VOL. III.
Contains 456 pages, extending from Night cccvi. (instead of Night clxvii.) to cdxxv. and thus leaving an initial hiatus of 140 Nights (cxvi.–cccvi. C. de Perceval, vol. viii. p. 14). Thus the third of the original eight volumes is lost. On this subject Dr. White wrote to Scott, “One or two bundles of Arabic manuscript, of the same size and handwriting as the second volume of the Arabian Tales, were purchased at the sale by an agent for Mr. Beckford of Fonthill, and I have no doubt whatever but that the part deficient in your copy is to be found in his possession.” If such be the case, and everything seems to prove it, this volume was not No. iii. but No. iv. The MS. begins abruptly with the continuation of the tale. There is no list of contents, and at the end are two unimportant “copies of verses” addressed to the reader, five couplets rhyming in —ímu (e.g. ta’dimu) and two in —af (e.g. Salaf).
The following is a list of the contents:—
| PAGE. | |
|---|---|
| Part of the Tale of Hasan of Bassorah, Nights cccvi.–cccxxix. | 1–81 |
| Story of the Sultan of Al-Yaman[[631]] and his Sons, told to Al-Rashíd by Hasan of Bassorah, Nights cccxxix.–cccxxxiv. | 81 |
| Story of the Three Sharpers,[[632]] Nights cccxxxiv.–cccxlii. | 96 |
| The Sultan who fared forth in the habit of a Darwaysh, Night | |
| cccxlii. | 121 |
| History of Mohammed, Sultan of Cairo, Night cccxliii.–cccxlviii. | 124 |
| Story of the First Lunatic,[[633]] Night cccxlviii.–ccclv. | 141 |
| Story of the Second Lunatic, Night ccclv.–ccclvii. | 168 |
| Story of the Sage and his Scholar, Night ccclvii.–ccclxii. | 179 |
| Night-Adventure of Sultan Mohammed of Cairo with three foolish Schoolmasters, Night ccclxii. | 204 |
| Tale of the Mother and her Three Daughters, Night ccclxii. | 206 |
| Story of the broke-back Schoolmaster, Night ccclxiii. | 211 |
| Story of the Split-mouthed Schoolmaster, Night ccclxiii. | 214 |
| Story of the limping Schoolmaster, Night ccclxiv.–ccclxv. | 219 |
| Story of the three Sisters and their Mother the Sultánah, Night ccclxvi.–ccclxxxvi. | 231 |
| History of the Kází who bare a babe, Night ccclxxxvi.–cccxcii. | 322 |
| Tale of the Kazi and the Bhang-eater, Night cccxciii.–cdiii. | 344 |
| History of the Bhang-eater and his wife, Night cccxciii.–cdiii. | 348 |
| How Drummer Abú Kásim became a Kází, Night cdiii.–cdxii. | 372 |
| Story of the Kazi and his Slipper (including the Tale of the Bhang-eater who became the Just Wazir and who decided two difficult cases), Night cdxii.–cdxiii. | 424 |
| Tale of Mahmúd the Persian and the Kurd Sharper, Night cdiii.–cdxvi. | 428 |
| Tale of the Sultan and the poor man who brought to him fruit, including the Fruit-seller’s[[634]] Tale, Night cdxvi.–cdxxv. | 432 |
| Story of the King of Al-Yaman and his Three Sons and the Enchanting Bird, which ends this volume, Night cdxvii-cdxxvi. | 437 |