The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night, vol 16 by Sir Richard Francis Burton (bill gates books recommendations .TXT) 📕

Zotenberg suggests that the first part of this MS may have been copied from Galland’s last volume, which may have existed at the time in private hands.

The two last MSS. contain nearly the same tales, though with numerous variations.

M. Zotenberg discusses the hypothesis of Chavis’ MS. being a translation from the French, and definitely rejects it.

[Section V.]—Here M. Zotenberg discusses the MSS. of the Nights in general, and divides them into three categories. 1. MSS. proceeding from Muslim parts of Asia. These, except the MSS. of Michael Sabbagh and that of Chavis, contain only the first part of the work. They are all more or less incomplete, and stop short in the middle of the text. They are not quite uniform, especially in their readings, but generally contain the same tales arranged in the same order. II. Recent MSS. of Egyptian origin, characterised by a special style, and a more condensed narrative; by the nature and arrangement of the tales, by a great number of anecdotes and fables; and by the early part of the work containing the great romance of chivalry of King Omar Bin Al-Nu’uman. III.

MSS. mostly of Egyptian origin, differing as much among themselves in the arrangement of the tales as do those of the other groups.

The following MSS. are mentioned as belonging to the first group:—

I. Galland’s MS. in the Biblioth�que Nationale, Nos. 1506-1508.

II. MS. in the Vatican, No. 782.

III. Dr. Russell’s MS. from Aleppo.

IV. MS. in the Bibl. Nat. (Suppl. 1715, I and II.).

V. MS. in the Library of Christ Church College, Oxford (No. ccvii.).

VI. MS. in the Library of the India Office, London (No. 2699).

VII. Sir W. Jones’ MS., used by Richardson.

VIII. Rich’s MS. in the Library of the British Museum (Addit. 7404).

IX. MS. in Bibl. Nat. (Suppl. 2522 and 2523) X. MS. in Bibl. Nat. (Suppl.

1716).

The following MSS. are enumerated as belonging to the second group:—

I. Salt’s MS. (printed in Calcutta in 4 vols.).

II-IV. Three complete MSS. in Biblioth�que Nationale (Suppl. Arabe, Nos.

1717,1718, 1719).

V. Incomplete MS. of Vol. II. in Bibl. Nat. (Suppl. Arabe, Nos 2198 to 2200).

VI. Incomplete MS. of Vol. 4 (Suppl. Arabe, Nos. 2519 to 2521).

VII. Odd vol. containing Nights 656 to 1001 (Suppl. Arabe, No. 1721, III.).

XII. MS. containing Nights 284 to 327 (Suppl. Arabe, No. 1720).

XIII. MS. in British Museum (Oriental MSS., Nos. 1593 to 1598).

XIV. Ditto (Oriental MSS., Nos. 2916 to 2919).

XV. Burckhardt’s MS. in the University Library at Cambridge (B. MSS. 106 to 109).

XVI. MS. in the Vatican (Nos. 778 to 781).

XVII. MS. in the Ducal Library at Gotha.

XVIII. Odd vol. in ditto.

XIX. MS. in the Royal Library at Munich.

XX. Ditto, incomplete (De Sacy’s).

XXI. Fragment in the Library of the Royal and Imperial Library at Vienna (No.

CL.).

XXII. MS. in the Imperial Public Library at St. Petersburg (Von Hammer’s).

XXIII.MS. in the Library of the Institute for the Study of Oriental languages at St. Petersburg (Italinski’s).

XXIV. Mr. Clarke’s MS. (cf. Nights, x., App. pp. 444-448).

XXV. Caussin de Perceval’s MS.

XXVI. Sir W. Ouseley’s MSS.

The above list does not include copies or fragments in various libraries of which M. Zotenberg has no sufficient information, nor miscellaneous collection in which tales from the Nights are mixed with others.

Portions of Habicht’s MS. appear to belong to the Egyptian recension, and others to have come from further East.

There is a MS. in the Biblioth�que Nationale (Suppl. Arabe, No. 1721, IV.) from Egypt, containing the first 210 Nights, which somewhat resembles Habicht’s MS. both in style and in the arrangement of the tales. The Third Shaykh’s Story (No. 1 c.) is entirely different from those in the ordinary MSS., nor is it the same as that in the Turkish version of the Nights, which is again quite different from either. In this MS. (No. 1721, IV.) No. 6 is followed by Nos. 7, 174, and 133.

Then follow notices of Anderson’s MS., used by Scott, but which cannot now be traced the Calcutta edition of the first 200 Nights; and of the Wortley Montague MS. These form M. Zotenberg’s third group of MSS.

M. Zotenberg does not enter into the question of the original form, date and constituents of the primitive work, but concludes that the complete work as we now have it only assumed its present form at a comparatively recent period.

But it must not be forgotten that the details, description, manners, and style of the tales composing this vast collection, are undergoing daily alteration both from narrators and copyists.

Then follows an Appendix, in which M. Zotenberg has copied two tales from Galland’s journals, which he took down as related by the Maronite Hanna. One of these is new to me, it is the story of the Three Princes, and the Genius Morhagian and his Daughters (added at the end of this section); and the other is the well-known story of the Envious Sisters.

The remainder of M. Zotenberg’s volume contains the Arabic text of the story of ‘Ala Al-Din, or the Wonderful Lamp, with numerous critical notes, most of which refer to Galland’s version. A few pages of Chavis’ text are added for comparison.

The story itself, M. Zotenberg remarks, is modern, giving a faithful picture of Egyptian manners under the reign of the last Mamlouk Sultans. Some expressions which occur in the French Arabic Dictionary of Ellions Bocthor and of A. Caussin de Perceval, are apparently derived from the story of ‘Ala Al-Din.

Story of the Three Princes and the Genius Morhagian and His Daughters.

[Reprinted by M. Zotenberg (pp. 53-61) from Galland’s Journal, MS. francais, No. 15277, pp. 120-131. The passages in brackets are added by the present translator (chiefly where Galland has inserted “etc.”) to fill up the sense.]

When the Sultan of Samarcand had reached a great age, he called the three princes, his sons, and after observing that he was much pleased to see how much they loved and revered him, he gave them leave to ask for whatever they most desired. They had only to speak, and he was ready to grant them whatever they asked, let it be what it might, on the sole condition that he should satisfy the eldest first, and the two younger ones afterwards, each in his turn. The eldest prince, whose name was Rostam, begged the Sultan to build him a cabinet of bricks of gold and silver alternately, and roofed with all kinds of precious stones.

The Sultan issued his orders that very day, but before the roof of the cabinet was finished, indeed before any furniture had been put into it, Prince Rostam asked his father’s leave to sleep there. The Sultan tried to dissuade him, saying that [the roof] ought to be finished first, but the prince was so impatient that he ordered his bed to be removed there, and he lay down. He was reading the Koran about midnight, when suddenly the floor opened and he beheld a most hideous genius named Morhagian rise from the ground, who cried out, “You are a prince, but even if you were the Sultan himself, I would not refrain from taking vengeance for your rashness in entering this house which has been built just above the palace of my eldest daughter.” At the same time he paced around the cabinet, and struck its walls, when the whole cabinet was reduced to dust so fine that the wind carried it away, and left not a trace of it. The prince drew his sword, and pursued the genius, who took to flight until he came to a well, into which he plunged [and vanished]. When the prince appeared before his father the Sultan next morning, he was overwhelmed with confusion [not only at what had happened, but on account of his disobedience to his father, who reproached him severely for having disregarded his advice].

The second prince, whose name was Gaiath Eddin (Ghay�th al-Din), then requested the Sultan to build him a cabinet constructed entirely of the bones of fishes. The Sultan ordered it to be built, at great expense. Prince Gaiath Eddin had no more patience to wait till it was quite finished than his brother Rostam. He lay down in the cabinet notwithstanding the Sultan’s warnings, but took care to keep his sword by his side The genius Morhagian appeared to him also at midnight, paid him the same compliment, and told him that the cabinet was built over the palace of his second daughter. He reduced it to dust, and Prince Gaiath Eddin pursued him, sword in hand, to the well, where he escaped; and next day the prince appeared before his father, the Sultan [as crestfallen as his brother].

The third prince, who was named Badialzaman (Bad�u’l-Zam�n = Rarity of the Age) obtained leave from the Sultan to build a cabinet entirely of rock crystal. He went to sleep there before it was entirely finished, but without saying anything to the Sultan, as he was resolved to see whether Morhagian would treat him in the same way. Morhagian arrived at midnight, and declared that the cabinet was built over the palace of his third daughter. He destroyed the cabinet’ and when the prince seized his sword, Morhagian took to flight.

The prince wounded him three times before he reached the well, but he nevertheless succeeded in escaping.

Prince Badialzaman did not present himself to the Sultan, but went to the two princes, his brothers, and urged them to pursue the genius in the well itself.

The three went together, and the eldest was let down into the well by a rope, but after descending a certain distance, he cried out, and asked to be drawn up a rain. He excused his failure by saying that he felt a burning heat [and was almost suffocated]. The same thing happened to Prince Gaiath Eddin, who likewise cried out till he was drawn up. Prince Badialzaman then had himself let down but commanded his brothers not to draw him up again, even if he should cry out. They let him down, and he cried out, but he continued to descend till he reached the bottom of the well, when he untied himself from the rope, and called out to his brothers that the air was very foul. At the bottom of the well he found an open door and he advanced for some distance between two walls, at the end of which he found a golden door, which he opened, and beheld a magnificent palace. He entered and passed through the kitchen and the storerooms, which were filled with all kinds of provisions, and then inspected the rooms, when he entered one magnificently furnished with sofas and divans. He was curious to find out who lived there, so he hid himself. Soon afterwards he beheld a flight of doves alight at the edge of a basin of water in the middle of the court The doves plunged into the water, and emerged from it as women, each of whom immediately set about her appointed work. One went to the store room, another to the kitchen a third began to sweep [and so on]. They prepared a feast [as if for expected guests]. Some time afterwards, Badialza man beheld another flight of ten doves of different colours who surrounded an eleventh, which was quite white, and these also perched on the edge of the basin. The ten doves plunged into the basin and came forth as women, more beautiful than