OF THE YOUNG KING OF THE BLACK ISLES.
I must first inform you, (continued he,) that my father, who was called Mahmoud, was the king of this state. It is the kingdom of the Black Isles, which takes its name from four small neighbouring mountains, that were formerly islands; and the capital, where my father resided, was situated on the spot, which is now occupied by that pond. You will know how these changes took place, as I proceed with my history.
The king, my father, died at the age of seventy years. I had no sooner taken his place than I married, and the person whom I chose to partake of the royal dignities with me, was my cousin. I had every reason to be satisfied with the proofs of affection I received from her, and, on my part, I returned them with equal tenderness. Our happy union continued for five years, when I began to perceive that the queen, my cousin, no longer loved me.
One day after dinner, when she was gone to bathe, I felt myself inclined to sleep, and threw myself on a sofa; two of her women, who happened to be in the room, seated themselves, one at my head the other at my feet to fan me, as well for the purpose of refreshing me, as to keep off the flies, which might have disturbed my slumbers. They then, supposing me asleep, began to talk softly; but my eyes were only closed, and I overheard their whole conversation.
“Is it not a pity,” said one of them to the other, “that the queen does not love our king, who is such an amiable prince.”—“Surely it is,” replied the other, “and I cannot conceive why she goes out every night and leaves him; does he not perceive it?”—“How should he perceive it?” resumed the first; “she mixes in his drink, every night, the juice of a certain herb, which makes him sleep all night so profoundly, that she has time to go wherever she likes; and when at break of day she returns to him, she awakes him by passing a particular scent under his nose.”
You may judge, my lord, of the surprise which this discourse occasioned, as well as the sentiments with which it inspired me: nevertheless I had sufficient command over myself to suppress my emotions; I pretended to awake without having heard the conversation.
The queen returned from the bath; we supped together, and before we went to bed she presented me the cup of water, which it was usual for me to take; but instead of drinking it, I approached a window that was open, and threw it out without her perceiving me. I then returned the cup into her own hands, that she might suppose I had drank the contents. We soon retired to rest, and shortly after, supposing that I was asleep, although I was not, she got up with so little precaution, that she said aloud, “Sleep, and mayst thou never wake more.” She dressed quickly, and left the chamber.
The queen had no sooner quitted me than I got up, and dressed myself as quickly as possible, and taking my scimitar, I followed her so closely, that I heard her footsteps just before me, when, regulating my steps by hers, I walked softly for fear of being heard. She passed through several doors, which opened by virtue of some magic words she pronounced; the last she opened was that of the garden, which she entered. I stopped at this door that she might not see me, while she crossed a parterre; and following her with my eyes, as well as the obscurity of the night would permit, I remarked, that she went into a little wood, the walks of which were enclosed by a thick hedge. I repaired thither by another way, and hiding myself behind the hedge of one of the paths, I perceived that she was walking with a man.
I did not fail to listen attentively to their discourse, when I heard what follows: “I do not deserve,” said the queen to her lover, “your reproaches for my want of diligence; you well know the reason of it; but if all the marks of love which I have hitherto given you are not sufficient to persuade you of my sincerity, I am ready to give you still more convincing proofs of it; you have only to command, you know my power. I will if you wish it, before the sun rises, change this great city and this beautiful palace into frightful ruins, which shall be inhabited only by wolves, and owls, and ravens. Shall I transport all the stones, with which these walls are so strongly built, beyond Mount Caucasus, and farther than the boundaries of the habitable world? You have only to speak, and all this place shall be transformed.”
As the queen finished this speech, she and her lover, having reached the end of the walk, turned to enter another, and passed before me; I had already drawn my scimitar, and as the lover was next me, I struck him on the neck, and he fell. I believed I had killed him, and with this persuasion, I retired precipitately, without discovering myself to the queen, whom I wished to spare, as she was my cousin.
Although her lover’s wound was mortal, she yet contrived by her enchantments to preserve in him that kind of existence, which can be called neither dead or alive. As I traversed the garden to return to the palace, I heard the queen weeping bitterly, and judging of her grief by her cries, I was not sorry to have left him alive. When I reached my chamber I went again to bed, and feeling satisfied with the punishment I had inflicted on the wretch who had offended me, I fell asleep. On waking the next morning, I found the queen by my side; I cannot say whether she was asleep or feigned it, but I got up without disturbing her, and retired to my closet, where I finished dressing: I afterwards attended the council; and, on my return, the queen, dressed in mourning, her hair dishevelled and torn, presented herself before me. “Sire,” said she, “I come to entreat your majesty not to be displeased at the state in which you now see me. I have just received intelligence of three events, which occasion the grief I so strongly feel, but can ill express.”—“What are these events, madam?” I inquired.—“The death of the queen, my beloved mother,” replied she; “that of the king, my father, who was killed in battle; and also of my brother, who fell down a precipice.”
I was not sorry that she had invented this pretext to conceal the true cause of her affliction, and I imagined, that she did not suspect me of having been the murderer of her lover. “Madam,” said I, “I do not blame your sorrow; on the contrary, I assure you that I am not insensible to the cause. I should be much surprised if you were not affected by such a loss; weep, for your tears are an undoubted proof of your good heart; I hope, nevertheless, that time and reason will restore to you your wonted cheerfulness.”
She retired to her apartment, where, abandoning herself to her grief, she passed a whole year in weeping and bewailing the death of her lover. At the expiration of that time, she requested my permission to build a mausoleum for herself in the centre of the palace, where she said she wished to pass the remainder of her days. I did not refuse her, and she erected a magnificent palace with a dome, which may be seen from hence, and she called it the Palace of Tears.
When it was finished, she had her lover removed from the place, whither she had transported him on the night I wounded him, and brought to this mausoleum. She had till that period preserved his life by giving him certain potions, which she administered herself, and continued to give him daily, after his removal to the Palace of Tears.
All her enchantments, however, did not avail, for he was not only unable to walk or stand, but had also lost the use of his speech, and gave no signs of life, but by looks. Although the queen had only the consolation of seeing him and saying to him all the tender things that her love inspired, yet she constantly paid him two long visits every day. I was well acquainted with this circumstance, but I pretended to be ignorant of it.
Excited by my curiosity, I went one day to the Palace of Tears, to know what was the occupation of the princess, and concealing myself in a part where I could see and hear what passed, I heard her speak in this manner to her lover: “It is the heaviest affliction to me to see you in this state; I feel as much as yourself the agonies you endure; but, dearest life, I am always speaking to you, and yet you return no answer: how long will this distressing silence continue? Speak but once, and I will be satisfied. Alas! these moments that I pass with you, endeavouring to mitigate your sufferings, are the happiest of my life. I cannot exist away from you, and I should willingly prefer the pleasure of seeing you continually, to the empire of the whole universe.”
This discourse, which was frequently interrupted by tears and sobs, at length exhausted my patience. I could no longer remain in concealment, and approaching her, “Madam,” said I, “you have wept enough; it is now time to have done with a grief, which dishonours us both; you forgot what you owe to me, as well as what you owe to yourself.”—“Sire,” replied she, “if you still retain any regard for me, I entreat you to leave me to my sorrows, which time can neither diminish nor relieve.”
I endeavoured, but in vain, to bring her to a sense of her duty; and finding that all my arguments only increased her obstinacy, I at last desisted and left her. She continued to visit her lover every day; and for two years she was inconsolable.
I went a second time to the Palace of Tears while she was there. I hid myself as before, and heard her say, “It is now three years that you have not spoken to me; nor do you return the proofs of affection and fondness which my complaints and sighs must convince you I feel: is it from insensibility or disdain? Hast thou, O tomb, destroyed that excess of tenderness which he bore me? Hast thou closed for ever those dear eyes which beamed with love and formed all my pleasure? Ah no, I cannot think it; rather let me say, thou art become the deposit of the rarest treasure the world ever saw.”
I avow to you, my lord, that I was enraged at these words; for in truth this cherished lover, this adored mortal, was not at all what you would imagine. He was a black Indian, one of the original inhabitants of this country. I was, as I have said, so enraged at this speech, that I suddenly shewed myself, and addressing myself in a similar manner to the tomb, I said, “Why dost thou not, O tomb, swallow up this monster, who is even disgusting to human nature? or rather, why dost thou not consume both the lover and the mistress?”
I had hardly finished these words, when the queen, who was seated near the black, started up like a fury, “Ah, wretch!” said she to me, “it is you who have been the cause of my grief; think not that I am ignorant of it. I have already dissembled too long. It was your barbarous hand which reduced the object of my affection to the miserable state he now is in. And have you the cruelty to come and insult my despair?” “Yes,” cried I, interrupting her, and transported with anger, “I have chastised the monster as he deserved, and I ought to treat thee in the same manner. I repent not having already done it, for thou hast too long abused my goodness.” In saying this, I drew my scimitar, and raised my arm to punish her. “Moderate thy rage,” said she to me with a disdainful smile, and regarding my motions with a tranquil air, and at the same instant she pronounced some words which I did not understand, and added, “By virtue of my enchantments, I command thee from this moment to become half marble and half man.” Immediately, my lord, I was changed to what you see me; already dead among the living, and living among the dead.
As soon as this cruel enchantress, for she is unworthy of bearing the title of queen, had thus transformed me, and by means of her magic had conveyed me to this apartment, she destroyed my capital, which was both flourishing and well inhabited; she annihilated the palaces, public places, and markets; turned the whole place into a lake, or pond, and rendered the country, as you may perceive, quite a desert. The four sorts of fish, which are in the pond, are four different classes of inhabitants, who professed different religions, and inhabited the capital. The white were Musselmen; the red, Persians, who worship fire; the blue, Christians; and the yellow, Jews; the four little hills were four islands; whence the name of the kingdom originated. I was informed of all this by the enchantress, who herself related the effects of her rage. Nor was even this all; she did not confine her fury to the destruction of my empire, and to my enchantment, for she comes every day and gives me a hundred blows with a thong, made of a bull’s hide, upon my shoulders, from whence she draws blood at every stroke. As soon as she has finished this punishment, she covers me with a thick stuff, made of goat’s hair; and puts a robe of rich brocade over it, not for the sake of honouring, but of mocking me.” In saying this, the young king of the Black Isles could not refrain from tears; and the sultan’s heart was so oppressed, he could not offer him any consolation. The young king then, lifting up his eyes towards Heaven, exclaimed, “I submit, O powerful Creator of all things, to thy judgments, and to the decrees of thy providence. Since it is thy pleasure, I patiently suffer every evil; yet I trust thy infinite goodness will one day recompense me.”
“Inform me,” cried the sultan, affected by the recital of so strange a story, and eager to revenge his injuries, “inform me where this perfidious enchantress resides, and where also is this infamous paramour, whom she has entombed before his death. “My lord,” answered the prince, “he, as I have before mentioned, is at the Palace of Tears, in a tomb, formed like a dome; and this palace has a communication with the castle on the side towards the entrance. I cannot exactly tell you to what spot the enchantress has retired; but she visits her lover every day at sun-rise, after having inflicted on me the sanguinary punishment I related: and you may easily judge, that I cannot defend myself from such great cruelty. She always brings with her a sort of liquor, which is the only thing that is able to keep him alive; and she never ceases to complain of the silence which he has invariably kept since he was wounded.”
“No one, prince,” replied the sultan, “deserves greater commisseration than yourself; nor can any one be more sensible of your misfortune than I am. A more extraordinary fate can never have happened to any; and they, who may hereafter compose your history, will be able to relate an event the most surprising of any hitherto recorded. One thing only is wanting to complete it, and that is for you to be revenged: nor will I leave any thing untried to accomplish it.” The sultan having first informed the prince who he was, and the reason of his entering the castle, consulted with him on the best means of affording him a just revenge; and a plan occurred to the sultan, which he directly communicated. They then agreed upon the steps it was necessary to take, in order to insure success; and they deferred the execution of the plan till the following day. In the mean time, as the night was far advanced, the sultan took some repose. The young prince, as usual, passed his time in continual watchfulness; for he was unable to sleep since his enchantment: the hopes, however slight, which he cherished of being soon relieved from his sufferings constantly occupied his thoughts.
The sultan rose as soon as it was day; and having concealed his robe and external dress, which might incumber him, he went to the Palace of Tears. He found it illuminated by a multitude of torches of white wax; and a delicious perfume issuing from various beautiful golden vases, regularly arranged, struck his senses. As soon as he perceived the bed on which the black was laid, he drew his sabre, and destroyed, without resistance, the little remains of life in this wretch. He then dragged the body into the court of the castle, and threw it into a well. Having done this he returned, and laid down in the black’s place, hiding his sabre under the covering, and remained there in order to complete what he projected. The enchantress arrived soon after: her first business was to go into the apartment where the king of the Black Isles, her husband, was. She directly stripped him, and, with unexampled barbarity, began to inflict upon his shoulders the accustomed number of blows. The poor prince filled the whole building with his cries, and conjured her in the most pathetic manner to have pity on him: the wretch, however, ceased not to beat him till she had completed the hundred. “Thou hadst no compassion on my lover,” said she, “expect therefore none from me.” As soon as she had finished, she threw the coarse garment made of goat-skin over him, and then the robe of brocade. She next went to the Palace of Tears; and, on entering, began to renew her lamentations. When she approached the couch where she thought her lover always remained, she exclaimed, “What cruelty to have thus destroyed the tranquil joy of so tender and fond a mistress as I am! Cruel prince, thou reproachest me with being inhuman, when I make thee feel the effects of my resentment, and has not thy barbarity far exceeded my revenge? Hast thou not, traitor, in destroying almost the existence of so adorable an object, equally destroyed mine? Alas!” added she, addressing herself to the sultan, whom she took for the black, “will you always, light of my life, preserve this silence? Are you resolved to let me die without the consolation of hearing you again declare you love me. Utter, at least, one word, I conjure you.”
The sultan then, pretending to awake from a profound sleep, and imitating the language of the blacks, answered the queen in a solemn tone. “There is no strength or power, but in God alone, who is all-powerful.” At these words the enchantress, to whom they were unexpected, gave a violent scream through excess of joy. “My dear lord,” she exclaimed, “do you deceive me: is what I hear true? Is it really you who speak?”—“Wretched woman,” replied the sultan, “are you worthy of an answer?”—“What!” cried the queen, “do you reproach me?”—“The cries, the tears, the groans of thy husband,” answered the supposed black, “whom you every day beat with so much indignity and barbarity, continually prevent my rest: I should have been cured long since, and recovered the use of my tongue, if you had disenchanted him. This, and this only, is the cause of my silence, and of which you so severely complain.”—“Well then,” said the enchantress, “to satisfy you, I am ready to do what you command: do you wish him to reassume his first form?”—“Yes,” replied the sultan, “and hasten to set him free, that I may no longer be disturbed by his cries.”
The queen immediately went out from the Palace of Tears; and taking a vessel of water, she pronounced over it some words, which caused it instantly to boil, as if it had been placed on a fire. She proceeded to the apartment, where the young king, her husband, was; “If the creator of all things,” said she, throwing the water over him, “hath formed thee as thou now art, or if he is angry with thee, do not change; but if thou art in that state by virtue of my inchantment, reassume thy natural form, and become the same as before.” She had hardly concluded, when the prince, recovering his first shape, rose up with all possible joy, and returned thanks to God. “Go,” said the enchantress, addressing him, “hasten from this castle, and never return, lest it should cost you your life.”—The young king yielded to necessity, and left the queen without replying a word. He concealed himself in some secure spot, where he impatiently waited the completion of the sultan’s design, the commencement of which had been so successful.
The enchantress then returned to the Palace of Tears; and on entering said to him whom she supposed to be the black, “I have done, my love, what you ordered me; nothing, therefore, now prevents your getting up, and affording me the satisfaction I have so long been deprived of.” The sultan, still imitating the language of the blacks, answered in rather a sharp tone, “What you have yet done is not sufficient for my cure. You have destroyed only a part of the evil: but you must strike at the root.”—“What do you mean by the root, my amiable black?” answered she.—“What can I mean,” he cried, “but the city and its inhabitants, and the four isles, which you have destroyed by your magic? Every day towards midnight the fish constantly raise their heads out of the pond, and call for vengeance against us both. This is the real cause of the delay of my recovery. Go quickly and re-establish every thing in its former state; and on thy return I will give you my hand, and you shall assist me in rising.”
The queen, exulting in the expectations these words produced, joyfully exclaimed, “You shall soon then, my life, recover your health; for I will instantly go and do what you have commanded.” In fact she went the very next moment, and when she arrived on the border of the pond, she took a little water in her hand and scattered it about. She had no sooner done so, and pronounced certain words over the fish and the pond, than the city instantly appeared. The fish became men, women, and children; Mahometans, Christians, Persians, and Jews; freemen or slaves; in short, each took his natural form. The houses and shops became filled with inhabitants, who found every thing in the same situation and order in which they were previous to the change. The officers and attendants of the sultan, who were very numerous, and who were encamped directly where the great place, or square, happened to be, were astonished at finding themselves on a sudden in the midst of a large, well-built, and inhabited city.
But to return to the enchantress: as soon as she had completed this change she hastened back to the Palace of Tears, to enjoy the reward of her labours. “My dear lord,” she cried on entering, “I am returned to participate in the pleasure of your renewed health, for I have done all you have required of me; arise, and give me your hand.”—“Come near then,” said the sultan, still imitating the manner of the blacks. She did so. “Nearer still,” he cried. She obeyed. Then raising himself up, he seized her so suddenly by the arms, that she had no opportunity of recognizing who it was; and with one stroke of his sabre, he separated her body in two, which fell on each side of him. Having done this, he left the carcase in the same place, and went to seek for the prince of the Black Isles, who waited with the greatest impatience for him. “Rejoice, prince,” said he, embracing him, “you have nothing more to fear; for your cruel enemy no longer exists.”
The young prince thanked the sultan in a way which proved that his heart was truly penetrated with gratitude; and as a reward, for the important service he had rendered him, he wished him a long life and the greatest prosperity. “May you, too, live happily and at peace in your capital,” replied the sultan to him, “and should you hereafter have a wish to visit mine, which is so near, I shall receive you with the truest pleasure; and you shall be as highly honoured and respected as in your own.”—“Powerful monarch,” answered the prince, “to whom I am so much indebted, do you think you are very near your capital?”—“Certainly,” replied the sultan, “I think so, at least that I am not more than four or five hours journey.”—“It is a whole year’s journey,” added the prince, “although I believe you might come here in the time you mention, because mine was enchanted; but since it is no longer so, things are changed. This, however, shall not prevent my following you, were it necessary to go to the very extremity of the earth. You are my liberator; and to shew you every mark of my gratitude as long as I live, I shall freely accompany you and resign my kingdom without regret.”
The sultan was extremely surprised to find that he was so distant from his dominions, and could not comprehend how it happened; but the young king of the Black Isles convinced him so fully of the possibility, that he no longer doubted it.—“It matters not then,” resumed the sultan; “the trouble of returning to my dominions will be sufficiently recompensed by the satisfaction arising from having assisted you, and from having acquired a son in you; for, as you will do me the honor to accompany me, I shall look upon you as such; and having no children of my own, I from this moment make you my heir and successor.”—This interview between the sultan and the king of the Black Isles was terminated by the most affectionate embraces; after which the young prince prepared for his journey. In three weeks he was ready to depart, greatly regretted by his court and subjects, who received from his hands a near relation of his as their king.
At length the sultan and the prince set out with a hundred camels laden with inestimable riches, which had been selected from the treasury of the young king, who was accompanied by fifty handsome nobles, well mounted and equipped. Their journey was a pleasant one; and when the sultan, who had dispatched couriers to give notice of his arrival, and relate the reason of his delay, drew near to his capital, the principal officers, whom he had left there, came to receive him; and to assure him, that his long absence had not occasioned any change in his empire. The inhabitants, also, crowded to meet him, and welcome him with acclamations and every demonstration of joy, which lasted for several days.
The day after his arrival, the sultan assembled his courtiers, and gave them an ample detail of the occurrences, which, contrary to his wishes, had delayed his return: he then declared to them his intention of adopting the king of the four Black Isles, who had left a large kingdom to accompany and live with him; and at last, to reward the fidelity with which they served him, he bestowed presents on all, according to their rank and station.
With regard to the fisherman, as he had been the first cause of the deliverance of the young prince, the sultan overwhelmed him with rewards, and made him and his family happy and comfortable for the rest of their days.