Part 20 (1/2)
When the aethiopian robber came out of his drunken slumber he saw that the princess Djouher-Manikam was no longer in his house. So he went out-of-doors weeping, and took up his journey, going from country to country until he arrived at the city of Roum. There he saw a _baley_, and hanging there a portrait which bore a perfect resemblance to the princess Djouher-Manikam. Quickly he climbed to the _baley_, and, holding the portrait in his arms, he wept and covered it with kisses.
”O unhappy man that I am! Here is the portrait of my well-beloved for whom I was seeking. Where can she be?”
The guards of the _baley_, seeing the act of the aethiopian, seized him and bore him before the King. They told the deed.
The prince said: ”aethiopian robber, why did you act thus in reference to this picture?”
The aethiopian answered: ”O my lord, king of the world, I ask you a thousand and a thousand pardons. Your servant will tell the truth. If they kill me I shall die; if they hang me I shall be lifted very high; if they sell me I shall be carried very far away. O king of the world, hear the words of your humble slave. A certain night I had started out to rob. I found a horse, and on its back there was a woman of the most marvellous beauty. I took her to my house. I fell asleep in my cups. My beloved one disappeared. I became mad, and so it is, O king of the world, that your slave came to the fort and saw the portrait hanging at the _baley_. This portrait is the faithful picture of my well-beloved.
That is why I weep.”
The prince said: ”O my vezir, let this man be carefully guarded. Treat him well and give him plenty to eat.” On the other hand, Biyapri, after forty days, mounting the roof, saw that the princess Djouher was no longer there. He became mad, abandoned his house and all his wealth, and, becoming a dervish, went from country to country seeking the princess Djouher-Manikam, without ever finding her. Coming to the country of Roum he saw the _baley_ situated outside the fort, and stopped there. Then he saw the portrait, and, observing it with the closest attention, he began to weep. Then he took it in his arms and covered it with kisses.
”Alas, my well-beloved!” he cried, ”here indeed is your picture, but where can I find you?” He was immediately seized by the guard and led before the King of Roum.
”Biyapri,” said the prince, ”whence do you come, and why did you act thus?” Biyapri answered: ”O my lord, king of the world, your slave asks pardon a thousand and a thousand times. I will tell the whole truth. If they kill me, I shall die; if they hang me, I shall be lifted very high; if they sell me, I shall be taken very far away. When I was engaged in commerce I pa.s.sed under a tree, and saw that in this tree there was a woman of the most marvellous beauty. I took her and carried her to the city of Ba.s.srah and installed her on the roof of my storehouse. A certain night she disappeared without my knowing where she had gone. Then, O king of the world, I became as one mad and left my native land. Arriving at the country of Roum I saw a _baley_ outside the fort and came to sit down there. Then, my lord, I saw the portrait hanging at the _baley_. It exactly resembles my beloved, whom I lost. I pressed it in my arms and covered it with kisses. Such is the truth, O king of the world.”
The prince then said to his minister: ”O minister, let this man be carefully guarded and give him food and clothes.”
The King of Damas, after abdicating the throne, had left his kingdom, and in the costume of a dervish had started to travel through the different countries. Arriving at Roum, the King Chah Djouhou saw a _baley_ situated outside of the fort, and went to sit down near it. The prince looking closely at the portrait, which was exactly like the princess Djouher-Manikam, burst into a flood of tears and exclaimed:
”Alas! Fruit of my heart, my well-beloved, light of my eyes! It is, indeed, your picture. But you, whom I seek, oh, where are you?”
Speaking thus, the prince took the portrait in his arms and covered it with kisses. Seeing this, the guards of the _baley_ seized him and carried him before the King.
The King said to him: ”My lord, whence do you come? How have you wandered into this country? And why did you behave thus about my portrait?”
The King Chah Djouhou answered: ”Know that my wife, who is named the princess Djouher-Manikam, has disappeared far from me. It is for that reason that I have left my kingdom, and that I, dressed as a dervish, have walked from country to country, from plain to plain, from village to village, seeking her whom I have never been able to find. But arriving in your Majesty's country I saw hanging at the _baley_ that portrait, which is of a striking resemblance to my wife. It is for this reason that I wept in contemplating this picture.”
The princess smiled, and at the same time her heart was softened at seeing the conduct of her husband. She said to her prime minister: ”O my minister, I confide this person to your care. Treat him worthily, give him the best of food and a suite of attendants. He is the King of Damas.”
The minister therefore, by command of the princess, departed and conducted the King of Damas to a fine house, furnished and equipped according to the needs of kings.
The minister took all the riches which had been intended as presents for the King Haroun-er-Raschid. The ingots of gold and of silver, the rich garments in fine stuffs of the country of Rouzoungga, as well as the vestments of the princess Djouher-Manikam and of her three children, were transported and sold in the city of Bagdad. But the King Haroun-er-Raschid, seeing that his name and that of his daughter, the princess Djouher-Manikam, were graven on these ingots of gold and silver, seized all these riches.
The minister of the country of Damas said, ”These riches are mine.”
On his side the King Haroun-er-Raschid said: ”These riches are mine, for my name and that of my child are engraved on these ingots of gold and silver.”
The minister said, ”Since your Majesty declares that these treasures are yours, we must try this case in a court of justice.”
The King of Bagdad answered: ”It is well. We will go wherever you wish.”
”Very well,” said the minister; ”let us go then before the King of the country of Roum. That prince has the reputation of being extremely just. Each of us shall plead his cause.”
The prince answered: ”It is well.” The minister replied: ”O king of the world, let us start without delay.”
So the King Haroun-er-Raschid set out with his son Min-bah-Chahaz, his chief warrior, and his soldiers. The cadi accompanied the prince. On his side, the minister of the country of Damas started, accompanied by his three sons and forty soldiers of the country of Damas. After proceeding some time, they arrived at the city of Roum and entered the fortifications. Each one of them presented himself before the King and pleaded his cause.
The King Haroun-er-Raschid expressed himself as follows: ”O king of the world! I present myself before your Majesty to ask your impartial judgment. The minister of the country of Damas brought to Bagdad, among other precious objects, ingots of gold and ingots of silver, on which are engraved my name and that of my daughter, the princess Djouher- Manikam. I seized these, and come to your Majesty to decide my claim to them.”
The King of Roum said: ”If it pleases G.o.d the most high, this affair shall be judged with the best of my powers.” The King of Roum continued: ”My officers and you, my ministers and chiefs, seek all the divine inspiration to decide the difference existing between the King of Bagdad and the minister of Damas.”