She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the Jinni who was prisoned in the pillar had told them his tale, from first to last, the folk marvelled at his story and at the frightfulness of his favour, and the Emir Musa said, “There is no God but the God! Soothly was Solomon gifted with a mighty dominion.” Then said the Shaykh Abd al-Samad to the Jinni, “Ho there! I would fain ask thee of a thing, whereof do thou inform us.” “Ask what thou wilt,” answered the Ifrit Dahish and the Shaykh said, “Are there hereabouts any of the Ifrits imprisoned in bottles of brass from the time of Solomon (on whom be peace!)?” “Yes,” replied the Jinni; “there be such in the sea of Al-Karkar[[127]] on the shores whereof dwell a people of the lineage of Noah (on whom be peace!); for their country was not reached by the Deluge and they are cut off there from the other sons of Adam.” Quoth Abd al-Samad, “And which is the way to the City of Brass and the place wherein are the cucurbites of Solomon, and what distance lieth between us and it?” Quoth the Ifrit, “It is near at hand,” and directed them in the way thither. So they left him and fared forward till there appeared to them afar off a great blackness and therein two fires facing each other, and the Emir Musa asked the Shaykh, “What is yonder vast blackness and its twin fires?”; and the guide answered, “Rejoice O Emir, for this is the City of Brass, as it is described in the Book of Hidden Treasures which I have by me. Its walls are of black stone and it hath two towers of Andalusian brass,[[128]] which appear to the beholder in the distance as they were twin fires, and hence is it named the City of Brass.” Then they fared on without ceasing till they drew near the city and behold, it was as it were a piece of a mountain or a mass of iron cast in a mould and impenetrable for the height of its walls and bulwarks; while nothing could be more beautiful than its buildings and its ordinance. So they dismounted down and sought for an entrance, but saw none neither found any trace of opening in the walls, albeit there were five-and-twenty portals to the city, but none of them was visible from without. Then quoth the Emir, “O Shaykh, I see to this city no sign of any gate;” and quoth he, “O Emir, thus is it described in my Book of Hidden Treasures; it hath five-and-twenty portals; but none thereof may be opened save from within the city.” Asked Musa, “And how shall we do to enter the city and view its wonders?” and Talib son of Sahl, his Wazir, answered, “Allah assain the Emir! let us rest here two or three days and, God willing, we will make shift to come within the walls.” Then said Musa to one of his men, “Mount thy camel and ride round about the city, so haply thou may light upon a gate or a place somewhat lower than this fronting us, or Inshallah! a breach whereby we can enter.” Accordingly he mounted his beast, taking water and victuals with him, and rode round the city two days and two nights, without drawing rein to rest, but found the wall thereof as it were one block, without breach or way of ingress; and on the third day, he came again in sight of his companions, dazed and amazed at what he had seen of the extent and loftiness of the place, and said, “O Emir, the easiest place of access is this where you have alighted.” Then Musa took Talib and Abd al-Samad and ascended the highest hill which overlooked the city. When they reached the top, they beheld beneath them a city, never saw eyes a greater or a goodlier, with dwelling-places and mansions of towering height, and palaces and pavilions and domes gleaming gloriously bright and sconces and bulwarks of strength infinite; and its streams were a-flowing and flowers a-blowing and fruits a-glowing. It was a city with gates impregnable; but void and still, without a voice or a cheering inhabitant. The owl hooted in its quarters; the bird skimmed circling over its squares and the raven croaked in its great thoroughfares weeping and bewailing the dwellers who erst made it their dwelling.[[129]] The Emir stood awhile, marvelling and sorrowing for the desolation of the city and saying, “Glory to Him whom nor ages nor changes nor times can blight, Him who created all things of His Might!” Presently, he chanced to look aside and caught sight of seven tablets of white marble afar off. So he drew near them and finding inscriptions graven thereon, called the Shaykh and bade him read these. Accordingly he came forward and, examining the inscriptions, found that they contained matter of admonition and warning and instances and restraint to those of understanding. On the first tablet was inscribed, in the ancient Greek character: “O son of Adam, how heedless art thou of that which is before thee! Verily, thy years and months and days have diverted thee therefrom. Knowest thou not that the cup of death is filled for thy bane which in a little while to the dregs thou shalt drain? Look to thy doom ere thou enter thy tomb. Where be the Kings who held dominion over the lands and abased Allah’s servants and built these palaces and had armies under their commands? By Allah, the Destroyer of delights and the Severer of societies and the Devastator of dwelling-places came down upon them and transported them from the spaciousness of their palaces to the staidness of their burial-places.” And at the foot of the tablet were written the following verses:—
“Where are the Kings earth-peopling, where are they? ✿ The built and peopled left they e’er and aye!
They’re tombed yet pledged to actions past away ✿ And after death upon them came decay.
Where are their troops? They failed to ward and guard! ✿ Where are the wealth and hoards in treasuries lay?
Th’ Empyrean’s Lord surprised them with one word, ✿ Nor wealth nor refuge could their doom delay!”
When the Emir heard this, he cried out and the tears ran down his cheeks and he exclaimed, “By Allah, from the world abstaining is the wisest course and the sole assaining!” And he called for pen-case and paper and wrote down what was graven on the first tablet. Then he drew near the second tablet and found these words graven thereon, “O son of Adam, what hath seduced thee from the service of the Ancient of Days and made thee forget that one day thou must defray the debt of death? Wottest thou not that it is a transient dwelling wherein for none there is abiding; and yet thou takest thought unto the world and cleavest fast thereto? Where be the kings who Irak peopled and the four quarters of the globe possessed? Where be they who abode in Ispahan and the land of Khorasan? The voice of the Summoner of Death summoned them and they answered him, and the Herald of Destruction hailed them and they replied, Here are we! Verily, that which they builded and fortified profited them naught; neither did what they had gathered and provided avail for their defence.” And at the foot of the tablet were graven the following verses:—
Where be the men who built and fortified ✿ High places never man their like espied?
In fear of Fate they levied troops and hosts, ✿ Availing naught when came the time and tide,
Where be the Kisrás homed in strongest walls? ✿ As though they ne’er had been from home they hied!
The Emir Musa wept and exclaimed, “By Allah, we are indeed created for a grave matter!” Then he copied the inscription and passed on to the third tablet,——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.