About a month after our marriage, having occasion to purchase some silk stuff, I asked leave of my husband to go out and execute this commission. This he immediately granted; and I took with me by way of companion, the old woman of whom I have already spoken, and who lived in the house, and two of my female slaves.
When we had come to that street in which the merchants reside, the old woman said to me, “Since you are come, my good mistress, to look for silk stuff, I will take you to a young merchant whom I am very well acquainted with here; he has some of every sort; and without, therefore, fatiguing yourself by running from shop to shop, I assure you that at his you will find whatever you may want.” I suffered her to conduct me; and we entered a shop, where there was a young merchant, who was very well made. I sat down, and desired him, by means of the old woman, to show me some of the most beautiful silk stuffs that he had. The old woman wished me to make the request myself, but I told her that one of the conditions of our marriage was, not to speak to any man besides my husband; and I did not intend to infringe it.
The merchant showed me a variety of sorts; one of which pleased me more than the rest, and I desired her to ask the price of it. In answer to her, he said, “I will sell it to her for neither silver nor gold; but I will make her a present of it if she will have the condescension to permit me to kiss her cheek.” I desired the old woman to tell him, that his proposal was a very rude and impertinent one. But instead of doing what I ordered, she told me she thought that what the merchant required was a matter of no importance; that he did not ask me to speak, but I had only to present my cheek to him, which was merely the business of a moment. My desire to possess the silk was so great, I was foolish enough to follow the old woman’s advice. She and my slaves immediately stood up before me, that no person might observe me; I then drew aside my veil, when, instead of kissing me, the merchant gave me such a bite, that the blood flowed from the wound.
The surprise and pain were so great, that I fainted and fell down. I remained for so great a length of time in that state that it afforded the merchant sufficient opportunity to shut up his shop, and make his escape. When I returned to my senses, I perceived my cheek entirely covered with blood. The old lady and my women had the precaution, at the first instant, to cover my face with my veil, so that when the people collected to see what was the matter, they could perceive nothing; but believed it to be only a sudden weakness that had seized me.
The old woman who accompanied me, and who was extremely chagrined at the accident which had happened, endeavoured nevertheless to give me courage. “Indeed, my good mistress,” she said to me, “I sincerely ask your pardon. I am the only cause of this misfortune. I carried you to this merchant because he was my countryman, and I could never have thought he would have been guilty of so great a wickedness; but do not afflict yourself; let us lose no time in returning to your house; I will give you a remedy which shall make so perfect a cure in three days, that not the least possible mark, or scar, shall remain.” My fainting had rendered me so weak that I could scarcely walk; I, however, contrived to get home, but on entering my chamber I again fainted. In the mean time the old woman applied her remedy, I recovered from the fit, and went immediately to bed.
Night came, and my husband arrived. He perceived that my head was very much wrapped up, and asked me the reason of it. I told him that I had a bad head-ache, which I hoped would have satisfied him, but he took up a taper, and observing that I had a wound on my cheek, “How happened this?” he cried. Now, although I was not guilty of a very great fault, I could not make up my mind to discover the whole affair to him; to enter also into this detail, seemed to me not the most decorous. I told him that as I was going to purchase the silk I wanted, and which he had given me permission to do, a porter with a bundle of wood had passed so close to me at the corner of a very narrow street, that one of the sticks had grazed my cheek; but that it was a mere trifle.
At this my husband was excessively enraged. “This act,” he cried, “shall not remain unpunished; I will to-morrow give an order to the officer of the police, to arrest all these brutes of porters, and hang every one of them.” Fearful of occasioning the death of so many innocent people, “Take care, my lord,” I cried, how you commit such an act of injustice: I should be very sorry to be the cause of your doing it; and if I were to be guilty of such a crime, I should think myself unworthy of pardon.”—“Tell me then, sincerely,” he said, “what am I to think of your wound?”
I then related to him that it had been done by a seller of brooms upon his ass, who, as he came behind me, had his head turned on one side, and the ass pushed by me so violently, that I fell down and cut my cheek against a piece of glass.”—“This being the fact,” added my husband, “the sun shall not have risen to-morrow morning before the grand vizier Giafar shall be informed of this insolence. He shall order the death of every broom-seller in the city.”—“In the name of God, my husband,” I cried, interrupting him, “I entreat you to pardon them, they are not culpable.”—“What then, madam,” said he, “am I to believe? Speak, I insist on hearing the strict truth from your lips.”—“My lord,” I replied, “I was seized with a giddiness, and fell down; this is the fact.”
My husband lost all patience at these words. “I have already,” he cried, “listened too long to your falsehoods;” and in saying this, he clapped his hands, and three slaves immediately came in. “Drag her from the bed,” he exclaimed, “and lay her at length in the middle of the chamber.” This order was instantly executed by the slaves, one of whom held me by the head, another by the feet, and he commanded the third to fetch a sabre. As soon as my husband saw him return with it, “Strike,” he cried, “cut her body in two and throw it into the Tigris, and let it become food for its fish. This is the punishment I inflict on those upon whom I have bestowed my affections, and who cannot preserve their fidelity to me.” As he observed that the slave rather hesitated in his obedience, “Strike,” he again cried, “why do you stop? what do you wait for?”
“Madam,” said the slave to me, “almost the last moment of your existence is at hand, recollect if there be any thing you wish to dispose of before your death.” I requested permission to speak a few words. This was granted me; I then raised my head, and casting a tender look at my husband, I said, “To what a state, alas! am I reduced! Must I then die in the very prime of my life.” I wished to proceed, but my tears and sighs choaked my utterance. This, however, had no effect on my husband. On the contrary, he began to reproach me in a way that it would have been useless for me to answer him. I then had recourse to prayers; but he heeded them not, and ordered the slave to do his duty. At this moment the old woman, who had been my husband’s nurse, came in, and throwing herself at his feet, endeavoured to appease him. “My son,” she cried, “as a reward for having nursed and brought you up, I conjure you to grant me her pardon. Consider, I beg, that he who slays shall be slain; and that you will thus tarnish your reputation, and lessen yourself in the estimation of society. What will they not say of such a cruel, inhuman disposition?” She pronounced these words in so affecting manner, and accompanied them with so many tears, that they made a very strong impression on my husband.