drawing cool waterfrom the streams below. The unexpected arrival of the Caliph, and thesplendour that marked his appearance, had already filled with emotion theardent soul of Nouronihar. Her vanity irresistibly prompted her to piquethe prince’s attention, and this she before took good care to effectwhilst he picked up the jasamine she had thrown upon him. But whenGulchenrouz asked after the flowers he had culled for her bosom,Nouronihar was all in confusion. She hastily kissed his forehead, arosein a flutter, and walked with unequal steps on the border of theprecipice. Night advanced, and the pure gold of the setting sun hadyielded to a sanguine red, the glow of which, like the reflection of aburning furnace, flushed Nouronihar’s animated countenance. Gulchenrouzalarmed at the agitation of his cousin, said to her with a supplicatingaccent:
“Let us be gone; the sky looks portentious: the tamarisks tremble morethan common; and the raw wind chills my very heart. Come, let us begone, ’tis a melancholy night.”
Then taking hold of her hand he drew it towards the path he besought herto go. Nouronihar unconsciously followed the attraction, for a thousandstrange imaginations occupied her spirit. She passed the large round ofhoneysuckles, her favourite resort, without ever vouchsafing it a glance,yet Gulchenrouz could not help snatching off a few shoots in his way,though he ran as if a wild beast were behind.
The young females seeing him approach in such haste, and according tocustom expecting a dance, instantly assembled in a circle and took eachother by the hand, but Gulchenrouz coming up out of breath, fell down atonce on the grass. This accident struck with consternation the whole ofthis frolicsome party, whilst Nouronihar, half distracted, and overcomeboth by the violence of her exercise and the tumult of her thoughts, sunkfeebly down at his side, cherished his cold hands in her bosom, andchafed his temples with a fragrant unguent. At length he came tohimself, and wrapping up his head in the robe of his cousin, entreatedthat she would not return to the harem. He was afraid of being snappedat by Shaban his tutor, a wrinkled old eunuch of a surly disposition, forhaving interrupted the stated walk of Nouronihar, he dreaded lest thechurl should take it amiss. The whole of this sprightly group, sittinground upon a mossy knole, began to entertain themselves with variouspastimes, whilst their superintendents the eunuchs were gravelyconversing at a distance. The nurse of the emir’s daughter observing herpupil sit ruminating with her eyes on the ground, endeavoured to amuseher with diverting tales, to which Gulchenrouz, who had already forgottenhis inquietudes, listened with a breathless attention. He laughed; heclapped his hands; and passed a hundred little tricks on the whole of thecompany, without omitting the eunuchs, whom he provoked to run after him,in spite of their age and decrepitude.
During these occurrences the moon arose, the wind subsided, and theevening became so serene and inviting that a resolution was taken to supon the spot. Sutlememe, who excelled in dressing a salad, having filledlarge bowls of porcelain with eggs of small birds, curds turned withcitron juice, slices of cucumber, and the inmost leaves of delicateherbs, handed it round from one to another, and gave each their shares ina large spoon of cocknos. Gulchenrouz nestling as usual in the bosom ofNouronihar, pouted out his vermillion little lips against the offer ofSutlememe, and would take it only from the hand of his cousin, on whosemouth he hung like a bee inebriated with the quintessence of flowers.One of the eunuchs ran to fetch melons, whilst others were employed inshowering down almonds from the branches that overhung this amiableparty.
In the midst of this festive scene there appeared a light on the top ofthe highest mountain, which attracted the notice of every eye. Thislight was not less bright than the moon when at full, and might have beentaken for her had it not been that the moon was already risen. Thephenomenon occasioned a general surprise, and no one could conjecture thecause. It could not be a fire, for the light was clear and bluish; norhad meteors ever been seen of that magnitude or splendour. This strangelight faded for a moment, and immediately renewed its brightness. Itfirst appeared motionless at the foot of the rock, whence it darted in aninstant to sparkle in a thicket of palm trees, from thence it glidedalong the torrent, and at last fixed in a glen that was narrow and dark.The moment it had taken its direction, Gulchenrouz, whose heart alwaystrembled at any thing sudden or rare, drew Nouronihar by the robe, andanxiously requested her to return to the harem. The women wereimportunate in seconding the entreaty, but the curiosity of the emir’sdaughter prevailed. She not only refused to go back, but resolved at allhazards to pursue the appearance. Whilst they were debating what wasbest to be done, the light shot forth so dazzling a blaze that they allfled away shrieking. Nouronihar followed them a few steps, but coming tothe turn of a little bye path stopped, and went back alone. As she ranwith an alertness peculiar to herself, it was not long before she came tothe place where they had just been supping. The globe of fire nowappeared stationary in the glen, and burned in majestic stillness.Nouronihar compressing her hands upon her bosom, hesitated for somemoments to advance. The solitude of her situation was new; the silenceof the night awful; and every object inspired sensations which till thenshe never had felt. The affright of Gulchenrouz recurred to her mind;and she a thousand times turned to go back, but this luminous appearancewas always before her. Urged on by an irresistible impulse, shecontinued to approach it in defiance of every obstacle that opposed herprogress.
At length she arrived at the opening of the glen, but instead of comingup to the light, she found herself surrounded by darkness, except that ata considerable distance a faint spark glimmered by fits. She stopped asecond time: the sound of waterfalls mingling their murmurs, the hollowrustlings amongst the palm branches, and the funereal screams of thebirds from their rifted trunks, all conspired to fill her with terror.She imagined every moment that she trod on some venomous reptile. Allthe stories of malignant Dives, and dismal Goules thronged into hermemory, but her curiosity was notwithstanding more predominant than herfears. She therefore firmly entered a winding track that led towards thespark, but being a stranger to the path, she had not gone far till shebegan to repent of her rashness.
“Alas!” said she, “that I were but in those secure and illuminatedapartments where my evenings glided on with Gulchenrouz! Dear child, howwould thy heart flutter with terror wert thou wandering in these wildsolitudes like me.”
At the close of this apostrophe she regained her road, and coming tosteps hewn out in the rock ascended them undismayed. The light, whichwas now gradually enlarging, appeared above her on the summit of themountain. At length she distinguished a plaintive and melodious union ofvoices proceeding from a sort of cavern, that resembled the dirges whichare sung over tombs. A sound likewise like that which arises from thefilling of baths, at the same time struck her ear. She continuedascending, and discovered large wax torches in full blaze planted hereand there in the fissures of the rock. This preparation filled her withfear, whilst the subtle and potent odour which the torches exhaled causedher to sink almost lifeless at the entrance of the grot.
Casting her eyes within in this kind of trance, she beheld a largecistern of gold filled with a water, whose vapour distilled on her face adew of the essence of roses. A soft symphony resounded through the grot.On the sides of the cistern she noticed appendages of royalty; diademsand feathers of the heron, all sparkling with carbuncles. Whilst herattention was fixed on this display of magnificence, the music ceased,and a voice instantly demanded:
“For what monarch were these torches kindled, this bath prepared, andthese habiliments? which belong not only to the sovereigns of the earth,but even to the talismanic powers!”
To which a second voice answered:
“They are for the charming daughter of the emir Fakreddin.”
“What,” replied the first, “for that trifler who consumes her time with agiddy child, immersed in softness, and who at best can make but anenervated husband?”
“And can she,” rejoined the other voice, “be amused with such emptytrifles, whilst the Caliph, the sovereign of
the world, he who isdestined to enjoy the treasures of the preadimite sultans, a prince sixfeet high, and whose eyes pervade the inmost soul of a female, isinflamed with the love of her? no, she will be wise enough to answer thatpassion alone that can aggrandize her glory. No doubt she will, anddespise the puppet of her fancy; then all the riches this place contains,as well as the carbuncle of Giamschid shall be hers.”
“You judge right,” returned the first voice, “and I haste to Istakar toprepare the palace of subterranean fire for the reception of the bridalpair.”
The voices ceased, the torches were extinguished, the most entiredarkness succeeded, and Nouronihar recovering with a start, found herselfreclined on a sofa in the harem of her father. She clapped her hands,and immediately came together Gulchenrouz and her women, who, in despairat having lost her, had despatched eunuchs to seek her in everydirection. Shaban appeared with the rest, and began to reprimand herwith an air of consequence:
“Little
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