Eastern Tales by Many Story Tellers Part 40

The faithful Eloubrou shrieked at the words of the female slave, and endeavoured to clap her hands and bring the chief of the eunuchs to her a.s.sistance; but the female slave waved her left hand, and Eloubrou and the rest of the slaves stood motionless before her.

"Most lovely Princess," said she, "I am the friend of the distressed, and love to prevent the severe and ill-natured authority of parents: give me your hand, and I will deliver you from that monster, the Prince of Georgia."

"What!" answered I, "shall I trust to a stranger, whom I know not, and fly from my father's Court? No!"

"Well, then," said she, "I hear the cymbals playing before the Prince, and the trumpets, and the kettledrums. Farewell, sweet mistress of the fierce and unconquerable Prince of Georgia."

As she spoke, the warlike music sounded in my ears; and, not doubting but that the Prince and my father were coming, I held out my hand to the female slave, and said,

"Save me, oh, save me from my father's frown!"

The slave eagerly s.n.a.t.c.hed my hand, and, blowing forth a small vapour from her mouth, it filled the room, and we arose in a cloud.

The manner of my flight from my father's palace I know not, as I immediately fainted; but when I recovered, I found myself in a magnificent apartment, and a youth standing before me.

"Charming Hemjunah," said he, falling at my feet, "may I hope that the service I have performed, in delivering you from the Prince of Georgia, will merit your love?"

"Alas!" said I, "what service hast thou performed? Who art thou, bold man, that durst stand before the Princess of Ca.s.simir? Eloubrou,"

shouted I, "faithful Eloubrou! where art thou? Where is Picksag, the chief of my eunuchs? Where are my slaves? Where are the guards of the seraglio?"

"Princess," answered the young man, "fatigue not yourself with calling after them, since they are in the kingdom of Ca.s.simir, and you are in the house of Bennaskar, the merchant of Delhi; but, not to keep you in suspense, O Princess! know that I have for several years traded from Ca.s.simir to Delhi, and, although I never saw you till lately, yet the fame of your opening beauties was so great that it fired the hearts of all the young men in your father's kingdom. Every time I arrived at Ca.s.simir, the subject of all conversation was the adorable Princess Hemjunah. Impelled by these encomiums, I resolved to see you or die."

He then recounted how he had obtained access to me through the art of Ulin.

The wicked Bennaskar would have made me the victim of his pa.s.sions, when, in a gentle cloud, a venerable and majestic personage descended into the apartment.

"Unhappy Princess of Ca.s.simir!" said she, "how has thy imprudence weakened my power, and destroyed thine own safety! If thou hadst not yielded to the false female slave, the sorceress Ulin had not triumphed over thee and me; but now she has given thee into the power and possession of Bennaskar, and I am not permitted to rescue thee from the clutches of this detested merchant."

"Then," said Bennaskar, who before was awed by the presence of the genius Macoma, "Hemjunah is my own, and my faithful Ulin has not deceived me."

At these words, exerting all his strength, the villain seized me; but his triumph was short, for the genius, advancing, immediately touched him with her wand, and said,

"Wretched slave of iniquity! though I am not permitted to rescue the Princess, yet I have power over thee, base tool of sin! therefore I ordain, that whenever you look upon the Princess, you shall deprive her of sensation."

"Then," said Bennaskar, rising and turning from me, "I will at present disappoint thy power till I receive my commands from the mouth of Ulin, the mistress of my fate."

"Ah!" cried the enchantress Ulin, who that moment entered the vaulted chamber from the closet, which, my Prince, you have heard described by Mahoud, "what hast thou done, thou enemy of our race? Accursed and fatal neglect, that I had not at first secured Bennaskar from thy power! But since the inexorable word is gone forth, I will add to thy sentence. Here," continued she, stamping with her foot, and an ugly dwarf arose through a trap-door in the chamber, "Nego, be it thy business to attend my servant Bennaskar, and whenever thou seest that female deprived of sensation, do you bury her in the earth beneath this chamber. And, Bennaskar," continued the enchantress, "do you take this phial, and whenever you want to converse with this stubborn female, let one of your slaves, whom you can trust, pour part of the liquor into her mouth, and she shall recover: only retire yourself into the closet, that you be not seen of her, at least till she consent to your will, for then the enchantments of Macoma shall no longer prevail against you."

"The enchantments," said Macoma, "O wretched Ulin, are not yet complete! there is yet a moment left, and both our power over Hemjunah and Bennaskar will be at an end. Therefore thus shall it be: although Bennaskar is possessed of the Princess, yet shall these apartments be hidden from the sight of all men, except on that day when thy evil race prevails. On the full of the moon only shall Bennaskar be able to explore these rooms. And fear not, amiable Hemjunah," said the genius, addressing herself to me, "for neither force nor enchantment shall work your ruin without your own consent; and although Mahomet, displeased at your late imprudence, for a time permits this enchantment, yet at length, if you continue faithful and virtuous, he will a.s.suredly deliver you."

At these words, Bennaskar turned towards me, with anger and disappointment in his eye, and immediately I was seized with a deep sleep, and what pa.s.sed afterwards I know not.

One day I found myself awakened by the pouring of some liquor into my mouth, and saw a black slave standing before me. At the same time the voice of Bennaskar issued from the closet.

"Ill-fated Princess! thy tyrant genius hath now hidden thee a month from my sight, while thy friends, Ulin and Bennaskar, seek to restore thee to light and to life: say but, therefore, thou wilt be mine, and the enchantments of Macoma will be destroyed."

"Wretched Bennaskar!" answered I, "I knew not that my sleep had continued a month; but, if it be so long since I saw the genius Macoma in this chamber, I thank Mahomet that he hath so long hidden me from the persecutions of Bennaskar."

"Haughty Princess!" answered the vile Bennaskar from the closet, "my slave shall inspire you with humbler words." Whereupon he ordered the black slave to give me fifty lashes with the chabouc.

But it is needless, O Prince, to repeat the various designs of that wretch. For three months was I thus confined, and Bennaskar having exercised, through the hands of his slave, the cruelties of his heart, used at length, when he found me persist in my resolution, to come forth, and by his presence deprive me of sensation. The adventures of the third month you have heard from the mouth of Mahoud; I shall therefore only continue my narrative from the time that he left me with the book in my hand.

Bennaskar, seeing his friend Mahoud had left him, went out, and soon returned again with him, and taking him into the closet, in a moment came forth, and, touching me, he said, "Come, fair Princess, the enchantments of Macoma are now at an end, and thou art given up entirely to Bennaskar."

I shrieked at his words, hoping the Cadi would hear me, but in vain.

Bennaskar ran with me through the vaulted pa.s.sage, and found myself with him in an extended plain.

"Wretch!" said the genius Macoma, who that moment appeared, "hast thou dared to disobey my commands, and remove the Princess from the vaulted chamber, where even thy mistress yielded to my power? But I thank thee: what the imprudent Mahoud could not accomplish against thee thou hast effected thyself."

As she spake, the form of Bennaskar perished from the face of the plain, and his body crumbled to atoms and mixed with the dust of the earth; but from his ashes the enchantress Ulin arose, and with an enraged visage turned towards me and said, "Thou art still the victim of my power; and since Bennaskar is no more, go, sweet Princess, and join thy delicate form to the form of thy preserver Mahoud, whom I designed for the flames; but, my will being opposed, he is rescued thence, and now defiles the air of Tarapajan with his pestiferous breath."

Such, Sultan of India, were the consequences of my imprudence; and thus are our s.e.x, by the smallest deviations, often led through perpetual scenes of misery and distress.

"Lovely Princess of Ca.s.simir," said the Sultan Misnar, "I have felt more anxiety during this short interval in which you have related your adventures than in all the campaigns I have made. But suffer us, O Princess, to add a further trouble to you by a second request; for I am as anxious to hear by what misfortune you were enclosed in the tomb of death as I was to know in what manner you were subjected to the villanous cruelties of the wretched Bennaskar."

"The tale, O Prince," said the fair Hemjunah, "is wonderful; but, alas! new indiscretions drew upon me the severities I have experienced."

THE HISTORY OF THE PRINCESS CONTINUED.

As soon as, by our restoration to our pristine forms, we were apprised of your victory over the enchantress Ulin, I found myself in the seraglio of my father's palace. In the apartment from which I was taken by the wicked enchantress, I beheld my nurse Eloubrou: she was prostrate on the ground, and the palace was filled with her cries.

"Faithful Eloubrou," said I, "arise and look upon thy beloved Hemjunah. Where is my royal father Zebenezer, and the fond Chederazade, the mother of my heart?"

Eloubrou, at my voice, started up like one awakened from a trance.

"What is it?" said she in emotion, "what is it I behold? Art thou the departed shade of my once-loved Hemjunah?"

"No shade, beloved Eloubrou," said I, running to her, "but the true Princess of Ca.s.simir, whom Misnar the Sultan of India hath rescued from the enchantments of the wicked Ulin."

"Oh that thy royal mother," said Eloubrou, "were, like me, blessed with the sight of thy return!"

"What," said I "Eloubrou, what dost thou say? Where, then, is the much-honoured Chederazade? where the dear parent of my life?"

"Alas!" said Eloubrou, "who shall tell the dismal tale to thy tender heart?"

"Ah!" said I, "is my beloved mother no more? Is she gone to seek her disobedient daughter over the burning lake?"

At these words my spirit failed, and I sank motionless to the ground.

But my lord must forgive me if I hasten over the dreadful scene that followed. The report of Eloubrou was too true: Chederazade, the dearest Chederazade, had been ten days dead when I was restored to my father's palace; and Zebenezer, distracted at the double loss of his consort and his child, had shut himself up in the tomb of my mother.

Eloubrou hastened to the tomb wherein my father poured forth his tears, and acquainted the guards who watched without that I was returned.

The sorrowful Zebenezer, although he was rejoiced at the news, resolved not to come forth out of his consort's tomb till the month was expired, according to his oath; and gave orders, that during that interval I should be obeyed by his subjects.

My mourning was not less poignant than my royal father's. I shut myself up in my apartments, and would suffer none but Eloubrou to see me.