Soon after this the first vizier died, and the sultan immediately advanced the dervise to the situation. The sultan himself afterwards dying without any male issue, this excellent man was proclaimed sultan by the general voice of the different religious and military orders.
The good dervise, being thus raised to the throne of his father-in-law, observed one day, as he was walking with his courtiers, the envious man among the crowd, who were in the road. He called one of his viziers, who accompanied him, told him in a whisper to bring that man, whom he pointed out to him, and to be sure not to alarm him. The vizier obeyed; and when the envious man was in the presence of the sultan, the latter addressed him in these words; “I am very happy, my friend, to see you: go,” said he, speaking to an officer, “and count out directly from my treasury a thousand pieces of gold. Nay more, deliver to him twenty bales of the most valuable merchandize my magazines contain; and let a sufficient guard escort him home.” After having given the officer this commission, he took his leave of the envious man, and continued his walk.
When I had told this history to the Genius, who had assassinated the princess of the Isle of Ebony, I made the application to myself, “O Genius,” I said to him, “you may observe how this benevolent monarch acted towards the envious man, and was not only satisfied in forgetting that he had attempted his life, but even sent him back with every benefit and advantage I have mentioned.” In short, I employed all my eloquence to persuade him to imitate so excellent an example, and to pardon me. But to alter his resolution was impossible.
“All that I can do for you,” he said, “is to spare your life; yet do not flatter yourself that I shall suffer you to return safe and well. I must at least make you feel what I can do by means of my enchantments.” At these words he violently seized me, and carrying me through the vaulted roof of the subterranean palace, which opened at his approach, he elevated me so high, that the earth appeared to me only like a small white cloud. From this height he again descended as quick as lightning, and alighted on the top of a mountain. On this spot he took up a handful of earth, and pronouncing, or rather muttering, certain words, of which I could not comprehend the meaning, threw it over me: “Quit,” he cried, “the figure of a man, and assume that of an ape.” He immediately disappeared, and I remained quite alone, changed into an ape, overwhelmed with grief, in an unknown country, and ignorant whether I was near the dominions of the king, my father.
I descended the mountain, and came to a flat level country, the extremity of which I did not reach till I had travelled a month; when I arrived at the sea-coast. There was at this time a profound calm, and I perceived a vessel about half a league from the shore. That I might not omit taking advantage of so fortunate a circumstance, I broke off a large branch from a tree, and dragged it after me to the sea-side. I then got astride it, with a stick in each hand by way of oar. In this manner I rowed myself along towards the vessel, and when I was sufficiently near to be seen, I presented a most extraordinary sight to the sailors and passengers, who were upon deck. They looked at me with the greatest admiration and astonishment. In the mean time I got along-side, and taking hold of a rope, I climbed up to the deck. But as I could not speak, I found myself in the greatest embarrassment. And in fact, the danger I now ran was not less imminent than what I had before experienced, when I was in the power of the Genius.
The merchants, who were on board, were both scrupulous and superstitious, and thought that I should be the cause of some misfortunes happening to them during their voyage, if they received me. “I will kill him,” cried one, “with a blow of this handspike.”—“Let me shoot an arrow through his body,” exclaimed another: “and then let us throw him into the sea,” said a third. Nor would they have desisted from executing their different threats, if I had not run to the captain, and thrown myself prostrate at his feet. In this supplicating posture I laid hold of the bottom of his dress; and he was so struck with this action, as well as with the tears that fell from my eyes, that he took me under his protection, declaring he would make any one repent, who should offer me the least injury. He even caressed and encouraged me. In order to make up for the loss of speech, I in return showed him, by means of signs, how much I was obliged to him.
The wind which succeeded this calm was not a strong, but it was a favourable one. It did not change for fifty days; and we then happily arrived in the harbour of a large, commercial, well-built, and populous city. Here we cast anchor. This city was of still more considerable importance, as it was the capital of a powerful kingdom. Our vessel was immediately surrounded with a multitude of small boats, filled with those who came either to congratulate their friends on their arrival, or to enquire of whom and what they had seen in the country they had come from; or simply from mere curiosity to see a ship which had arrived from a distance.
Among the rest some officers came on board, who desired, in the name of the sultan, to speak to the merchants that were with us. “The sultan, our sovereign,” said one of them to the merchants, who immediately appeared, “has charged us to express to you how much pleasure your arrival gives him, and entreats each of you to take the trouble of writing upon this roll of paper a few lines. In order to make you understand his motive for this, I must inform you, that he had a first vizier, who, besides his great abilities in the management of affairs, wrote in the greatest perfection. This minister died a few days since. The sultan is very much afflicted at it, and as he values perfection in writing beyond every thing, he has taken a solemn oath to appoint any person to the same situation, who shall write as well. Many have presented specimens of their abilities, but he has not yet found any one throughout the empire whom he has thought worthy to occupy the vizier’s place.
Each of those merchants who thought they could write well enough to aspire to this high dignity, wrote whatever they thought proper. When they had done, I advanced and took the paper from the hands of him who held it. Every body, and particularly the merchants who had written, thinking that I meant either to destroy it or throw it into the water, instantly called out; but they were soon satisfied, when they saw me hold the paper very properly, and make a sign, that I also wished to write in my turn. Their fears were now changed to astonishment. Yet as they had never seen an ape that could write, and as they could not believe I was more skilful than others, they wished to take the roll from my hands; but the captain still continued to take my part. “Suffer him to try,” he said, “let him write; if he only blots the paper, I promise you I will instantly punish him: but if, on the contrary, he writes well, as I hope he will, for I have never seen any ape more clever and ingenious, nor one who seemed so well to understand every thing, I declare that I will acknowledge him as my son. I once had one, who did not possess half so much ability as he does.”
Finding that no one any longer opposed my design, I took the pen, and did not leave off till I had given an example of six different sorts of writing used in Arabia. Each specimen contained a distich, or impromptu stanza of four lines, in praise of the sultan. My writing not only excelled that of the merchants, but I dare say they had never seen any so beautiful, even in that country. When I had finished, the officers took the roll and carried it to the sultan.