We were, continued the tailor, surprised to hear the young man speak so, and began to have a very bad opinion of the barber, without knowing what ground the young man had for what he said. Nay, we protested we would not suffer any one to remain in our company who bore so horrid a character. The master of the house entreated the stranger to tell us what reason he had for hating the barber. Gentlemen, said the young man, you must know that this cursed barber is the cause of my being lame, and of the most cruel accident that any one can imagine: for this reason, I have made an oath to avoid every place where he dwells. It was for this reason that I left Bagdad, where he then was, and travelled so far to settle in this city, in the heart of Great Tartary, a place where I flattered myself I should never see him; and now, after all, contrary to my expectations, I find him here. This obliges me, gentlemen, against my will, to deprive myself of the honour of being merry with you. This very day I take leave of your town, and will go, if possible, to hide me from him. This said, he would have left us, but the master entreated him to stop, and tell the cause of his aversion to the barber, who all this while looked down, and said nothing. We joined with the master of the house in requesting him to stay; and at last the young man, yielding to our instances, sat down upon the sofa; and, after turning his back to the barber, that he might not see him, gave us the following account.
My father's quality might have entitled him to the highest posts in the city of Bagdad, but he always preferred a quiet life to any honours he might deserve. I was his only child; and, when he died, I was already educated, and of age to dispose of the plentiful fortune he had left me, which I did not squander away foolishly, but applied to such uses, that every body respected me. I had never been in love, and was so far from being sensible of that passion, that I acknowledge, perhaps to my shame, that I cautiously avoided the conversation of women. One day, walking in the streets, I saw a great company of ladies before me, and, that I might not meet them, turned down a narrow lane just by, and sat down upon a bench by a door. I sat over against a window, where stood a pot with pretty flowers; and I had my eyes fixed upon this, when, all on a sudden, the window opened, and a young lady appeared, whose beauty was dazzling. Immediately she cast her eyes upon me; and, in watering the flower-pot with a hand whiter than alabaster, looked upon me with a smile that inspired me with as much love for her as I had formerly an aversion for all women. After having watered all her flowers, and darting upon me a glance full of charms that quite pierced my heart, she shut up the window again, and so left me in inconceivable trouble and disorder.
I had dwelt upon these thoughts long enough, had not a noise in the streets brought me to myself: alarmed thus, I turned my head in a rising posture, and saw it was the upper cadi of the city, mounted on a mule, and attended by five or six servants. He alighted at the door of the house where the young lady had opened the window, and went in there; so I concluded he was the young lady's father.
I went home in a different sort of humour from that in which I came, with a passion which was the mere violent as I had never felt before its assaults. In fine, I went to bed in a violent fever, at which all the family was greatly concerned. My relations, who had a great love for me, were so alarmed and moved at my sudden disorder, that they came about me, and importuned me to know the cause, which I took care not to reveal to them. My silence created an uneasiness which the physicians could not dispel, because they knew nothing of my distemper, and rather inflamed than repaired it, by the medicines they exhibited. My relations began to despair of my life, when a certain old lady of our acquaintance, learning my illness, came to see me. She considered and examined every thing with great attention, and dived, I do not know how, into the real cause of my illness. Then she took my relations aside, and desired they would retire from the room. When the room was clear, she sat down on the side of my bed: My child, said she, you are very obstinate in concealing hitherto the cause of your illness; but you have no occasion to reveal it to me, I have experience enough to penetrate into a secret; you will not surely disown that it is love that makes you sick. I can find a way to cure you, if you but let me know who the happy lady is that could move a heart so insensible as yours; for you have the name of a woman-hater, and I was not the last that perceived you to be of that temper; but, in short, what I foresaw has just come to pass, and am now glad of the opportunity to employ my talents in bringing you out of pain.
The old lady, having talked to me in this fashion, paused, expecting my answer; but, though what she had said made a strong impression upon me, I durst not lay open to her the bottom of my heart; I only turned to her, and fetched a deep sigh without saying any thing. Is it bashfulness, said she, that keeps you from speaking? or is it want of confidence in me? Do not doubt the effect of my promise. I could mention to you an infinite number of young men of your acquaintance, that have been in the same condition with you, and have received relief from me. In fine, the good lady told me so many things more, that I broke silence, declared to her my evil, pointed out to her the place where I had seen the object which caused it, and unravelled all the circumstances of my adventure. If you succeed, said I, and procure me the felicity of seeing that charming beauty, and revealing to her the passion with which I burn for her, you may depend upon it I will be grateful. My son, said the old woman, I know the lady you speak of; she is, as you judged right, the daughter of the first cadi of the city: I think it no wonder that you are in love with her; she is the handsomest, comeliest lady in Bagdad; but what I most boggle at is, that she is very proud and of difficult access. You see how strict our judges are in enjoining the punctual observance of the severe laws that lay women under such a burdensome constraint; and they are yet more strict in the observation of their own families: nay, the cadi you saw is more rigid than all the other magistrates put together. They are always preaching to their daughters what a heinous crime it is to show themselves to men; and by this means the girls themselves are so prepossessed with the notion, that they make no other use of their own eyes than to conduct them along the streets when necessity obliges them to go abroad. I do not say absolutely that the cadi's daughter is of that humour; but I still fear to meet with as great obstacles on her side as on her father's. Would to God you had loved some other lady, then I had not had so many difficulties to surmount. However, I shall employ all my wits to compass the thing; but time is required. In the mean time, take heart, and trust to me.
The old woman took leave; and as I weighed within myself all the obstacles she had been talking of, the fear of her not succeeding inflamed my illness. Next day she came again, and I read in her countenance that she had no favourable news to impart. She spoke thus: My child, I was not mistaken in the matter; I have somewhat else to conquer besides the vigilance of a father; you love an indifferent, insensible girl, who takes pleasure in making those to burn with love that suffer themselves to be charmed by her; when she has once gained that point, she will not deign them the least comfort. She heard me with pleasure, when I spoke of nothing but the torment she had made you undergo; but I had no sooner requested her to allow you to see, and converse with her, than, with a terrible look, You are very bold, said she, to make such a proposal to me; I discharge you ever to see me again with such discourse in your mouth.
Do not let this cast you down, continued she, I am not easily disheartened; and if your patience does but hold out, I am hopeful I shall compass my end. To shorten my story, said the young man, this good procuress made several attempts on my behalf with the proud enemy of my rest. The fret I thereby underwent inflamed my distemper to that degree that my physicians gave me quite over; so that I was looked on as a dead man, when the old woman came to give me life.
That nobody might hear what was said, she whispered in my ear, Remember now you owe me a present for the good news I bring you. These words produced a marvellous effect; I raised myself to sit up in the bed, and with transports made answer, You shall not be without a present: but what are the news you bring me? Dear sir, said she, you shall not die yet: I shall speedily have the pleasure to see you in perfect health, and very well satisfied with me. Yesterday being Monday, I went to see the lady you love, and found her in very good humour. I put on a sad countenance, and fetched many deep sighs, and began to squeeze out some tears: My good mother, said she, what is the matter with you? Why are you so cast down? Alas, my dear and honourable lady, said I, I have been just now with the young gentleman I spoke to you of the other day; his business is done; he is giving up his life for the love of you; it is a great injury, I assure you, and there is a great deal of cruelty on your side. I am at a loss to know, replied she, how you suppose me to be the cause of his death. How can I have contributed to it? How, replied I, did not you tell me the other day that he sat down before your window when you opened it to water your flower-pot? He then saw that prodigy of beauty, those charms that your looking-glass represents to you every day. From that moment he languished, and his disease is risen to that height, that he is reduced to the deplorable condition I have mentioned.
You remember well, added I, how rigorously you treated me the last time I was here, when I was offering to speak to you of his illness, and to propose means to rescue him from the danger he was in; when I took leave of you, I went straight to his house, and he no sooner knew by my countenance that I had brought him no favourable answer than his distemper increased. From that time, madam, he is ready to die, and I do not know whether you can save his life now, though you should take pity on him. This is just what I said to her, continued the old woman. The fear of your death shaked her, and I saw her face change colour. Is it true what you say? said she. Has he actually no other disease than what is occasioned by the love of me? Ah, madam, said I, that is too true; would to God it were false! Do you believe, said she, that the hope of seeing me would contribute any thing to rescue him from the danger he is in? Perhaps it may, said I, and if you will give me orders, I will try the remedy. Well, said she, sighing, make him hope to see me; but he can pretend to no other favours from me, unless he aspires to marry me, and my father gives his consent to it. Madam, replied I, your goodness overcomes me: I will go and see for the young gentleman, and tell him he is to have the pleasure of an interview with you: the most proper time I can think of, said she, for granting him that favour, is next Friday, at the time of noon-prayers. Let him take care to observe when my father goes out, and then come and plant himself over against the house, if so be his health permits him to come abroad. When he comes, I shall see him through my window, and shall come down and open the door to him; we shall then converse together during prayer-time, but he must be gone before my father returns.
It is now Tuesday, continued the old gentlewoman, you have till Friday to recruit your strength, and make the necessary dispositions for the interview. While the good old gentlewoman was telling her story, I felt my illness decrease, or rather, by the time she had done, I found myself perfectly well. Here, take this, said I, reaching out to her my purse, which was full, it is to you alone that I owe my cure. I reckon this money better employed than what I gave to the physicians, who have done nothing but tormented me during the whole course of my illness. When the lady was gone, I found I had strength enough to get up; and my relations, finding me so well, complimented me and went home.