me.

But he replied, I cannot endure the separation from my son Aslan. And he took his father and his mother with him, and they journeyed to Baghdad.

Then Ahmad Ed-Denef went in to the Khalifeh, and imparted to him the happy news of the arrival of 'Ala-edDin; on hearing which, the Khalifeh went forth to meet him, taking with him his son Aslan, and they met and embraced him. And the Khalifeh gave orders to bring Ahmad Kamakim, the arch thief, and, when he came before him, said, O 'Ala-ed-Din, avenge thyself upon thine adversary. So 'Ala-ed-Din drew his sword, and, smiting Ahmad Kamakim, severed his head. The Khalifeh then made a magnificent entertainment for 'Ala-ed-Din, after he had summoned the Kadis and witnesses, and written 'Ala-ed-Din's contract of marriage to Hosn-Maryam. He also appointed his son Aslan to the office of Ra'is es-Sittin, and bestowed upon both of them sumptuous robes of honour; and they passed a most comfortable and agreeable life, until they were visited by the terminator of delights, and the separator of companions.

ANECDOTES

[ANECDOTES are commonly found inserted among the stories of the Thousand and One Nights. The following are selected from a series of nine, commencing with part of the two hundred and sixtyninth Night, and ending with part of the two hundred and eightyfifth.]

LIBERALITY OF HATIM ET-TAI AFTER HIS DEATH

It is related of Hatim Et-Tai,* that, when he died, he was buried on the summit of a mountain, and they made over his grave two troughs of stone, and stone images of damsels with dishevelled hair. Beneath that mountain ran a river; and when travellers arriving there alighted at that place, they heard a loud crying during the whole night, from nightfall until morn; but when they arose in the morning, they found no one save only the damsels carved of stone. And when Dhu-l-Kela","1 the King of Himyer, alighted in that valley, going forth from his tribe, he passed a night there, and, approaching the place, he heard the crying: so, he said, What is this lamentation that is on the summit of this mountain? They answered him, Here is the sepulchre of Hatim Et-Tai, over which are two troughs of stone, with stone images of damsels with dishevelled hair, and every night, persons who alight in this place hear this lamentation and crying. Upon this, Dhu-l-Kela' said, in mockery of Hatim Et-Tai, O Hatim, we are this night thy guests, and lank with hunger. And after sleep had overcome him, he awoke in alarm, exclaiming, O Arabs, come hither to me and to my beast! And when they came, they found the she-camel convulsed: so they slaughtered her, and roasted her flesh, and ate. They then asked him the cause of this; and he answered, I was sleeping, and saw in a dream Hatim

*I.e. Hatim of the tribe of Teyyi, who was most highly celebrated for his generosity. He lived in "the Time of Ignorance;" but his son 'Adi became a Muslim, and is numbered among the Companions of the Prophet. Hatim's most famous act of liberality was that which he shewed to an ambassador of the Greek Emperor, sent to demand of him, as a present for his master, a horse of very great price. The generous Arab, before he knew the object of this person's mission, slaughtered his horse to regale him, having nothing at the time in his house to serve in its stead.

Et-Tai, who came to me with a sword, and said, Thou hast visited us when we have nothing in our possession. And he wounded my shecamel with the sword. Had ye not slaughtered her, she had died.

And when the next morning came, Dhu-l-Kela' mounted the beast of one of his companions, taking the man up behind him; and at midday they saw a man riding a beast and leading another beast by his hand; and they said to him, Who art thou? He answered, I am 'Adi the son of Hatim Et-Tai. And where, he added, is Dhu-l-Kela', the Prince of Himyer? So they answered him, This is he. And he said to Dhu-l-Kela', Mount this she-camel, instead of thine own; for thy she-camel, my father hath slaughtered for thee.—And who, said Dhu-lKela', informed thee? 'Adi answered, My father came to me in sleep this last night, and said to me, O ‘Adi, Dhu-l-Kelaʻ, the King of Himyer hath demanded my hospitality, and I have slaughtered for him his she-camel so repair thou to him with a she-camel for him to ride; for I have nothing in my possession.-Dhu-l-Kela' therefore took her, and wondered at the generosity displayed by Hatim while living and when dead.

MA'N THE SON OF ZAÏDEH

As Ma'n the son of Zaïdeh * was hunting, one day, he thirsted, and found not any water with his young men. But while he was in this state, lo, three damsels approached him, carrying three skins of water. He therefore requested drink of them, and they gave it him; and he demanded something of his young men, to give it to the damsels; but found that they had no money. So he presented to each of the damsels ten arrows from his quiver, the heads of which were of gold. Whereupon one of them said to her companions, This generous conduct cannot proceed from any but Ma'n the son of Zaïdeh: do ye each, then, recite some poetry in his praise. Accordingly, the first said,

1.

He headeth his arrows with points of gold, and in smiting his enemies dispenseth his munificence,

Affording the wounded a means of cure, and grave-clothes for him whose abode is the tomb.

And the second said,

A warrior of such excessive liberality, that his benefits are bestowed both on friends and foes.

The heads of his arrows are made of gold, that war may not hinder him from acts of munificence.

Then the third recited a couplet, in substance the same as that of the first.

* Compared, for his liberality, to Hatim Et-Tai. He was one of the chief captains of Marwan, the last of the Umawi Khalifehs, and was eventually received into the favour of the 'Abbasi Khalifeh El-Mansur (754-775).

IBRAHIM THE SON OF EL-MAHDI*

Ibrahim the son of El-Mahdi, and brother of Harun Er-Rashid, when the office of Khalifeh devolved to El-Ma'mun the son of his brother Er-Rashid, refused to vow allegiance to him, and repaired to Er-Rey,† where he assumed to himself the title of Khalifeh, and thus he continued to do for the space of one year and eleven months and twelve days. His brother's son, El-Ma'mun, remained expecting his return to obedience, and his ranging himself among the number of his followers, until at length, despairing of his doing so, he mounted and set forth with his horsemen and foot-soldiers to Er-Rey. And when the news of his approach was brought to Ibrahim, he found no resource but that of going to Baghdad, where he hid himself, fearing for his life; and El-Ma'mun offered to any one who would point out his place of concealment a hundred thousand pieces of gold.

Now when I heard of this reward that was offered, says Ibrahim, I feared for myself, and was perplexed at my case. So I went forth from my house at the hour of mid-day, not knowing whither to repair, and I entered a great street that was not a thoroughfare, and, seeing at the upper end of it a barber standing at the door of his house, I advanced towards him, and said to him, Hast thou any place in which I may conceal myself for a while? He answered, Yes:-and opened the door, and I entered a clean house. Then, after he had brought me in, he closed the door upon me, and went away. I suspected, therefore, that he had heard of the reward that was offered, and said within myself, He hath gone forth to betray me. So I remained in a state of agitation like the pot upon the fire, reflecting upon my case; but while I was in this state, lo, he came, attended by a porter with all that he required; and, looking towards me, he said to me, May I be thy ransom!-I was in want of food, and prepared for myself a saucepan-full, the like of which I do not remember ever to have eaten before; and when I had satisfied myself with it, he said, O my master, it is not consistent with my station to converse with thee; but if thou desire to honour thy slave, thine own surpassing judgment will determine. I therefore said to him, not imagining that he knew me, And whence hast thou learned that I excel in conversation? Whereupon he exclaimed, Extolled be the perfection of Allah! Our lord is too celebrated for me to be ignorant of that. Thou art my master Ibrahim the son of El-Mahdi, respecting whom El-Ma'mun hath announced that he will give to him who discovereth thee a hundred thousand pieces of gold. And when he said this, he became exalted in my eye,

*This celebrated personage was a very skilful musician, an admirable singer, remarkably polite and liberal and eloquent. His complexion was very dark; his mother being a black slave, named Shekleh, or Shikleh, whom El-Mahdi had married; and he was so corpulent, that he received the nickname of Et-Tin, or The Fig.

† A city in the north of the Persian 'Irak.

and his generosity was established in my opinion: so I complied with his desire, and, the remembrance of my children and my family occurring to my mind, I said,—

Perhaps He who restored to Yusuf his family, and aggrandized him in the prison when he was a captive,

May answer our prayer, and reunite us; for God, the Lord of all creatures, is able.

And when he heard these words from me, he said, O my master, wilt thou permit me to repeat what hath suggested itself to my mind? I answered, Do so. And he recited two pieces of poetry; on hearing which, I was filled with the utmost wonder at him, and moved with extreme delight. I then took a purse that I had with me, containing a number of pieces of gold, and threw it towards him, saying to him, I commend thee to the care of God; for I am about to depart from thee; I beg thee to employ the contents of this purse in the purchase of some of the things that thou requirest, and thou wilt receive from me an abundant recompense when I am secure from that which I fear. But he gave me back the purse, and said, O my master, paupers like myself are of no estimation with you; yet, consistently with my feelings of generosity, how can I accept payment for the boon which fortune had granted me in causing thee to shew me such favour and to visit my abode? By Allah, if thou repeat those words, and throw the purse to me a second time, I will kill myself. So I took the purse, putting it into my sleeve, and the weight of it incommoded me ; and I turned to leave him; but when I came to the door of his house, he said, O my master, this place is more suited for thy concealment than another, and the supplying thee with provisions is no burden to me; therefore remain with me until God dispel thy trouble. So I replied, On the condition that thou expend from this purse. And he deceived me by professing his assent to this condition. Accordingly, I remained with him some days; but he expended nothing from the

purse.

I then attired myself in women's apparel, with the khuff* and the veil, and went forth from his house. But when I was in the street, excessive fear overcame me; and as I was about to pass over the bridge, I found myself in a place sprinkled with water, and a trooper, one of those who had been in my service, saw me and recognised me; whereupon he called out and said, This is the person of whom El-Ma'mun is in quest! And he laid hold upon me. I however pushed him and his horse, and threw both down in that slippery place, so that the rider became an example to him who would be admonished, and the people hastened towards him.

I therefore hurried on until I had passed the bridge, when I entered a great street, and, seeing the door of a house, and a woman standing in the passage, I said, O my mistress, save my life; for I am a man in

* A kind of socks, or short boots, of yellow morocco, still worn by Arab and some other Eastern ladies, within the slipper, when walking abroad, or riding.