OF THE BARBER’S THIRD BROTHER.
Commander of the Faithful (said he to the caliph) my third brother, who was called Bakbac, was quite blind, and his destiny was so wretched, he was reduced to beg, and passed his life in going from door to door, asking charity. He had been accustomed to walk through the streets alone for so long a time, that he had no occasion for any one to lead him. He always used to knock at the different doors, and never to answer till they came and opened them.
He happened one day to knock at the door of a house, the master of which was quite alone. “Who is there?” he called out. My brother made no answer, but knocked a second time. Again did the master of the house inquire who was at the door, but no one answered. He then came down, opened the door, and asked my brother what he wanted. “That you will bestow something upon me for the love of God,” answered Bakbac.—“You seem to me to be blind,” said the master of the house. “Alas, it is true,” replied my brother, “Hold out your hand,” cried the other. My brother, supposing it was to receive something, immediately put his hand out; but the master of the house only took hold of it to assist him in going up-stairs to his apartment. Bakbac imagined it was for the purpose of giving him some food; as that had often happened to him at other houses. When they were both in the chamber, the master of the house let my brother’s hand go, and sat down in his place; he then again asked him what it was he wanted. “I have already told you,” replied Bakbac, “that I request a trifle of you, for the love of God.”—“My good blind man,” answered the master, “all I can do for you is to wish that God would restore your sight to you.”—“You might have told me that at the door,” said my brother, and spared me the difficulty of coming up-stairs.”—“And why, good innocent man as you are,” replied the other, “did you not answer me after you had knocked the first time, and when I asked you what you wanted? What is the reason you give people the trouble of coming down to open the door, when they speak to you?”—“What then do you mean to do for me?” said Bakbac.—“I tell you again,” replied the master, “that I have nothing to give you?”—“Help me at least to go down again, as you brought me up,” said my brother.”—“The staircase is before you,” answered he, “and if you wish it, you may go down alone.” My brother then began to descend, but missing his step about half way down, he fell to the bottom, and bruised his head and strained his loins very much. He got up, but not without pain, and went away muttering at and abusing the master of the house, who did nothing but laugh at his fall.
As he was going from the house, two of his companions, who were also blind, happened to pass by, and knew his voice. They stopped to ask him what success he had met with: on which he told them what had just befallen him; and added, that he had received nothing during the whole day. “I conjure you,” continued he, “to accompany me home, that I may, in your presence, take some of the money which we have in store among us, to buy something for my supper.” The two blind men agreed to it, and he conducted them home.
It is necessary in this place to observe, that the man of the house in which my brother had been so ill-treated, was a thief, and by nature both cunning and malicious. He had overheard, by means of his window, what Bakbac had said to his comrades; he therefore came down stairs and followed them; and went with them, unobserved, into an old woman’s house, where my brother lodged. As soon as they were seated, Bakbac said to the other two, “We must shut the door, brothers, and take care that there is no stranger among us.” At these words the robber was very much embarrassed; but perceiving a rope that hung from a beam in the middle of the room, he took hold of it, and suspended himself in the air while the blind men shut the door and felt all round the room with their sticks. When this ceremony was concluded, and they were again seated, he let go the rope and sat down by the side of my brother, without making any noise. The latter thinking there was no one besides his blind companions thus addressed them: “As you have made me, comrades, the banker for all the money we three have collected for a long time past, I wish to prove to you that I am not unworthy of the trust you have reposed in me. The last time we reckoned, you know we had ten thousand drachms, and we put them into ten bags: I will now show you that I have not touched one of them.” Having said this, he put his hands among some old rags and clothes, and drew out the ten bags, one after the other; and giving them to his companions, “Here,” said he, “are all the bags, and you may judge by the weight, that they are quite full; or you may count them if you like it better.” They answered that they were perfectly satisfied with his honesty. He then opened one of the bags, and took out ten drachms, and the other two blind men did the same.
After this my brother replaced the bags in the same spot. One of the blind men then said, there was no occasion for them to spend any thing for supper that night, as he had received, from the charity of some good people, sufficient provisions for all three; he instantly took out of his wallet some bread, cheese, and fruit, and put all of them upon a table. They then began to eat; and the robber, who sat on the right hand of my brother, chose the best, and eat of every thing with them: but in spite of all the precaution he used to avoid making the least noise, Bakbac heard him chew, and instantly exclaimed, “We are lost; there is a stranger among us.” While he was saying this he stretched out his hand, and seized the robber by the arm. He then threw himself upon him; calling out Thief! and giving him many blows with his fist. The other blind men also instantly called out, and beat the robber, who on his part defended himself as well as he could. As he was both strong and active, and had the advantage of seeing where he placed his blows, he laid about him most furiously, first on one and then the other, whenever he was able, and called out “Thieves, robbers,” more clamorously than his enemies.
The neighbours immediately assembled at the noise, broke open the door, and had much difficulty to separate the combatants. Having at last put an end to the fray, they inquired the cause of their disagreement. “Gentlemen,” cried my brother, who had not yet let the robber go, “this man, whom I have got hold of is a thief, who came in here with us for the purpose of robbing us of the little money we possess.” The robber, who as soon as he saw the people enter, had shut his eyes, and pretended to be blind, said, “He is a liar, gentlemen; and I swear by the name of God, and by the life of the caliph, that I am one of their companions and associates, and that they refuse to give me the share which belongs to me. They all three set themselves against me, and I demand justice.” The neighbours, who did not wish to interfere with their disputes, carried them all four before the judge of the police.
When they were come before this magistrate, the robber, still pretending to be blind, without waiting till they were interrogated, said, “Since you, my lord, have been appointed to administer justice in behalf of the caliph, whose power may God prosper, I will declare to you that we are all equally culpable. But as we have pledged ourselves under an oath, not to reveal any thing except we receive the bastinado, if you wish to be informed of our crime, you have only to order it to be given to us; and you may begin with me.” My brother now wished to speak, but they compelled him to hold his tongue. They then began to bastinado the robber.
He had the resolution to bear twenty or thirty strokes; and then pretending to be overcome with pain, he first opened one eye, and soon after the other; calling out at the same time for mercy, and begging the judge of the police to order them to remit his punishment. At seeing the robber with both eyes open, the judge was very much astonished. “Scoundrel,” he cried, “what does this strange thing mean?”—“My lord,” replied the robber, “I will discover a most important secret, if you will have the goodness to pardon me; and as a pledge that you will keep your word, give me the ring you have on your finger, and which you often use as a seal. I am then ready to reveal the whole mystery to you.”
The judge ordered his people to stop the punishment, and promised to pardon him. “Upon the faith of this promise,” replied the robber, “I now declare to you, my lord, that both my companions and myself are possessed of most excellent eye-sight. We all four feign blindness, in order to have the power of entering houses without molestation, and even penetrating into the apartments of the women, whose weakness we sometimes take advantage of. I moreover confess to you, that we have collected in common, at least ten thousand drachms by this cunning trick. This morning I demanded of my companions two thousand five hundred drachms, which came to my share; but because I declared I would break off all connection with them and retire, and from fear that I should discover their artifice, they refused to give them me; on my continuing to insist upon my share, they all fell upon me, and ill-treated me in a violent manner, as I can prove by the people who have brought us before you. I wait here for you to administer justice, my lord, and that you will make them deliver up the two thousand five hundred drachms, which are my due. And if you wish that my comrades should acknowledge the truth of what I advance, order them to receive three times as many blows as you have given me, and you will see them open their eyes as I did.”
My brother and the other two blind men wished to convince the judge of this infamous imposture, but he would not hear a word. “Rascals,” cried he, “is it thus then that you counterfeit blindness, and go about deceiving people, under pretence of exciting their charity, and are thus enabled to be guilty of such wicked actions?”—“He is an impostor,” exclaimed my brother, “it is false, that we are able to see at all, and we are ready to take God to witness of it.”
Whatever my brother could say, was nevertheless useless; both he and his companions received two hundred strokes of the bastinado. The judge every moment expected them to open their eyes, and attributed to their great obstinacy, what it was impossible for them to do. During the whole of this time, the robber kept saying to the blind men, “My good fellows, open your eyes, and do not wait till you almost die under the punishment.” Then addressing himself to the judge of the police, he added, “I see very well, my lord, that they will carry their obstinacy so far, that they will never open their eyes; they are without doubt anxious to avoid the shame of reading their own condemnation in the countenances of those who surround them. It is better to pardon them now, and send some one with me to take the ten thousand drachms they have concealed.”
The judge did not intend to neglect doing this; he therefore commanded one of his people to accompany the robber, and they brought the ten bags back with them. He then ordered two thousand five hundred drachms to be counted out and given to the robber, and kept the remainder for himself. With respect to my brother and his companions, he was satisfied with ordering them into banishment, which punishment he thought light enough. I was no sooner informed of what had happened to Bakbac, than I sought him out. He related his misfortune to me, and I brought him privately back into the city. I should have been able, I have no doubt, to have proved the innocence of my brother before the judge of the police, and to have had the robber punished as he deserved, but I dared not undertake it for fear of bringing some misfortune upon my own head.
This is the conclusion of the melancholy adventure of my third brother, who was blind. The caliph did not laugh less at this than he had done at those he had before heard. He again ordered me to receive something more; but without waiting till they had done so, I began the history of my fourth brother.