INTRODUCTION.

This remarkable and fascinating romance, in its English version, was originally published under the auspices of the Oriental Translation Fund sixty-five years ago. Issued in the form of a costly folio, it was buried in great libraries, and scarcely found its way at all to the general public. The publishers of the present edition, becoming acquainted with the rare merits and the intense interest of the work, have resolved to bring it, in a more available shape, to the attention of the large class of refined readers who cannot fail to be both delighted and edified by it.

The preface by the accomplished translator of the work from the Persian dealt much with philological matters which are of no interest save to critical students or linguists. Omitting these portions, re-arranging and condensing the rest, and adding some new matter, the present editor seeks here simply to furnish such an introduction as will enable those who approach the work to occupy the right point of view for an appreciative perusal of it. He has inserted in the text itself, in order not to encumber the pages with footnotes, such changes or explanatory phrases as will remove any obscurities which might perplex the reader.

The story consists of seven connected tales, of the same general character with those of the Arabian Nights Entertainments. In exciting interest, in ethical charm, in imaginative richness of startling adventures, it is not one whit inferior to the very best of those world-renowned masterpieces. It is a magnificent specimen of that ideal freedom of genius which creates its own world, peoples it with its own productions and events, and sympathizes, in vivid interior reproduction, with the romantic experiences of its characters and their destinies. Herein it is a valuable education of the reader in dramatic liberty of mind, fertility of fancy, quickness and strength of emotional action and reaction.

The whole production is also marked by an eminently humane and heroic spirit. The illustrious personage who figures as its hero, and whose thrilling adventures it records, was in his time regarded as an unequalled pattern of bravery, wisdom, and generosity. Hatim ben Ubaid ben Sa’id, chief of the tribe of Taï, lived in the latter half of the sixth century of the Christian era. His native country was Arabia felix, otherwise named Yemen. As the country was then divided into numerous tribes, it is probable that his sway extended only over a few thousand warriors who bore his family name of Taï and owned his chieftaincy. At all events he had in the highest degree all the virtues then most admired. An Arabian author of the twelfth century says of him: “Hatim was brave, liberal, wise, victorious. When he fought, he conquered; when he plundered, he carried off; when he was asked, he gave; when he shot his arrow, he hit the mark; and whomsoever he captured, he liberated.”

It is related of him that when he went a-hunting he never wounded the creatures he pursued with an arrow or any other deadly weapon, but used to catch them in nets and again set them at liberty. He never, it is said, uttered abusive language, but always spoke mildly. He possessed beauty so extreme that all men and women admired him and coveted his companionship. When any one approached him with a complaint and laid hold of the bridle of his horse, he would address the suppliant in consoling terms, examine into his grievances and afford him protection; for tyranny or wrong he countenanced not.

Naturally the chief who drew such encomiums became the favorite theme of poetry and romance. Throughout the East the name of Hatim Taï is synonymous with heroism and liberality. The highest compliment that can be paid to a generous man is to call him the Hatim of the day. Among the many allusions to him by Arabic and Persian authors, the two following anecdotes may here suffice:

The Greek emperor contemporary with Hatim once sent an embassador to Yemen to ask of the chief the gift of a favorite horse. The magnanimous Arab had received no intimation either of the embassy or of its object, and therefore was quite unprepared for the reception of the embassador when he arrived. In order to provide a suitable entertainment for his distinguished guest and his attendants he had no other resource than to order his favorite horse to be killed and roasted for the occasion. This was done. After the feast the embassador stated the wish of his royal master. Hatim replied: “It is too late. The horse has been slain for our repast. When you came I knew not the object of your journey, and had no other food to offer you.” The second anecdote is still more astonishing. It is indeed quite on a par with the transcendental idealism of the goodness of Buddha, who is said actually to have given himself as a meal for a famished tigress. One day Hatim went to the desert, and there suddenly came upon a lion. He said in his heart: “It will be inhuman for me to

attack this lion with my weapon; yet if I smite him not he will devour me. Perhaps by the divine favor I may soothe his heart.” In mild tones he said to the lion[1]: “Creature of God, if thou art hungry for my flesh, it is at thy service; devour me and be not sad-hearted.” At these words the lion lowered his head and fell at the feet of Hatim and began to wipe his eyes against them. Hatim said: “Creature of God, far be it from me that thou shouldst depart hungry. Of my own free will I give myself up, and if thou eatest me not it will distress me.” The lion thereupon laid his face in the dust and then departed to his haunt. The story, in its child-like naïveté and sweetness, is closely akin to some of the legends of Saint Francis of Assisi.

In the Kozal-ul-Sufa is the following brief notice of the death of Hatim. “In the eighth year after the birth of the Prophet, died Noushirwan the Just and Hatim Taï the Generous, both famous for their virtues.” In the same work it is further stated that toward the close of the life of Mohammed the host of the Faithful, in propagating the religion of the prophet, ravaged and laid waste the territory of the tribe of Taï. Adi, the son of Hatim, fled to Syria; but his sister and such of his people as were spared were brought as prisoners to Medina. The prophet gave them their choice of embracing the faith or of having their heads cut off. Then the daughter of Hatim stood forth and pleaded the cause of her tribe. On hearing the revered name of Hatim, Mohammed issued a free pardon to the whole tribe of Taï.

According to D’Herbelot, the tomb of Hatim is to be seen at Aovaredh, a small village in Arabia. The spot consecrated by his dust is still visited with the reverence due to the memory of the generous and devoted.

If he who now writes these words in commendation of the fascinating romance herewith presented to the public can judge from his own experience to infer that of others, no fit reader of the Adventures of Hatim Taï will ever forget the pleasure the perusal of them gave him or lose from his soul the inspiring impulse imparted by the transcendent tenderness, docility, heroism, magnanimity, purity and piety that breathe through the moral teachings incarnated in them.

To the thoughtful scholar the highest interest of the whole work lies in the fact that it is an embodiment of the Mohammedan ideal of human excellence. Hatim walks before us as the impersonated model of what man should be according to the standard of Islam. In that ideal the four chief virtues are faith, veracity, kindness and blind submission to the decrees of fate. The Christian ideal puts in place of blind submission to the will of God as fate, an intelligent and loving coöperation of the will of the creature with the will of the Creator as rational freedom. The Islamite hero, in shooting at the mark on which his life depends, confides all to Allah and shuts his eyes as he shoots. The Christian pattern under such circumstances would equally trust in God, but also take careful aim. For he hears God say: “I will guide thee with mine eye, seeing with thine!”

BOOK I.

Containing the history of Husn Bānū, the daughter of Burzakh the merchant—Her expulsion from the King of Khorasan’s capital, and her removal from her country—Her finding in the desert the treasures of seven kings, and her beneficence towards mankind—Her becoming celebrated in the world, and her being beloved by Munir, the Assyrian prince—Hatim hears of the circumstance—His visit to Husn Bānū on account of her seven remarkable sayings, of which he undertakes an explanation.

In the kingdom of Khorasan there lived a monarch named Kurdan Shah, who supported in his train five hundred thousand horsemen and ten thousand couriers, also musketeers and archers. Each of his nobles he entrusted with the care of a province; his justice and equity were such that he made the lion and the lamb drink water from the same fountain; and he never oppressed his subjects. In his reign there lived a merchant, named Burzakh, who possessed much wealth and dignity, and whose agents travelled in all directions in pursuit of commerce. He himself was on intimate terms with the king, and the monarch’s regard for him was extreme. After some time, when his hour arrived, he died, and left no heir except an only daughter, Husn Banu, on whom was settled the whole of her father’s wealth. At this period Husn Banu was twelve years old, and Burzakh on his death-bed left his daughter to the king’s care, who with great kindness said, “She is my own daughter”; and he accordingly made over to Husn Banu all the wealth left by her father.

Shortly after, the daughter, who was possessed of wisdom, and looked on worldly wealth as sand, began to bestow her treasures in charity, and she used to remark, “that we ought not to entangle ourselves amidst the contaminations of the world.” Having sent for her nurse, she consulted her, saying, “My dear mother, it is not my intention to marry; pray tell me by what means I can keep myself secure from the hands of worldly men.” The nurse replied, “I have seven propositions which you shall put to every man who desires to become your husband; whosoever shall answer them properly, and shall agree to the terms which they embrace, him you shall accept. The seven propositions are the following:

“1st. What I saw once, I long for a second time.

“2d. Do good, and cast it upon the waters.[1]

“3d. Do no evil; if you do, such shall you meet with.

“4th. He who speaks the truth is always tranquil.

“5th. Let him bring an account of the mountain of Nida.

“6th. Let him produce a pearl of the size of a duck’s egg.

“7th. Let him bring an account of the bath of Badgard.”

Husn Banu highly approved of these propositions; and one day shortly after, when seated in her balcony, and viewing the surrounding prospect, a dervise attended by forty slaves passed by, and his feet touched not the earth. When Husn Banu saw the pious man, she said to her nurse, “Oh, mother, who is this high personage that travels so magnificently, and whose foot treads not the ground, except it be paved with bricks of gold and silver?” The nurse replied, “Life of thy mother, this dervise is the king’s spiritual guide, and Kurdan Shah every month goes and waits upon this holy man, submits himself to him, and acts according to his advice; in short, he is devout and in communion with the Creator.” Husn Banu said, “My dear nurse, I have a desire to invite him to this house to an entertainment, and shew him every mark of respect”; to which proposal the nurse gave her approbation. She then called one of her attendants, and said to him, “Go to the presence of that illustrious man, and convey to his eminence my desire, stating that a certain lady invites his holiness

to an entertainment; if out of condescension becoming the great, and benevolence becoming the pious, he should deign to visit the said humble lady, she will be most happy on the occasion.” When the attendant of Husn Banu waited on the dervise, and stated to him her representation, the pious man consented, and said, “To-morrow I will assuredly come.” The servant brought the intelligence to Husn Banu that the dervise would come next day, at which she was highly delighted, and gave orders to prepare all sorts of viands for the pious man. She also prepared for an offering to him nine suits of silken garments embroidered with gold, and seven trays of pure brilliant gold, along with several baskets full of fruit.

On the following morning the dervise with his forty attendants proceeded to the house of Husn Banu. Now although this dervise was a man in appearance, he possessed the nature of Shaïtan the fiend, and when going on his way he would not deign to tread the earth: for his slaves paved his path with bricks of gold and silver, and on these alone he placed his feet and walked; and in this mode of marching he came to Husn Banu’s house. When the latter was informed that the dervise was arrived, she ordered them to cover the space extending from the outer gate to the interior of the house with carpets embroidered with gold and silver, on which the pious man might walk. After the dervise stepped upon the carpet, he entered the house, and was seated on a throne befitting a king.

Husn Banu in the first place brought for the acceptance of the dervise the trays full of gold and silver, which he accepted not, saying, “These sculptured pieces of worldly dross are of no service to me.” When they saw that the dervise would not accept the money, they then brought him the baskets filled with sweet fruits, and laid them on the table. All the trays and other dishes, and also the dish-covers, were of gold and silver, as were likewise the ewers and goglets; and the whole display was princely. The couches and screens were richly embroidered with gold, and they placed before the dervise food of every kind and variety, and sweetmeats of every description; and they waited upon him for washing his hands, with ewers and goglets of gold. The arrangements of the table being finished the dervise began to eat; but ever and anon his eye wandered to the gold and the various utensils, and he said in his heart: “Gracious heaven! what a wealthy man Burzakh the merchant must have been, who possessed in his house

treasures and stores to such an extent that it seems almost the wealth of a crowned head!” He at the same time considered in his heart, “This very night we must come into the house of Burzakh’s daughter and seize this treasure and furniture—we must have recourse to theft.” When the dervise had finished eating, they presented him with perfumes; but he all along had his eyes on the various movables.

After some time, as evening approached, the dervise took leave of Husn Banu. Her waiting men and other servants who had been in attendance on the dervise went to sleep. When about a watch of the night had passed, the dervise with his forty satellites, who were complete thieves, entered the house of Husn Banu, and having killed such of her people as attempted to give the alarm, securely carried off the whole property. Husn Banu with her nurse having ensconced themselves in the lattice, were observing the thieves, and knew them. After the latter had gone and the morning advanced, Husn Banu having taken with her a few of her domestics who had survived from the hands of that treacherous villain, came to the king’s court, and represented her grievance. The king asked, “Who is this, and against whom does she demand justice?” The attendants replied, “Sire, this is the daughter of Burzakh the merchant; she says, if it please the king, she will come to his presence and represent her own case.” The king summoned Husn Banu to his presence; she stated, “Long live the king! Yesterday,

as a sacred duty, I gave an entertainment to a dervise, and bestowed on him my food; and this last night he has committed murder in my house. He with his forty attendants privately entered my dwelling and carried off the whole amount of my money and property, and my people lie slain and wounded; thus has the dark-minded dervise acted towards me.” The king on hearing this accusation was enraged and said: “Foolish woman, bringest thou accusations against the most eminent of the age? he covets nothing earthly.” Husn Banu replied, “Oh, upright prince! he deserves not to be called the eminent but rather the fiend of the age.” At this reply the king grew furious, and ordered that both herself and her attendants should be stoned to death, in order that others might take warning, and not utter such calumnies respecting his Majesty’s confessor and counsellor. Here the prime minister stood up and said, “Sire, this is the daughter of Burzakh the merchant, and you have been pleased already to shew her kindness; but

now when her father is no more, if you cause the daughter to be thus put to death, then will perish from the hearts of your subjects all confidence in the king’s protection towards their surviving children; and instead thereof, they will be filled with distrust: for this reason, Sire, I have deemed it proper to warn you.” To this the king replied, “Well, for the sake of Burzakh, we shall spare her life; but you shall expel her from the city and confiscate her house; this instant she must be sent without the gates.” The people executed the order, and Husn Banu and her nurse turned their faces to the desert with weeping and lamentation; and the attendants of the hapless lady, reduced to ruin, wandered through the streets of the city. Husn Banu frequently said, “Oh, mother! this dervise has been a grievous curse to us; and yet, oh, God! what crime have we committed that we should be involved in such calamities?” The nurse endeavored to console her, saying, “My child, no remedy can be applied against the revolutions of fortune.”

In a few days they reached the desert, where, underneath a shady tree, exhausted with hunger and thirst, they fell asleep. To Husn Banu a man appeared in a dream, saying, “Be not sorrowful, underneath this tree is buried the treasure of the seven regions, which wealth the king of truth has here kept hidden for thy sake: arise and take possession thereof.” She said, “I am a woman and alone, how can I bring it out of the earth?” To this the man replied, “Do thou dig a little with a spade; let the means be applied by thee, and God will grant success. Moreover, no one is able forcibly to deprive thee of this wealth: arise then and build a city on this spot.”

The lady and her nurse accordingly got up, and with a piece of wood began to dig the earth, when instantly a pit full of yellow gold presented itself. It seemed like seven houses filled with pure gold, and also chests full of jewels of every description. There were likewise four cups full of rubies and costly pearls of the size of ducks’-eggs. Husn Banu rejoiced, and in conformity with the true faith, she stooped to the ground and rendered thousands of thanks to God the Most High. She then handed some of the gold to her nurse, and said, “Mother, do you return to the city and procure us people, and bring us some food to eat and raiment to put on, and at the same time look out for laborers and architects, for on this spot I will build a solid edifice.” The nurse objected, saying, “How can I leave you here alone until some one else arrive?” Whilst they were in this conversation, who should pass by but the foster-brother of Husn Banu, dressed in a mendicant’s habit. He recognized them and fell at the feet of Husn Banu, who weeping from joy lifted him up to her side, and