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Story Of The City Of BrassThe Emir Enters the City
The Emir Enters the City
He then walked along the wall till he came to the two towers of brass,
when he saw that they had two gates of gold, without locks upon them, or any
sign of the means of opening them. Therefore the sheykh paused as long as God
willed, and, looking attentively, he saw in the middle of one of the gates a
figure of a horseman of brass, having one hand extended, as though he were
pointing with it, and on it was an inscription, which the sheykh read, and,
lo, it contained these words: - Turn the pin that is in the middle of the
front of the horseman`s body twelve times, and then the gate will open. So he
examined the horseman, and in the middle of the front of his body was a pin,
strong, firm, well fixed; and he turned it twelve times; whereupon the gate
opened immediately, with a noise like thunder; and the sheykh `Abd-Es-Samad
entered. He was a learned man, acquainted with all languages and characters.
And he walked on until he entered a long passage, whence he descended some
steps, and he found a place with handsome wooden benches, on which were people
dead, and over their heads were elegant shields, and keen swords, and strung
bows, and notched arrows. And behind the [next] gate were a bar of iron, and
barricades of wood, and locks of delicate fabric, and strong apparatus. Upon
this, the sheykh said within himself, Perhaps the keys are with these people.
Then he looked, and, lo, there was a sheykh who appeared to be the oldest of
them, and he was upon a high wooden bench among the dead men. So the sheykh
`Abd-Es-Samad said, May not the keys of the city be with this sheykh! Perhaps
he was the gatekeeper of the city, and these were under his authority. - He
therefore drew near to him, and lifted up his garments, and, lo, the keys were
hung to his waist. At the sight of them, the sheykh `Abd-Es-Samad rejoiced
exceedingly; his reason almost fled from him in consequence of his joy; and he
took the keys, approached the gate, opened the locks, and pulled the gate and
the barricades and other apparatus, which opened, and the gate also opened,
with a noise like thunder, by reason of its greatness and terribleness, and
the enormousness of its apparatus. Upon this, the sheykh exclaimed, God is
most great! - and the people made the same exclamation with him, rejoicing at
the event. The Emir Musa also rejoiced at the safety of the sheykh
`Abd-Es-Samad, and at the opening of the gate of the city; the people thanked
the sheykh for that which he had done, and all the troops hastened to enter
the gate. But the Emir Musa cried out to them, O people, if all of us enter,
we shall not be secure from some accident that may happen. Half shall enter,
and half shall remain behind.
The Emir Musa then entered the gate, and with him half of the people, who
bore their weapons of war. And the party saw their companions lying dead: so
they buried them. They saw also the gate-keepers and servants and
chamberlains and lieutenants lying upon beds of silk, all of them dead. And
they entered the market of the city, and beheld a great market, with lofty
buildings, none of which projected beyond another: the shops were open, and
the scales hung up, and the utensils of brass ranged in order, and the khans
were full of all kinds of goods. And they saw the merchants dead in their
shops: their skins were dried, and their bones were carious and they had
become examples of him who would be admonished. They saw likewise four markets
of particular shops filled with wealth. And they left this place, and passed
on to the silk-market, in which were silks and brocades interwoven with red
gold and white silver upon various colours, and the owners were dead, lying
upon skins, and appearing almost as though they would speak. Leaving these,
they went on to the market of jewels and pearls and jacinths; and they left
it, and passed on to the market of the money-changers, whom they found dead,
with varieties of silks beneath them, and their shops were filled with gold
and silver. These they left, and they proceeded to the market of the
perfumers; and, lo, their shops were filled with varieties of perfumes, and
bags of musk, and ambergris, and aloEs-wood, and nedd, and camphor, and
other things; and the owners were all dead, not having with them any food. And
when they went forth from the market of the perfumers, they found near unto it
a palace, decorated, and strongly constructed; and they entered it, and found
banners unfurled, and drawn swords, and strung bows, and shields hung up by
chains of gold and silver, and helmets gilded with red gold. And in the
passages of that palace were benches of ivory, ornamented with plates of
brilliant gold, and with silk, on which were men whose skins had dried upon
the bones: the ignorant would imagine them to be sleeping; but, from the want
of food, they had died, and tasted mortality. Upon this, the Emir Musa paused,
extolling the perfection of God (whose name be exalted!), and his holiness,
and contemplating the beauty of that palace, and its strong construction, and
its wonderful fabrication in the most beautiful form and with the firmest
architecture; and most of its decoration was an ultramarine. Around it were
inscribed these verses: -
Consider what thou beholdest, O man; and be on thy guard before thou
departest;
And prepare good provision, that thou mayest enjoy it; for every dweller in a
house shall depart.
Consider a people who decorated their abodes, and in the dust have become
pledged for their actions.
They built; but their buildings availed not: and treasured; but their wealth
did not save them when the term had expired.
How often they hoped for what was not decreed them! But they passed to the
graves, and hope did not profit them;
And from their high and glorious state they were removed to the narrowness of
the sepulchre. Evil is their abode!
Then there came to them a crier, after they were buried, saying, Where are the
thrones and the crowns and the apparel?
Where are the faces which were veiled and curtained, and on which, for their
beauty, proverbs were composed? -
And the grave plainly answered the inquirer for them, As to the cheeks, the
rose is gone from them.
Long time they ate and drank; but now, after pleasant eating, they themselves
have been eaten.
And the Emir Musa wept until he became senseless; and afterwards, having
given orders to write these verses, he went on into the interior of the
palace. There he beheld a great hall, and four large and lofty chambers, each
one fronting another, wide, decorated with gold and silver and with various
colours. In the midst of the hall was a great fountain of alabaster, over
which was a canopy of brocade; and in those chambers were places [one in each
chamber] containing decorated fountains, and tanks lined with marble; and
channels of water flowed along the floors of those chambers, the four streams
meeting together in a great tank lined with marbles of various colours. - The
Emir Musa then said to the sheykh `Abd-Es-Samad, Enter these chambers with
us. So they entered the first chamber; and they found it filled with gold and
with white silver, and pearls and jewels, and jacinths and precious minerals.
They found in it also chests full of red and yellow and white brocades. And
they went thence to the second chamber, and opened a closet in it, and, lo, it
was filled with arms and weapons of war, consisting of gilded helmets, and
Davidean coats of mail, and Indian swords, and lances of Khatt Hejer, and
maces of Khuwarezm, and other instruments of war and battle. Then they passed
thence to the third chamber, in which they found closets having upon their
doors closed locks, and over them were curtains worked with various kinds of
embroidery. They opened one of these closets, and found it filled with weapons
decorated with varieties of gold and silver and jewels. And they went thence
to the fourth chamber, where also they found closets, one of which they
opened, and they found it full of utensils for food and drink, consisting of
various vessels of gold and silver, and saucers of crystal, and cups set with
brilliant pearls, and cups of carnelian, and other things. So they began to
take what suited them of those things, and each of the soldiers carried off
what he could. And when they determined to go forth from those chambers, they
saw there a door of saj inlaid with ivory and ebony, and adorned with plates
of brilliant gold, in the midst of that palace. Over it was hung a curtain of
silk worked with various kinds of embroidery, and upon it were locks of white
silver, to be opened by artifice, without a key. The sheykh `Abd-Es-Samad
therefore advanced to those locks, and he opened them by his knowledge and
boldness and excellent skill. And the party entered a passage paved with
marble, upon the sides of which were curtains whereon were figured various
wild beasts and birds, all these being worked with red gold and white silver,
and their eyes were of pearls and jacinths: whosoever beheld them was
confounded. Next they came to a saloon, on beholding which the Emir Musa and
the sheykh "Abd-Es-Samad were amazed at its construction.
They then passed on, and found a saloon constructed of polished marble
adorned with jewels. The beholder imagined that upon its floor was running
water, and if any one walked upon it he would slip. The Emir Musa therefore
ordered the sheykh `Abd-Es-Samad to throw upon it something that they
might be enabled to walk on it; and he did this, and contrived so that they
passed on. And they found in it a great dome constructed of stones gilded with
red gold. The party had not beheld, in all that they had seen, any thing more
beautiful than it. And in the midst of that dome was a great dome-crowned
structure of alabaster, around which were lattice-windows, decorated, and
adorned with oblong emeralds, such as none of the Kings could procure. In it
was a pavilion of brocade, raised upon columns of red gold, and within this
were birds, the feet of which were of emeralds; beneath each bird was a net of
brilliant pearls, spread over a fountain; and by the brink of the fountain was
placed a couch adorned with pearls and jewels and jacinths, whereon was a
damsel resembling the shining sun. Eyes had not beheld one more beautiful.
Upon her was a garment of brilliant pearls, on her head was a crown of red
gold, with a fillet of jewels, on her neck was a necklace of jewels in the
middle of which were refulgent gems, and upon her forehead were two jewels the
light of which was like that of the sun; and she seemed as though she were
looking at the people, and observing them to the right and left. When the Emir
Musa beheld this damsel, he wondered extremely at her loveliness, and was
confounded by her beauty and the redness of her cheeks and the blackness of
her hair. Any beholder would imagine that she was alive, and not dead. And
they said to her, Peace be on thee, O damsel! But Talib the son of Sahl said
to the Emir, May God amend thy state. Know that this damsel is dead. There is
no life in her. How then can she return the salutation? - And he added, O
Emir, she is skillfully embalmed; and her eyes have been taken out after her
death, and quicksilver hath been put beneath them, after which they have been
restored to their places; so they gleam; and whenever the air putteth them in
motion, the beholder imagineth that she twinkleth her eyes, though she is
dead. - Upon this the Emir Musa said, Extolled be the perfection of God, who
hath subdued his servants by death! - And as to the couch upon which was the
damsel, it had steps, and upon the steps were two slaves, one of them white
and the other black; and in the hand of one of them was a weapon of steel, and
in the hand of the other a jewelled sword that blinded the eyes; and before
the two slaves was a tablet of gold, whereon was read an inscription, which
was this: -
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