The Arabian Nights Entertainments - Complete — John Shaqi
The Arabian Nights Entertainments - Complete
General
The Arabian Nights Entertainments - Complete
Fairy tales; Tales -- Arab countries
The next day the two princes set out with all their retinue; they
arrived at the place of encampment, and stayed there till night.
Shier-ear then called his grand vizier, and, without acquainting
him with his design, commanded him during his absence to suffer
no person to quit the camp on any presence whatever. As soon as
he had given this order, the king of Grand Tartary and he took
horse, passed through the camp incognito, returned to the city,
and went to Shaw-zummaun's apartment. They had scarcely placed
themselves in the window whence the king of Tartary had beheld
the scene of the disguised blacks, when the secret gate opened,
the sultaness and her ladies entered the garden with the blacks,
and she having called to Masoud, the sultan saw more than enough
fully to convince him of his dishonour and misfortune.
"Oh heavens!" he exclaimed, "what indignity! What horror! Can the
wife of a sovereign be capable of such infamous conduct? After
this, let no prince boast of being perfectly happy. Alas! my
brother," continued he, embracing the king of Tartery, "let us
both renounce the world, honour is banished out of it; if it
flatter us one day, it betrays us the next. Let us abandon our
dominions, and go into foreign countries, where we may lead an
obscure life, and conceal our misfortunes." Shaw-zummaun did not
at all approve of this plan, but did not think fit to contradict
Shierear in the heat of his passion. "Dear brother," he replied,
"your will shall be mine. I am ready to follow you whithersoever
you please: but promise me that you will return, if we meet with
any one more unhappy than ourselves." "To this I agree," said the
sultan, "but doubt much whether we shall." "I am not of your
opinion in this," replied the king of Tartary; "I fancy our
journey will be but short." Having thus resolved, they went
secretly out of the palace. They travelled as long as day-light
continued; and lay the first night under trees. They arose about
break of day, went on till they came to a fine meadow on the
seashore, that was be-sprinkled with large trees They sat down
under one of them to rest and refresh themselves, and the chief
subject of their conversation was the infidelity or their wives.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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