The grief which preyed upon the sultan for the loss of his daughter, was the origin of a disease, that confined him to his bed for a whole month. He had not quite recovered his health when he called me to him, and said, “Listen, prince, and attend to the order which I am going to give you; if you fail to execute it your life will be the forfeit.” I assured him I would obey. Resuming then the discourse, he added, “I have always lived in a state of the greatest happiness; nor had any unfortunate event ever occurred. Your arrival has destroyed this enjoyment. My daughter is dead; her governor is no more; and I have escaped with my life only by a miracle. You are the cause of all these misfortunes, for which I am incapable of consolation. These are the reasons which induce me to desire you would leave me in peace: but go immediately, for, if you remain here any longer, it will be the cause of my death also; since I am persuaded your presence is productive only of misfortune. This is all I have to say to you. Go, and take care you never again appear in my kingdom; if you do, no consideration shall prevent my making you repent of it.” I wished to speak, but he prevented me by uttering some angry words, and I was obliged to leave his palace.
Driven about, rejected and abandoned by every one, I knew not what was become of me. Before I left the city I went into a bath, I got my beard and eye-brows shaved, and put on the dress of a calender. I then began my journey, lamenting less my own miserable condition, than the death of the two beautiful princesses which I had been the occasion of. I travelled through many countries without making myself known; at last I resolved to visit Bagdad, in hopes of being able to present myself to the Commander of the Faithful, and excite his compassion by the recital of so strange a history. I arrived here this evening, and the first person I met was the calender, my brother, who has already related his life. You are acquainted, madam, with the sequel, and how I came to have the honour of being at your house.
When the second calender had finished his history, Zobeidè, to whom he had addressed himself, said, “You have done well, and I give you leave to go whenever you please.” But instead of taking his departure, he entreated her to grant him the same favour she had done the other calender, near whom he went and took his place. Then the third calender, knowing it was his turn to speak, addressed himself like the others to Zobeidè, and began his history as follows.
THE HISTORY
OF THE THIRD CALENDER, THE SON OF A KING.
What I am going to relate, most honourable lady, is of a very different nature from what you have already heard. The two princes who have recited their histories, have each of them lost an eye as it were by destiny; while my loss has been the consequence of my own fault, in searching after my misfortune, as you will find by what I am going to mention.
I am called Agib, and am the son of a king, whose name was Cassib. After his death I took possession of his throne, and established my residence in the same city which he had made his capital. This city, which is situated on the sea-coast, has a remarkable handsome and safe harbour, with an arsenal sufficiently extensive to supply an armament of a hundred and fifty vessels of war always lying ready for service on any occasion; and to equip fifty merchant-men, and as many sloops and yachts for the purpose of amusement and pleasure on the water. My kingdom was composed of many beautiful provinces, and also a number of considerable islands, almost all of which were situated within sight of my capital.
The first thing I did was to visit the provinces; I then made them arm and equip my whole fleet, and went round to all my islands in order to conciliate the affections of my subjects, and to confirm them in their duty and allegiance. After having been at home some time, I went again; and these voyages, by giving me some slight knowledge of navigation, infused such a taste for it in my mind, that I resolved to go in search of discoveries beyond my islands. For this purpose I equipped only ten ships; and embarking in one of them, we set sail.
During forty days our voyage was prosperous; but on the night of the forty-first the wind became adverse, and so violent, that we were driven at the mercy of the tempest, and thought we should have been lost. At break of day, however, the wind abated, the clouds dispersed, and the sun brought fine weather back with it. We now landed on an island, where we remained two days to take in some provisions. Having done this, we again put to sea. After ten days sail we began to hope to see land; for since the storm we had encountered, I had altered my intention, and determined to return to my kingdom, but I then discovered that my pilot knew not where we were. In fact, a sailor on the tenth day, who was ordered to the mast-head for the purpose of making discoveries, reported, that to the right and left he could perceive only the sky and sea, which bounded the horizon, but that straight before him he observed a great blackness.
At this intelligence the pilot changed colour, and throwing his turban on the deck with one hand, he struck his face with the other, and then cried out, “Ah, sire, we are lost; not one of us can possibly escape the danger in which we are; and with all my experience, it is not in my power to ensure the safety of any individual.” Having said this, he began to weep like one who thought his destruction inevitable, and his despair spread an alarm and fear through the whole vessel. I asked him what reason he had for this despair. “Alas, sire,” he answered, “the tempest which we have gone through, has so driven us from our track, that by mid-day to-morrow we shall find ourselves near that blackness, which is nothing but a black mountain, consisting entirely of a mass of loadstone, that will soon attract our fleet, on account of the bolts and nails in the ships. To-morrow, when we shall come within a certain distance, the power of the loadstone will be so violent, that all the nails will be drawn out and fasten to the mountain: our ships will then fall in pieces and sink. As it is the property of a loadstone to attract iron, and at the same time to increase its own power by this attraction, the mountain towards the sea is entirely covered with the nails that belonged to the infinite number of ships which it has been the destruction of; and this at the same time both preserves and augments its power or virtue.