The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night — Volume 02 (of 10)
General
The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night — Volume 02 (of 10)
Fairy tales; Tales -- Arab countries
with her, doing cock's duty and eating and drinking and futtering for a year of
full twelve months, during which time she conceived by me, and I was blessed
with a babe by her. On the New Year's day I heard the door opened and behold,
men came in with cakes and flour and sugar. Upon this, I would have gone out
but my wife said, "Wait till supper-tide and go out even as thou camest in." So
I waited till the hour of night prayer and was about to go forth in fear and
trembling, when she stopped me, saying, "By Allah, I will not let thee go until
thou swear to come back this night before the closing of the door." I agreed to
this, and she swore me a solemn oath on Blade and Book,[FN#535] and the oath of
divorce to boot, that I would return to her. Then I left her and going
straight to the garden, found the door open as usual; where at I was angry and
said to myself, "I have been absent this whole year and come here unawares and
find the place open as of wont! I wonder is the damsel still here as before?
I needs must enter and see before I go to my mother, more by reason that it is
now nightfall." So I entered the flower-garden,—And Shahrazad perceived the
dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
End of Vol. 2.
Volume 2 Footnotes
[FN#1] Supplementarily to note 2, p. 2, [FN#2 Vol 1]and note 2, p. 14, [FN#21
Vol 1] vol. i., I may add that "Shahrázád," in the Shams al-Loghat, is the P.N.
of a King. L. Langlès (Les Voyages de Sindibâd Le Marin et La Ruse des Femmes,
first appended to Savary's Grammar and reprinted 12mo. pp. 161 + 113,
Imprimerie Royale, Paris, M.D.CCC.XIV) explains it by Le cyprès, la beauté de
la ville; and he is followed by (A. de Biberstein) Kazimirski (Enis el-Djelis
Paris, Barrois, 1847). Ouseley (Orient. Collect.) makes Shahrzád=town-born; and
others an Arabisation of Chehr-ázád (free of face, ingenuous of countenance)
the petit nom of Queen Humay, for whom see the Terminal Essay. The name of the
sister, whom the Fihrist converts into a Kahramánah, or nurse, vulgarly written
Dínár-zád, would= child of gold pieces, freed by gold pieces, or one who has no
need of gold pieces: Dínzád=child of faith and Daynázád, proposed by Langlès,
"free from debt (!)" I have adopted Macnaghten's Dunyazad. "Shahryar," which
Scott hideously writes "Shier-ear," is translated by the Shams, King of the
world, absolute monarch and the court of Anushirwan while the Burhán-i-Káti'a
renders it a King of Kings, and P.N. of a town. Shahr-báz is also the P.N. of a
town in Samarcand.
[FN#2] Arab. "Malik," here used as in our story-books: "Pompey was a wise and
powerful King" says the Gesta Romanorum. This King is, as will appear, a Regent
or Governor under Harun al-Rashid. In the next tale he is Viceroy of Damascus,
where he is also called "Sultan."
[FN#3] The Bull Edit. gives the lines as follows:—-
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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