he summoned them all before him, and said to them, I find in the ancient books and histories the description of the Paradise that is in the other world, and I desire to make its like upon the earth. Depart ye therefore to the most pleasant and most spacious vacant tract in the earth, and build for me in it a city of gold and silver, and spread, as its gravel, chrysolites and rubies and pearls, and as the supports of the vaulted roofs of that city make columns of chrysolite, and fill it with pavilions, and over the pavilions construct lofty chambers, and beneath them plant, in the by-streets and great thoroughfare-streets, varieties of trees bearing different kinds of ripe fruits, and make rivers to run beneath them in channels of gold and silver.-To this they all replied, How can we accomplish that which thou hast described to us, and how can we procure the chrysolites and rubies and pearls that thou hast mentioned? But he said, Know ye not that the Kings of the world are obedient to me, and under my authority, and that no one who is in it disobeyeth my command? They answered, Yes, we know that.Depart then, said he, to the mines of chrysolite and ruby, and to the places where pearls are found, and gold and silver; and take forth and collect their contents from the earth, and spare no exertions. Take also for me from the hands of men such of those things as ye find, and spare none, nor let any escape you ; and beware of disobedience. He then wrote a letter to each of the Kings in the regions of the earth, commanding them to collect all the articles of the kinds abovementioned that their subjects possessed, and to repair to the mines in which these things were found, and extract the precious stones that they contained, even from the beds of the seas. And they collected the things that he required in the space of twenty years; * after which, he sent forth the geometricians and sages, and labourers and artificers, from all the countries and regions, and they dispersed themselves through the deserts and wastes, and tracts and districts, until they came to a desert wherein was a vast open plain, clear from hills and mountains, and in it were springs gushing forth, and rivers running. So they said, This is the kind of place which the King commanded us to seek, and called us to find. They then busied themselves in building the city according to the direction of the King Sheddad, King of the whole earth, in its length and breadth; and they made through it the channels for the rivers, and laid the foundations conformably with the prescribed extent. The Kings of the various districts of the earth sent thither the jewels and stones, and large and small pearls, and carnelian and pure gold, upon camels over the deserts and wastes, and sent great ships with them over the seas; and a quantity of those things, such as cannot be described nor calculated nor defined, was brought to the workmen, who laboured in the construction of this city three hundred years. And when they had finished it, they came to the King and acquainted him with the completion; and he said to them, Depart, and make around it impregnable fortifications, of great height, and construct * Here it is added, "and the number of the Kings ruling in the earth was three hundred and sixty Kings:" but this does not agree with what has been said before. : around the circuit of the fortifications a thousand pavilions, each with a thousand pillars 42 beneath it, in order that there may be in each pavilion a Wezir. So they went immediately, and did this in twenty years; after which they presented themselves before Sheddad, and informed him of the accomplishment of his desire. He therefore ordered his wezirs, who were a thousand in number, and his chief officers, and such of his troops and others as he confided in, to make themselves ready for departure, and to prepare themselves for removal to Irem Dhat el-'Imad, in attendance upon the King of the world, Sheddad the son of 'Ad. He ordered also such as he chose of his women and his harim, as his female slaves and his eunuchs, to fit themselves out. And they passed twenty years in equipping themselves. Then Sheddad proceeded with his troops, rejoiced at the accomplishment of his desire, until there remained between him and Irem Dhat el-'Imad one day's journey; when God sent down upon him and upon the obstinate infidels who accompanied him a loud cry from the heaven of his power, and it destroyed them all by the vehemence of its sound.* Neither Sheddad nor any of those who were with him arrived at the city or came in sight of it, and God obliterated the traces of the road that led to it; but the city remaineth as it was in its place until the hour of the Judgment. At this narrative related by Ka'b-el-Ahbar, Mo'awiyeh wondered, and he said to him, Can any one of mankind arrive at that city?—Yes, answered Ka'b-el-Ahbar: a man of the companions of Mohammad (upon whom be blessing and peace !), in appearance like this man who is sitting here, without any doubt.—Esh-Sha'bi † also saith, It is related on the authority of the learned men of Himyer, in El-Yemen, that when Sheddad and those who were with him were destroyed by the loud cry, his son Sheddad the Less reigned after him; for his father Sheddad the Greater had left him as successor to his kingdom, in the land of Hadramawt and Seba, on his departure with the troops who accompanied him to Irem Dhat el-'Imad. And as soon as the news reached him of the death of his father on the way before his arrival at the city of Irem, he gave orders to carry his father's body from those desert tracts to Hadramawt, and to excavate a sepulchre for him in a cavern. And when they had done this, he placed his body in it, upon a couch of gold, and covered the corpse with seventy robes interwoven with gold and adorned with precious jewels; and he placed at his head a tablet of gold, whereon were inscribed these verses : Be admonished, O thou who art deceived by a prolonged life! I am Sheddad the son of 'Ad, the lord of the strong fortress; *This was not the final catastrophe of the tribe of 'Ad. The whole of this tribe, except a few persons, rejecting the admonitions of the prophet Hud, were destroyed by a hot and suffocating wind. There was a traditionist surnamed Esh-Sha'bi, another surnamed Esh-Sho'bi, and a third surnamed Esh-Shi'bi; and which of them is here meant I know not, the short vowel-signs not being written. The inhabitants of the earth obeyed me, fearing my severity and threats; And I held the east and west under a strong dominion. And a preacher * of the true religion invited us to the right way; But we opposed him, and said, Is there no refuge from it? And a loud cry assaulted us from a tract of the distant horizon; Whereupon we fell down like corn in the midst of a plain at harvest; And now, beneath the earth, we await the threatened day. -Eth-Thaʻalibi also saith, It happened that two men entered this cavern, and found at its upper end some steps; and having descended these, they found an excavation, the length whereof was a hundred cubits, and its breadth forty cubits, and its height a hundred cubits. And in the midst of this excavation was a couch of gold, upon which was a man of enormous bulk, occupying its whole length and breadth, covered with ornaments and with robes interwoven with gold and silver; and at his head was a tablet of gold, whereon was an inscription. And they took that tablet, and carried away from the place as much as they could of bars of gold and silver, and other things. ANECDOTE OF ISHAK EL-MOSILI AND KHADIJEH AND EL-MA'MUN I went forth one night, says Ishak El-Mosili,† from the presence of El-Ma'mun, and, turning into a by-street, I saw something hanging from one of the houses there. So I felt it, to discover what it was, and found that it was a large basket, with four handles, and covered with brocade; whereupon I said within myself, There must be some cause for this. And I was perplexed at my case. Intoxication induced me to seat myself in the basket; and when I had done so, lo, the people of the house drew it up with me in it, thinking that I was the person whom they were expecting. And when they had raised it to the top of the wall, behold, four damsels were there, and they said to me, Descend, and may ample enjoyment attend thee. Then a damsel walked before me with a candle until I descended into a mansion in which were sitting-rooms spread [with carpets and other furniture], the like of which I had never seen except in the palace of the Khalifeh. And after I had sat a while, suddenly some curtains were raised on one side of the apartment, and, lo, maids walked in with candles in their hands, and with perfuming-vessels containing aloes-wood; and among them was a damsel like the rising full moon. So I rose; and she said, Thou art a welcome visiter. Then having desired me to be seated, she inquired of me my story. I therefore *The Prophet Hud, vulgarly believed to be Heber. A very famous musician, and the favourite boon-companion of ElMa'mun. He was the son of Ibrahim El-Mosili. This kind of basket, called [zebil,] zenbil or zinbil, is formed of palmleaves. answered her, I came forth from certain of my brethren, and, turning into this street, found a basket let down; whereupon the wine induced me to seat myself in it, and it was drawn up, with me in it, to this house. This, said I, is my case.-And she said, No harm shall befall thee, and I hope thou wilt approve of the result of thine adventure. And what, she added, is thine occupation? I answered, That of a merchant in the market of Baghdad. And she said, Canst thou repeat any verses?-Some trifling pieces, I answered.-Then mention them to us, said she, and recite to us somewhat of them. But I replied, The visitor is bashful: do thou begin.-Thou hast spoken truly, she said. And she recited some elegant verses, of the poetry of ancient and of recent composers, some of their most admirable effusions; and I listened, and knew not whether to wonder most at her beauty and loveliness, or at the charming style of her rehearsal. After this she said, Hath thy bashfulness passed away?—Yea, by Allah, I answered. And she said, If thou wilt, recite to us somewhat of that which thou art able to rehearse. So I recited to her an abundance of pieces by a number of old writers; and she approved them, and said, By Allah, I did not imagine that there existed among the sons of the common people such a person as this. She then gave orders to bring the food; and it was brought, and she began to take and to put before me; and varieties of sweet-smelling flowers were there, with rare fruits, such as are usually found nowhere but in the abodes of Kings. Afterwards she called for the wine, and she drank a cup, and handed one to me, saying, This is the time for conversation and relating stories. I therefore began to converse with her, and to say, I have been told that such and such things happened, and there was a man who said so and so,-until I had related to her a number of agreeable stories; with which she was delighted; and she said, I wonder how it is that one of the merchants is able to repeat stories like these; for they are such as are proper for Kings. So I said, I had a neighbour who used to converse with the Kings, and serve as their boon-companion; and when he was unoccupied, I used to visit his house, and sometimes he would relate what thou hast heard. And she replied, By my life, thou hast retained them well. We continued our conversation, whenever I was silent she beginning, until we had passed the greater part of the night, the fumes of the aloes-wood imparting a constant odour to the air; and I was in such a state that if El-Ma'mun could have imagined it, he would have flown with desire to enjoy it. She then said, Verily thou art one of the most pleasant and polished of men; for thou art a person of surpassing good breeding; and there is but one thing wanting.-And what, said I, is that? She answered, Couldst thou sing verses to the sounds of the lute? So I replied, I used to devote myself to this art of old; but not being endowed with a talent for it, I relinquished it; and my heart is inflamed on that account. I should be glad to sing something well on the present occasion, that my night's enjoyment might be complete. On hearing this, she said, It seemeth thou hast proposed that the lute should be brought. I replied, It is thine to decide: thou art the And conferrer of favours, and art entitled to thanks for thy kindness. she gave orders to bring a lute; and when it was brought, she san g with a voice which I had never heard equalled in sweetness, with a charming manner, and admirable skill in striking the chords, and altogether with consummate excellence; after which she said, Knowest thou by whom this air was composed, and whose are the verses? I answered, No. And she said, The verses are by such-a-one, and the air is Ishak's. I said, And is Ishak (may I be thy ransom !) endowed with such talent?-Wonderful! wonderful! she exclaimed: Ishak surpasseth all in this art. And I said, Extolled be the perfection of Allah, who hath given to this man what He hath not given to any beside him!-And how then wouldst thou be charmed, she added, if thou heardest this air sung by him!-Thus we continued to pass the time until daybreak, when an old woman, who seemed to be her nurse, addressed her and said, The time hath arrived. So she arose at her words, and said, Keep thou our conduct secret; for social meetings are confidential.—May I be thy ransom! I replied: I required no charge on that subject. I then bade her farewell, and she sent a damsel to walk before me to the door of the house, and she opened to me, and I went forth to my own abode. Having arrived there, I performed the morning-prayers, and slept ; and the messenger of El-Ma'mun came to me; so I repaired to him, and remained with him that day. And when the hour of nightfall came, I reflected upon the pleasure that I had enjoyed during the preceding night, and it was such as none but the fool could be withheld from. I therefore went forth, and, coming to the basket, seated myself in it, and was drawn up to the place in which I was the night before. The damsel said to me, Thou hast been assiduous. But I replied, I do not think myself to have been otherwise than neglectful. We then chatted together, as in the preceding night, each of us supplying subjects of conversation, and reciting poetry, and relating strange tales, until dawn; when I departed to my abode, and performed the morning-prayers, and slept. The messenger of El-Ma'mun then came to me, and I repaired to him; and after I had passed the day with him, and the hour of nightfall arrived, the Prince of the Faithful said to me, I conjure thee to sit here until I have gone and accomplished an object that I have in view and come back. But when the Khalifeh had gone away from me, disquieting thoughts arose in my mind, and, reflecting upon my late enjoyment, what I might experience from the Prince of the Faithful seemed of little moment to me. So I sprang up and retired, and went forth running until I came to the basket; whereupon I seated myself in it, and it was drawn up with me to the place of my former visits; and the damsel said, Probably thou art our friend?-Yea, by Allah, I answered. And she said, Hast thou made our house thine abode? I answered, May I be thy ransom! The right of a stranger to hospitality is for three days; and if I return after that period, ye shall be free to shed my blood.-We then sat amusing ourselves as on the former occasions; and when the time of departure drew near, knowing that El-Ma'mun would certainly question me, and would not be content |