"Payne Volume VII" - читать интересную книгу автора (Paynes Versions)

THE BOOK OF THE THOUSAND NIGHTS AND ONE NIGHT:
Now First Completely Done Into English
Prose and Verse, From The Original Arabic,
By John Payne
(Author of "The Masque of Shadows," "Intaglios: Sonnets," "Songs of Life and Death,"
"Lautrec," "The Poems of Master Francis Villon of Paris," "New Poems," Etc, Etc.).
In Nine Volumes:

VOLUME THE SEVENTH.
London
Printed For Subscribers Only
1901
Delhi Edition
JULNAR OF THE SEA AND HER SON KING BEDR BASIM OF PERSIA.
There was once of old days and in bygone ages and times, in the land of the Persians, a king called Shehriman, whose abiding-place was Khorassan. He had a hundred concubines, but by none of them had he been vouchsafed a child, male or female, all the days of his life. One day, he bethought him of this and fell a-lamenting for that the most part of his life was past and he had not been blessed with a son, to inherit the kingdom after him, even as he had inherited it from his fathers and forefathers; by reason whereof there betided him sore chagrin and the extreme of care and despite. As he sat thus [absorbed in melancholy thought], one of his officers came in to him and said, 'O my lord, at the door is a merchant, with a slave-girl, than whom a fairer was never seen' 'Bring them to me,' answered the king, and the merchant and the damsel came in to him.
When Shehriman beheld the latter, he saw that she was like a Rudeini lance, (1) and she was wrapped in a veil of gold-embroidered silk. The merchant uncovered her face, whereupon the place was illumined by her beauty and her hair hung down to her anklets, in seven tresses, like horse's tails. She had liquid black eyes, heavy buttocks and slender waist; [the sight of her] healed the sickness of the ailing and quenched the fire of the thirsting, for she was even as saith the poet:
ааааа I dote on her ; for, lo, in beauty she's complete , Yea, staidness crowns her charms and gravity sedate.
ааааа Nor tall nor short is she, but of the hinder parts So big, her trousers still therefor are all too strait.
ааааа Nor tallness to be blamed nor shortness is in her ; Her shape's the golden mean betwixten small and great.
ааааа Her tresses overfall her anklets, [black as night,] But still her face is day no darkness may abate.
The king marvelled at her beauty and grace and symmetry and said to the merchant, 'O elder, what is the price of this damsel?' 'O my lord,' answered the merchant, 'I bought her for two thousand diners of the merchant who owned her before myself, since when I have travelled with her three years and she hath cost me, up to the time of my coming hither, [other] three thousand diners: but she is a gift from me to thee.' The king bestowed on him a splendid dress of honour and ordered him ten thousand diners, whereupon he kissed his hands, thanking him for his bounty and beneficence, and departed. Then the king committed the damsel to the tire-women, saying, 'Amend ye the case of this damsel (2) and adorn her and furnish her an apartment and set her therein.' And he bade his chamberlains carry her all that she needed and shut all the doors upon her.
Now his capital city, wherein he dwelt, was called the White City and was seated on the sea-shore. So they lodged her in an apartment, whose windows overlooked the sea, and Shehriman went in to her; but she rose not to him neither took any note of him. Quoth he, 'It would seem she hath been with folk who have not taught her manners.' Then he looked at her and saw her surpassing in grace and beauty and symmetry, with a face like the round of the moon at its full or the sun shining in the cloudless sky. So he marvelled at her beauty and symmetry and extolled the perfection of God the Creator (magnified be His power!), after which he pressed her to his bosom and seating her on his knees, sucked the dew of her lips, which he found sweeter than honey. Then he called for trays of all kinds of the richest meats and ate and fed her by mouthfuls, till she had enough; but she spoke not one word. The king began to talk to her and asked her of her name; but she abode still silent and spoke not a word nor made him any answer, neither ceased to hang down her head towards the ground; and it was but the excess of her beauty and loveliness and the amorous grace that distinguished her that saved her from his wrath. Quoth he, 'Glory be to God, the Creator of this damsel! How charming she is, save that she speaks not! But perfection belongs [only] to God the Most High.' And he asked the slave-girls whether she had spoken, and they said, 'From the time of her coming till now, we have not heard her say a word.'
Then he summoned some of his women and bade them sing to her and make merry with her, so haply she might speak. So they played before her all manner of instruments of music and sports and what not and sang, till all who were present were moved to mirth, except the damsel who looked at them in silence, but neither laughed nor spoke, and the king's breast was straitened. Then he dismissed the women and abode alone with the damsel: after which he put off his clothes and disrobing her with his own hand,looked upon her body and saw it as it were an ingot of silver. So he loved her with an exceeding love and falling upon her, took her maidenhead and found her a clean maid; whereat he rejoiced exceedingly and said, 'By Allah, it is a wonder that the merchants should have suffered a girl so fair of form and face to abide a maid!'
Then he devoted himself altogether to her, heeding none other and forsaking all his [other] concubines and favourites, and abode with her a whole year, as it were one day. Still she spoke not, till, one day, he said to her [and indeed the love of her and passion waxed upon him], 'O desire of souls, verily the love of thee is great with me, and for thy sake I have forsaken all my slave girls and concubines and women and favourites and have made thee my portion of the world and had patience with thee a whole year; and now I beseech God the Most High, of His favour, to soften thy heart to me, so thou mayst speak to me. Or, if thou be dumb, tell me by a sign, that I may give up hope of thy speech. I pray God (extolled be His perfection!) to vouchsafe me by thee a male child, who shall inherit the kingdom after me; for I am old and lonely and have none to be my heir. Wherefore, I conjure thee, by Allah, if thou love me, return me an answer.'
She bowed her head awhile, [as if] in thought, and presently raising it, smiled in his face; whereat it seemed to him as if lightning filled the room. Then she said, 'O magnanimous king and valorous lion, God hath answered thy prayer, for I am with child by thee and the time of my delivery is at hand, though I know not if the child be male or female. But, had I not conceived by thee, I had not spoken one word to thee.' When the ring heard her speech, his face shone with joy and happiness and he kissed her head and hands for excess of gladness, saying, 'Praised be God who hath vouchsafed me the things I desire! First, thy speech, and secondly, thy tidings that thou art with child by me.'
Then he went forth from her and seating himself on the throne of his kingship, in an ecstacy of happiness, bade his vizier distribute to the poor and needy and widows and others a hundred thousand diners, by way of alms on his account and thank-offering to God the Most High. The vizier did as the king bade him, and the latter, returning to the damsel, sat with her and pressed her to his bosom, saying, 'O my lady, O thou whose slave I am, thou hast been with me a whole year, night and day, waking and sleeping, yet hast not spoken to me till this day. What was the cause of this thy silence?' 'Hearken, O king of the age,' answered she, 'and know that I am a wretched exile, broken-hearted and parted from my mother and my family and my brother.' When the king heard her words, he knew her desire and said, 'As for thy saying that thou art wretched, there is no ground for such a speech, for my kingdom and all that I possess are at thy service and I also am become thy bondman; but, as for thy saying, "I am parted from my mother and brother and family," tell me where they are and I will send and fetch them to thee.'
'Know then, O august king,' answered she, 'that I am called Julnar of the Sea and that my father was of the kings of the sea. He died and left us his kingdom, but one of the other kings arose against us and took it from our hands. My mother also is a woman of the sea and I have a brother called Salih, with whom I fell out and swore that I would throw myself into the hands of a man of the folk of the land. So I came forth of the sea and eat down on the shore of an island in the moon, where a passer-by found me and carrying me to his house, besought me of love; but I smote him on the head, that he all but died; whereupon he carried me forth and sold me to the merchant from whom thou hadst me, and he was a good and virtuous man, pious and loyal and generous. Were it not that thy heart loved me and that thou preferredst me over all thy concubines, I had not remained with thee an hour, but had cast myself from the window into the sea and gone to my mother and kindred; but I was ashamed to go to them, being with child by thee; for they would have deemed ill of me and would not have credited me, though I swore to them, if I told them that a king had bought me with his monies and made me his portion of the world and preferred me over all his wives and all that his right hand possessed. This then is my story and peace be on thee.'
The king thanked her and kissed her between the eyes, saying, 'By Allah, O my lady and light of mine eyes, I cannot endure to be parted from thee one hour; and if thou leave me, I shall die forthright. What then is to be done?' 'O my lord,' replied she, 'the time of my delivery is at hand and my family must be present, that they may tend me; for the daughters of the land know not the fashion of child-bearing of the daughters of the sea, nor do the daughters of the sea know the fashion of the daughters of the land; and when my people come, I shall be reconciled to them and they to me and I will tell them that thou boughtest me with thy money and hast used me with kindness and beneficence. And it behoves that thou confirm my speech to them and that they see shine estate with their own eyes and know that thou art a king, the son of a king.'
'O my lady,' rejoined the king, 'do what seemeth good to thee and that which liketh thee, for I consent to thee in all thou wouldst do. But how do the people of the sea walk therein, without being wetted?' 'O king of the age,' answered Julnar, 'we walk in the sea with our eyes open, as do ye on the land, by the blessing of the names engraved upon the seal of Solomon son of David (on whom be peace) and see what is therein and behold the sun and moon and stars and sky, as it were on the face of the earth; and this irketh us nought. Know, also, that in the sea are many peoples and various forms and creatures of all the kinds that be in the land, and that all that is on the land is but a very small matter, compared with that which is in the sea.' And the king marvelled at her words.
Then she pulled out from her bosom two pieces of Comorin aloes-wood and kindling fire in a chafing dish, threw in somewhat thereof, then gave a loud whistle and spoke words which none understood; whereupon there arose a great smoke and she said to the king, who was looking on, 'O my lord, arise and hide thyself in a closet, that I may show thee my mother and brother and family, whilst they see thee not; for I design to bring them hither, and thou shalt presently see a wonderful thing and marvel at the various creatures and strange shapes that God the Most High hath created.' So he arose straightway and entering a closet, fell a-watching what she should do. She continued her fumigations and conjurations till the sea foamed and became troubled and there rose from it a handsome young man of a bright countenance, as he were the moon at its full, with flower white forehead, red cheeks and teeth like pearls and jewels. He was the likest of all creatures to his sister [the damsel Julnar], and the tongue of the case spoke these verses in his praise:
ааааа The full moon groweth perfect once monthly; but thy face Each day anew's perfected in loveliness and grace.
ааааа Yea, and the full moon's dwelling is but in one sign's heart: To thee all hearts, O fair one, are as a dwelling-place.
After him there came forth of the sea a gray-haired old woman and five damsels, as they were moons, bearing a likeness to the damsel Julnar. They all walked upon the surface of the water, till they drew near the window and saw Julnar, whereupon they knew her and went in to her. She rose to them and received them with joy and gladness, and they embraced her and wept sore. Then said they to her, 'O Julnar, how couldst thou leave us four years, and we unknowing of thine abiding-place? By AIlah, the world has been straitened upon us, for stress of severance from thee, and we have had no delight of food or drink, no, not for one day, but have wept day and night for the excess of our longing after thee!' Then she fell to kissing the hands of her brother and mother and cousins, and they sat with her awhile, questioning her of her case, and of what had befallen her, as well as of her present estate. 'Know,' replied she, 'that, when I left you, I issued from the sea and sat down on the shore of an island, where a man found me and sold me to a merchant, who brought me to this city and sold me to the king of the country for ten thousand dinars. The latter entreated me with honour and left all his concubines and women and favourites on my account and was distracted by me from all he had and all that was in his city.' 'Praised be God,' said her brother, 'who hath reunited us with thee! But now, O my sister, it is my purpose that thou arise and go with us to our country and people.'
When the king heard this, he was transported for fear lest she should accept her brother's words and he himself avail not to stay her, passionately as he loved her, and he became distracted with fear of losing her. But Julnar answered her brother, saying, 'By Allah, O my brother, he who bought me is lord of this city and he is a mighty king and a wise, good and generous in the extreme. Moreover, he is a man of great worth and wealth and hath neither son nor daughter. He hath entreated me with honour and done me all manner of favour and kindness; nor, from the day of his buying me, have I heard from him an ill word, to grieve my heart; but he hath never ceased to use me courteously, doing nothing without my counsel, and I am in the best of case with him and the perfection of fair fortune. Were I to leave him, he would perish; for he cannot endure to be parted from me an hour; and I, also, if I left him, I should die, for the excess of the love I bear him, by reason of his great goodness to me during the time of my sojourn with him; for, were my father alive, my estate with him would not be like that I enjoy with this great and glorious and puissant king. Moreover, ye see me with child by him and I pray God the Most High to vouchsafe me a son who may inherit of this mighty king that which He hath bestowed upon him of lands and palaces and possessions. Verily, God hath not cut me off, but hath abundantly compensated me [that which I lost], and praised be He for that He hath made me daughter of a king of the sea and my husband the greatest of the kings of the land!'
When her brother and cousins heard this her speech, their eyes were solaced thereby and they said, 'O Julnar, thou knowest thy value in our eyes and the affection we bear thee and art certified that thou art to us the dearest of all creatures and that we seek but ease for thee, without travail or weariness. Wherefore, if thou be in unease, arise and go with us to our land and people; but, if thou be at shine ease here, in honour and happiness, this is our wish and our aim; for we desire only thy happiness in any case.' Quoth she, 'By Allah, I am here in the utmost ease and comfort and honour and have all that I desire!' When the king heard what she said, his heart was set at rest and he rejoiced and thanked her [inwardly] for this [her speech]. Moreover, the love of her redoubled on him and entered his inmost heart, and he knew that she loved him as he loved her and desired to abide with him, that she might see his child by her.
Then Julnar called for food and the waiting women laid the tables and set on all kinds of viands, which had been dressed in the kitchen under her own eyes, and fruits and sweetmeats, of which she ate, she and her kinsfolk. But, presently, they said to her, 'O Julnar, thy lord is a stranger to us, and we have entered his house, without his leave or knowledge. Thou hast extolled to us his excellence and hast set before us of his victual and we have eaten; yet have we not companied with him nor seen him, neither hath he seen us nor come to our presence and eaten with us, so bread and salt might be between us.' And they all left eating and were wroth with her, and fire issued from their mouths, as from cressets; which when the king saw, he was transported for excess of fear of them. But Julnar soothed them and going to the closet where was the king her lord, said to him, 'O my lord, hast thou seen and heard how I praised thee and extolled thee to my people and what they said to me of their desire to carry me away with them?' 'I both heard and saw,' answered he. 'May God abundantly requite thee for me! By Allah, I knew not the measure of shine affection for me until this blessed hour and I doubted not of thy love of me!'
'O my lord,' rejoined she, 'is the reward of kindness aught but kindness? Verily, thou hast dealt generously with me and hast entreated me with worship and done me all manner of honour and kindness and preferred me above all thou lovest and desires, and I have seen that thou lovest me with the utmost love. So how should my heart be content to leave thee and depart from thee, after all thy goodness to me? But now I desire of thy courtesy that thou come and salute my family, so thou mayst see them and they thee and love and friendship may be between you; for know, O king of the age, that my mother and brother and cousins love thee with an exceeding love, by reason of my praises of thee to them, and say, "By Allah, we will not depart from thee nor go to our country till we have foregathered with the king and saluted him." For they desire to see thee and make acquaintance with thee.' 'I hear and obey,' said the king; 'for this is my own wish.' So saying, he rose and went in to them and saluted them after the goodliest fashion; and they sprang up to him and received him with the utmost honour, after which he sat down and ate with them; and he entertained them thus for the space of thirty days. Then they took leave of the king and queen and departed to their own land, after he had done them all possible honour.
Awhile after this, Julnar accomplished the days of her pregnancy and the time of her delivery being come, she bore a boy, as he were the moon at its full, whereat the utmost joy betided the king, for that he had never in his life [till then] been vouchsafed son or daughter. So they held high festival and decorated the city seven days, in the extreme of joy and happiness; and on the seventh day came Julnar's mother and brother and cousins, whenas they knew of her delivery. The king received them with l joy and said to them, 'I said that I would not give my son a name till you should come and name him of your knowledge.' So they named him Bedr Basim, (3) and all agreed upon this name. Then they showed the child to his uncle Salih, who took him in his arms and began to walk about the chamber with him. Presently he carried him forth of the palace and going down to the salt sea, fared on with him, till he was hidden from the king's sight.
When Shehriman saw him take his son and disappear with him in the abysses of the sea, he gave the child up for lost and fell to weeping and wailing; but Julnar said to him, 'O king of the age, fear not neither grieve for thy son, for I love my child more than thou and he is with my brother; so reck thou not of the sea neither fear drowning for him. Except my brother knew that no harm would betide the little one, he had not done this; and he will presently bring thee thy son safe, if it please God the Most High.' Nor was an hour past before the sea became
troubled and King Salih came forth, with the little one safe in his arms, quiet and with a face like the moon on the night of her full, and [rising into the air] flew till he reached the palace and came in to them. Then said he to the king, 'Belike thou fearedst harm for thy son, whenas I plunged into the sea with him?' 'Yes, O my lord,' replied the king; 'I did indeed fear for him and thought he would never be saved therefrom.' 'O king of the land,' rejoined Salih, 'we pencilled his eyes with an eye-powder we know of and recited over him the names engraver upon the seal of Solomon son of David (on whom be peace!), for this is what we use to do with children born among us; and now thou needst not fear for him drowning or suffocation in all the waters of the world, if he should go down into them; for, even as ye walk on the land, so walk we in the sea.'
Then he pulled out of his pocket a casket, graven and sealed, and breaking open the seals, emptied it; whereupon there fell from it strings of all manner jacinths and other jewels, besides three hundred bugles of emerald and other three hundred hollow jewels, as big as ostrich eggs, whose light outshone that of sun and moon. Quoth Salih, 'O king of the age, these jewels and jacinths are a present from rne to thee. We never yet brought thee a present, for that we knew not Julnar's abiding-place neither had we any tidings of her; but now that we see thee to be united with her and we are all become as one thing, we have brought thee this present; and every little while, God willing, we will bring thee the like thereof for that these jewels and jacinths are more plentiful with us than pebbles on the earth and we know the good and bad of them and their whereabouts and the way to them and they are easy to us.'
When the king saw the jewels, his reason was confounded and his mind bewildered and he said, 'By Allah, one of these jewels is worth my kingdom!' Then he thanked Salih for his bounty and said to Julnar, 'I am abashed before thy brother, for that he hath dealt munificently by me and bestowed on me this splendid present, whereto the folk of the land may not avail.' So she thanked her brother for his deed and he said, 'O king of the age, thou hast the prior claim on us and it behoves us to thank thee, for thou hast entreated our sister with kindness and we have entered thy dwelling and eaten of thy victual; and the poet says:
ааааа Had I, or ever Suada did, to weep for love been fain, I should, before repentance came, have solaced heart and brain.
ааааа But she before my vveeping wept; her tears drew mine, and so Quoth I, "Unto the precedent the merit cloth pertain."
And if we stood in thy service, O king of the age, a thousand years, yet might we not avail to requite thee, and this were but a scantling of thy due.'
The king thanked him with effusion and they all abode with him forty days' space, at the end of which time Salih arose and kissed the earth before his brother-in-law. Quoth the latter, 'What wantest thou, O Salih?' And he answered, saying, 'O king of the age, indeed thou hast done us [many] favours, and we crave of thy bounties that thou deal charitably with us and give us leave [to depart]; or we yearn after our people and country and kiusfoll and our homes; so will we never forsake thy service nor that of my sister and her son; and by Allah, O king of the age, it is not pleasant to my heart to part from thee; but how shall we do, seeing that we have been reared in the sea and that [the sojourn of] the land liketh us not?' When the king heard this, he rose to his feet and took leave of Salih of the sea and his mother and cousins, and they all wept, because of parting, and said to him, 'We will be with thee again anon, nor will we forsake thee, but will visit thee every few days.' Then they flew off and descending into the sea, disappeared from sight.
After this, King Shehriman redoubled in honour and kindness to Julnar, and the little one grew up and flourished, whilst his uncle and grandmother and cousins visited the king every few days and abode with him a month or two months [at a time]. The boy ceased not to increase in beauty and grace, with increase of years, till he attained the age of fifteen and was unique in his perfection and symmetry. He learnt reading and writing and history and syntax and lexicography and archery and spearplay and horsemanship and what not else behoveth the sons of kings; nor was there one of the children of the folk of the city, men or women, but would talk of the youth's charms, for he was of surpassing beauty and perfection, even such an one as as described in the saying of the poet:
ааааа The whiskers write upon his cheek, with ambergris on pearl, Two lines, as 'twere with jet upon an apple, line for line.
ааааа Death harbours in his languid eye and slays with every glance; And in his cheeks is drunkenness, and not in any wine.
And in that of another: