"Volume XV" - читать интересную книгу автора (Burtons Version)

'Rise and pass me the wine, O thou son of Mansъr; * And for stopping it hope not my pardon forsure:
Let it come by the hand of a fair white maid * As though she had fared from the Heav'n of the Hъr:
When we see the figure her wrist adorns * 'Tis a musk grain lying on limestone pure.'

Then, O Prince of True Believers, she fell to conversing with me hending in hand a broidered kerchief wherewith whenever she had eaten a morsel she wiped her lips and when her sleeve fell from off her wrist she tucked it up even as the poet said of such,

'She hideth her face from the folk, * With a wrist whereon Ottars abound;
And to eye of watcher it seems * Gold shaft on Moon's silvern round.'

Now when she had eaten, O Commander of the Faithful, I gazed at her face and she cried, 'O ye women, behold how Manjab looketh upon me and I am eating till my nature cry enough;' presently adding, 'O Manjab, what calamity hath befallen thee that thou comest not forward and eatest not of this food?' So I drew anigh and ate with her, but I was dazed of my wits and sore amazed at her ways."--And Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day and fell silent and ceased to say her permitted say. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad, "How sweet is thy story, O sister mine, and how enjoyable and delectable!" Quoth she, "And where is this compared with that I would relate to you on the coming night, an the King suffer me to survive?" Now when it was the next night and that was


The Six Hundred and Forty-third Night,

Dunyazad said to her, "Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be other than sleepy finish for us thy tale that we may cut short the watching of this our latter night!" She replied, "With love and good will!" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating that Manjab continued to the Caliph, "Verily I came forward and ate with her, but I was so dazed of my wits and so sore amazed at her beauty and loveliness that as I took up a mouthful to carry it to my mouth behold, I would carry it to my eyes in consequence of what befel me from seeing that was in this young lady. And presently she fell to laughing at me and inclining towards me in her haughtiness and in beauty's pride, saying at the same time, 'By Allah, indeed this man is a maniac and a Bahlul: [FN#135] where is thy mouth and how far from thine eye?' So said I, 'By Allah, O lady of loveliness, I am nor a madman nor a Bahlul, but whilst looking at thy beauty my wits have fled and I am in condition of unknowing how I ate.' Then she asked me, 'Do I please thee, O Manjab?' and I answered her 'Yes! Wallбhi, O my lady, indeed thou dost.' Quoth she, 'What should be the penalty of him who owning me and my white beauties [FN#136] shall then forsake me to take other than myself?' and quoth I, 'His award should be a thousand stripes upon his right side and as many upon his left ribs, together with the cutting off of his tongue and his two hands and the plucking out of either eye.' She cried, 'Wilt thou marry me upon this condition?' and I replied, 'O my lady, dost thou mock and laugh at me?' Said she, 'No, by Allah, my word is naught save a true word'; and said I, 'I am satisfied and I accept this compact; however do thou make haste and delay not.' But when she looked at me and heard mine intent regarding the marriage she shook with joy and pride and she inclined towards me as she sat before me and my senses were like to take flight. Then she rose up and left me for an hour and came back dressed in sumptuous garments and fairer than before, and perfumes reeked from her sides as she walked between four handmaidens like unto the refulgent moon. But I, when I looked upon her in this condition, cried out with a loud outcry and fell fainting to the ground for what befel me from her beauty and perfection: and she had no design therein, O Commander of the Faithful, save her favour for me. When I came to myself she said, 'O Manjab, what dost thou say of my beauty and comeliness?' and I replied, 'By Allah, O lady of loveliness, there is none in this time can be thy peer.' Then quoth she, 'An I please thee thou wilt be content with these conditions?' whereto quoth I, 'Content! CONTENT!! CONTENT!!!' Thereupon she bade summon the Kazi and the assessors who came without stay or delay and she said to the Judge 'Do thou listen to the condition of this marriage and write from his word of mouth a bond on oath and under penalty for breaking it, to the effect that if he betray me and mate with other or by way of right or of unright, I will smite him a thousand stripes on his right side and as many on his left ribs and I will cut off his tongue and his two hands and I will pluck out his either eye.' Said the Kazi to me, 'Shall we bear witness against thee with this condition?' and when I answered 'Yes,' he wrote out, O Commander of the Faithful, his testimony together with the penalty, while I hardly believed in all this. Presently, she brought out a tray, whereupon were a thousand miskals of gold and a thousand dirhams of silver which she scattered among the Kazi and witnesses; so they took them and went their ways having duly tied the marriage-knot and indited the penalty thereto attached. Then they served up food and we ate and drank and I lay with her that night in the pleasantest of nighting and the gladsomest of living and I only desired that morning would never appear for the stress of what befel me of joyance and delight; and, verily, I never saw and never heard and never knew any that was the like of her. So I abode with her, O Prince of True Believers, for seven days which passed away as one watch, [FN#137] and on the eighth she said to me, 'O thou Manjab named and for friend of friends enfamed, do thou take this purse wherein are a thousand dinars and buy with it merchandise of necklaces and gems and fine clothes wherewith to beautify thy shop and other things that befit thee; for 'tis my will that thou become the greatest of men in the Bazar and that none therein shall boast of more good than thyself. Moreover 'tis my wish, O Manjab, that thou fare to thy store at early dawn and return to me about noon-tide, lest my breast be straitened by thine absence.' Replied I, 'Hearkening and obedience,' but, O Commander of the Faithful, it was mine intent and desire never to fare forth from her, or by night or by day, from the stress of what befel me of enjoyment with my bride. Now she was wont every hour to go don a dress other than that which was upon her, and when I saw her in that condition I could not contain my passion, so I would arise and fulfil my need of her and she would do likewise. Also, as soon as morn appeared I would repair to my shop and open it and take seat therein until midday, at which time my mule would be brought me to ride homewards when she would meet me alone at the threshold whereupon opened the door of her apartment. And I would throw my arms round her neck as soon as she appeared to me till she and I entered the Harem where I had no patience from her but was fain to enjoy my desire. After this she would cry to her women and bid them bring us dinner whereof I ate with her, and in due time she would arise and command her slave-girls to clean the Hammam and perfume it with pastiles of lign-aloes and ambergris adding a sufficiency of rose-water. Then we would enter it, I and she, and doff our dresses when I again lost patience until I had my will of her twice or three times. [FN#138] Anon we would wash and wipe ourselves with apron napkins of thick silk and drying towels of palm-fibre, after which she would cry aloud to the women who, coming to us at her call, would bring sherbets and we would drink, I and she, until mid-afternoon. Then I would mount my she-mule and return to my store and as evening fell I would order the slave to padlock the door and I would return to my house. Now I abode in such case for ten months, but it fortuned one day of the days that, as I was sitting upon my shop-board, suddenly I saw a Badawi woman bestriding a she-dromedary and she was marked with a Burka' [FN#139] of brocade and her eyes danced under her face-veil as though they were the wantoning eyes of a gazelle. When I looked upon her, O Commander of the Faithful, I was perplexed as to my affair."--And Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day and fell silent and ceased to say her permitted say. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad, "How sweet and tasteful is thy tale, O sister mine, and how enjoyable and delectable!" Quoth she, "And where is this compared with that I would relate to you on the coming night an the Sovran suffer me to survive?" Now when it was the next night and that was


The Six Hundred and Forty-fifth Night,

Dunyazad said to her, "Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be other than sleepy finish for us thy tale that we may cut short the watching of this our latter night!" She replied, "With love and good will!" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that quoth Manjab to the Caliph, "O Prince of True Believers, when I beheld the eyes of the Badawi woman under her Burka' which were like those of a gazelle they tempted my passions herto and I forgot my oath and its penalty and the Kazi and witnesses. Then she approached me and said, 'Allah give thee long life, O Chief of the Arabs;' and said I, 'To thee too, O most seemly of semblance!' Cried she, 'O comely of countenance, say me, hast thou a necklace fine enough for the like of me;' whereto I rejoined, 'Yes.' Then I arose and brought out one to her, but she seeing it said, 'Hast thou naught better than this?' So I displayed to her, O Commander of the Faithful, all the necklaces I had by me in the shop but, none of them pleasing her, I said, 'In all the stores there is naught finer than these.' Then, O Prince of True Believers, she brought out to me from off her neck a carcanet and said, 'I want one such;' and, as I looked upon it, I knew that there was nothing like it in my store, and that all I had by me of collars and jewels and other goods were not worth a single grain of that carcanet. So I said to her, 'O Winsome of Eyes, this is a thing whereto none of this time can avail save it be with the Commander of the Faithful or with his Wazir Ja'afar bin Yahyб the Barmaki.' Quoth she, 'Wilt thou buy it of me?' and quoth I, 'I have no power to its price,' when she exclaimed, 'I require no payment for this necklace, and I want from thee nothing save a kiss upon thy cheek.' Then said, I, 'O Lady of loveliness, bussing without treading I trow is like a bowyer sans a bow,' and she replied, 'Whoso kisseth surely treadeth.' Then, O Prince of True Believers, she sprang from off her dromedary and seated herself beside me within my store, so I arose with her and went into the inner room, she following me (albeit I expected not this from her), and when we were safely inside she clasped me to her bosom and encountered me with her breasts never withal withdrawing her veil from her face. Hereat I lost all power over my senses and when I felt her strain me to her bosom I also strained her to mine, and fulfilled of her my desire after the fairest fashion. And when this was done she sprang to her feet even as springeth the lion from his lair, and flying to the door of the shop swiftlier than a bird and leaving the necklace with me, she mounted her dromedary and went her ways. I imagined, O Prince of True Believers, that she would never return to me at all; so my heart rejoiced in the necklace which she had left and I was of that fancy and opinion anent the matter and manner of her going, when suddenly my pages brought me the she-mule, and said to me, 'O our lord, rise up and fare to the house, for that our lady hath required thee at this very hour and she hath caused dinner to be served and sore we fear lest it wax cold.' Therefore, O Commander of the Faithful, I found it impossible to bathe [FN#140] by reason of the pages which were standing with the mule at the door of my shop; so I mounted and rode home. I entered my house according to my usual habit when my wife met me and said to me 'O my dearling, my heart hath been occupied with thee this day, for thou has tarried away from me so long a time and contrary to thy custom is delaying on such a day as this.' Said I, 'This morning the Bazar was crowded exceedingly and all the merchants were sitting in their shops, nor was it possible for me to rise from my store whilst the market was so warm.' Quoth she, 'O my dearling and coolth of mine eyes, I was at this moment sitting and reading in the Sublime Volume when there befel me a doubt concerning a word in the chapter 'Yб Sнn' [FN#141] and I desire that thou certify it to me that I may learn it by heart from thee.' Quoth I, 'O lady of loveliness, I am unable to touch The Book much less may I read the Koran;' and quoth she, 'What is the cause of that?' Replied I, 'I was sleeping at the side of my shop when I had a polluting dream;' and she rejoined, 'An this thy speech be sooth-fast thy bag-trowsers must be fouled, so draw them off that I may see to their washing.' I retorted, 'Indeed my trowsers are not bewrayed because I doffed them before lying down to sleep.' Now when she heard these my words, O Commander of the Faithful, she said to a slave of my slaves whose name was Rayhбn, 'O man, go and open the shop and bring the kerchief that is therein.' [FN#142] Then said I, 'O lady of lovelings, I presented it in alms-gift to an old woman who was naked of head and her condition pained me and her poverty, so I largessed it to her.' Rejoined she, 'Say me, was the old woman she who was mounted on the dromedary, the owner of the valuable necklace which she sold to thee for a kiss when thou saidst to her, 'O Winsome of Eyes, bussing without treading I trow, is as a bowyer sans bow.' Now when her words were ended, O Commander of the Faithful, she turned to her women and cried to them, 'Bring hither this moment Sa'нdнyah, the kitchen-wench,' and when she came between her hands behold, she was a slave-girl, a negress, and she was the same in species and substance who came to me under the form of a Badawi woman with a face-veil of brocade covering her features. Hereupon my wife drew the Burka' from before the woman's face and caused her doff her dress, and when she was stripped she was black as a bit of charcoal. Now as soon as I saw this, O Viceregent of Allah, my wits were bewildered and I considered my affair and I knew not what to do, thinking of the conditions whereto I had consented."--And Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day and fell silent and ceased to say her permitted say. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad, "How sweet is thy story, O sister mine, and how enjoyable and delectable!" Quoth she, "And where is this compared with that I would relate to you on the coming night an the King suffer me to survive?" Now when it was the next night and that was


The Six Hundred and Forty-sixth Night,

Dunyazad said to her, "Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short the watching of this our latter night!" She replied, "With love and good will!" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that Manjab continued, "And I thought of the conditions whereto I had consented and the penalty which had been written for me by the Kazi in the presence of his assessors, so I wandered from my right mind when she looked at me and said, 'Is this our compact, O Manjab hight, thou dogs' trysting-site?' and when I heard her speech, O Commander of the Faithful, I hanged my head ground-wards and could not return a reply, nor even attempt to address her could I. Said she, 'Woe to thee, did I not say to thee, 'O Manjab hight, thou who with curs dost unite and no foregatherer with friendly wight?' Woe to thee, and he lied not who said that in men-kind there be no trust. But how, O Manjab, didst thou prefer this slave-girl before me and make her my equal in dress and semblance? However, O ye women, do ye send and bring the Kazi and the assessors at this moment and instant.' So they fetched them without stay or delay, and they produced the obligation which had been written, with the penalty duly attested by testimony. Then she said to the witnesses, 'Read all that for him,' and they did so and asked me, 'What hast thou to say about this obligation and the punishment for breaking it?' Answered I, 'The document is right and fair, nor have I aught to utter thereanent.' Hereupon, O Prince of True Believers, she summoned the Governor and his officials, and I confessed before them and bore witness against myself, when they reviled me and abused me, and I told them the tale full and complete. But they would not excuse me and they all cried, 'Verily, thou deserves splitting or quartering; [FN#143] thou who wouldst abandon this beauty and perfection and brilliancy and stature and symmetry and wouldst throw thyself upon a slave-girl black as char-coal; thou who wouldst leave this semblance which is like the splendours of moonlight and wouldst follow yon fulsome figure which resembleth the murks of night.' Hereupon, O Prince of True Believers, she said to the Governor, 'Hearken unto what I tell thee. I bear witness against myself that I have excused him the cutting off his hand and tongue and the plucking out his eyes; but do ye redeem my rights of him by one condition.' 'And what may that be?' asked they; and she answered, 'A thousand stripes upon his right side, and as many upon his left ribs.' Hereupon, O Commander of the Faithful, they seized me and smote me upon my right flank until I was estranged from the world, [FN#144] and after they took a handful of salt, which they rubbed upon the wounds. [FN#145] Then they applied a thousand stripes to my left ribs, and threw over me a ragged robe wherewith to veil my shame. But my flanks had been torn open by such a bastinado, nor did I recover for a space of three days, when I found myself lying cast-out upon a dunghill. Seeing this my condition, I pulled myself together, and arising walked to the mansion wherein I was wont to wone; but I found the door locked with three padlocks and it was empty and void, nor was voice or sound to be heard therein at all, and 'twas, as said one of the poets in this couplet,

'The chambers were like a beehive well stocked; * When the bees quitted them they became empty.' [FN#146]

So I lingered there an hour of time, when a woman suddenly came out from one of the neighbouring houses and asked me, 'What dost thou want, O asker; and what seekest thou?' I answered, 'We are in quest of the owners of this mansion;' and said she, 'Here they were in crowds and then they abandoned it, and may Allah have mercy upon him who spake these two couplets,

'They fared and with faring fled rest from me * And my parted heart no repose can see:
Have ruth on a wight with a heart weighed by woes * Seest not how their door is without a key?'

Then indeed I repented, O Commander of the Faithful, over that I had done and regretted what had befallen me and what had proceeded from me of ill-deeds, and quoth I to the woman who had addressed me, 'Allah upon thee, O my mistress, say me hast thou of their traces any tidings?' "--And Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day and fell silent, and ceased saying her permitted say. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad, "How sweet and tasteful is thy tale, O sister mine, and how enjoyable and delectable!" Quoth she, "And where is this compared with that I would relate to you on the coming night an the Sovran suffer me to survive?" Now when it was the next night and that was


The Six Hundred and Forty-eighth Night,

Dunyazad said to her, "Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short the watching of this our latter night." She replied, "With love and good will!" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that Manjab, speaking to the woman, said, "O my lady, say me, dost thou know of their traces any tidings, and hast thou come upon any manifest news?" Said she, "This thing was to befal thee of old, O thou poor fellow, even as quoth the poet in the following couplets,

'My tears flow fast, my heart knows no rest * And melts my soul and cares aye molest:
Would Heaven mine eyeballs their form beheld * And flies my life, and ah! who shall arrest?
'Tis wondrous the while shows my form to sight, * Fire burns my vitals with flamey crest!
Indeed for parting I've wept, and yet * No friend I find to mine aid addrest:
Ho thou the Moon in a moment gone * From sight, wilt thou rise to a glance so blest?
An thou be 'stranged of estrangement who * Of men shall save me? Would God I wist!
Fate hath won the race in departing me * And who with Fate can avail contest?'"

"Then, O Commander of the Faithful, my longings grew and I poured fast tears in torrents and I was like to choke with my sobs, so I arose to walk about the city highways and I clung from wall to wall for what befel me of despight and affright at the disappearance of them, [FN#147] and as I wandered about I repeated these verses,