This, sir, said the prince of the Saracens’ wife, is the faithful account of my misfortunes, and I do not question but that you will think me worthy enough of your compassion, not to repent your having so generously relieved me. Madam, answered my father, be assured your troubles have moved me, and I will do all that shall be in my power to make you happy again. To-morrow, as soon as the day appears, we will go out of this wood, and endeavour to fall into the road which leads to the great city of Deryabar, of which I am sovereign; and, if you think fit, you shall be entertained in my palace, till the prince your husband shall come to reclaim you.
The Saracen lady accepted the offer, and the next day followed the king my father, who found all his retinue upon the skirts of the wood, they having spent the night in searching after, and being very uneasy for that they could not find him. They were no less joyful to meet their king, than amazed to see him with a lady whose beauty surprised them. He told them how he had found her, and the danger he had run in drawing near to the hut, where he must certainly have lost his life had the giant espied him. One of his servants took up the lady behind him, and another carried the child.
Thus they arrived at the king my father’s palace, who assigned the beautiful Saracen lady an apartment, and caused the child to be carefully educated. The lady was sensible of the king’s goodness to her, and expressed as much gratitude as he could desire. She had at first appeared very uneasy and impatient, on account that her husband did not reclaim her; but by degrees she shook off that uneasiness: the respect my father paid her dispelled her impatience; and I am of opinion she would at last have blamed fortune more for restoring her to her kindred than she did for removing her from them.
In the mean time, the lady’s son grew up; he was very handsome; and not wanting wit, found the way to please the king my father, who had a great kindness for him. All the courtiers perceived it, and guessed that young man might in the end be my husband. Upon this conceit, and looking on him already as heir to the crown, they made their court to him, and every man endeavoured to gain his favour. He soon saw into their designs, grew conceited of himself, and, forgetting the distance there was between our conditions, flattered himself with the hopes that my father was fond enough of him to prefer him before all the princes in the world. Nay, he went farther; for the king not answering his expectation, in offering me to him as soon as he could have wished, he had the boldness to ask me of him. Whatsoever punishment his insolence deserved, my father was satisfied with telling him that he had other thoughts in relation to me, and showed him no farther dislike. The youth was incensed at this refusal; the vain fellow resented the contempt, as if he had asked some maid of indifferent extraction, or as if his birth had been equal to mine. Nor was he so satisfied; but resolved to be revenged on the king; and, with unparalleled ingratitude, conspired against him. In short, he murdered him, and caused himself to be proclaimed king of Deryabar, by a great number of malcontents whom he supported. The first thing he did, after ridding himself of my father, was to come into my apartment with a great train of the conspirators. His design was, either to take my life or oblige me to marry him. While he was busy murdering my father, the grand vizier, who had been always loyal to his master, came to carry me away from the palace, and secured me in a friend’s house, till a vessel he had provided was ready to sail. I then left the island, attended only by a governess and that generous minister, who chose rather to follow his master’s daughter, and to partake of her misfortunes, than to submit to a tyrant.
The grand vizier designed to carry me to the courts of the neighbouring kings, to implore their assistance, and excite them to revenge my father’s death; but Heaven did not give me a blessing to that resolution we thought so just. When we had been but a few days at sea, there arose such a furious storm, that, in spite of all the mariners’ art, our vessel, carried away by the violence of the winds and waves, was dashed in pieces against a rock. I will not spend time in describing our shipwreck. I can but faintly represent to you how my governess, the grand vizier, and all that attended me, were swallowed up by the sea. The dread I was seized with did not permit me to observe the horror of our condition. In fine, I lost my senses; and whether I was thrown upon the coast upon any part of the wreck of our ship, or whether Heaven, which reserved me for other misfortunes, wrought a miracle in my deliverance, I found myself on shore when my senses returned to me.
Misfortunes very often make us forget our duty: instead of returning thanks to God for so singular a mercy shown me, I only lifted up my eyes to heaven, to complain because I had been saved. I was so far from bewailing the vizier and my governess, that I envied their fate; and, my dreadful imaginations by degrees prevailing above my reason, I resolved to cast myself into the sea. I was upon the point of doing so, when I heard behind me a great noise of men and horses. I looked about to see what it might be, and spied several armed horsemen, among whom was one mounted on an Arabian horse. He had on a garment embroidered with silver, a girdle set with precious stones, and a crown of gold on his head. Though his habit had not convinced me that he was the chief of the company, I should have judged it by the air of grandeur which appeared in his person. He was a young man extraordinarily finely shaped, and perfectly beautiful. Being surprised to see a young lady alone in that place, he sent some of his officers to ask who I was. All my answer was weeping. The shore being covered with the wreck of our ship, they concluded some vessel had been cast away there, and that I was certainly some person that had saved my life. This conjecture, and my inconsolable condition, excited the curiosity of those officers, who began to ask me a thousand questions, with assurances that their king was a generous prince, and that I should receive all comfort in his court.
The king, impatient to know who I was, grew weary of expecting the return of his officers, and drew near to me. He gazed on me very earnestly, and, observing that I did not give over weeping and afflicting myself, without being able to return an answer to their questions, he forbade them troubling me any more; and, directing his discourse to me, said, Madam, I conjure you to moderate your excessive affliction. Though Heaven in its wrath has laid this calamity upon you, yet it does not behove you to despair. I beseech you, show more courage: fortune, which has hitherto persecuted you, is inconstant, and may soon change. I dare assure you, that, if your misfortunes are capable of receiving any comfort, you shall find it in my dominions. My palace is at your service: you shall live with the queen my mother, who will endeavour by her kindness to ease your affliction. I know not as yet who you are; but I find I am already concerned for you.
I thanked the young king for his great goodness towards me, accepted of the obliging offers he made me; and, to convince him that I was not unworthy of him, told him my condition. I described to him the insolence of the young Saracen, and found it needless to do any more than barely to recount my misfortunes, to excite compassion in him, and all his officers who heard me. When I had done speaking, the prince began again, assuring me that he was highly concerned at my misfortune. Then he conducted me to his palace, and presented me to the queen his mother, to whom I was obliged again to repeat my misfortunes, and to renew my tears. The queen seemed very sensible of my troubles, and took an extraordinary liking to me. On the other hand the king her son fell desperately in love with me, and soon offered me his person and his crown. I was still so entirely taken up with the thoughts of my calamities, that the prince, though so lovely a person, did not make so great an impression on me as he might have done at another time. However, gratitude prevailing on me, I did not refuse to make him happy; and our wedding was kept with all imaginable grandeur.
At the time when all the people were taken up with the celebration of their sovereign’s nuptials, a neighbouring prince, who was his enemy, made a descent by night on the island with a great number of troops. That formidable enemy was the king Zanguebar: he surprised those people, and cut to pieces all the king my husband’s subjects. We two escaped very narrowly, for he had already entered the palace with some of his followers; but we found means to slip away, and got to the sea-coast, where we entered a fishing-boat we had the good fortune to meet with. Two days we were driven about by the winds, without knowing what would become of us. The third day, we spied a vessel making towards us with all her sails aboard. We rejoiced at first, believing it had been a merchant-ship which might take us aboard; but were more astonished than I can express, when, as it drew near, we saw ten or twelve armed pirates appear on the deck. Being come up to us, five or six of them leaped into our boat, seized us, bound the prince, and conveyed us into their ship, where they immediately took off my veil. Instead of casting lots, every one of them claimed the preference, and me as his right. The controversy grew hot, and they came to blows about me, and fought like so many madmen. The deck was soon covered with dead bodies; and, in short, they were all killed but one, who, being left sole possessor of me, said, You are mine; I will carry you to Grand Cairo, to deliver you to a friend of mine, to whom I have promised a beautiful slave. But who, added he, looking upon the king my husband, is that man? What relation is he to you? Are you allied by blood or love? Sir, answered I, he is my husband. If so, replied the pirate, in pity I must rid myself of him; it would be too great an affliction to him to see you in my friend’s arms. Having spoken these words, he took up the unhappy prince, who was bound, and threw him into the sea, notwithstanding all my endeavours to hinder him.
I shrieked in a dreadful manner at the sight of that cruel action, and had certainly cast myself headlong into the sea, had not the pirate held me. He plainly saw that was my design, and therefore bound me fast to the main-mast, and then hoisting sail, made towards the land, and there got ashore. He unbound and led me to a little town, where he bought camels, tents, and slaves, and then set out for Grand Cairo; designing, as he still said, to present me to his friend, according to his promise.