Noureddin presently acquainted the Fair Persian with the absolute necessity of their going that moment. She only staid to put on her veil, and then they both stole out of the house together, and were so very lucky, as not only to get clear of the city, without the least notice being taken of their escape, but also safely to arrive at the mouth of the Euphrates, where they embarked in a vessel that lay ready to weigh anchor.
They were no sooner on ship-board than the captain came upon deck amongst his passengers: My children, said he to them, are you all here? have any of you any more business to do in the city? or have you left any thing behind you? They answered him they were all there, and ready prepared; so that he might set sail as soon as he pleased. When Noureddin came aboard, the first question he asked was, whither the ship was bound? and being told for Bagdad, he greatly rejoiced at it. And now the captain having weighed anchor, set sail, and the vessel with a very favourable wind lost sight of Balsora.
But now let us see how matters went at Balsora, in the mean time, while Noureddin and the Fair Persian made their escape from the fury of the enraged king.
The captain of the guards came to Noureddin’s house and knocked at the door, but nobody coming to open it, he ordered his soldiers to break it down, who immediately obeyed him, and in they rushed in a full body. They searched every hole and corner of the house, but neither he nor the Fair Persian were to be found. The captain of the guards made them inquire of the neighbours, and he asked himself if they had seen them lately: it was all in vain; for, though they had seen him go out of his house, so universally beloved was Noureddin, that not one of them would have said the least word that might be injurious to him. As soon as they had rifled the house and levelled it to the ground, they went to acquaint the king with the news. Look for them, said he, in some other places, for I am resolved to have them found.
The captain of the guards made a second search after them; and the king dismissed the vizier Saouy with a great deal of honour. Go home, said he to him; trouble yourself no farther with Noureddin’s punishment; for with my own hand I will revenge the insolence he has offered your person.
Without any farther delay, the king ordered the public criers to proclaim throughout the whole city a reward of a thousand pieces of gold for any person that should apprehend Noureddin and the Fair Persian, with a severe punishment upon whomsoever should conceal them. But after all this pains and trouble, there was no news to be heard of them; and the vizier Saouy had only the comfort of seeing the king espouse his quarrel.
In the mean time, Noureddin and the Fair Persian, after a prosperous voyage, landed safe at Bagdad. As soon as the captain came within sight of that city, pleased that his voyage was at an end, Children, cried he to the passengers, cheer up, and be merry! look, yonder is that great and wonderful city, where there is perpetual concourse of people from all parts of the world: there you shall meet with innumerable crowds every day, and never feel the extremity of cold in winter, nor the excess of heat in summer; but enjoy an eternal spring, always crowned with flowers, and the delicious fruits of autumn.
When the vessel came to anchor a little below the city, the passengers got ashore, and every body went to the place they designed to lie at that night. Noureddin gave the captain five pieces of gold for his passage, and went ashore also with the Fair Persian; but being a perfect stranger in Bagdad, he was at a loss for a lodging. They rambled a considerable time about the gardens that bordered on the Tigris; and, keeping close to one of them that was enclosed with a very high wall, at the end of it they turned into a street finely paved, where they perceived a garden door, and a charming fountain near it.
The door, which was very magnificent, happened to be shut, but the porch was open, in which there stood a sofa on each side. This is a very convenient place for us, said Noureddin to the Fair Persian: night comes on apace; and though we have eaten nothing since our landing, yet I believe we must even lie here to-night, and to-morrow we shall have time enough to get a lodging; what say ye to it, my dear? Sir, replied the Fair Persian, you know very well I am never against what you propose; therefore let us go no farther, since you are willing to stay here. Each of them having drunk a draught of water at the fountain, they laid themselves down upon one of the sofas; and, after a little chat, being invited by the agreeable murmur of the water, they fell fast asleep.
The garden, it seems, belonged to the caliph; and in the middle of it there was a pavilion, called the Pavilion of Pictures, because its chief ornament was pictures, after the Persian manner, drawn by the most celebrated limners in Persia, whom the caliph sent for on purpose. The stately hall beneath this pavilion was adorned with fourscore windows, and in every window a branched candlestick. The candles were never lighted but when the caliph came thither to spend the evening, which was never but when the weather was so very calm that not a breath of air was stirring. Then, indeed, they made a glorious illumination, and could be plainly discerned at a vast distance in the country on that side, and by the greatest part of the city.