Journeys Through Bookland V3

C >> Charles H. Sylvester >> Journeys Through Bookland V3

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Then Aladdin's mother told the sultan faithfully the errand on which
her son had sent her.

The sultan hearkened to her discourse without showing any anger; but
before he answered her, he asked her what she had brought tied in the
napkin. Thereupon she uncovered the china dish and presented it to the
sultan. His amazement and surprise were inexpressible, and for some
time he remained lost in admiration. At last, however, he took the
present from the hand of Aladdin's mother, saying, "How rich! how
beautiful!"

Having handled all the jewels, one after another, he turned to the
grand vizier and said, "Behold, admire, wonder! and confess that your
eyes never beheld jewels so rich and beautiful before." The vizier was
charmed, and the sultan continued, "What sayest thou to such a
present? Is it not worthy of the princess, my daughter? And ought I
not to be willing to give her to one who values her at so great a
price?"

"I cannot but own," replied the vizier, "that the present is worthy
the princess, but I beg your majesty to grant me three months before
you decide. I hope before that time that my son, whom you have looked
upon with favor heretofore, will be able to make you a nobler present
than this of the stranger, Aladdin."

"Good woman," said the sultan, turning to Aladdin's mother, "go home
and tell your son that I agree to the proposal you made, but I cannot
marry the princess, my daughter, for three months. At the expiration
of that time come again."

Aladdin thought himself the most happy of men when he heard this news,
and began to count every week, day, and even hour that passed, so
great was his impatience. One evening, when two of the three months
had gone, his mother went out to buy some oil, and found a general
festival--the houses dressed with foliage, silks and carpeting, and
every one joining in a great rejoicing. The officers, in showy
uniforms, on richly caparisoned horses, galloped about the streets.

"What is the meaning of all this preparation for public festivity?"
said Aladdin's mother to the oil merchant.

"Where have you been, good woman," answered he, "that you do not know
that the son of the grand vizier is to marry the Princess Buddir al
Buddoor to-night? These officers are to assist at the palace, where
the ceremony is to be solemnized."

Hearing this news, Aladdin's mother ran home very quickly. "Child,"
she cried, "you are undone. The sultan's fine promises have come to
nought. This night the grand vizier's son is to marry the Princess
Buddir al Buddoor."

For a moment Aladdin was thunderstruck, but then he bethought himself
of the lamp and summoned the genie, resolved if possible to prevent
the marriage.

"What wouldst thou have?" said the genie. "I and the other slaves of
the lamp that is in thy hands are ready to obey thee."

"Hear me," said Aladdin. "You have hitherto obeyed me; this is a
harder task. The sultan's daughter, who was promised me as my bride,
is this night married to the son of the grand vizier. Bring them both
hither to me as soon as they have retired to their chamber."

"Master," replied the genie, "I obey thee."

Aladdin supped with his mother as usual and then went to his own
apartment to await the return of the genie.

In the meantime the festivities in honor of the princess's marriage
were conducted at the sultan's palace with great magnificence. When
the ceremonies were concluded, the princess and her husband retired to
the chamber prepared for them. But no sooner had they lain down than
the genie, the faithful slave of the lamp, to the great amazement and
alarm of both the bride and the groom, took up the bed and in an
instant transported them all to the chamber of Aladdin.

"Remove the bridegroom," said Aladdin to the genie, "and keep him a
prisoner till to-morrow morning; then return with him here."

When Aladdin was left alone with the princess, he tried to quiet her
fears and to explain to her the treachery practiced upon him by the
sultan. Then, drawing his scimitar, he laid it down between them to
show her that he would treat her with the utmost possible respect, and
secure her safety.

At break of day, the genie appeared bringing back the bridegroom, whom
he had entranced and left motionless outside the door of Aladdin's
chamber during the night. By Aladdin's command the couch with the
bride and groom was transported into the sultan's palace. A moment
after the genie had set the couch down in the chamber of the palace,
the sultan came to the door to offer his good wishes to his daughter.
The grand vizier's son, who had almost perished from cold by standing
in his thin undergarment all night, hurried to the robing chamber and
dressed himself.

Having opened the door, the sultan went to the bedside, kissed the
princess on the forehead, and was greatly surprised to find her
apparently in the greatest affliction. He left the room in a few
moments and hurried to the apartments of the sultaness, whom he told
of the princess's melancholy.

"Sire," said the sultaness, "I will go and see her; she will not
receive me in the same manner."

Nevertheless, the princess received the sultaness with sighs and
tears, but after some persuasion she told her mother all that had
happened during the night. The sultaness urged her to say nothing
about it, as no one would believe so strange a tale. Naturally the
grand vizier's son, proud of being the sultan's son-in-law, was more
than willing to keep silence.

The next night everything happened precisely as it had on the
preceding night, but the second morning the princess told the sultan
everything she had told her mother. On hearing this strange piece of
news he summoned the grand vizier and declared the marriage canceled,
for he feared even worse treatment from the invisible agency which had
troubled the young couple.

Everybody was astonished at the sultan's change of mind, but no one
except Aladdin knew the cause, and he kept profound silence.

On the very day that the three months expired, Aladdin's mother went
again to the divan and stood in the same place. The sultan knew her
and directed her to be brought before him.

Having prostrated herself before him, she said, "Sire, I come at the
end of three months to ask of you the fulfilment of the promise you
have made to my son."

The sultan had not thought that the request of Aladdin's mother was
made seriously, so he consulted with the vizier, who suggested that
the sultan should not refuse Aladdin's request, but should attach such
conditions to the marriage as would be impossible for Aladdin to
fulfill.

"Good woman," said the sultan after he had made his decision, "sultans
ought to abide by their word, and I will keep mine by making your son
happy in marriage with the princess, my daughter. But I cannot marry
her without some further proof that your son is able to support her in
royal state. Tell him then that I will fulfill my promise when he
sends me forty trays of massy gold filled with jewels such as those he
has given me already, each tray borne by a black slave, who shall be
led by a young and handsome white slave, all dressed magnificently. Go
and tell your son what I say. I will wait for his answer."

"Where," said she on her way home, "can Aladdin get so many large gold
trays and such precious stones to fill them? He will not be much
pleased with my errand this time."

When she came home, she told Aladdin the whole story and added,
laughing, "The sultan expects your answer immediately. I believe he
will have to wait long enough."

"Not so long, mother, as you imagine," replied Aladdin. "This demand
is a mere trifle. I will prepare at once to satisfy his request."

In a very short time after Aladdin had retired to his apartment and
conversed again with the genie of the lamp, a train of forty black
slaves led by the same number of white slaves appeared opposite the
house in which Aladdin lived. Each black slave carried on his head a
basin of massy gold, full of pearls, diamonds, rubies, and emeralds.

"Mother," said Aladdin, "pray lose no time; before the sultan and his
divan rise, be there with this present as the dowry demanded for the
princess, so that he may know how diligent and exact I am, and how
sincere I am in wishing the honor of this alliance." As soon as this
magnificent procession, with Aladdin's mother at its head, had begun
to march from Aladdin's house, the whole city was filled with the
crowds of people desirous to see so grand a sight. The graceful
bearing, elegant form, and wonderful likeness of the slaves; their
grave walk at an equal distance from each other, the luster of their
jeweled girdles, and the brilliancy of the aigrettes of precious
stones in their turbans, excited the greatest admiration in the
spectators. As they had to pass through several streets to the palace,
the whole length of the way was lined with files of spectators.
Nothing, indeed, was ever seen so beautiful and brilliant in the
sultan's palace, and the richest robes of the emirs of his court were
not to be compared to the costly dresses of these slaves, whom they
supposed to be kings.

As the sultan, who had been informed of their approach, had given
orders for them to be admitted, they met with no obstacle, but went
into the divan in regular order, one part turning to the right and the
other to the left. After they were all entered, and had formed a
semicircle before the sultan's throne, the black slaves laid the
golden trays on the carpet, prostrated themselves, touching the carpet
with their foreheads, and at the same time the white slaves did
likewise. When they rose, the black slaves uncovered the trays, and
then all stood with their arms crossed over their breasts.

In the meantime, Aladdin's mother advanced to the foot of the throne,
and having prostrated herself, said to the sultan, "Sire, my son knows
this present is much below the notice of Princess Buddir al Buddoor;
but hopes, nevertheless, that your majesty will accept of it, and make
it agreeable to the princess, and with the greater confidence since he
has endeavored to conform to the conditions you were pleased to
impose."

The sultan, overpowered at the sight of such more than royal
magnificence, replied without hesitation to the words of Aladdin's
mother: "Go and tell your son that I wait with open arms to embrace
him; and the more haste he makes to come and receive the princess my
daughter from my hands, the greater pleasure he will do me."

As soon as Aladdin's mother had retired, the sultan put an end to the
audience; and rising from his throne ordered that the princess's
attendants should come and carry the trays into their mistress's
apartment, whither he went himself to examine them with her at his
leisure. The fourscore slaves were conducted into the palace; and the
sultan, telling the princess of their magnificent apparel, ordered
them to be brought before her apartment, that she might see through
the lattices he had not exaggerated in his account of them.

In the meantime Aladdin's mother reached home, and showed in her air
and countenance the good news she brought to her son.

"My son," said she, "you may rejoice, for you are arrived at the
height of your desires. The sultan has declared that you shall marry
the Princess Buddir al Buddoor. He waits for you with impatience."

Aladdin, delighted with this news, said little, but hurried into his
chamber. Here he rubbed his lamp, and the obedient genie appeared.

"Genie," said Aladdin, "convey me at once to a bath, and supply me
with the richest and most magnificent robe ever worn by a monarch."

No sooner were the words out of his mouth than the genie, making
Aladdin as well as himself invisible, took the latter into an elegant
marble bath, where the youth was well rubbed and washed with scented
waters. When he came out from the bath, his skin was as clear as that
of a child, and his body lightsome and free.

When the bath was finished, Aladdin found before him a robe, the
magnificence of which astonished him. By the genie's aid he put on the
robe, and was returned to his chamber.

"Have you any further command?" asked the genie.

"Yes," answered Aladdin, "bring me a charger that surpasses in
goodness and beauty the best in the sultan's stable. Give him a rich
saddle and bridle, and other caparisons to correspond with his value.
Furnish me with twenty slaves, as richly clothed as those who carried
the present to the sultan, to walk by my side and to follow me, and
twenty more to go before me in two ranks. Bring my mother six women
slaves to attend her, all dressed as richly as any slave of the
Princess Buddir al Buddoor, each slave carrying a complete dress fit
for any sultaness. I want also ten thousand pieces of gold in ten
purses; go, and make haste."

The genie executed all these difficult commands in a moment. Then
Aladdin, taking the women slaves, each carrying on her head a
beautiful dress wrapped in a piece of silver tissue, presented them to
his mother, saying that the dresses were brought for her use. Of the
ten purses, Aladdin gave his mother four. The other six he left in the
hands of the slaves who brought them, telling them to throw the money
by handfuls among the people as the procession went to the sultan's
palace.

When Aladdin had thus prepared himself for his first interview with
the sultan, he dismissed the genie, and immediately mounting his
charger, began his march, and though he never had been on horseback
before, appeared with a grace the most experienced horseman might
envy. The innumerable concourse of people through whom he passed made
the air echo with their acclamations, especially every time the six
slaves who carried the purses threw handfuls of gold among the
populace.

On Aladdin's arrival at the palace, the sultan was surprised to find
him more richly and magnificently robed than he had ever been himself,
and was impressed with his good looks and dignity of manner, which
were so different from what he expected in the son of one so humble as
Aladdin's mother. He embraced him with demonstrations of joy, and when
Aladdin would have fallen at his feet, held him by the hand, and made
him sit near his throne. He shortly after led him, amidst the sounds
of trumpets, haut-boys, and all kinds of music, to a magnificent
entertainment, at which the sultan and Aladdin ate by themselves, and
the great lords of the court, according to their rank and dignity, sat
at different tables.

After the feast, the sultan sent for the chief cadi, and commanded him
to draw up a contract of marriage between the Princess Buddir al
Buddoor and Aladdin. When the contract had been drawn, the sultan
asked Aladdin if he would stay in the palace and complete the
ceremonies of the marriage that day.

[Illustration: "GENIE, BUILD ME A PALACE"]

"Sire," said Aladdin, "though great is my impatience to enter on the
honor granted me by your majesty, yet I beg you to permit me first to
build a palace worthy to receive the princess your daughter. I pray
you to grant me sufficient ground near your palace, and I will have it
completed with the utmost expedition." The sultan granted Aladdin his
request, and again embraced him. After which Aladdin took his leave
with as much politeness as if he had been bred up and had always lived
at court.

Aladdin returned home in the order he had come, amidst the
acclamations of the people, who wished him all happiness and
prosperity. When Aladdin entered his room, he took down the lamp,
rubbed it, and when the genie appeared as usual, said, "Genie, build
me a palace fit to receive the Princess Buddir al Buddoor. Let it be
made of nothing less than porphyry, jasper, agate, lapis lazuli, and
the finest marble. Let its walls be massive gold and silver brick laid
alternately. Let each front contain six windows, and let the lattices
of these, excepting one, which must be left unfinished, all sparkle
with diamonds, rubies and emeralds. Let there be an inner and an outer
court in front of the palace, and a spacious garden; provide a safe
treasure-house, and fill it with gold and silver. Let there be also
kitchens and storehouses, stables full of the finest horses, with
their equerries and grooms, and hunting equipage, officer, attendants,
and slaves, both men and women, for the princess and myself. Go and
execute my wishes."

As Aladdin gave these commands to the genie, the sun was setting. It
was morning when the genie returned and transported Aladdin in a
moment to the palace he had made. The genie led Aladdin through all
the apartments, where were officers and slaves, clothed according to
their rank. The treasury was opened by a treasurer, and there Aladdin
saw large vases of different sizes ranged around the chambers, and all
filled to the top with money. In the stables were some of the finest
horses in the world, and the grooms were busy dressing them. In the
storehouses was everything necessary, both for food and ornament.

Aladdin examined every portion of the palace, and particularly the
hall with the four and twenty windows, which far exceeded his fond
expectations.

"Genie," he said, "everything is as I wished. Only one thing now is
lacking. Lay immediately a fine carpet for the princess to walk upon
from the sultan's palace to mine."

In an instant the carpet was laid, and the genie disappeared.

When the sultan's porters came to open the gates the next morning,
they were amazed to find what had been an unoccupied garden filled
with a magnificent palace. They ran with the strange tidings to the
grand vizier, who hastened to the sultan.

"It must be the palace," said the sultan, "which I gave Aladdin
permission to build for my daughter. He has wished to let us see what
wonders can be done in a single night."

In the meantime Aladdin had sent his mother to the Princess Buddir al
Buddoor to tell her that the palace would be ready for her reception
in the evening. While the mother, attended by her women slaves, was in
the apartments of the princess, the sultan himself came in and was
surprised to find the woman whom he had seen in such humble guise at
his divan, now more richly appareled than his own daughter. Aladdin,
too, rose in the opinion of the monarch, because the young man had
shared his wealth and honors with his mother.

Shortly after his mother's departure, Aladdin mounted his horse, and
attended by his magnificent retinue, left the paternal home forever.
With him he took, you may be sure, the wonderful lamp to which he owed
all his good fortune, and the ring which had been given him as a
talisman.

That night the sultan entertained Aladdin with the greatest
magnificence, and at the conclusion of the marriage ceremony the
princess took leave of her father. Bands of music, followed by a
hundred stately ushers and a hundred black mutes in two files, with
their officers at their head, led the procession. Four hundred of the
sultan's young pages carried torches on each side, which together with
the illumination of the two palaces made the night as light as day.

Thus the princess, accompanied also by Aladdin's mother, walked along
the carpet which was spread to the palace of her husband. There
Aladdin was ready to receive her, and to lead her into a large hall
lighted with an infinite number of wax candles.

A feast consisting of the most delicate viands was then served upon
dishes of massy gold. Plates, basins, goblets, were all of the most
exquisite workmanship.

The princess, dazzled by such brilliancy, said to Aladdin, "I thought,
prince, that nothing in the world was so beautiful as my father's
palace; but the sight of this hall shows me how much I was deceived."

The next morning Aladdin's attendants brought him another habit, as
rich and magnificent as that worn the day before. He then ordered one
of the horses to be got ready for him; mounted it, and went, in the
midst of a large body of slaves, to invite the sultan and the lords of
his court to attend a banquet. To this the sultan gave immediate
consent, and rising at once, accompanied Aladdin to his palace. Every
step of the way the sultan's admiration increased; but when he entered
the hall and saw the windows enriched with such large and perfect
diamonds, rubies and emeralds, he was more than ever astonished.

"This palace is one of the wonders of the world, my son; but what most
surprises me is that one of the windows of this magnificent hall
should be left incomplete and unfinished."

"Sire," answered Aladdin, "the omission was intentional, as I wished
that you might have the glory of finishing the hall."

"I appreciate your kindness," said the sultan, "and will give orders
about it immediately."

After the banquet the sultan summoned his jewelers and goldsmiths, and
showed them the unfinished window. "I sent for you," said he, "to fit
up this window in as great perfection as the rest. Examine them well
and make all the haste you can."

The jewelers and goldsmiths examined the three and twenty windows, and
after they had consulted to know what each could furnish, they
returned to the sultan.

The principal jeweler, speaking for the rest, said: "Sire, we are
willing to do our best to obey you, but among us all we cannot furnish
jewels enough for so great a work."

"I have more than are necessary," said the sultan. "Come to my palace
and choose what you need." Thereupon the sultan returned to his palace
and ordered his jewels to be brought out, particularly those Aladdin
had given him. The jewelers selected a great quantity and began their
work. Many times more they came back for jewels, and in a month's
time, though they had used everything the sultan had, and borrowed of
the vizier, their work was not half done.

Aladdin, who was now satisfied that the jewelers and goldsmiths saw
that they could not possibly do the work, ordered them to undo what
they had begun, and to return all the jewels to the sultan and the
vizier.

It took them but a few hours to undo what they had been a month in
accomplishing. When Aladdin was left alone in the hall, after the
workmen had gone to the sultan, he took the lamp which he carried
about him and rubbed it till the genie appeared.

"Genie," said Aladdin, "I ordered you to leave one of the four and
twenty windows of this hall imperfect, and you executed my command
punctually. Now make it like the rest."

The genie immediately disappeared, and a few moments after, the window
appeared like all the rest.

In the meantime the jewelers and the goldsmiths were introduced into
the sultan's presence, and returned to him the jewels they had brought
back. The sultan asked if Aladdin had given any reason for returning
the stones, and when he was told that Aladdin had sent no message, he
was much disturbed, and had one of his horses saddled and rode at once
to Aladdin's palace. Aladdin came to the gate, and without replying to
the sultan's inquiries led him to the grand hall, and showed him the
once imperfect window now corresponding exactly to the others. The
Sultan could not at first believe what he saw, and would not admit
until he had examined every one of the four and twenty windows. When
at last he was satisfied, he embraced his son-in-law and kissed him
between the eyes.

"My son," said he, "what a wonderful man you are to do such surprising
things in the twinkling of an eye. There is none such as you in the
world; the more I know you, the more I admire you."

Aladdin lived in happiness, but did not confine himself within his
palace. When he went about the streets he traveled in much state,
sometimes to one mosque and sometimes to another, or at times to visit
the principal lords of the court. Every time he went out, he caused
two slaves to walk beside his horse and throw handfuls of money to the
people as he passed through the streets and squares. In this way
Aladdin secured the respect and esteem of the populace.

Several years passed quietly. It then happened that one day the
African magician remembered Aladdin, and entered into a long series of
magical ceremonies to determine whether Aladdin had perished in the
subterranean cavern. Imagine his surprise when he learned by means of
his horoscope that Aladdin, instead of dying in the cave, had made his
escape and was living in royal splendor by the aid of the genie of the
lamp. The very next morning the magician set out with great haste for
the capital of China, and on his arrival there he took lodging in a
khan. He heard much there about the wealth, charities, happiness and
splendid palace of the Prince Aladdin, and his knowledge of magic
showed him that only by genii alone could such wonders have been
accomplished.

[Illustration: NEW LAMPS FOR OLD]

Piqued and angered by Aladdin's success, the magician returned to his
khan, and by magic undertook to find where Aladdin kept the lamp.

Great was his joy when he discovered that the lamp was kept in the
palace.

"Well," said he, rubbing his hands in glee, "I shall soon have the
lamp again, and will put Aladdin back to his original mean position."

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