Quoth Dunyazad, “O sister mine, an thou be other than sleepy, tell us one of thy fair tales, so therewith we may cut short the waking hours of this our night,” and quoth Shahrazad:——It hath reached me, O King of the Age, that Zayn al-Asnam fell to chiding himself for the deceit and treason which he had practised upon the young lady’s parents and for bringing and offering her to the King of the Jann. Then he set out nor ceased travelling till such time as he reached Bassorah, when he entered his palace; and, after saluting his mother, he apprized her of all things that had befallen him. She replied, “Arise, O my son, that we may look upon the Ninth Statue, for I rejoice with extreme joy at its being in our possession.” So both descended into the pavilion where stood the eight images of precious gems and here they found a mighty marvel. ’Twas this. In lieu of seeing the Ninth Statue upon the golden throne, they found seated thereon the young lady whose beauty suggested the sun. Zayn al-Asnam knew her at first sight and presently she addressed him saying, “Marvel not for that here thou findest me in place of that wherefor thou askedst; and I deem that thou shalt not regret nor repent when thou acceptest me instead of that thou soughtest.” Said he, “No, by Allah, O life-blood of my heart, verily thou art the end of every wish of me nor would I exchange thee for all the gems of the universe. Would thou knew what was the sorrow which surcharged me on account of our separation and of my reflecting that I took thee from thy parents by fraud and I bore thee as a present to the King of the Jann. Indeed I had well nigh determined to forfeit all my profit of the Ninth Statue and to bear thee away to Bassorah as my own bride, when my comrade and councillor dissuaded me from so doing lest I bring about my death and thy death.” Nor had Zayn al-Asnam ended his words ere they heard the roar of thunderings that would rend a mount and shake the earth, whereat the Queen-mother was seized with mighty fear and affright. But presently appeared the King of the Jinns who said to her, “O my lady, fear not! ’Tis I, the protector of thy son whom I fondly affect for the affection borne to me by his sire. I also am he who manifested myself to him in his sleep; and my object therein was to make trial of his valiance and to learn an he could do violence to his passions for the sake of his promise, or whether the beauty of this lady would so tempt and allure him that he could not keep his promise to me with due regard.”——And Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
Now when it was the Five Hundred and Thirteenth Night,
Quoth Dunyazad, “O sister mine, an thou be other than sleepy, tell us one of thy fair tales, so therewith we may cut short the waking hours of this our night,” and quoth Shahrazad:——It hath reached me, O King of the Age, that the King of the Jann said to the Queen-mother, “Indeed Zayn al-Asnam hath not kept faith and covenant with all nicety as regards the young lady, in that he longed for her to become his wife. However, I am assured that this lapse befel him from man’s natural and inherent frailty albeit I repeatedly enjoined him to defend and protect her until he concealed from her his face. I now accept[[61]] this man’s valour and bestow her upon him to wife, for she is the Ninth Statue by me promised to him and she is fairer than all these jewelled images, the like of her not being found in the whole world of men save by the rarest of chances.” Then the King of the Jann turned to the Prince and said to him, “O Emir Zayn al-Asnam, this is thy bride: take her and enjoy her upon the one condition that thou love her only nor choose for thyself another one in addition to her; and I pledge myself that her faith thee-wards will be of the fairest.” Hereupon the King of the Jann disappeared and the Prince, gladdened and rejoicing, went forth with the maiden and for his love and affection to her he paid to her the first ceremonious visit that same night[[62]] and he made bride-feasts and banquets throughout his realm and in due time he formally wedded her and went in unto her. Then he stablished himself upon the throne of his kingship and ruled it, bidding and forbidding, and his consort became Queen of Bassorah. His mother left this life a short while afterwards and they both mourned and lamented their loss. Lastly he lived with his wife in all joyance of life till there came to them the Destroyer of delights and the Separator of societies.——And Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day and ceased to say her pleasant[[63]] say.
THE TALE OF ZAYN AL-ASNAM.
(TURKISH.)
NOTE I.
I. The following version has been kindly made for me by Mr. E. J. W. Gibb, of Glasgow, author of “Ottoman Poems,” the “Story of Jewad,” and an excellent translation of the “Book of the Forty Wazirs.” It is alluded to in Vol. i., p. 46, of “Popular Tales and Fictions” (London: Blackwoods, 1887), etc., etc., by my collaborator, Mr. W. A. Clouston, a most valuable recueil, with whose dedication he honoured me. I now proceed to quote from Mr. Gibb’s “Foreword.”
The book from which the following story has been translated was printed at Constantinople in A.H. 1268; and is entitled Mukhayyalāt-i Ledun-i illāhī-i Giridli ‘Ali ‘Aziz Efendi. = Phantasms from the Divine Presence, by ‘Ali ‘Aziz Efendi of Crete. The printer has given the following note at the beginning of the volume; it appears to have occurred in the MS. copy which he had.
“Phantasms from the Divine Presence, of ‘Ali ‘Aziz Efendi the Cretan. 1211 (= 1796–7).
“In the year aforesaid did the above-named Efendi complete this book; and at that (same) time he went to Prussia along with an embassy, and there he passed away. As he was versed in the mystic and philosophic sciences, and mighty in giving answers, clear and silencing, on obscure questions in every branch of learning, he arranged and wrote down, in the form of a special treatise, the erudite replies which he afforded to the interrogations of certain distinguished persons among the philosophers of Europe, concerning the revolving of the spheres, the strata of the elements, and other matters natural: such (a work was it) that from the perusal thereof the extent of his learning might have been known unto men of science. And he had a work on mysticism, entitled Vāridāt, and other writings (as well). But his heirs knowing not their value, destroyed and lost them; however, some among them came into the hands of certain of his friends, who have edited and published them.”
“Such is written on the back of this book.”