Acting forthwith on this decision she ordered two little slaves during her absence
to watch over the beautiful Persian, and not to allow Noureddin to enter should
he come.
She had no sooner gone than he arrived, and not finding his mother in her
apartment, would have sought her in that of the Persian. The two little slaves
barred the entrance, saying that his mother had given orders that he was not to
be admitted. Taking each by an arm, he put them out of the anteroom, and shut
the door. Then they rushed to the bath, informing their mistress with shrieks and
tears that Noureddin had driven them away by force and gone in.
This news caused great consternation to the lady, who, dressing herself as
quickly as possible, hastened to the apartment of the fair Persian, to find that
Noureddin had already gone out. Much astonished to see the vizir's wife enter in
tears, the Persian asked what misfortune had happened.
"What!" exclaimed the lady, "you ask me that, knowing that my son Noureddin
has been alone with you?"
"But, madam," inquired the Persian, "what harm is there in that?"
"How! Has my husband not told you that you are destined for the king?"
"Certainly, but Noureddin has just been to tell me that his father has changed his
mind and has bestowed me upon him. I believed him, and so great is my
affection for Noureddin that I would willingly pass my life with him."
"Would to heaven," exclaimed the wife of the vizir, "that what you say were true;
but Noureddin has deceived you, and his father will sacrifice him in vengeance
for the wrong he has done."
So saying, she wept bitterly, and all her slaves wept with her.
Khacan, entering shortly after this, was much astonished to find his wife and her
slaves in tears, and the beautiful Persian greatly perturbed. He inquired the
cause, but for some time no answer was forthcoming. When his wife was at
length sufficiently calm to inform him of what had happened, his rage and
mortification knew no bounds. Wringing his hands and rending his beard, he
exclaimed:
"Wretched son! thou destroyest not only thyself but thy father. The king will shed
not only thy blood but mine." His wife tried to console him, saying: "Do not
torment thyself. With the sale of my jewels I will obtain 10,000 gold pieces, and
with this sum you will buy another slave."
"Do not suppose," replied her husband, "that it is the loss of the money that
affects me. My honour is at stake, and that is more precious to me than all my
wealth. You know that Saouy is my mortal enemy. He will relate all this to the
king, and you will see the consequences that will ensue."
"My lord," said his wife, "I am quite aware of Saouy's baseness, and that he is
capable of playing you this malicious trick. But how can he or any one else know
what takes place in this house? Even if you are suspected and the king accuses
you, you have only to say that, after examining the slave, you did not find her
worthy of his Majesty. Reassure yourself, and send to the dealers, saying that
you are not satisfied, and wish them to find you another slave."
This advice appearing reasonable, Khacan decided to follow it, but his wrath
against his son did not abate. Noureddin dared not appear all that day, and
fearing to take refuge with his usual associates in case his father should seek
him there, he spent the day in a secluded garden where he was not known. He
did not return home till after his father had gone to bed, and went out early next
morning before the vizir awoke, and these precautions he kept up during an
entire month.
His mother, though knowing very well that he returned to the house every
evening, dare not ask her husband to pardon him. At length she took courage
and said:
"My lord, I know that a son could not act more basely towards his father than
Noureddin has done towards you, but after all will you now pardon him? Do you
not consider the harm you may be doing yourself, and fear that malicious people,
seeking the cause of your estrangement, may guess the real one?"
"Madam," replied the vizir, "what you say is very just, but I cannot pardon
Noureddin before I have mortified him as he deserves."
"He will be sufficiently punished," answered the lady, "if you do as I suggest. In
the evening, when he returns home, lie in wait for him and pretend that you will
slay him. I will come to his aid, and while pointing out that you only yield his life at
my supplications, you can force him to take the beautiful Persian on any
conditions you please." Khacan agreed to follow this plan, and everything took
place as arranged. On Noureddin's return Khacan pretended to be about to slay
him, but yielding to his wife's intercession, said to his son:
"You owe your life to your mother. I pardon you on her intercession, and on the
conditions that you take the beautiful Persian for your wife, and not your slave,
that you never sell her, nor put her away."
Noureddin, not hoping for so great indulgence, thanked his father, and vowed to
do as he desired. Khacan was at great pains frequently to speak to the king of
the difficulties attending the commission he had given him, but some whispers of
what had actually taken place did reach Saouy's ears.
More than a year after these events the minister took a chill, leaving the bath
while still heated to go out on important business. This resulted in inflammation of
the lungs, which rapidly increased. The vizir, feeling that his end was at hand,
sent for Noureddin, and charged him with his dying breath never to part with the
beautiful Persian.
Shortly afterwards he expired, leaving universal regret throughout the kingdom;
rich and poor alike followed him to the grave. Noureddin showed every mark of
the deepest grief at his father's death, and for long refused to see any one. At
length a day came when, one of his friends being admitted, urged him strongly to
be consoled, and to resume his former place in society. This advice Noureddin
was not slow to follow, and soon he formed little society of ten young men all
about his own age, with whom he spent all his time in continual feasting and
merry-making.
Sometimes the fair Persian consented to appear at these festivities, but she
disapproved of this lavish expenditure, and did not scruple to warn Noureddin of
the probable consequences. He, however, only laughed at her advice, saying,
that his father had always kept him in too great constraint, and that now he
rejoiced at his new-found liberty.
What added to the confusion in his affairs was that he refused to look into his
accounts with his steward, sending him away every time he appeared with his
book.
"See only that I live well," he said, "and do not disturb me about anything else."
Not only did Noureddin's friends constantly partake of his hospitality, but in every
way they took advantage of his generosity; everything of his that they admired,
whether land, houses, baths, or any other source of his revenue, he immediately
bestowed on them. In vain the Persian protested against the wrong he did
himself; he continued to scatter with the same lavish hand.
Throughout one entire year Noureddin did nothing but amuse himself, and
dissipate the wealth his father had taken such pains to acquire. The year had
barely elapsed, when one day, as they sat at table, there came a knock at the
door. The slaves having been sent away, Noureddin went to open it himself. One
of his friends had risen at the same time, but Noureddin was before him, and
finding the intruder to be the steward, he went out and closed the door. The
friend, curious to hear what passed between them, hid himself behind the
hangings, and heard the following words:
"My lord," said the steward, "I beg a thousand pardons for interrupting you, but
what I have long foreseen has taken place. Nothing remains of the sums you
gave me for your expenses, and all other sources of income are also at end,
having been transferred by you to others. If you wish me to remain in your
service, furnish me with the necessary funds, else I must withdraw."
So great was Noureddin's consternation that he had not a word to say in reply.
The friend, who had been listening behind the curtain, immediately hastened to
communicate the news to the rest of the company.
"If this is so," they said, "we must cease to come here."
Noureddin re-entering at that moment, they plainly saw, in spite of his efforts to
dissemble, that what they had heard was the truth. One by one they rose, and
each with a different excuse left the room, till presently he found himself alone,
though little suspecting the resolution his friends had taken. Then, seeing the
beautiful Persian, he confided to her the statement of the steward, with many
expressions of regret for his own carelessness.
"Had I but followed your advice, beautiful Persian," he said, "all this would not
have happened, but at least I have this consolation, that I have spent my fortune
in the company of friends who will not desert me in an hour of need. To-morrow I
will go to them, and amongst them they will lend me a sum sufficient to start in
some business."
Accordingly next morning early Noureddin went to seek his ten friends, who all
lived in the same street. Knocking at the door of the first and chief, the slave who
opened it left him to wait in a hall while he announced his visit to his master.
"Noureddin!" he heard him exclaim quite audibly. "Tell him, every time he calls,
that I am not at home." The same thing happened at the second door, and also at
the third, and so on with all the ten. Noureddin, much mortified, recognised too
late that he had confided in false friends, who abandoned him in his hour of
need. Overwhelmed with grief, he sought consolation from the beautiful Persian.
"Alas, my lord," she said, "at last you are convinced of the truth of what I foretold.
There is now no other resource left but to sell your slaves and your furniture."
First then he sold the slaves, and subsisted for a time on the proceeds, after that
the furniture was sold, and as much of it was valuable it sufficed for some time.
Finally this resource also came to an end, and again he sought counsel from the
beautiful Persian.
"My lord," she said, "I know that the late vizir, your father, bought me for 10,000
gold pieces, and though I have diminished in value since, I should still fetch a
large sum. Do not therefore hesitate to sell me, and with the money you obtain
go and establish yourself in business in some distant town."
"Charming Persian," answered Noureddin, "how could I be guilty of such
baseness? I would die rather than part from you whom I love better than my life."
"My lord," she replied, "I am well aware of your love for me, which is only
equalled by mine for you, but a cruel necessity obliges us to seek the only
remedy."
Noureddin, convinced at length of the truth of her words, yielded, and reluctantly
led her to the slave market, where, showing her to a dealer named Hagi Hassan,
he inquired her value.
Taking them into a room apart, Hagi Hassan exclaimed as soon as she had
unveiled, "My lord, is not this the slave your father bought for 10,000 pieces?"
On learning that it was so, he promised to obtain the highest possible price for
her. Leaving the beautiful Persian shut up in the room alone, he went ont to seek
the slave merchants, announcing to them that he had found the pearl among
slaves, and asking them to come and put a value upon her. As soon as they saw
her they agreed that less than 4,000 gold pieces could not be asked. Hagi
Hassan, then closing the door upon her, began to offer her for sale--calling out:
"Who will bid 4,000 gold pieces for the Persian slave?"
Before any of the merchants had bid, Saouy happened to pass that way, and
judging that it must be a slave of extraordinary beauty, rode up to Hagi Hassan
and desired to see her. Now it was not the custom to show a slave to a private
bidder, but as no one dared to disobey the vizir his request was granted.
As soon as Saouy saw the Persian he was so struck by her beauty, that he
immediately wished to possess her, and not knowing that she belonged to
Noureddin, he desired Hagi Hassan to send for the owner and to conclude the
bargain at once.
Hagi Hassan then sought Noureddin, and told him that his slave was going far
below her value, and that if Saouy bought her he was capable of not paying the
money. "What you must do," he said, "is to pretend that you had no real intention
of selling your slave, and only swore you would in a fit of anger against her.
When I present her to Saouy as if with your consent you must step in, and with
blows begin to lead her away."
Noureddin did as Hagi Hassan advised, to the great wrath of Saouy, who riding
straight at him endeavoured to take the beautiful Persian from him by force.
Noureddin letting her go, seized Saouy's horse by the bridle, and, encouraged by
the applause of the bystanders, dragged him to the ground, beat him severely,
and left him in the gutter streaming with blood. Then, taking the beautiful Persian,
he returned home amidst the acclamations of the people, who detested Saouy so
much that they would neither interfere in his behalf nor allow his slaves to protect
him.
Covered from head to foot with mire and streaming with blood he rose, and
leaning on two of his slaves went straight to the palace, where he demanded an
audience of the king, to whom he related what had taken place in these words:
"May it please your Majesty, I had gone to the slave market to buy myself a cook.
While there I heard a slave being offered for 4,000 pieces. Asking to see her, I
found she was of incomparable beauty, and was being sold by Noureddin, the
son of your late vizir, to whom your Majesty will remember giving a sum of
10,000 gold pieces for the purchase of a slave. This is the identical slave, whom
instead of bringing to your Majesty he gave to his own son. Since the death of his
father this Noureddin has run through his entire fortune, has sold all his
possessions, and is now reduced to selling the slave. Calling him to me, I said:
"Noureddin, I will give you 10,000 gold pieces for your slave, whom I will present
to the king. I will interest him at the same time in your behalf, and this will be
worth much more to you than what extra money you might obtain from the
merchants." "Bad old man," he exclaimed, "rather than sell my slave to you I
would give her to a Jew." "But, Noureddin," I remonstrated, "you do not consider
that in speaking thus you wrong the king, to whom your father owed everything."
This remonstrance only irritated him the more. Throwing himself on me like a
madman, he tore me from my horse, beat me to his heart's content, and left me
in the state your Majesty sees."
So saying Saouy turned aside his head and wept bitterly.
The king's wrath was kindled against Noureddin. He ordered the captain of the
guard to take with him forty men, to pillage Noureddin's house, to rase it to the
ground, and to bring Noureddin and the slave to him. A doorkeeper, named
Sangiar, who had been a slave of Khacan's, hearing this order given, slipped out
of the king's apartment, and hastened to warn Noureddin to take flight instantly
with the beautiful Persian. Then, presenting him with forty gold pieces, he
disappeared before Noureddin had time to thank him.
As soon, then, as the fair Persian had put on her veil they fled together, and had
the good fortune to get out of the town without being observed. At the mouth of
the Euphrates they found a ship just about to start for Bagdad. They embarked,
and immediately the anchor was raised and they set sail.
When the captain of the guard reached Noureddin's house he caused his
soldiers to burst open the door and to enter by force, but no trace was to be
found of Noureddin and his slave, nor could the neighbours give any information
about them. When the king heard that they had escaped, he issued a
proclamation that a reward of 1,000 gold pieces would be given to whoever
would bring him Noureddin and the slave, but that, on the contrary, whoever hid
them would be severely punished. Meanwhile Noureddin and the fair Persian had
safely reached Bagdad. When the vessel had come to an anchor they paid five
gold pieces for their passage and went ashore. Never having been in Bagdad
before, they did not know where to seek a lodging. Wandering along the banks of
the Tigris, they skirted a garden enclosed by a high wall. The gate was shut, but
in front of it was an open vestibule with a sofa on either side. "Here," said
Noureddin, "let us pass the night," and reclining on the sofas they soon fell
asleep.
Now this garden belonged to the Caliph. In the middle of it was a vast pavilion,
whose superb saloon had eighty windows, each window having a lustre, lit solely
when the Caliph spent the evening there. Only the door-keeper lived there, an
old soldier named Scheih Ibrahim, who had strict orders to be very careful whom
he admitted, and never to allow any one to sit on the sofas by the door. It
happened that evening that he had gone out on an errand. When he came back
and saw two persons asleep on the sofas he was about to drive them out with
blows, but drawing nearer he perceived that they were a handsome young man
and beautiful young woman, and decided to awake them by gentler means.
Noureddin, on being awoke, told the old man that they were strangers, and
merely wished to pass the night there. "Come with me," said Scheih Ibrahim, "I
will lodge you better, and will show you a magnificent garden belonging to me."
So saying the doorkeeper led the way into the Caliph's garden, the beauties of
which filled them with wonder and amazement. Noureddin took out two gold
pieces, and giving them to Scheih Ibrahim said
"I beg you to get us something to eat that we may make merry together." Being
very avaricious, Scheih Ibrahim determined to spend only the tenth part of the
money and to keep the rest to himself. While he was gone Noureddin and the
Persian wandered through the gardens and went up the white marble staircase
of the pavilion as far as the locked door of the saloon. On the return of Scheih
Ibrahim they begged him to open it, and to allow them to enter and admire the
magnificence within. Consenting, he brought not only the key, but a light, and
immediately unlocked the door. Noureddin and the Persian entering, were
dazzled with the magnificence they beheld. The paintings and furniture were of
astonishing beauty, and between each window was a silver arm holding a
candle.
Scheih Ibrahim spread the table in front of a sofa, and all three ate together.
When they had finished eating Noureddin asked the old man to bring them a
bottle of wine.
"Heaven forbid," said Scheih Ibrahim, "that I should come in contact with wine! I
who have four times made the pilgrimage to Mecca, and have renounced wine
for ever."
"You would, however, do us a great service in procuring us some," said
Noureddin. "You need not touch it yourself. Take the ass which is tied to the
gate, lead it to the nearest wine-shop, and ask some passer-by to order two jars
of wine; have them put in the ass's panniers, and drive him before you. Here are
two pieces of gold for the expenses."
At sight of the gold, Scheih Ibrahim set off at once to execute the commission.
On his return, Noureddin said: "We have still need of cups to drink from, and of
fruit, if you can procure us some." Scheih Ibrahim disappeared again, and soon
returned with a table spread with cups of gold and silver, and every sort of
beautiful fruit. Then he withdrew, in spite of repeated invitations to remain.
Noureddin and the beautiful Persian, finding the wine excellent, drank of it freely,
and while drinking they sang. Both had fine voices, and Scheih Ibrahim listened
to them with great pleasure-- first from a distance, then he drew nearer, and
finally put his head in at the door. Noureddin, seeing him, called to him to come
in and keep them company. At first the old man declined, but was persuaded to
enter the room, to sit down on the edge of the sofa nearest the door, and at last
to draw closer and to seat himself by the beautiful Persian, who urged him so
persistently to drink her health that at length he yielded, and took the cup she
offered.
Now the old man only made a pretence of renouncing wine; he frequented wine-shops like other people, and had taken none of the precautions Noureddin had
proposed. Having once yielded, he was easily persuaded to take a second cup,
and a third, and so on till he no longer knew what he was doing. Till near
midnight they continued drinking, laughing, and singing together.
About that time the Persian, perceiving that the room was lit by only one
miserable tallow candle, asked Scheih Ibrahim to light some of the beautiful
candles in the silver arms.
"Light them yourself," answered the old man; "you are younger than I, but let five
or six be enough."
She did not stop, however, till she had lit all the eighty, but Scheih Ibrahim was
not conscious of this, and when, soon after that, Noureddin proposed to have
some of the lustres lit, he answered:
"You are more capable of lighting them than I, but not more than three."
Noureddin, far from contenting himself with three, lit all, and opened all the eighty
windows.
The Caliph Haroun-al-Raschid, chancing at that moment to open a window in the
saloon of his palace looking on the garden, was surprised to see the pavilion
brilliantly illuminated. Calling the grand-vizir, Giafar, he said to him:
"Negligent vizir, look at the pavilion, and tell me why it is lit up when I am not
there."
When the vizir saw that it was as the Caliph said, he trembled with fear, and
immediately invented an excuse.
"Commander of the Faithful," he said, "I must tell you that four or five days ago
Scheih Ibrahim told me that he wished to have an assembly of the ministers of
his mosque, and asked permission to hold it in the pavilion. I granted his request,
but forgot since to mention it to your Majesty."
"Giafar," replied the Caliph, "you have committed three faults-- first, in giving the
permission; second, in not mentioning it to me; and third, in not investigating the
matter more closely. For punishment I condemn you to spend the rest of the
night with me in company of these worthy people. While I dress myself as a
citizen, go and disguise yourself, and then come with me."
When they reached the garden gate they found it open, to the great indignation
of the Caliph. The door of the pavilion being also open, he went softly upstairs,
and looked in at the half-closed door of the saloon. Great was his surprise to see
Scheih Ibrahim, whose sobriety he had never doubted, drinking and singing with
a young man and a beautiful lady. The Caliph, before giving way to his anger,
determined to watch and see who the people were and what they did.
Presently Scheih Ibrahim asked the beautiful Persian if anything were wanting to
complete her enjoyment of the evening.
"If only," she said, "I had an instrument upon which I might play."
Scheih Ibrahim immediately took a lute f