Part 4 (1/2)

?Then after all, what is this felloorth?? said one of the gang

?He is worth a good price,? replied the chief, ?if he happens to be a good cadi, for then the peasants ain; but if not, a _dinar_[17] is too much for him We must keep him: perhaps he is of more value than a merchant But let us see how much this other fellow is likely to fetch?

They then brought the rough man before them, and Aslan Sultan questioned him in the usual manner--?What are you??

?I am a _ferash_? (a carpet-spreader), said he, in a very sulky --?a ferash!+ The fellow lies! How came you to sleep in a fine bed?? said one

?It was not mine,? he answered, ?it was my master?s?

?He lies! he lies!? they all cried out: ?he is a merchant--you are a merchant Own it, or we?ll put you to death?

In vain he asserted that he was only a carpet-spreader, nobody believed him, and he received so ed to roar out that he was a ed from the appearance of the man that he could not be a merchant, but that he hat he owned hiot but a sorry prize in him, and advised them to release him; but immediately I was assailed in my turn with a thousand maledictions, and was told, that if I chose to take part with my countryain--so I was obliged to keep my peace and permit the ruffians to have their oay

Their speculation inproved so unfortunate, they were in no very good hureat difference of opinion ast them, what should be done with such worthless prisoners So the poet and the ferash, and others for preserving the cadi for ranso the ferash a slave; but all see much compassion for this eneral deporth he had pleaded poverty; and seeing it likely to go very hard with him, I said, ?What folly are you about to cooose with the golden egg Don?t you know that poets are sometimes very rich, and can, if they choose, become rich at all times, for they carry their wealth in their heads? Did you never hear of the king who gave a faold for every stanza which he co said of the present Shah? And--who knows?--perhaps your prisoner ?s poet hi; ?then let him make stanzas for us immediately, and if they don?t fetch a miscal each, he shall die?

?Make on! make on!? exclaiht a prospect of gain; ?if you don?t, we?ll cut your tongue out?

At length it was decided that all three should be preserved, and that as soon as they had made a division of the booty, we should return to the plains of Kipchak

Aslan then called us together, and every ht bags of silver and others gold Nor did they confine theold heads of pipes, a silver ewer, a sable pelisse, shawls, and a variety of other things, were brought before us When it ca of toiven in, which secured to me the applause of the company

?Well done! well done! Hajji,? said they all to ood Turcoman: we could not have done better ourselves?

My master in particular was very loud in his praises, and said, ?Hajji, my son, by my own soul, by the head of ive you one of my slaves for a wife, and you shall live with us--and you shall have a tent of your oith twenty sheep, and we?ll have a wedding, when I will give an entertainment to all the encampthened my resolution to escape on the very first opportunity; but in the meanwhile I was very intent upon the division of the spoil which was about to be made, as I hoped to be included for a considerable portion of it To le dinar In vain I exclaimed, in vain I entreated; all I could hear was, ?If you say a word ed to console inal fifty ducats, whilstabout their shares

At length it becaeneral contention, and would have finished by bloodshed, if a thought had not struck one of the coot a cadi here; why should we dispute? He shall decide between us

So immediately the poor cadi was set in the oods, part of which belonged in fact to hie

CHAPTER VII

Hajji Baba evinces a feeling disposition--History of the poet Asker

We made our retreat by the same road we came, but not with the same expedition, on account of our prisoners They soeneral appearance of the poet had, from the firsta s myself,the protector of ato show any particular partiality to hi appointed to keep watch over him, under the plea that I would coe, ere able to coreat freedo understood I explained my situation, and informed him of my intentions to escape, and assured hi in hted tobut ill-treatment; and when I had thus acquired his confidence, he did not scruple to talk to me freely about himself and his concerns

I discovered what I had before suspected, that he was a e than the court poet, enjoying the title of _Melek al Shoherah_, or the Prince of Poets He was on his road from shi+raz (whither he had been sent by the Shah on business) to Tehran, and had that very day reached Ispahan, when he had fallen into our hands In order to beguile the tediousness of the road through the Salt Desert, after I had related ivewords:

?I was born in the city of Kerovernor of that city, during the reign of the eunuch Aga Mohaainst hiovernment were very mischievous, still such was his respectability, that his eneainst hier, but his adroitness preserved theood fortune to die peaceably in his bed in the present Shah?s reign I was permitted to possess the property which he left, which amounted to about 10,000 tomauns In my youth I was remarkable for the attention which I paid to e of sixteen I was celebrated for writing a fine hand I knew Hafiz entirely by heart, and had ht almost have been said to speak in numbers There was no subject that I did not attempt I wrote on the loves of Leilah and Majnoun;[19] I never heard the note of a nightingale, but I made it pour out its loves to the rose; and wherever I went I never failed to produce my poetry and chant it out in the asse ith Sadik Khan, a pretender to the throne, and a battle was fought, in which his majesty commanded in person, and which ter the king?s praises In describing the contest Iin a cloud over the field of battle; who seeing the king lay about hiht am I to be here instead of below, for certainly I should never escape from his blows? I also exerted my wit, and was ht not to repine after all; for although they were vanquished, yet still the king, in his nanimity, had exalted their heads to the skies In this, I alluded to a pillar of skulls which his majesty had caused to be erected of the heads of the vanquished These sayings of mine were reported to the Shah, and he was pleased to confer upon hest honour which a poet can receive; naold coin in the presence of the whole court, at the great audience This led to my advancement: and I was appointed to attend at court, and to write verses on all occasions In order to show , that as in forreat Ferdousi had written his ?Shah Nareater than any monarch Persia ever possessed, to have a poet who should celebrate his reign; and I entreated permission to write a ?Shahin Shah Nas; to which his ive his consent One of h treasurer, ithout any good reason, wanted to i, on the plea that I was the first poet of the age, would not allow It happened one day, that in a large assembly, the subject of discussion was the liberality of Mahold for every couplet in the Shah Na should hear what I was about to say, I exclaimed: ?The liberality of his present majesty is equal to that of Mahreater; because in the one case, it was exercised towards the most celebrated poet of Persia; and in my case, it is exercised towards the humble individual now before you?