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Nourjahad
awoke in agonies: "Oh heaven," cried
he aloud, "that I could now inherit
the secret wish I was fool enough to disclose
to thee, how little should I regard thy threats!" "And
thou shalt, Oh Nourjahad," replied a
voice, "possess the utmost wishes of
thy soul!" Nourjahad started up in his
bed, and rubbed his eyes, doubting whether
he was really awake, or whether it was not
his troubled imagination which cheated him
with this delusive promise; when behold!
to his unutterable astonishment, he saw a
refulgent light in his chamber, and at his
bed's side stood a youth of more than
mortal beauty. The lustre of his white robes
dazzled his eyes; his long and shining hair
was incircled with a wreath of flowers that
breathed the odours of paradise.
Nourjahad gazed at him, but had not power
to open his mouth. "Be not afraid," said
the divine youth, with a voice of ineffable
sweetness; "I am thy guardian genius,
who have carefully watched over thee from
thy infancy, though never till this hour
have I been permitted to make myself visible
to thee. I was present at thy conversation
in the garden with Schemzeddin, I was a witness
to thy unguarded declaration, but found thee
afterwards awed by his frowns to retract
what thou hadst said: I saw too the rigour
of the sultan's looks as he departed
from thee, and know that they proceeded from
his doubting thy truth. I, though an immortal
spirit, am not omniscient; to God only are
the secrets of the heart revealed; speak
boldly then, thou highly favoured of our
prophet, and know that I have power from
Mahomet to grant thy request, be it what
it will. Wouldst thou be restored to the
favour and confidence of thy master, and
receive from his friendship and generosity
the reward of thy long attachment to him,
or dost thou really desire the accomplishment
of that extravagant wish, which thou didst
in the openness of thy heart avow to him
last night?"
Nourjahad, a little recovered from his amazement,
and encouraged by the condescension of his
celestial visitant, bowed his head low in
token of adoration.
"Disguise to thee, Oh son of paradise," replied
he, "were vain and fruitless; if I dissembled
to Schemzeddin it was in order to reinstate
myself in his good opinion, the only means
in my power to secure my future prospects:
from thee I can have no reason to conceal
my thoughts; and since the care of my happiness
is consigned to thee my guardian angel, let
me possess that wish, extravagant as it may
seem, which I first declared."
"Rash mortal," replied the shining
vision, "reflect once more, before you
receive the fatal boon; for once granted,
you will wish perhaps, and wish in vain,
to have it recalled." "What have
I to fear," answered Nourjahad, "possessed
of endless riches and of immortality?" "Your
own passions," said the heavenly youth. "I
will submit to all the evils arising from
them," replied Nourjahad, "give
me but the power of gratifying them in their
full extent." "Take thy wish then," cried
the genius, with a look of discontent. "The
contents of this vial will confer immortality
on thee, and tomorrow's sun shall behold
thee richer than all the kings of the East." Nourjahad
stretched his hands out eagerly to receive
a vessel of gold, enriched with precious
stones, which the angel took from under his
mantle. "Stop," cried the aerial
being, "and hear the condition, with
which thou must accept the wondrous gift
I am now about to bestow. Know then, that
your existence here shall equal the date
of this sublunary globe; yet to enjoy life
all that while, is not in my power to grant." Nourjahad
was going to interrupt the celestial, to
desire him to explain this, when he prevented
him, by proceeding thus: "Your life," said
he, "will be frequently interrupted
by the temporary death of sleep." "Doubtless," replied
Nourjahad, "nature would languish without
that sovereign balm." "Thou misunderstandest
me," cried the genius; "I do not
mean that ordinary repose which nature requires:
The sleep thou must be subject to, at certain
periods, will last for months, years, nay,
for a whole revolution of Saturn at a time,
or perhaps for a century." "Frightful!" cried
Nourjahad, with an emotion that made him
forget the respect which was due to the presence
of his guardian angel. He seemed suspended,
while the radiant youth proceeded; "It
is worth considering, resolve not too hastily." "If
the frame of man," replied Nourjahad, "in
the usual course of things, requires for
the support of that short span of life which
is allotted to him, a constant and regular
portion of sleep, which includes at least
one third of his existence, my life, perhaps,
stretched so much beyond its natural date,
may require a still greater proportion of
rest, to preserve my body in due health and
vigour. If this be the case, I submit to
the conditions; for what is thirty or fifty
years out of eternity?" "Thou art
mistaken," replied the genius; "and
though thy reasoning is not unphilosophical,
yet is it far from reaching the true cause
of these mysterious conditions which are
offered thee; know that these are contingencies
which depend entirely on thyself." "Let
me beseech you," said Nourjahad, "to
explain this." "If thou walkest," said
the genius, "in the paths of virtue,
thy days will be crowned with gladness, and
the even tenor of thy life undisturbed by
any evil; but if, on the contrary, thou pervertest
the good which is in thy power, and settest
thy heart on iniquity, thou wilt thus be
occasionally punished by a total privation
of thy faculties." "If this be
all," cried Nourjahad, "then I
am sure I shall never incur the penalty;
for though I mean to enjoy all the pleasures
that life can bestow, yet am I a stranger
to my own heart, if it ever lead me to the
wilful commission of a crime." The genius
sighed. "Vouchsafe then," proceeded
Nourjahad, "vouchsafe, I conjur you,
most adorable and benign spirit, to fulfil
your promise, and keep me not longer in suspence." Saying
this, he again reached forth his hand for
the golden vessel, which the genius no longer
withheld from him. "Hold thy nostrils
over that vial," said he, "and
let the fumes of the liquor which it contains
ascend to thy brain." Nourjahad opened
the vessel, out of which a vapour issued
of a most exquisite fragrance; it formed
a thick atmosphere about his head, and sent
out such volatile and sharp effluvia, as
made his eyes smart exceedingly, and he was
obliged to shut them whilst he snuffed up
the essence. He remained not long in this
situation, for the subtle spirit quickly
evaporating, the effects instantly ceased,
and he opened his eyes; but the apparition
was vanished, and his apartment in total
darkness. Had not he still found the vial
in his hands, which contained the precious
liquor, he would have looked on all this
as a dream; but so substantial a proof of
the reality of what had happened, leaving
no room for doubts, he returned thanks to
his guardian genius, whom he concluded, though
invisible, to be still within hearing, and
putting the golden vessel under his pillow,
filled as he was with the most delightful
ideas, composed himself to sleep.
The sun was at his meridian height when
he awoke next day; and the vision of the
preceding night immediately recurring to
his memory, he sprung hastily from his bed;
but how great was his surprize, how high
his transports, at seeing the accomplishment
of the genius's promise! His chamber
was surrounded with several large urns of
polished brass, some of which were filled
with gold coin of different value and impressions;
others with ingots of fine gold; and others
with precious stones of prodigious size and
lustre.
Amazed, enraptured at the sight, he greedily
examined his treasures, and looking into
each of the urns one after the other, in
one of them he found a scroll of paper, with
these words written on it.
"I have fulfilled my promise to thee,
Oh Nourjahad. Thy days are without number,
thy riches inexhaustible, yet cannot I exempt
thee from the evils to which all the sons
of Adam are subject. I cannot screen thee
from the machinations of envy, nor the rapaciousness
of power: thy own prudence must henceforth
be thy guard. There is a subterraneous cave
in thy garden where thou mayst conceal thy
treasure: I have marked the place, and thou
wilt easily find it. Farewel, my charge is
at an end."
"And well hast thou acquitted thyself
of this charge, most munificent and benevolent
genius," cried Nourjahad; "ten
thousand thanks to thee for this last friendly
warning; I should be a fool indeed if I had
not sagacity enough to preserve myself against
rapaciousness or envy; I will prevent the
effects of the first, by concealing thee,
my precious treasure, thou source of all
felicity, where no mortal shall discover
thee; and for the other, my bounty shall
disarm it of its sting. Enjoy thyself, Nourjahad,
riot in luxurious delights, and laugh at
Schemzeddin's impotent resentment."
He hastened down into his garden, in order
to find the cave, of which he was not long
in search. In a remote corner, stood the
ruins of a small temple, which in former
days, before the true religion prevailed
in Persia, had been dedicated to the worship
of the Gentiles. The vestiges of this little
building were so curious, that they were
suffered to remain, as an ornament, where
they stood. It was raised on a mount, and
according to the custom of idolaters, surrounded
with shady trees. On a branch of one of these,
Nourjahad perceived hanging a scarf of fine
white taffety, to which was suspended a large
key of burnished steel.
Nourjahad's eager curiosity soon rendered
his diligence successful, in finding the
door, to which this belonged; it was within-side
the walls of the temple, and under what formerly
seemed to have been the altar. He descended
by a few steps into a pretty spacious cavern,
and by groping about, for there was scarce
any light, he judged it large enough to contain
his treasures.
Whether his guardian genius had contrived
it purely for his use, or whether it had
been originally made for some other purpose,
he did not trouble himself to enquire; but
glad to have found so safe a place, in which
to deposite his wealth, he returned to his
house; and having given orders that no visitors
should approach him, he shut himself up in
his chamber for the rest of the day, in order
to contemplate his own happiness, and without
interruption, to lay down plans of various
pleasures and delights for ages to come. * * *