old), the Merchant and the King, i. 265. 
Women’s Craft, ii. 287.

Young Men, El Hejjaj and the Three, i. 53.

Zubeideh, El Mamoun and, i. 199

The End.

Tales from the Arabic, Volume 3
Endnotes

[FN#1] Breslau Text, vol. xii. pp. 50-116, Nights dcccclviii-dcccclxv.

[FN#2] Babylon, according to the Muslims, is the head-quarters of sorcery and it is there that the two fallen angels, Harout and Marout, who are appointed to tempt mankind by teaching them the art of magic, are supposed to be confined.

Page 34

[FN#3] i.e. “my lord,” a title generally prefixed to the names of saints.  It is probable, therefore, that the boy was named after some saint or other, whose title, as well as name, was somewhat ignorantly appropriated to him.

[FN#4] i.e. one and all?

[FN#5] i.e. a foretaste of hell.

[FN#6] Lit. he loaded his sleeve with.

[FN#7] A mithcal is the same as a dinar, i.e. about ten shillings.

[FN#8] Masculine.

[FN#9] He was a noted debauchee, as well as the greatest poet of his day See my “Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night,” Vol.  IV. p. 205, and Vol.  IX. p. 332.

[FN#10] See ante, Vol.  II. p. 240. note.

[FN#11] Princess of the Fair.

[FN#12] i.e.  Ye are welcome to.

[FN#13] i.e. the place in which those accused or convicted of crimes of violence were confined.

[FN#14] i.e. a youth slender and flexile as a bough.

[FN#15] i.e. sway gracefully.  A swimming gait is the ideal of elegance to the Arab.

[FN#16] An Arab of Medina, proverbial for faithlessness.

[FN#17] Joseph is the Mohammedan prototype of beauty.

[FN#18] For the loss of Joseph.  Jacob, in like manner, is the Muslim type of inconsolable grief.

[FN#19] Uncle of the Prophet.

[FN#20] First cousin of the Prophet.

[FN#21] i.e. cut off her head.

[FN#22] When asked, on the Day of Judgment, why he had slain her.

[FN#23] i.e. that some one of the many risings in Khorassan (which was in a chronic state of rebellion during Er Reshid’s reign) had been put down.

[FN#24] Lit. fry.  The custom is to sear the stump by plunging it into boiling oil.

[FN#25] Lit. of those having houses.

[FN#26] i.e. from God in the world to come.

[FN#27] I look to get God’s favour in consequence of thy fervent prayers for me.

[FN#28] Provided for ablution.

[FN#29] i.e. if you want a thing done, do it yourself.

[FN#30] i.e. put on the ordinary walking dress of the Eastern lady, which completely hides the person.

[FN#31] This is apparently said in jest; but the Muslim Puritan (such as the strict Wehhabi) is often exceedingly punctilious in refusing to eat or use anything that is not sanctified by mention in the Koran or the Traditions of the Prophet, in the same spirit as the old Calvinist Scotchwoman of popular tradition, who refused to eat muffins, because they “warna mentioned in the Bible.”

[FN#32] i.e. a leader (lit. foreman, antistes) of the people at prayer.

[FN#33] Koran ii. 168.

[FN#34] i.e.  I have eaten largely and the food lies heavy on my stomach.

[FN#35] Wine is considered by the Arabs a sovereign digestive.  See my “Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night,” Vol.  IV. p. 357.

Page 35

[FN#36] “The similitude of Paradise, the which is promised unto those who fear [God].  Therein are rivers of water incorruptible and rivers of milk, the taste whereof changeth not, and rivers of wine, a delight to the drinkers, and rivers of clarified honey.”—­Koran xlvii. 16, 17.

[FN#37] The ox is the Arab type of stupidity, as with us the ass.

[FN#38] Syn. wood (oud).

[FN#39] i.e. my pallor and emaciation testify to the affliction of my heart and the latter bears witness that the external symptoms correctly indicate the internal malady.

[FN#40] Lit. he is [first] the deposit of God, then thy deposit.

[FN#41] Or “by.”

[FN#42] See supra, Vol.  I. p. 35, note.

[FN#43] i.e. made him Chief of the Police of Baghdad, in place of the former Prefect, whom he had put to death with the rest of Noureddin’s oppressors.

[FN#44] For affright.

[FN#45] i.e. religious ceremonies so called.  See my “Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night,” Vol.  IX. p. 113, note.

[FN#46] Breslau Text, vol. xii. pp. 116-237, Nights dcccclxvi-dcccclxxix.

[FN#47] i.e.  A member of the tribe of Sheiban.  No such King of Baghdad (which was not founded till the eighth century) as Ins ben Cais is, I believe, known to history.

[FN#48] The cities and provinces of Bassora and Cufa are generally known as “The Two Iraks”; but the name is here in all probability used in its wider meaning of Irak Arabi (Chaldaea) and Irak Farsi (Persian Irak).

[FN#49] i.e. all those languages the knowledge whereof is necessary to an interpreter or dragoman (properly terjeman).  Or quaere is the word terjemaniyeh (dragomanish) here a mistranscription for turkumaniyeh (Turcoman).

[FN#50] i.e. gilded?

[FN#51] i.e. sperma hominis.

[FN#52] Syn. good breeding.

[FN#53] i.e. those women of equal age and rank with herself.

[FN#54] i.e. vaunting himself of offering richer presents.

[FN#55] Apparently Zebid, the ancient capital of the province of Tehameh in Yemen, a town on the Red Sea, about sixty miles north of Mocha.  The copyist of the Tunis Ms. appears to have written the name with the addition of the characteristic desinence (oun) of the nominative case, which is dropped except in the Koran and in poetry.

[FN#56] Name of the province in which Mecca is situated.

[FN#57] Syn. assembly.

[FN#58] i.e. day and night, to wit, for ever.

[FN#59] Syn. the loftiness of his purpose.

[FN#60] Lit “I charm thee by invoking the aid of God for thee against evil” or “I seek refuge with God for thee.”

[FN#61] Or “determinate.”

[FN#62] Koran xxxiii. 38.

[FN#63] Or “accomplishments.”

[FN#64] i.e. to make a pleasure-excursion.

Page 36

[FN#65] Lit. beset his back.

[FN#66] Lit. in its earth.

[FN#67] The king’s own tribe.

[FN#68] i.e. the Arab of the desert or Bedouin (el Aarabi), the nomad.

[FN#69] i.e. the martial instinct.

[FN#70] Lit.  “And he who is oppressed shall become oppressor.”

[FN#71] i.e. be not ashamed to flee rather than perish in thy youth, if his prowess (attributed to diabolical aid or possession) prove too much for thee.

[FN#72] A periphrastic way of saying, “I look to God for help.”

[FN#73] i.e. from the world.

[FN#74] In laughter.

[FN#75] i.e. as he were a flying genie, swooping down upon a mortal from the air, hawk-fashion.

[FN#76] Syn.  “Thou settest out to me a mighty matter.”

[FN#77] i.e. the castle.

[FN#78] i.e. was eloquent and courtly to the utmost.

[FN#79] i.e. died.

[FN#80] The Arabs use the right hand only in eating.

[FN#81] Name of a quarter of Baghdad.

[FN#82] i.e. he summoneth thee to his presence by way of kindness and not because he is wroth with thee.

[FN#83] i.e. in allowing thee hitherto to remain at a distance from as and not inviting thee to attach thyself to our person.

[FN#84] An Arab idiom, meaning “he showed agitation.”

[FN#85] Apparently two well-known lovers.

[FN#86] Apparently two well-known lovers.

[FN#87] i.e. the wandering Arabs.

[FN#88] i.e. slain.

[FN#89] “O ye who believe, seek aid of patience and prayer; verily, God is with the patient.”—­Koran ii. 148.

[FN#90] Lit. “ignorant one” (jahil).

[FN#91] i.e.  Peninsula.  Jezireh (sing, of jezair, islands) is constantly used by the Arabs in this sense; hence much apparent confusion in topographical passages.

[FN#92] i.e.  Mecca and Medina.

[FN#93] i.e. whether on a matter of sport, such as the chase, or a grave matter, such as war, etc.

[FN#94] i.e. the children of his fighting-men whom thou slewest.

[FN#95] Arab fashion of shaking hands.  See my “Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night,” Vol.  IX p. 171, note.

[FN#96] Lit. a cleft meadow (merj selia).  This is probably a mistranscription for merj sselia, a treeless champaign.

[FN#97] i.e. one of the small rooms opening upon the hall of audience at saloon of estate.

[FN#98] So she might hear and see what passed, herself unseen.

[FN#99] Or knowledge of court etiquette.

[FN#100] i.e. richer.

[FN#101] Lit. seen.

[FN#102] Lit. what she did.

[FN#103] i.e. tabooed or unlawful in a religious sense (heram).

[FN#104] i.e. those of El Aziz, who had apparently entered the city or passed through it on their way to the camp of El Abbas.

Page 37

[FN#105] Lit. none of the sons of the road.

[FN#106] i.e. the stars.

[FN#107] i.e. in falsetto?

[FN#108] by thine absence.

[FN#109] Common abbreviation for “May I be thy ransom!”

[FN#110] i.e. for love of and longing for.

[FN#111] i.e. leather from Et Taif, a town of the Hejaz, renowned for the manufacture of scented goats’ leather.

[FN#112] Or “suspended in.”

[FN#113] i.e. violateth my privacy.

[FN#114] i.e. the plaintive song of a nightingale or turtle-dove.

[FN#115] This curious comparison appears to be founded upon the extreme tenuity of the particles of fine dust, so minutely divided as to seem almost fluid.

[FN#116] i.e. he carried it into the convent, hidden under his cloak.

[FN#117] i.e. all the delights of Paradise, as promised to the believer by the Koran.

[FN#118] “Him” in the text and so on throughout the piece; but Mariyeh is evidently the person alluded to, according to the common practice of Muslim poets of a certain class, who consider it indecent openly to mention a woman as an object of love.

[FN#119] i.e. from the witchery of her beauty.  See Vol.  II. p. 240, note.

[FN#120] Lit “if thou kohl thyself” i.e. use them as a cosmetic for the eye.

[FN#121] i.e. we will assume thy debts and responsibilities.

[FN#122] Lit “behind.”

[FN#123] i.e. a specially auspicious hour, as ascertained by astrological calculations.  Eastern peoples have always laid great stress upon the necessity of commencing all important undertakings at an (astrologically) favourable time.

[FN#124] Or “more valuable.”  Red camels are considered better than those of other colours by some of the Arabs.

[FN#125] i.e. couriers mounted on dromedaries, which animals are commonly used for this purpose, being (for long distances) swifter and more enduring than horses.

[FN#126] Lit. he sinned against himself.

[FN#127] i.e. in falsetto?

[FN#128] i.e. of gold or rare wood, set with balass rubies.

[FN#129] i.e. whose absence.

[FN#130] i.e. in a throat voice?

[FN#131] Koranic synonym, victual (rihan).  See Vol.  II. p. 247, note.

[FN#132] Apparently, the apple of the throat.

[FN#133] Apparently, the belly.

[FN#134] Apparently, the bosom.

[FN#135] Cf.  Fletcher’s well-known song in The Bloody Brother;

     “Hide, O hide those hills of snow,
        That thy frozen bosom bears,
     On Whose Tops the Pinks That Grow
        Are of those that April wears.”

[FN#136] i.e. the breasts themselves.

[FN#137] i.e. your languishing beauties are alone present to my mind’s eye.  A drowsy voluptuous air of languishment is considered by the Arabs an especial charm.

Page 38

[FN#138] Syn. chamberlain (hajib).

[FN#139] Syn. eyebrow (hajib).  The usual trifling play of words is of course intended.

[FN#140] Lit. feathers.

[FN#141] Solomon is fabled by the Muslims to have compelled the wind to bear his throne when placed upon his famous magic carpet.  See my “Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night,” Vol.  V. pp. 235-6.

[FN#142] Quære the teeth.

[FN#143] i.e. the return of our beloved hath enabled us to remove the barriers that stood between us and delight.

[FN#144] Singing (as I have before pointed out) is not, in the eyes of the strict Muslim, a reputable occupation and it is, therefore, generally the first idea of the “repentant” professional songstress or (as in this case) enfranchised slave-girl, who has been wont to entertain her master with the display of her musical talents, to free herself from all signs of her former profession and identify herself as closely as possible with the ordinary “respectable” bourgeoise of the harem, from whom she has been distinguished hitherto by unveiled face and freedom of ingress and egress; and with this aim in view she would naturally be inclined to exaggerate the rigour of Muslim custom, as applied to herself.

[FN#145] Breslau Text, vol. xii. pp. 383-4 (Night mi).

[FN#146] i.e. that of the king, his seven viziers, his son and his favourite, which in the Breslau Edition immediately follows the Story of El Abbas and Mariyeh and occupies pp. 237-383 of vol. xii. (Nights dcccclxxix-m).  It will be found translated in my “Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night,” Vol.  V. pp. 260-346, under the name of “The Malice of Women.”

[FN#147] i.e. those who practise it.

[FN#148] Or “cause” (sebeb).

[FN#149] Or “preservation” (selameh).

[FN#150] Or “turpitude, anything that is hateful or vexatious” (keraheh).

[FN#151] Or “preservation” (selameh).

[FN#152] Or “turpitude, anything that is hateful or vexatious” (keraheh).

[FN#153] These preliminary words of Shehrzad have no apparent connection with the story that immediately follows and which is only her own told in the third person, and it is difficult to understand why they should be here introduced.  The author may have intended to connect them with the story by means of a further development of the latter and with the characteristic carelessness of the Eastern story-teller, forgotten or neglected to carry out his intention; or, again, it is possible that the words in question may have been intended as an introduction to the Story of the Favourite and her Lover (see post, p. 165), to which they seem more suitable, and have been misplaced by an error of transcription.  In any case, the text is probably (as usual) corrupt.

[FN#154] Breslau Text, vol. xii. pp. 384-394.

[FN#155] The kingdom of the elder brother is afterwards referred to as situate in China.  See post, p. 150.

Page 39

[FN#156] Tubba was the dynastic title of the ancient Himyerite Kings of Yemen, even as Chosroës and Cæsar of the Kings of Persia and the Emperors of Constantinople respectively.

[FN#157] i.e. a king similar in magnificence and dominion to the monarchs of the three dynasties aforesaid, whose names are in Arab literature synonyms for regal greatness.

[FN#158] i.e. his rage was ungovernable, so that none dared approach him in his heat of passion.

[FN#159] i.e. maidens cloistered or concealed behind curtains and veiled in the harem.

[FN#160] i.e. those whose business it is to compose or compile stories, verses, etc., for the entertainment of kings and grandees.

[FN#161] i.e. that his new and damnable custom.  The literal meaning of bidah is “an innovation or invention, anything new;” but the word is commonly used in the sense of “heresy” or “heterodox innovation,” anything new being naturally heretical in the eyes of the orthodox religionist.

[FN#162] i.e. women.

[FN#163] Breslau Text, vol. xii. pp. 394-398.

[FN#164] i.e. his apathy or indifference to the principles of right and wrong and the consequences of his wicked behaviour.

[FN#165] i.e. in a state of reprobation, having incurred the wrath of God.

[FN#166] hath mentioned the office of vizier.

[FN#167] Koran xx. 30.

[FN#168] i.e. none had been better qualified to dispense with a vizier than he.

[FN#169] i.e. the essential qualification.

[FN#170] The word jeish (troops) is here apparently used in the sense at officials, ministers of government.

[FN#171] Or “rectification.”

[FN#172] Koran xxxiii. 35.

[FN#173] i.e.  I know not which to choose of the superabundant material at my command in the way of instances of women’s craft.

[FN#174] Breslau Text, vol xii. pp. 398-402.

[FN#175] i.e. incensed with the smoke of burning musk.  It is a common practice in the East to fumigate drinking-vessels with the fragrant smoke of aloes-wood and other perfumes, for the purpose of giving a pleasant flavour to the water, etc., drunk from them.

[FN#176] Huneini foucaniyeh.  Foucaniyeh means “upper” (fem.); but the meaning of huneini is unknown to me.

[FN#177] Heriseh.  See supra, Vol.  II. p. 26, note 4.

[FN#178] The Arabs distinguish three kinds of honey, i.e. bees’ honey, cane honey (treacle or syrup of sugar) and drip-honey (date-syrup).

[FN#179] i.e. yet arrive in time for the rendezvous.

[FN#180] Breslau Text, pp. 402-412.

[FN#181] i.e. on an island between two branches of the Nile.

Page 40

[FN#182] It is not plain what Khalif is here meant, though it is evident, from the context, that an Egyptian prince is referred to, unless the story is told of the Abbaside Khalif El Mamoun, son of Er Reshid (A.D. 813-33), during his temporary residence in Egypt, which he is said to have visited.  This is, however, unlikely, as his character was the reverse of sanguinary; besides, El Mamoun was not his name, but his title (Aboulabbas Abdallah El Mamoun Billah).  Two Khalifs of Egypt assumed the title of El Hakim bi Amrillah (He who rules or decrees by or in accordance with the commandment of God), i.e. the Fatimite Abou Ali El Mensour (A.D. 995-1021), and the faineant Abbaside Aboulabbas Ahmed (A.D. 1261-1301); but neither of these was named El Mamoun.  It is probable, however, that the first named is the prince referred to in the story, the latter having neither the power nor the inclination for such wholesale massacres as that described in the text, which are perfectly in character with the brutal and fantastic nature of the founder of the Druse religion.

[FN#183] i.e. the well-known island of that name (The Garden).

[FN#184] i.e. “whatever may betide” or “will I, nill I”?

[FN#185] Lit. she was cut off or cut herself off.

[FN#186] Lit.  “The convent of Clay.”

[FN#187] i.e. this is the time to approve thyself a man.

[FN#188] To keep her afloat.

[FN#189] Lit “Thou art the friend who is found (or present) (or the vicissitudes of Time (or Fortune).”

[FN#190] i.e. the officer whose duty it is to search out the estates of intestates and lay hands upon such property as escheats to the Crown for want of heirs.

[FN#191] i.e.  Sumatran.

[FN#192] i.e.  Alexander.

[FN#193] i.e. the blackness of the hair.

[FN#194] The ingenuity of the bride’s attendants, on the occasion of a wedding, is strained to the utmost to vary her attire and the manner in which the hair is dressed on the occasion of her being displayed to her husband, and one favourite trick consists in fastening her tresses about her chin and cheeks, so as to produce a sort of imitation of beard and whiskers.

[FN#195] Literal.

[FN#196] i.e.  God only knows if it be true or not.

[FN#197] Or rather appended to.  The Voyages of Sindbad the Sailor form no part of the scheme of Nights in this edition, but are divided into “Voyages” only and form a sort of appendix, following the Two hundredth Night.  See my “Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night,” Vol.  IX. pp. 307-8.

[FN#198] See my “Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night,” Vol.  V. pp. 202 and 210.

[FN#199] i.e. the porter and the other guests.

[FN#200] i.e. a mountainous island.

[FN#201] Kherabeh, lit. a hole.  Syn. ruin or destruction.

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[FN#202] i.e. an outlying spur or reef.

[FN#203] Syn. perilous place.

[FN#204] Lit. their guide was disappointed.

[FN#205] i.e. means (hileh) of sustaining life.

[FN#206] i.e. death.

[FN#207] i.e.  Ceylon.

[FN#208] Audiyeh (plural of wadi, a valley).  The use of the word in this sense points to an African origin of this version of the story.  The Moors of Africa and Spain commonly called a river “a valley,” by a natural figure of metonymy substituting the container for the contained; e.g.  Guadalquiver (Wadi el Kebir, the Great River), Guadiana, etc.

[FN#209] i.e. after the usual compliments, the letter proceeded thus.

[FN#210] i.e. we are thine allies in peace and war, for offence and defence.  Those whom thou lovest we love, and those whom thou hatest we hate.

[FN#211] About seventy-two grains.

[FN#212] Or public appearance.

[FN#213] Solomon was the dynastic name of the kings of the prae-Adamite Jinn and is here used in a generic sense, as Chosroes for the ancient Kings of Persia, Caesar for the Emperors of Constantinople, Tubba for the Himyerite Kings of Yemen, etc., etc.

[FN#214] i.e.  Maharajah.

[FN#215] Or “government.”

[FN#216] Every Muslim is bound by law to give alms to the extent of two and half per cent. of his property.

[FN#217] In North-east Persia.

[FN#218] Alleged to have been found by the Arab conquerors of Spain on the occasion of the sack of Toledo and presented by them to the Ommiade Khalif El Welid ben Abdulmelik (A.D. 705-716).  See my “Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night,” Vol.  III. p. 331.

[FN#219] i.e. such as are fit to be sent from king to king.

[FN#220] i.e, the price of his victual and other necessaries for the voyage.

[FN#221] Lit. riding-beast (French monture, no exact English equivalent), whether camel, mule or horse does not appear.

[FN#222] The Envier and the Envied.

[FN#223] After the manner of Orientalists, a far more irritable folk than any poets.

[FN#224] By the by, apropos of this soi-disant complete translation of the great Arabian collection of romantic fiction, it is difficult to understand how an Orientalist of repute, such as Dr. Habicht, can have put forth publication of this kind, which so swarms with blunders of every description as to throw the mistakes of all other translators completely into the shade and to render it utterly useless to the Arabic scholar as a book of reference.  We can only conjecture that he must have left the main portion of the work to be executed, without efficient supervision, by incapable collaborators or that he undertook and executed the translation in such haste as to preclude the possibility of any preliminary examination and revision, worthy

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[FN#225] The Boulac Edition omits this story altogether.

[FN#226] Calcutta (1839-42) and Boulac 134b.  “The Merchant’s Wife and the Parrot.”

[FN#227] This will be found translated in my “Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night,” Vol.  VII. p. 307, as an Appendix to the Calcutta (1839-42) and Boulac version of the story, from which it differs in detail.

[FN#228] Called “Bekhit” in Calcutta (1839-42) and Boulac Editions.

[FN#229] Yehya ben Khalid (Calcutta (1839-42) and Boulac).

[FN#230] “Shar” (Calcutta (1839-42) and Boulac).

[FN#231] “Jelyaad” (Calcutta (1839-42) and Boulac).

[FN#232] Calcutta (1839-42) and Boulac, No. 63.  See my “Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night,” Vol.  IV. p. 211.

[FN#233] Calcutta (1839-42) and Boulac, “Jaafer the Barmecide.”

[FN#234] Calcutta (1839-42) and Boulac, “The Thief turned Merchant and the other Thief,” No. 88.

[FN#235] This story will be found translated in my “Book at the Thousand Nights and One Night,’ Vol.  V. p. 345.

[FN#236] The Third Old Man’s Story is wanting.

[FN#237] The Story of the Portress is wanting.

[FN#238] Calcutta (1839-42), Boulac and Breslan, “The Controller’s Story.”

[FN#239] Calcutta (1839-42) and Boulac, “Sindbad the Sailor and Sindbad the Porter.”

[FN#240] Tuhfeh.

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