THE BURNING OF THE IDENTICAL
Now, the Great Hall for the dispensing of justice in the palace of theKing was one on which the architect and the artificers had lavished alltheir arts and subtleties of design and taste and their conceptions ofuniformity and grandeur, so that none entered it without a sense ofabasement, and the soul acknowledged awfulness and power in him thatruled and sat eminent on the throne of that Hall. For, lo! the throne wasof solid weighty gold, overhung with rich silks and purples; and the hallwas lofty, with massive pillars, fifty on either side, ranging instateliness down toward the blaze of the throne; and the pillars werepillars of porphyry and of jasper and precious marble, carven over all ofthem with sentences of the cunningest wisdom, distichs of excellence,odes of the poet, stanzas sharp with the incisiveness of wit, and thatsolve knotty points with but one stroke; and these pillars were each thegift of a mighty potentate of earth or of a Genie.
In the centre of the Hall a fountain set up a glittering jet, and spreadabroad the breath of freshness, leaping a height of sixty feet, andshimmering there in a wide bright canopy with dropping silver sides. Itwas rumoured of the waters of this fountain that they were fedunderground from the waters of the Sacred River, brought there in thereign of El Rasoon, a former sovereign in the City of Shagpat, by thelabours of Zak,--a Genie subject to the magic of Azrooka, the Queen of ElRasoon; but, of a surety, none of earth were like to them in silverinessand sweet coolingness, and they were as wine to the weary.
Now, the King sat on his throne in the Hall, and around him hisministers, and Emirs, and chamberlains, and officers of state, and blackslaves, and the soldiers of his guard armed with naked scimitars. And theKing was as a sun in splendour, severely grave, and a frown on hisforehead to darken kingdoms, for the attempt on Shagpat had stirred hiskingly wrath, and awakened zeal for the punishment of all conspiratorsand offenders. So when Shagpat was borne in to the King upon his throneof cushions where he sat upright, smiling and inanimate, the Kingcommanded that he should be placed at his side, the place of honour; andShagpat was as a moon behind the whiteness of the lathers; even as webehold moon and sun together in the heavens, was Shagpat by the King.
There was great hubbub in the Hall at the entrance of Shagpat, and a humof rage and muttered vehemence passed among the assembled people thatfilled the hall like a cavern of the sea, the sea roaring outside; butpresently the King spake, and all hushed. Then said he, 'O people!thought I to see a day that would shame Shagpat? he that has broughthonour and renown upon me and all of this city, so that we shine aconstellation and place of pilgrimage to men in remote islands andcorners of the earth? Yea! and to Afrites and Genii? Have I notcastigated barbers, and brought barbercraft to degradation, so that noyouth is taught to exercise it? And through me the tackle of the barber,is't not a rusty and abominated weapon, and as a sword thrown by andbroken, for that it dishonoured us? Surely, too, I have esteemed Shagpatprecious.'
While he spake, the King gazed on Shagpat, and was checked by passion atbeholding him under the lather, so that the people praised Shagpat andthe King. Then said he, 'O people, who shall forecast disasters andtriumphs? Lo, I had this day at dawn intelligence from recreant Oolb, andits King and Court, and of their return to do honour to Shagpat! And Ihad this day at dawn tidings, O people, from Shiraz, and of the adhesionof that vain city and its provinces to the might of Shagpat! So commencedthe day, yet is he, the object of the world's homage, within a few hoursdefiled by a lather and the hand of an impious one!'
At these words of the King there rose a shout of vindictiveness and fury;but he cried, 'Punishment on the offenders in season, O people! Probablywe have not abased ourselves for the honour that has befallen us inShagpat, and the distinction among nations and tribes and races, andcreeds and sects, that we enjoy because of Shagpat. Behold! in abasementvoluntarily undertaken there is exceeding brightness and exaltation; forhow is the sun a sun save that daily he dippeth in darkness, to riseagain freshly majestic? So then, be mine the example, O people of theCity of Shagpat!'
Thereupon lo, the King descended from his throne, and stripped to theloins, flinging away his glittering crown and his robes, and abasedhimself to the dust with loud cries and importunities and howls, andpenitential ejaculations and sobbings; and it was in that Hall as whenthe sun goeth down in storm. Likewise the ministers of the King, and theViziers and Emirs and officers of state, and slaves, and soldiers of theguard, bared their limbs, and fell beside the King with violent outcriesand wailings; and the whole of the people in the Hall prostrated theirbodies with wailings and lamentations. And Baba Mustapha feigned tobewail himself, and Noorna bin Noorka knelt beside Kadza, and shriekedloudest, striking her breast and scattering her hair; and that Hall wasas a pit full of serpents writhing, and of tigers and lions and wildbeasts howling, each pitching his howl a note above his neighbours, sothat the tone rose and sank, and there was no one soul erect in that Hallsave Shagpat, he on his throne of cushions smiling behind the lathers,inanimate, serene as they that sin not. After an hour's lapse there camea pause, and the people hearkened for the voice of the King; but in theintervals a louder moan would strike their ears, and they whispered amongthemselves, ''Tis that of the fakir, El Zoop!' and the moaning and howlingprevailed again. And again they heard another moan, a deep one, as of theearth in its throes, and said among themselves, ''Tis that of Bootlbac,the drumbeater!' and this led off to the howl of Areep, the dervish; andthis was followed by the shriek of Zeel, the garlic-seller; and the waulof Krooz el Krazawik, the carrier; and the complainings of Dob, theconfectioner; and the groan of Sallap, the broker; and the yell ofAzawool, the builder. There would have been no end to it known; but theKing rose and commenced plucking his beard and his hair,--they likewisein silence. When he had performed this ceremony a space, the King called,and a basin of water was brought to him, and handed round by slaves, andall dipped in it their hands, and renewed their countenances andre-arranged their limbs; and the Hall brightened with the eye of theKing, and he cried, 'O people, lo, the plot is revealed to me, and 'tis adeep one; but, by this beard, we'll strike at the root of it, and a blowof deadliness. Surely we have humiliated ourselves, and vengeance isours! How say ye?'
A noise like the first sullen growl of a vexed wild beast which telleththat fury is fast travelling and the teeth will flash, followed thesewords; and the King called to his soldiers of the guard, 'Ho! forth withthis wretch that dared defile Shagpat, the holy one! and on your heads beit to fetch hither Feshnavat, the son of Feil, that was my Vizier, hethat was envious of Shagpat, and whom we spared in our clemency.'
Some of the guard went from the Hall to fulfil the King's injunction onFeshnavat, others thrust forth Baba Mustapha in the eyes of the King.Baba Mustapha was quaking as a frog quaketh for water, and he trembledand was a tongueless creature deserted of his lower limbs, and witheyeballs goggling, through exceeding terror. Now, when the King saw him,he contracted his brows as one that peereth on a small and minute object,crying, 'How! is't such as he, this monster of audaciousness and horriblepresumption? Truly 'tis said:
"For ruin and the deeds preluding change, Fear not great Beasts, nor Eagles when they range: But dread the crawling worm or pismire mean, Satan selects them, for they are unseen."
And this wretch is even of that sort, the select of Satan! Off with thetop of the reptile, and away with him!'
Now, at the issue of the mandate Baba Mustapha choked, and horror blockedthe throat of confession in him, so that he did nought save staggerimploringly; but the prompting of Noorna sent Kadza to the foot of thethrone, and Kadza bent her body and exclaimed, 'O King of the age! 'tisKadza, the espoused of Shagpat thy servant, that speaketh; and lo! a wisewoman has said in my ear, "How if this emissary and instrument of theEvil One, this barber, this filthy fellow, be made to essay on Shagpatbefore the people his science and his malice? for 'tis certain thatShagpat is surrounded where he sitteth by Genii invisible, defended bythem, and no harm can hap to him, but an illumination of g
lory andtriumph manifest": and for this barber, his punishment can afterwards belooked to, O great King!'
The King mused awhile and sank in his beard. Then said he to them thathad hold of Baba Mustapha watching for the signal, 'I have thought overit, and the means of bringing double honour on the head of Shagpat. Sorelease this fellow, and put in his hands the tackle taken from him.'
This was done, and the people applauded the wisdom of the King, andcrowded forward with sharpness of expectation; but Baba Mustapha, when hefelt in his hands the tackle, the familiar instruments, strength and witreturned to him in petty measures, and he thought, 'Perchance there'llyet be time for my nephew to strike, if he fail me not; fool that I wasto look for glory, and not leave the work to him, for this Shagpat is amighty one, powerful in fleas, and it needeth something other than tackleto combat such as he. A mighty one, said I? by Allah, he's awful in hismightiness!'
So Baba Mustapha kept delaying, and feigned to sharpen the blade, and theKing called to him, 'Haste! to the work! is it for thee, vile wretch, tomake preparation for the accursed thing in our presence?' And the peoplemurmured and waxed impatient, and the King called again, 'Thou'lt essaythis, thou wretch, without a head, let but another minute pass.' So whenBaba Mustapha could delay no longer, he sighed heavily and his tremblingreturned, and the power of Shagpat smote him with an invisible hand, sothat he could scarce move; but dread pricked him against dread, and headvanced upon Shagpat to shear him, and assumed the briskness of thebarber, and was in the act of bending over him to bring the blade intoplay, when, behold, one of the chamberlains of the King stood up in thepresence and spake a word that troubled him, and the King rose andhurried to a balcony looking forth on the Desert, and on three sides ofthe Desert three separate clouds of dust were visible, and from theseclouds presently emerged horsemen with spears and pennons and plumes; andhe could discern the flashing of their helms and the glistening ofsteel-plates and armour of gold and silver. Seeing this, the colour wentfrom the cheeks of the King and his face became as a pinched pomegranate,and he cried aloud, 'What visitation's this? Awahy! we are beset, andhere's abasement brought on us without self-abasing!' Meantime thesehorsemen detached themselves from the main bodies and advanced at agallop, wheeling and circling round each other, toward the walls of thecity, and when they were close they lowered their arms and made signs ofamity, and proclaimed their mission and the name of him they served. Sotidings were brought to the King that the Lords of three cities, withvast retinues, were come, by reason of a warning, to pay homage toShagpat, the son of Shimpoor; and these three cities were the cities ofOolb, and of Gaf, and of Shiraz, even these!
Now, when the King heard of it, he rejoiced with an exceeding joy, andarrayed himself in glory, and mounted a charger, the pride of hisstables, and rode out to meet the Lords of the three cities surrounded bythe horsemen of his guard. And it was within half-a-mile of the citywalls that the four sovereigns met, and dismounted and saluted andembraced, and bestowed on one another kingly flatteries, and the titlesof Cousin and Brother. So when the unctions of Royalty were over, thesethree Kings rode back to the city with the King that was their host, andthe horsemen of the three kingdoms pitched their tents and camped outsidethe walls, making cheer. Then the King of the City of Shagpat related tothe three Kings the story of Shagpat and the attempt that had been madeon him; and in the great Hall of Justice he ordained the erecting ofthrones for them whereon to sit; and they, when they had paid homage toShagpat, sat by him there on either side. Then the King cried, 'Thislikewise owe we to Shagpat, our glory! See, now, how the might that's inhim shall defeat the machinations of evil, O my cousins of Oolb, and ofGaf, and of Shiraz.' Thereupon he called, 'Bring forth the barber!'
So Baba Mustapha was thrust forth by the soldiers of the guard; and theKing of Shiraz, who was no other than the great King Shahpushan,exclaimed, when he beheld Baba Mustapha, 'He? why, it is the prince ofbarbers and talkative ones! Hath he not operated on my head, the head ofme in old time? Truly now, if it be in man to shave Shagpat, the hand ofthis barber will do it!'
And the King of Oolb peered on Baba Mustapha, crying, 'Even this fellow Ibastinadoed!'
And the King of Gaf, that was Kresnuk, famous in the annals of the time,said aloud, 'I'm amazed at the pertinacity of this barber! To my court hecame, searching some silly nephew, and would have shaved us all in spiteof our noses; yea, talked my chief Vizier into a dead sleep, and sothinned him. And there was no safety from him save in thongs and stripesand lashes!'
Now, upon that the King of the City cried, 'Be the will of Allahachieved, and the inviolacy of Shagpat made manifest! Thou barber, thou!do thy worst to contaminate him, and take the punishment in store forthee. And if it is written thou succeed, then keep thy filthy life: smallchance of that!'
Baba Mustapha remembered the poet's words:
The abyss is worth a leap, however wide, When life, sweet life, is on the other side.
And he controlled himself to the mastery of his members, and steppedforward to essay once more the Shaving of Shagpat. Lo, the great Hall wasbreathless, nought heard save the splashing of the fountain in its fall,and the rustle of the robe of Baba Mustapha as he aired his right arm,hovering round Shagpat like a bird about the nest; and he was buzzing asa bee ere it entereth the flower, and quivered like a butterfly when 'tisfluttering over a blossom; and Baba Mustapha sniffed at Shagpat withinarm's reach, fearing him, so that the people began to hum with a greatrapture, and the King Shahpushan cried, 'Aha! mark him! this monkeyknoweth the fire!'
But the King of the City of Shagpat was wroth, and commanded his guardsto flourish their scimitars, and the keen light cut the chords ofindecision in Baba Mustapha, and drove him upon Shagpat with a dash ofdesperation; and lo! he stretched his hand and brought down the bladeupon the head of Shagpat. Then was the might of Shagpat made manifest,for suddenly in his head the Identical rose up straight, even to a levelwith the roof of that hall, burning as it had been an angry flame of manyfiery colours, and Baba Mustapha was hurled from him a great space like aball that reboundeth, and he was twisting after the fashion of envenomedserpents, sprawling and spurning, and uttering cries of horror. Surely,to see that sight the four Kings and the people bit their forefingers,and winked till the water stood in their eyes, and Kadza, turning about,exclaimed, 'This owe we to the wise woman! where lurketh she?' So shecalled about the hall, 'wise woman! wise woman!'
Now, when she could find Noorna bin Noorka nowhere in that crowd, sheshrieked exultingly, ''Twas a Genie! Wullahy! all Afrites, male andfemale, are in the service of Shagpat, my light, my eyes, my sun! I hismoon!'
Meantime the King of the City called to Baba Mustapha, 'Hast thou hadenough of barbering, O vile one? Ho! a second essay on the head ofShagpat! so shall the might that's in him be indisputable, bruitedabroad, and a great load upon the four winds.'
Now, Baba Mustapha was persuaded by the scimitars of the guard to asecond essay on the head of Shagpat, and the second time he was shot awayfrom Shagpat through the crowd and great assemblage to the extreme end ofthe hall, where he lay writhing about, abandoned in loathliness; and hein his despondency, and despite of protestation and the slackness of hislimbs, was pricked again by the scimitars of the guard to a third essayon the head of Shagpat, the people jeering at him, for they were joyous,light of heart; and lo! the third time he was shot off violently, andwhirled away like a stone from a sling, even into the outer air andbeyond the city walls, into the distance of waste places. And now a greatcry rose from the people, as it were a song of triumph, for the Identicalstood up wrathfully from the head of Shagpat, burning in brilliance,blinding to look on, he sitting inanimate beneath it; and it waxed insize and pierced through the roof of the hall, and was a sight to thestreets of the city; and the horsemen camped without the walls beheld it,and marvelled, and it was as a pillar of fire to the solitudes of theDesert afar, and the wild Arab and wandering Bedouins and caravans ofpilgrimage. Distant cities asked the reason of that appearance, and thecu
nning fakir interpreted it, and the fervent dervish expounded from it,and messengers flew from gate to gate and from land to land inexultation, and barbers hid their heads, and were friendly with the foxin his earth, because of that light. So the Identical burned on the headof Shagpat as in wrath, and with exceeding splendour of attraction, threenights and three days; and the fishes of the sea shoaled to the sea'ssurface and stared at it, and the fowls of the air congregated about thefury of the light with screams and mad flutters, till the streets andmosques and minarets and bright domes and roofs and cupolas of the Cityof Shagpat were blackened with scorched feathers of the vulture and theeagle and the rook and the raven and the hawk, and other birds, sacredand obscene; so was the triumph of Shagpat made manifest to men and theend of the world by the burning of the Identical three days and threenights.