Having this opportunity of conversing with her, I made the best use of it, and mentioned to her the love I had for her; but she rose and left me very abruptly, as if she had been angry with the declaration I had made. I followed her with my eyes as long as she was in sight; and as soon as she was out of sight, I took leave of the merchant, and walked out of the bezestein, without knowing where I went. I was musing upon this adventure, when I felt somebody pulling me behind, and turning about to see who it was, I had the agreeable surprise to perceive it was the lady's slave. My mistress, said the slave, I mean the young lady you just spoke with in the merchant's shop, wants to speak one word with you; so if you please to give yourself the trouble to follow me, I will conduct you. Accordingly I followed her, and found my mistress staying for me in a banker's shop. She made me sit down by her, and spoke to this purpose; Dear sir, said she, do not be surprised that I left you so abruptly: I thought it not proper, before that merchant, to give a favourable answer to the discovery you made of your affection for me. But to speak the truth, I was so far from being offended at it, that I was pleased when I heard it; and I account myself infinitely happy in having a man of true merit for my lover. I do not know what impression the first sight of me could make upon you; but I assure you that I no sooner saw you than I had tender thoughts of you. Since yesterday I have thought only of what you said to me; and the haste I made to come and find you out this morning may convince you that I have no small regard for you. Madam, said I, transported with love and joy, nothing can be more agreeable to me than what I now hear; no passion can be greater than that with which I love you; since the happy moment I cast my eyes upon you, my eyes were dazzled with so many charms, that my heart yielded without resistance. Do not let us trifle away the time in needless discourse, said she, interrupting me: I make no doubt of your sincerity, and you shall quickly be convinced of mine. Will you do me the honour to come to my home? or, if you will, I will come to yours. Madam, said I, I am a stranger, lodging in a khan, which is not a proper place for the reception of a lady of your quality and merit. It is more proper, madam, for me to come to you at your home, if you will please to tell me where it is. The lady complying with this desire, I live, said she, in Devotion-street; come next Friday after noon prayers, and ask for the house of Abbon Schamam, surnamed Bercount, late master of the emirs; there you will find me. This said, we parted, and I passed the next day in great impatience.
On Friday I got up betimes, and put on my best clothes, with fifty pieces of gold in my pocket: thus prepared, I mounted an ass, which I had bespoken the day before, and set out, accompanied by the man that lent me the ass. When we came to Devotion-street, I directed the owner of the ass to inquire for the house I wanted: he accordingly inquired, and conducted me to it. I paid him liberally, and sent him back directing him to observe narrowly where he left me, and not to fail to come back with the ass to-morrow morning to carry me back again.
I knocked at the door, and presently two little girl slaves, white as snow, and neatly dressed, came and opened it. Be pleased to come in, sir, said they, our mistress expects you impatiently; for two days she has spoken of nothing but you. I entered the court, and saw a great pavilion raised upon seven steps, and surrounded with iron rails that parted it from a very pleasant garden. Besides the trees which embellished the prospect, and formed an agreeable shade, there was an infinite number of other trees loaded with all manner of fruit. I was charmed with the warbling of a great number of birds, which joined their notes to the murmurings of a very high water-work in the middle of a ground-plot enamelled with flowers. This water- work was a very agreeable sight; four large gilded dragons adorned the angles of the bason, which was of a square form; and these dragons spouted out water clearer than rock crystal. This delicious place gave me a charming idea of the conquest I had made. The two little slaves conducted me into a parlour magnificently furnished, and while one of them went to acquaint her mistress with my arrival, the other tarried behind, and pointed out to me the ornaments of the hall.
I did not tarry long in the hall, said the young man of Bagdad, ere the lady I loved appeared, adorned with pearls and diamonds; but the splendour of her eyes did far outshine that of her jewels. Her shape, which was not now disguised by the habit usual in the streets, was extremely fine and charming. I need not mention with what joy we received one another; it leaves all expression far behind it: I shall only tell you, that when the first compliments were over, we sat both down upon a sofa, and there entertained one another with all imaginable satisfaction. After that, we had the most delicious messes served up to us, and, after eating, continued our discourse till night. At night we had excellent wine brought up, and such fruit as is apt to promote drinking, and timed our cups to the sound of musical instruments joined to the voices of the slaves. The lady of the house sung herself, and by her songs screwed up my passion to the height. In fine, I passed the night in the full enjoyment of all manner of pleasure.
Next morning I slipped under the bolster of the bed the purse with the fifty pieces of gold I had brought with me, and took leave of the lady, who asked me when I would see her again? Madam, said I, I give you my promise to return this night. She seemed transported with my answer, and, conducting me to the door, conjured me, at parting, to be mindful of my promise. The same man that had carried me thither waited for me with his ass to carry me home again; so I mounted the ass, and went straight home, ordering the man to come to me again in the afternoon at a certain hour; to secure which, I would not pay him till the time came. As soon as I arrived at my lodging, my first care was to order my folks to buy a good lamb and several sorts of cakes, which I sent by a porter as a present to the lady. When that was done, I minded my serious affairs till the owner of the ass came; then I went along with him to the lady's house, and was received by her with as much joy as before, and entertained with equal magnificence.
Next morning I took leave, and left her another purse with fifty pieces of gold. I continued to visit the lady every day, and to leave her every time a purse of fifty pieces of gold, till the merchants whom I employed to sell my cloth, and whom I visited regularly twice a week, owed me nothing: In this way I became moneyless, and even hopeless of having any more.
In this desperate condition I walked out of my lodging, not knowing what course to take, and by chance steered towards the castle, where there was a great crowd of people, to see the sultan of Egypt. As soon as I came up to them, I wedged in among the crowd, and by chance happened to stand by a cavalier well mounted and handsomely clothed, who had upon the bow of his saddle a bag half open, with a string of green silk hanging out of it, I clapped my hand into the bag, concluding the silk- twist might be the string of a purse within the bag: in the mean time, a porter, with a load of wood upon his back, passed by the other side of the horse, so near, that the gentleman on horse-* back was forced to turn his head towards him to avoid being rubbed by the wood. In that very moment did the devil tempt me; I took the string in one hand, and with the other laid open the mouth of the bag, and pulled out the purse so dexterously that nobody perceived it. The purse was heavy, therefore I did not doubt that there was gold or silver in it. As soon as the porter had passed, the cavalier, who probably had some suspicion of what I had done while his head was turned, presently put his hand to his bag, and, finding his purse gone, gave me such a blow as knocked me down. This violence shocked all who saw it; some took hold of the horse's bridle to stop the gentleman, and inquire what reason he had to beat me, or how he came to treat a Mussulman after that rate. Do not you trouble yourselves, said he, with a brisk tone; I had reason enough for what I did; this fellow is a thief. In fine, every one took my part, cried he was a liar, and that it was incredible a young man like me should be guilty of so foul an action: but while they were holding his horse by the bridle to favour my escape, unfortunately came by the justiciary judge, who, seeing such a crowd about the gentleman on horseback and me, came up and asked what the matter was? Everybody reflected on the gentleman for treating me so unjustly upon pretence of robbery. The judge did not give ear to all that was said in my behalf, but asked the cayalier if he suspected anybody else besides me? The cavalier told him he did not, and gave his reasons why he believed his suspicion not to be groundless. Upon this, the judge ordered his followers to seize and search me, which they presently did; and finding the purse upon me, exposed it to the view of all the people. The shame was so great, that I could not bear it, but swooned away; and in the meantime the judge called for the purse. When he had got the purse in his hand, he asked the horseman if it was his, and how much money was in it? The cavalier knew it to be his own, and assured the judge he had put twenty sequins into it. Upon that the judge called me before him; Come, young man, said he, confess the truth. Was it you that took the gentleman's purse from him? Do not put yourself to the trouble of torture to extort confession. Then I looked down with my eyes, thinking within myself, that if I denied the fact, they, finding the purse about me, would convict me of a lie; so, to avoid a double punishment, I looked up, and confessed the fact. I had no sooner made this confession than the judge called people to witness it, and ordered my hand to be cut off. This hard sentence was put in execution immediately upon the spot, to the great regret of all the spectators; nay, I observed by the cavalier's countenance, that he was moved with pity as much as the rest. The judge likewise would have ordered my foot to be cut off, but I begged the cavalier to intercede for my pardon, which he did, and obtained it. The judge being gone, the cavalier came up to me, and holding out the purse, I see plainly, said he, that necessity put you upon an action so disgraceful, and so unworthy of such a handsome young man as you are. Here, take that fatal purse, I freely give it you, and am heartily sorry for the misfortune you have undergone. He then went away; and I being very weak, by reason of the loss of blood, some of the good people that lived that way had the kindness to carry me into one of their houses, and gave me a glass of wine; they likewise dressed my arm, and wrapped up the dismembered hand in a cloth.
If I had returned to the khan where I lodged, I should not have found such relief as I wanted; and to offer to go to the young lady's was running a great hazard, it being likely she would not look upon me after such an infamous thing had befallen me. I resolved, however, to put it to the trial; and, to tire out the crowd that followed me, I turned down several by-streets, and at last arrived at my lady's, very weak, and so much fatigued, that I presently threw myself down upon a sofa, keeping my right arm under my coat, for I took great care to conceal my misfortune.
The lady hearing of my arrival, and that I was not well, came to me in all haste: My dear soul, said she, what is the matter with you? Madam, said I, I have got a violent pain in my head. The lady seemed to be mightily afflicted with my pretended illness, and asked me to sit down, for I had got up to receive her. Tell me, said she, how your illness came; the last time I had the pleasure of seeing you, you was very well; there must be something else that you conceal from me; pray, let me know what it is. I stood silent, and, instead of an answer, tears trickled down my cheeks. I cannot conceive, said she, what it is that afflicts you. Have I given you any occasion to be uneasy? or do you come on purpose to tell me you do not love me? It is not that, madam, said I, fetching a deep sigh; your unjust suspicion is an addition to my evil. Still I could not think of discovering to her the true cause. When night came, supper was brought, and she pressed me to eat; but considering I could only feed myself with my left hand, I begged to be excused upon the plea of having no stomach. Your stomach will come to you, said she, if you would but discover what you so obstinately hide from me. Your inappetency, without doubt, is only owing to the aversion you have to a discovery. Alas! madam, said I, I find I must discover at last. I had no sooner spoken these words than she filled me a cup of wine: Drink that, said she, it will give you assurance. So I reached out my left hand, and took the cup. As soon as I took it, I redoubled my tears and sighs. Why do you sigh and cry so bitterly? said the lady; and why do you take the cup with your left hand instead of your right? Ah, madam, said I, excuse me, I beseech you, I have got a swelling in my right hand. Let me see that swelling, said she; I will open it. I desired to be excused upon that head, alleging the tumour was not ripe enough for opening; and drank the cupful, which was very large. In fine, the steams of the wine, joined to my weakness and weariness, set me asleep, and I slept very sound till next morning. In the mean time, the lady, curious to know what ailment I had in my right hand, lifted up my coat that covered it, and saw, to her great astonishment, that it was cut off, and that I had brought it along with me wrapt in a cloth. She presently apprehended my reason for declining a discovery, notwithstanding all the pressing instances she made, and passed the whole night in the greatest uneasiness upon my disgrace, which she concluded had been occasioned by the love I bore to her.
When I awaked, I observed by her countenance that she was extremely grieved. That she might not, however, increase my uneasiness, she said not one word. She called for jelly broth of fowl, which she had ordered to be got ready, and made me eat and drink to recruit my strength. After that, I offered to take leave of her, but she declared I should not go out of her doors; though you tell me nothing of the matter, said she, I am persuaded I am the cause of the misfortune that has befallen you: the grief that I feel upon that score will quickly make an end of me; but, before I die, I must do one thing that is designed for your advantage. She had no sooner said these words, than she called for a public notary and witnesses, and ordered a writing to be drawn up, conveying to me her whole estate. After this was done, and the men despatched, she opened a large trunk, where lay all the purses I had given her from the commencement of our amours. There are they all entire, said she; I have not touched one of them: here, take the key, the trunk is yours. After I had returned her thanks for her generosity and bounty, What I do for you, said she, is nothing at all; I shall not be satisfied unless I die, to show how much I love you. I conjured her, by all the powers of love, to drop such a fatal resolution; but all my remonstrances were ineffectual: she was so afflicted to see me have but one hand, that she sickened and died, after five or six weeks' illness. After mourning for her death as long as was decent, I took possession of her estate, a particular account of which she gave me before she died; and the corn you sold for me was part of it.