The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night, vol 8 by Sir Richard Francis Burton (great books for teens TXT) 📕

“A Moon, when he bends him those eyes lay bare * A brand that gars gazing gazelle despair:

A King, rarest charms are the host of him * And his lance-like shape men with cane compare:

Were his softness of sides to his heart transferred His friend had not suffered such cark and care: Ah for hardest heart and for softest sides! Why not that to these alter, make here go there?

O thou who accusest my love excuse: * Take eternal and leave me the transient share.”[FN#434]

When Nur al-Din heard the sweetness of her voice and the rareness of her verse, he inclined to her for delight and could not contain himself for excess of wonderment; so he recited these couplets.

“Methought she was the forenoon sun until she donned the veil *

But lit she fire in vitals mine still flaring fierce and high,

How had it hurt her an she deigned return my poor sal�m * With fingertips or e’en vouchsafed one little wink of eye?

The cavalier who spied her face was wholly stupefied * By charms that glorify the place and every charm outvie.

‘Be this the Fair who makes thee pine and long for love liesse? *

Indeed thou art excused!’ ‘This is my fairest she;’(quoth I) Who shot me with the shaft of looks nor deigns to rue my woes *

Of strangerhood and broken heart and love I must aby: I rose a-morn with vanquished heart, to longing love a prey * And weep I through the live long day and all the night I cry.”

The girl marvelled at his eloquence and elegance and taking her lute, smote thereon with the goodliest of performance, repeating all the melodies, and sang these couplets, “By the life o’ thy face, O thou life o’ my sprite! * I’ll ne’er leave thy love for despair or delight: When art cruel thy vision stands hard by my side And the thought of thee haunts me when far from sight: O who saddenest my glance albe weeting that I No love but thy love will for ever requite?

Thy cheeks are of Rose and thy lips-dews are wine; * Say, wilt grudge them to us in this charming site?”

Hereat Nur al-Din was gladdened with extreme gladness and wondered with the utmost wonder, so he answered her verse with these couplets,

“The sun yellowed not in the murk gloom li’en * But lay pearl enveiled ‘neath horizon-chine;

Nor showed its crest to the eyes of Morn * But took refuge from parting with Morning-shine.[FN#435]

Take my tear-drops that trickle as chain on chain * And they’ll tell my case with the clearest sign.

An my tears be likened to Nile-flood, like * Malak’s[FN#436]

flooded flat be this love o’mine.

Quoth she, ‘Bring thy riches!’ Quoth I, ‘Come, take!’ * ‘And thy sleep?’ ‘Yes, take it from lids of eyne!’”

When the girl heard Nur al-Din’s words and noted the beauty of his eloquence her senses fled and her wit was dazed and love of him gat hold upon her whole heart. So she pressed him to her bosom and fell to kissing him like the billing of doves, whilst he returned her caresses with successive kisses; but preeminence appertaineth to precedence.[FN#437] When she had made an end of kissing, she took the lute and recited these couplets, “Alas, alack and well-away for blamer’s calumny! Whether or not I make my moan or plead or show no plea: O spurner of my love I ne’er of thee so hard would deem That I of thee should be despised, of thee my property.

I wont at lovers’ love to rail and for their passion chide, But now I fain debase myself to all who rail at thee: Yea, only yesterday I wont all amourists to blame But now I pardon hearts that pine for passion’s ecstasy; And of my stress of parting-stowre on me so heavy weighs * At morning prayer to Him I’ll cry, ‘In thy name, O Ali!’”

And also these two couplets,

“His lovers said, ‘Unless he deign to give us all a drink * Of wine, of fine old wine his lips deal in their purity; We to the Lord of Threefold Worlds will pray to grant our prayer’

* And all exclaim with single cry ‘In thy name, O Ali!’”

Nur al-Din, hearing these lines and their rhyme, marvelled at the fluency of her tongue and thanked her, praising her grace and passing seductiveness; and the damsel, delighted at his praise, arose without stay or delay and doffing that was upon her of outer dress and trinkets till she was free of all encumbrance sat down on his knees and kissed him between the eyes and on his cheek-mole. Then she gave him all she had put off.—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.

When it was the Eight Hundred and Sixty-ninth Night, She pursued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the girl gave to Nur al-Din all she had doffed, saying, “O beloved of my heart, in very sooth the gift is after the measure of the giver.”

So he accepted this from her and gave it back to her and kissed her on the mouth and cheeks and eyes. When this was ended and done, for naught is durable save the Living, the Eternal, Provider of the peacock and the owl,[FN#438] Nur al-Din rose from the s�ance and stood upon his feet, because the darkness was now fallen and the stars shone out; whereupon quoth the damsel to him, “Whither away, O my lord?”; and quoth he, “To my father’s home.” Then the sons of the merchants conjured him to night with them, but he refused and mounting his shemule, rode, without stopping, till he reached his parent’s house, where his mother met him and said to him, “O my son, what hath kept thee away till this hour? By Allah, thou hast troubled myself and thy sire by thine absence from us, and our hearts have been occupied with thee.” Then she came up to him, to kiss him on his mouth, and smelling the fumes of the wine, said, “O my wine-bibber and a rebel against Him to whom belong creation and commandment?” But Nur al-Din threw himself down on the bed and lay there. Presently in came his sire and said, “What aileth Nur al-Din to lie thus?”; and his mother answered, “‘Twould seem his head acheth for the air of the garden.” So Taj al-Din went up to his son, to ask him of his ailment, and salute him, and smelt the reek of wine.[FN#439] Now the merchant loved not wine-drinkers; so he said to Nur al-Din, “Woe to thee, O my son! Is folly come to such a pass with thee, that thou drinkest wine?” When Nur al-Din heard his sire say this, he raised his hand, being yet in his drunkenness, and dealt him a buffet, when by decree of the Decreer the blow lit on his father’s right eye which rolled down on his cheek; whereupon he fell a-swoon and lay therein awhile.

They sprinkled rosewater on him till he recovered, when he would have beaten his son; but the mother withheld him, and he swore, by the oath of divorce from his wife that, as soon as morning morrowed, he would assuredly cut off his son’s right hand.[FN#440] When she heard her husband’s words, her breast was straitened and she feared for he son and ceased not to soothe and appease his sire, till sleep overcame him. Then she waited till moon-rise, when she went in to her son, whose drunkenness had now departed from him, and said to him, “O Nur al-Din, what is this foul deed thou diddest with thy sire?” He asked, “And what did I with him?”; and answered she, “Thou dealtest him a buffet on the right eye and struckest it out so that it rolled down his cheek; and he hath sworn by the divorce-oath that, as soon as morning shall morrow he will without fail cut off thy right hand.” Nur al-Din repented him of that he had done, whenas repentance profited him naught, and his mother sait to him, “O my son, this penitence will not profit thee; nor will aught avail thee but that thou arise forthwith and seek safety in flight: go forth the house privily and take refuge with one of thy friends and there what Allah shall do await, for he changeth case after case and state upon state.” Then she opened a chest and taking out a purse of an hundred dinars said, “O my son, take these dinars and provide thy wants therewith, and when they are at an end, O my son, send and let me know thereof, that I may send thee other than these, and at the same time covey to me news of thyself privily: haply Allah will decree thee relief and thou shalt return to thy home. And she farewelled him and wept passing sore, nought could be more. Thereupon Nur al-Din took the purse of gold and was about to go forth, when he espied a great purse containing a thousand dinars, which his mother had forgotten by the side of the chest. So he took this also and binding the two purses about his middle,[FN#441] set out before dawn threading the streets in the direction of B�l�k, where he arrived when day broke and all creatures arose, attesting the unity of Allah the Opener and went forth each of them upon his several business, to win that which Allah had unto him allotted. Reaching Bulak he walked on along the riverbank till he sighted a ship with her gangway out and her four anchors made fast to the land. The folk were going up into her and coming down from her, and Nur al-Din, seeing some sailors there standing, asked them whither they were bound, and they answered, “To Rosetta-city.” Quoth he, “Take me with you;” and quoth they, “Well come, and welcome to thee, to thee, O goodly one!” So he betook himself forthright to the market and buying what he needed of vivers and bedding and covering, returned to the port and went on board the ship, which was ready to sail and tarried with him but a little while before she weighed anchor and fared on, without stopping, till she reached Rosetta,[FN#442] where Nur al-Din saw a small boat going to Alexandria. So he embarked in it and traversing the sea-arm of Rosetta fared on till he came to a bridge called Al-J�m�, where he landed and entered Alexandria by the gate called the Gate of the Lote-tree. Allah protected him, so that none of those who stood on guard at the gate saw him, and he walked on till he entered the city.—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.

When it was the Eight Hundred and Seventieth Night, She resumed, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Nur al-Din entered Alexandria he found it a city goodly of pleasaunces, delightful to its inhabitants and inviting to inhabit therein. Winter had fared from it with his