The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night, vol 15 by Sir Richard Francis Burton (reading e books txt) 📕

aught of rest a-bed. Presently he bade summon a Mameluke of the Mamelukes Hilal hight, and asked him, “O Hilal, say me wilt thou be my companion in travel?” whereto the other answered, “Yea, verily, O my lord, to hear is to obey thee in all thou devisest and desirest.” Hereupon the Prince bade him saddle a steed of the purest blood, whose name was “The-Bull-aye-ready-and-for-Battle-day- steady,”[FN#233] a beast which was a bye-word amongst the folk. The Prince waited until the first third of the night had gone by when he mounted the courser and placed Hilal his Mameluke upon the crupper, and they cut once more the wilds and the wastes until they sighted hard-by the river Al-Kawa’ib and the Castle of Al-Hayfa rising from its waters. Hereupon Yusuf fell to the ground in a swoon, and he when he recovered said to Hilal, “Do thou ungirth the horse’s saddle and hide it within the cave amid the rocks;” and the Mameluke did as he was bidden and returned to him. Herewith Prince Yusuf turband’d himself with his clothes and those of his man and backing the horse bade Hilal hang on by its tail, then the beast breasted the stream and ceased not swimming with them until it reached the farther side. There Yusuf dismounted and knocked at the door when a confidential handmaid established in the good graces of her mistress,[FN#234] came down and threw it open, after which she embraced him and kissed his hands and his breast and his brow between the eyes. Then she ran up and informed thereof her lady who with wits bedazed for excess of joy hurried down to him and threw her arms round his neck, and he threw his arms round hers, and she clasped him to her bosom, and he clasped her to his, and he kissed her and she kissed him, and they exchanged accolades, after which they both of them fell fainting to the floor until the women who stood by thought that they had been reaped by Death, and that their latest hour had been doomed.

But when they recovered from their swoon they complained and wept, each lamenting to other the pains of parting, and lastly she asked him concerning Hilal, and he answered, “This is a Mameluke of the number of my Mamelukes.” So she marvelled how two men had come upon one horse,[FN#235] and quoth she to him, “O

Yusuf, thou hast indeed tortured me with thine absence;” and quoth he to her, “By Allah (and beside Him God there is none!) my hand never touched or woman or aught of feminine kind or of she-Jinn or Jinn kind, but in me desire for thee ever surged up, and wake and in vitals a fiery ache.” Then the Princess bade her handmaids wend with Hilal in a body to the garden, and when they obeyed her bidding she arose and walked forth with Yusuf. And Shahrazad was surprised by dawn of day and fell silent and ceased to say her permitted say. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad, “How sweet and tasteful is thy story, O sister mine, and how enjoyable and delectable!” Quoth she, “And where is this compared with that I would relate to you on the coming night an the King suffer me to survive?” Now when it was the next night and that was The Six Hundred and Eighty-fourth Night, Dunyazad said to her, “Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short the watching of this our latter night!” She replied, “With love and good will!” It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting, and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that Al-Hayfa walked forth with Yusuf and led him to the saloon of session where they passed their day in privacy, he and she, and right joyous was the joy of them twain. After this the Prince abode with her thirty full-told days in merriment prime and pleasure and wine. But when that time had elapsed, she said to him, “O light of my eyes, do thou arise and go up with me to the highmost post of the Palace that we may look upon this flow of stream and command a view of these mounts and mountains and these wilds and valleys wherein wander the gazelles.” Thereupon the twain fared together and solaced themselves with the spectacle of the antelopes browsing on the desert growth, when quoth Al-Hayfa, “Ah, O my lord, would I had for captive one of these herding roes to keep beside me in the Palace,” and quoth he, “By the rights of thine eyes, and the night of their pupils, I indeed will fill the place with them.” Hereupon he went forth from her in haste, albeit she hung on to him and forbade him from that, and she invoked upon herself a mighty strong invocation, yet would he not be stayed, but taking his horse and saddling it he left his Mameluke Hilal in the Castle and swam the stream upon his steed, and rode through the wold in quest of the gazelles. He ceased not chasing them till he had taken three,[FN#236] which he tied fast and slung upon his courser and rode back until he had reached the river-bank, and Al-Hayfa sat looking at him as he pounced upon and snatched up the roes from his courser’s back like a lion and she wondered with extreme wonderment. But when he had made sure of his place on the water-side and purposed returning to the palace, lo and behold! he saw a batel[FN#237] manned by sundry men coming towards him down-stream from the direction of his capital. Now Al-Hayfa, who was in her bower, expected the craft to be sent, bearing rarities and presents, by her sire King Al-Mihrjan; and Yusuf, when he looked upon its approach, was certified that it came from her father. So he delayed going down to the river till he had seen what action might be taken by the batel, but when the Princess sighted it she made sure of its coming from her sire, so she bade bring paper for note and a pen of brass wrought wherewith she wrote in verse and lastly indited to Yusuf these couplets,

 

“O my need, thou hast left me a-field to fare * When come is a craft which our men doth bear:

I deem she be sent by Al-Mihrj�n * And it bringeth of provaunt a goodly share:

So loiter a little, then back to us * And obey my bidding, O

Beauty rare.”[FN#238]

 

Then she made fast the paper to a shaft and setting it upon a bow-handle drew the string aiming high in air, and the arrow fell between the feet of the Prince, who seeing it took it up and read the writ and comprehended its meaning and full significance. So he hung back and he turned to wandering amongst the mountains, but anon he said in himself, “There is no help but that I discover this matter.” Then he dismounted from his steed and stabled it in a cave hard-by, and having loosed the antelopes he propped himself against a rock and fell to gazing upon the batel, which ceased not floating down until it made fast at the Palace gate. Hereupon there issued from it a youth, singular of comeliness, whom Al-Hayfa greeted and embraced, and forthright led within her Palace. Presently came forth from the batel the four pages that were therein, and amongst them was a man hight Mohammed ibn Ibr�him, one of the King’s cup-companions, whereas the youth she had embraced was her cousin, named Sahl�b, the son of her maternal aunt. But when Yusuf looked upon this lover-like reception, his wits were wildered and the sparks started from his eyes, and he deprecated and waxed carefull and indeed he was like one Jinn-mad, and he cried, “Wall�hi, I will stay away from them this night and see whatso they do.” Now Al-Hayfa had left her trusty handmaid at the Palace gate, saying to her, “Tarry here alone: haply Yusuf shall return during the dark hours, when do thou open to him the door.” Then she returned to her guests and bade serve the table of wine and seated Sahlub and Ibn Ibrahim, and took seat between them after she had hidden the Mameluke Hilal in a closet and she had disposed of the pages about the Palace-sides. Then they fell to drinking wine. Such was the case with these; but as regards Yusuf, he took patience until the dark hours drew near, when he swam the stream and he came forth it to the Palace-door, at which he knocked a light knock.

Hereupon the porter-hand-maiden opened to him and he accosted her and questioned her concerning her lady, and was told that she was sitting with her cousin and the prime favourite and cup-companion of her sire. So quoth he to the girl, “Say me, canst thou place me in some commanding place that I may look upon them?” and she did accordingly, choosing a site whence he might spy them without being espied. He gazed at them as one distraught, while Al-Hayfa engaged them in converse and improvised verse to them; and this was so distressful to him that at last he asked the slave-girl, “Say me, hast thou by thee ink-case and paper?” And— Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day and fell silent and ceased saying her permitted say. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad, “How sweet and tasteful is thy tale, O sister mine, and how enjoyable and delectable!” Quoth she, “And where is this compared with that I would relate to you on the coming night an the Sovran suffer me to survive?” Now when it was the next night and that was The Six Hundred and Eighty-sixth Night, Dunyazad said to her, “Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale, that we may cut short the watching of this our latter night!” She replied, “With love and good will!” It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that Prince Yusuf took from the handmaid the pencase and paper, and waxing void of sense through jealousy, fell to writing the following couplets,

 

“Indeed I deemed you of memory true * And our hearts as one that had once been two;

But I found to my sorrow you kept no pact: * This much and you fain of unfaith I view.

Ill eye ne’er looketh on aught but love * Save when the lover is hater too.

You now to another than us incline * And leave us and homeward path pursue;

And if such doings you dare gainsay, * I can summon witness convicting you;

To the Lion, wild dogs from the fount shall drive * And shall drink themselves, is none honour due.

That I’m not of those who a portion take * In love, O Moslems, I know ye knew.”

 

This done, he folded the paper and gave it to the slave-girl crying, “Say me, dost thou know where be Hilal?” and as she replied “Yes,” he told her to fetch him. So she went and brought him, and when he came his lord dismissed the girl on some pretext; then he opened the Castle-door and turband’d himself with his gear and that of his Mameluke, and the twain went down to the river and swam the stream until they reached the other side. When they stood on terra firma, the Prince found his horse and saddled and mounted him, taking Hilal upon the crupper, and rode forth to his own country. Such was the case with