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 I Am
Not Your
Victim

2
 Disclaimer

All names in Beth’s story have been changed with the following exceptions: Beth Sipe, Sam Sipe,
Beth’s parents, William Smith, and Evelyn Hall.

3
 I Am
Not Your
Victim
Anatomy of
Domestic Violence
2e

Beth Sipe ◼ Evelyn J. Hall

4
FOR INFORMATION:

SAGE Publications, Inc.

2455 Teller Road
Thousand Oaks, California
91320 E-mail: [email protected]

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Editorial Assistant: Elizabeth Luizzi
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Copy Editor: Erin Livingston
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Proofreader: Stefanie Storholt
Cover Designer: Anupama Krishnan
Marketing Manager: Shari Countryman
Permissions Editor: Karen Ehrmann

Copyright © 2014 by SAGE Publications, Inc.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means,
electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval
system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

5
Printed in the United States of America

A catalog record of this book is available from the Library of Congress.

ISBN 978-1-4522-3530-1

This book is printed on acid-free paper.

13 14 15 16 17 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

6
 CONTENTS

PROLOGUE

BETH’S STORY

1. A Fine Romance

2. And Baby Makes Four

3. No White Picket Fence

4. Lord and Master of the House

5. Going Home Again

6. And Baby Makes Five

7. Rocky Mountain Lows

8. A House in Glitter Gulch

9. Rolling the Dice

10. A No-Win Result

11. Go Directly to Jail

12. Presumed Guilty

13. My Cup Overflows

14. The First Rainbow

15. The Second Rainbow

16. The Sun Comes Out to Stay

EPILOGUE
Claire M. Renzetti and Jeffrey L. Edleson

COMMENTARIES

The Counselor’s Perspective

Evelyn J. Hall

The Lawyer’s Perspective

7
William H. Smith

Teaching I Am Not Your Victim: Anatomy of Domestic Violence

Raquel Kennedy Bergen

Considering the Children: Child Exposure to Domestic Violence

Juliana Carlson

Intervention by Criminal Justice in Cases of Intimate Partner Violence: What Does Beth Sipe’s Story Teach
Us?
Leigh Goodmark

“The Physical Pain Was Bad, But the Mental Health Anguish Was Worse”
Jeff R. Temple

Reaching the Men: Involving Boys and Men in Efforts to End Violence Against Women
Erin Casey

References

About the Authors

About the Contributors

8
 PROLOGUE

T his book, Beth Sipe’s autobiography, began as an assignment she did for her defense attorney, William
(Bill) Smith. In longhand, Beth wrote about 250 pages, documenting sixteen years of extreme spousal
abuse—physical, emotional, social, economic, and sexual—as well as destruction of property and pets. To this,
we added information from incident reports, medical records, defense briefs, court documents, and more than
300 hours of interviews. Included also are passages from the couple’s correspondence with one another.
Although the task of assembling an autobiography began as one aspect of Beth’s defense preparation, it
became an important therapeutic exercise for her as well, giving her a focus at a time when she found
concentration most difficult. When Beth began therapy on April 26, 1988, she appeared totally beaten down,
withdrawn, and profoundly depressed. She was painfully thin and ashen, her facial features were taut, and her
affect flat. Therapy provided her with validation, support, encouragement, and information. The idea that the
autobiography might become a book seemed to give her renewed energy, determination, and hope that she
could, indeed, have a future.
From the beginning, Beth’s goal in sharing her story was that others might learn and benefit from it. As
her therapist, I agreed that her story had many valuable lessons, not only for other battered women but also
for professionals working with domestic violence issues. For me personally, however, there was concern that a
dual relationship might develop in the process. To guard against undue influence, we drew up a formal
contract that specified Beth could stop the process to publish at any time prior to signing with a publisher.
Whether or not the manuscript was ever published, our work on it was to have major therapeutic value for
Beth. It has been over five years since her therapy ended, and Beth remains steadfast in her desire to tell her
story publicly.
To understand Beth’s story, it is helpful also to understand something about the dynamics inherent in the
cycle of violence. As originally identified by Lenore Walker (1979), the cycle has within itself a number of
subpatterns that interlock synergistically, making the cycle extremely difficult to interrupt. Confusion,
imbalance of power, isolation, appeasement, secrecy, separations/reunions, alcohol/drug usage, becoming
“other-focused,” and child abuse are all subdynamics.
Strengthening these dynamics is the social programming of gender characteristics and roles. Barnett and
LaViolette (1993) stated that the best predictor of a woman becoming involved in a violent relationship is
growing up in American society. Women are usually recognized and praised for their nurturance, selflessness,
patience, passivity, and flexibility (Barnett & LaViolette, 1993; Caplan, 1985; Jones & Schechter, 1992;
Walker, 1979). They are encouraged to view men as dominant, as well as to derive their identities from
relationships with men. A major part of love then involves being needed.
In contrast, men are programmed to set and pursue their own goals, particularly careers. From childhood,
they are encouraged to view violence and sexual prowess as evidence of masculinity. Traditionally viewed as

9
the providers in the family, many men are taught that they are entitled to special male privileges. Such
privileges are often translated as the right to control all aspects of their families’ lives. Titles such as “lord and
master” and “king of his castle” lend authority to perceived rights of control.
Abusive men absorb these messages about traditional gender roles quite literally and, by adulthood, these
messages have congealed into rigid beliefs—some conscious and others beneath the level of awareness.
Batterers insist that their mates adhere to the notion of women as caretakers, supporters, nurturers, and
subservient pieces of property. They believe that men are “always right” and free to enforce their beliefs with
abuse and violence (Pence & Paymer, 1993).
Confusion is one of the first dynamics to appear in a violent relationship; it is created by an abusive
partner’s initial attack, whether verbal, physical, or a combination of both (Gones & Schecter, 1992). Stunned
at first, the victim becomes absorbed with trying to integrate loving words with an abusive attack. Because
there is no rational explanation for the abuse, she often becomes ambivalent, loses self-confidence, and feels
ashamed. Initially, abusive men present themselves as the most romantic, loving suitors, appealing to women
in general (Browne, 1987). They rarely become abusive until after some kind of commitment has taken place
—for example, moving in together, becoming engaged, getting married (Forward & Torres, 1986). Having
made such a commitment, a woman will rarely end the relationship after the first attack. Even with an early
indication of trouble, the belief remains that “he’ll change.”
In most cases, after the first attack, the abuser expresses remorse and resumes romantic, loving behavior.
Viewing this expression as indicative of “the real man,” the victim perceives it as tangible evidence that he
values and loves her. At this point, the three-stage cycle of violence—buildup of tension, acute abusive
incident, and period of contrition (Walker, 1979, 1984)—has completed one revolution. Once the cycle
occurs, it is certain to be repeated and to escalate in terms of frequency and severity. The more times it is
completed, the less time it takes to complete. The longer the cycle goes uninterrupted, the more severe the
violence becomes. Situations where episodic abuse is followed by long periods of loving behavior can give rise
to the Stockholm syndrome in a battered woman. She becomes emotionally bonded to her abuser as a survival
tool, much as hostages bond to their captors. The bond may be even stronger in a battered woman because her
captor is the man she loves and trusts (Graham, Rawlings, & Rimini, 1988). With many repetitions, the
contrition (or honeymoon) stage becomes shorter, until the only respite for a woman is merely the cessation of
the violence.
With one completion of the cycle of violence, an imbalance of power has been created in the man’s favor.
Knowing he has the ability and willingness to hurt her, the fear created by even one physical attack greatly
intensifies the impact of nonphysical forms of abuse, such as name calling, threats, accusations, and gestures
(Pence & Paymer, 1993). Women usually acquiesce, but in cases where a woman does fight back, she quickly
learns that the violence becomes greater. The batterer believes that his violence works to “correct” his partner’s
misbehavior, and because he rarely, if ever, receives negative consequences for such action, he does not see a
need to change it. In many cases, he is actually able to convince his partner that her behavior is causing the
abuse. Both become other-focused. Almost automatically, the victim will begin a pattern of appeasement,
believing that if she obeys and tries harder to please her partner, she can avoid further abuse. Doing so,
however, she unwittingly abandons herself, denies her own reality, and takes on responsibility for the abuse.
At the same time, the batterer is looking for signs of “misbehavior.” According to Ewing (1987), this

10
imbalance of power is a major factor in binding the couple to each other.
Isolation also supports the cycle of violence. In some cases, a batterer will overwhelm his partner with
attention, wanting to spend every free minute with her. At first, she may feel flattered and reassured but,
without realizing it, she becomes isolated from a support system of family and friends. Methods abusers use to
isolate include criticizing those close to her, withholding phone messages, creating embarrassing scenes in
front of others, forbidding her to see “outsiders,” and/or physically restraining her from outside contacts. He
may contact her at work so often that she is fired. He may forbid her to work at all, disable her vehicle, or
deny her any access to transportation. In some cases, he may even create geographic isolation by moving his
partner far away from family and friends. As the cycle of violence escalates, a victimized woman may find that
others turn away from her and that she has less energy to resist the efforts to isolate her.
Secrecy is yet another dynamic involved in the cycle of violence. Both partners keep the secret. He wants
to maintain his reputation as a “nice guy” to protect his career status. Because she is ashamed, a battered
woman hides the abuse and begins to cover up or lie about the bruises and injuries. She sees her partner’s
violence as separate from the “real” man and often the instances of abuse are never even discussed by the
couple.
Closely related to secrecy is denial and minimization of the abuse. Both partners participate but for
different motives. He uses this dynamic to avoid responsibility for perpetrating the violence, whereas his
victim excuses and rationalizes the violence to maintain her hope that the abuse will end.
Frequently, a battered woman will flee her home during or immediately following an attack. Her escape
may last a few hours, days, weeks, or months. Any communication with the batterer usually includes his
impassioned apologies, expressions of love, pleas for her to return, and sincere promises to change. If she does
not return quickly, however, his conciliatory messages often turn to veiled or open threats.
On the average, a battered woman returns six to seven times before ultimately ending the relationship.
Her reasons for returning usually involve love for her partner, concern about separating the children from their
father, and lack of any viable long-term living alternative (Barnett & LaViolette, 1993). Sometimes, the
violent behavior is even more terrifying during separation and, in fact, this can be the most dangerous time for
a battered woman (Montemurri, 1989). Her partner may escalate his abuse to include stalking, intense
harassment, vandalism, assault, rape, kidnap of her and/or the children, threats to kill, attempts to kill, and
murder. Separating and returning only reinforces the batterer’s violence, and he becomes convinced that his
aggression accomplishes the goal of keeping his partner under control.
Many times, alcohol and/or drug abuse also accompanies domestic abuse. Although alcohol or drugs, in
themselves, do not cause the abuse, they do loosen inhibitions and moral restraints. Substance abuse also
depletes the family’s resources, at times leaving family members without necessary food and shelter.
Battered women frequently develop symptoms of Battered Women’s Syndrome, a specific form of
posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (American Psychiatric Association, 1994). PTSD is defined as a cluster
of symptoms that almost anyone subjected to trauma outside the range of usual human experience would
develop. These include, but are not limited to: intrusive recollection of the trauma(s), psychic numbing of
emotions, flashbacks, appetite and/or sleep disturbance, hypervigilance, exaggerated startle response, disturbed
concentration, unpredictable irritability or anger, the Stockholm syndrome, anxiety, and depression. She may
also experience symptoms of learned helplessness, passivity, indecisiveness, and chronic physical illnesses that

11
can range from frequent colds, flus, and allergies to chronic urinary, vaginal, and gastrointestinal problems. In
the most serious cases, ulcers and eating disorders have been related to the abuse.
Adding to the enormous scope of this domestic tragedy, child abuse is a frequent occurrence in households
of partner violence. As with partner abuse, violence against the children usually starts with verbal abuse, swats,
and slaps, escalating to beatings that require hospitalization. Not only do these children grow up also
experiencing the symptoms of PTSD at increasing intervals in their lives, but the violent example of family life
has a profound effect on the lives they lead as adults. They are at risk for repeating the violence they’ve
witnessed and suffering from chronic PTSD; they may experience addiction, vocational confusion, and
dysfunctional relationships (Oaffe, Wolfe, & Wilson, 1990).
All of these dynamics of domestic violence are dramatically illustrated in Beth’s story, and it is hoped that
this commentary is helpful as a framework within which to view her experiences. With the agreement to
publish this work, Sage has expanded it to include a multidisciplinary examination of Beth’s experience.
Following the main body of the book are commentaries that provide public health, legal, advocacy, military,
and mental health views of this case study in particular, and domestic violence in general.

12
BETH’S STORY

13
 1

A FINE ROMANCE

O n a cold, wintry night in January 1971, I first met Steven Sipe. Susan, a good friend of mine, had been
pestering me for weeks to meet him, but my standard reply to her was, “I’m not interested.” On that
particular night, I went out with Susan and my sister, Nancy, to the 18-Club, a hangout mostly for young
people. Soon after we arrived, Steven, or Sam as he liked to be called, came over to our table with one of his
buddies.
They introduced themselves politely enough, but to me, Sam seemed cocky and obnoxious. They were
both Air Force guys, stationed in Blytheville, Arkansas, about fifteen miles from Steele, Missouri, where I
lived. I deliberately gave him the cold shoulder, but for some reason, Sam and his buddy hung around us all
night. Sam acted smug and superior, mouthing off things like, “All you southerners are racists and that’s
stupid.” Many of his words still echo in my mind. ‘‘You girls from the South have never seen anybody like
me,” he bragged, “You just don’t know what you’re missing until you’ve had a lover like me; I’m the greatest.”
As soon as I could get Susan alone, I made it clear to her that I did not like Sam and certainly did not want to
date him.
Up to that point, I would say my life had not been easy, but it was not terrible either. I was born April 6,
1951, to Ethel, age thirty-five, and Aaron Nunnery, age fifty-five, in Holland, Missouri, about eighty miles
from Cape Girardeau. It was Dad’s second marriage, so I had two grown half-sisters. I also had a brother,
Ronald, age five, and a sister, Nancy, age three. My dad was a sharecropper on forty acres of land, and
although we were poor, we had a good name. It was always said “Mr. Nunnery doesn’t have to sign anything;
his name is good enough.”
The house we lived in had four rooms—a front room, a kitchen, and two bedrooms. The yard where we
played had no grass, just dirt which we swept clean every day. There were three big cottonwood trees which
provided shade and tons of white fuzzy stuff in the fall which made me scratch until I drew blood at times.
There was a black coal stove in the front room and a kerosene heater in one bedroom for heat. When it got
very cold, we all slept in the bedroom with the heater. We had no electricity until I was five and no indoor
plumbing ever. There was an outhouse, and we pumped water from a well in the backyard into a lime-treated
barrel for all our water needs.
My parents were strict, but I never remember feeling abused by them. If Momma disciplined us, she used
a switch on our legs and we had to cut the switch for her. If Daddy disciplined us, which was rare, he gave us
a couple of swats on the bottom with a belt. In total, I recall being spanked only three or four times—and each
time, I deserved it.
My parents had an old-fashioned marriage; that is, Momma pretty well did what Daddy told her, and he

14
made all the big decisions. If they disagreed with each other, Momma usually just got quiet. In a lot of ways,
their relationship resembled that of Archie and Edith Bunker except that Daddy was constantly hugging and
kissing Momma. I’m told that before my brother was born, Daddy was a heavy drinker, but he quit when my
brother was born, so I never saw any of that.
All in all, we were a close, loving family. I was especially spoiled by Daddy because I was the baby. I was a
tomboy and followed Daddy around as much as I could. By the time I could toddle, it was my job to take him
a jug of water, morning and afternoon, out in the fields where he was working.
From the time I can remember, we grew cotton, soybeans, wheat, corn (enough to feed the animals), plus
a vegetable garden large enough for us to can food for the winters. Until I was about six years old, we had two
mules to do the field work—no tractor and no car. Then we got a tractor, and it was used for field work and as
transportation anywhere we went. We also had a cow, a few pigs, and some chickens. We started to work
early on the farm and were usually in bed by 8:30 p.m.
School was let out in the fall so we could pick cotton full time. The going wage for cotton was three cents
a pound. We worked for Daddy, and he paid us two cents a pound. When we were waiting for the second
opening of the fields, we worked for neighboring farmers; then we got three cents a pound. Cotton picking
was hard for us kids. The cotton burrs broke off in our hands, and the morning dew on the cotton, called
poisoning, got into these scratches so that our hands were always infected. At times, we picked barefoot with
our pant legs rolled up, standing in water up to our knees. The black edges of the cotton bolls stayed in our
hands like splinters for years.
Sitting around trying to pick these out of our hands was a common evening pastime. Cotton picking
makes you old before your time. I watched my daddy become on old man with skin cancer on his hands, face,
and ears. I remember wishing my momma didn’t have to pick because she still had to come in and cook and
clean after a full day in the fields. I knew how weary she must have felt because often we were too tired even to
eat.
Momma held each child’s money and kept records for us. She gave us a small amount each week to spend
for candy or junk, but we used most of the money to buy our clothes and school supplies. On Saturdays, we
went to Holland or Steele to buy groceries, clothes, or other necessities.
Across three fields from our house stood the Samford Church of Christ. It was named for Boss Samford, a
big land holder and store owner, noted for being honest and a very good man. The church was built on his
land, and it was comforting to be able to see it from home. We belonged to this church and attended
regularly. I never remember a time during my growing up years without the church.
When I was about twelve years old, we moved to Steele, Missouri, because our farm was rented to
someone else. That first summer and fall we worked on other farms, chopping and picking cotton. Then I
found a job in a small ice cream stand, making fifty cents an hour.
Living in town meant hard times for us because we had to buy all the things we had previously supplied
for ourselves on the farm. We all had to pitch in and work at whatever we could find. Once I turned thirteen,
I began working in a restaurant and tried to continue school. I finished grade school in Steele. Then the junior
highs of Holland and Steele were combined to form South Pemiscot, so we were bused to Holland every day.
I always liked school and made good grades, but the working and going to school got to be too much for me,
and I dropped out in the tenth grade.

15
 Growing up was no bed of roses, but I think working hard and being raised this way taught all of us some
good values. Mainly, work for what you get, do the best you can at your job, and don’t be ashamed to sign
your name to your work if you’ve done the best job you can do.
While I never fancied myself beautiful, I knew the boys liked me. When I finished growing, I stood five
feet four inches and weighed about a hundred pounds. I had long honey-colored hair and big blue-green eyes.
Everyone said I had a beautiful smile and a low, sexy voice. Although I had plenty of chances, I never dated
much because I didn’t have time.
In January 1968, I visited my sister, Nancy, who had moved to Memphis. I was seventeen and felt quite
grown-up. While there, I found a job as a coupon clipper for a gas station. On the job, I met and soon
married John Theodore Walker, the station manager. Terry, as he liked to be called, was older, twenty-four,
and I was impressed by his air of confidence. I guess you could say we had a whirlwind romance. We married
on May 4, 1968, but I only lived with him a couple of months. He got drunk and hit me one time. That was it
for me; I left immediately and went back home to my parents even though I was pregnant. I was hurt and
scared, but as time passed without a hassle from Terry, I was relieved that my marriage had ended.
Back in Steele, I found work right away, keeping house and baby-sitting three children, ages six, five, and
two, for a recently widowed neighbor man. His wife had broken her leg and died of tetanus. I stayed with my
parents and worked during the days until one month after the birth of my first son, Roland Matthew Walker,
on February 8, 1969. I only missed five days of work when I had Matt.
Matt’s birth was an ordeal for me at eighteen with no husband. The doctor had planned to do a caesarean
if the baby was larger than five pounds, but the doctor was not available when I checked into the hospital. I
was alone in hard labor for eighteen and a half hours, and since I refused any drugs out of concern for possible
damage to the baby, I felt every pain. Only when the baby’s hand and arm were hanging out did someone
begin to pay attention. I heard them whispering, “We can’t get the baby back in or out.” So when they
strapped me down—my wrists, my elbows, my ankles, even my thighs—I knew I was in for something bad. I
kept praying they wouldn’t kill the baby as they delivered him with forceps. Matt was blue, not breathing
when he was born, and it took several minutes for them to get him started. Then I could relax. Although the
doctor had told me I couldn’t deliver a baby larger than five pounds, Matt was seven pounds three ounces at
birth.
I lost my job when our neighbor remarried. I had always been interested in nursing, so I took the training
for Nurse’s Aide in the spring of 1969 and began work for Pemiscot Memorial Hospital. I worked there for
about a year, but I was barely getting by, and my parents’ two-bedroom house was overcrowded with Matt
and me staying with them.
I had heard there was a lot of work in Chicago, so in May 1970, I decided to make a new start there on
my own. Right away, I got a job as a waitress and found housing in a condemned building. Matt and I had a
three-room apartment on the third floor, and we were allowed to keep my dog, BoBo.
Conditions were so bad there that one morning I found a rat in bed with me and the baby. Of course,
everybody else in the building was more or less in the same boat, so we tried to help each other. One of the
welfare mothers baby-sat for me while I worked.
After a few weeks, I found a job in a jukebox factory and did some part-time modeling for the Patricia
Stevens Modeling Agency. We walked to the nearby grocery where everything cost twice as much, but since

16
we had no vehicle, there was no other choice. We all shared one ancient washer and hung our clothes in our
apartments. I saw no one outside work except the other people in my building. On my off time, I baby-sat for
others.
My parents were constantly asking me to bring Matt back home. Mom especially missed him. I found
myself getting homesick and increasingly concerned about the city’s bad influence on Matt.
I decided to return home after a neighbor, pouring coffee into a cracked cup, scalded my thigh. I couldn’t
work, I was broke, so I had to go home. Within two weeks, my leg was better, and I was back working as a
waitress at the Drumstick, a small restaurant in town. I had the early-morning day shift and walked back and
forth to work. My mom baby-sat Matt along with several other children.
After about a month, the manager of the truck stop out on the highway hired me and arranged for my
rides to and from work. This was a big boost for me because I made more than twice as much money, and by
the first of 1971, I was able to rent a one-bedroom house on Main Street for Matt and me. I had the night
shift at the truck stop, which allowed me to spend more time with Matt during the days. Soon I was made
Assistant Manager on the night shift.
I felt great, finally making it on my own, reunited with my family and friends. Occasionally, I went out on
my nights off with my friends, Marilyn and Susan, and my sister, Nancy. My life was peaceful; everything
seemed in order.
This was my life when Sam came into it. As I said, at first I wasn’t interested in him at all. Over the next
few months, I seemed to run into him every time I went out with my girlfriends. But we were always in a
group, and I really didn’t notice Sam that much.
About mid-April, Susan planned a Sunday excursion to Crowley Ridge, a state recreation park with a
natural swimming lake, sixty miles from Steele. I thought this outing was just a random group of friends, but
Susan pulled a fast one on me. Only after I was in the car and we were on our way did I learn it was just two
couples—Susan with her date and me with Sam. This was my first date with Sam.
During the ride to Crowley Ridge, I felt resentful and sat quietly as far away from Sam as I could get.
Even after we got there, I kept my distance. I remember trying to sleep on a blanket under a tree, while Sam
kept putting ants on me. He made me laugh, and I began to like him a little. We kissed for the first time on
the way back from our third outing to Crowley Ridge, about a month later. Sam was so sweet, so romantic
about it. We were holding hands in the back seat when I felt a slight flutter on my cheek. As I turned to look
at Sam, he grinned and said, “That’s a butterfly kiss.” I giggled and he did it again, blinking his eyelashes
against my cheek. To me, it was a beautiful gesture, reminding me of all the times I had held a butterfly in my
hand. I hadn’t seriously thought of dating him until that time, because I knew he was seeing other girls. But
from the first kiss, I was hooked.
Then Sam became a regular at the restaurant where I worked. Often he would come in with Susan and
her guy, leave to take them home, then come back to the restaurant, staying to give me a ride home after I
finished work. He was so thoughtful and caring, talking, laughing, joking. Soon he told me he loved me, and
although I wouldn’t say that to him, my spirits were higher than the clouds. He gave me lots of romantic
cards, usually with a poem he’d written for me. In one card, he wrote:

17
 I love you because it’s so easy to do
There’s no one for me that’s more natural than you
To me you’re so real, yet in only a dream
Could exist one so perfect as you, it would seem
I think you are real, but if you’re a dream it’s OK
’Cause then my mind is a friend to deceive me this way
But it really doesn’t matter if you’re a dream or for real
’Cause you’re mine and I love you as I always will.

No one had ever written poetry for me, and his words touched me in a way nothing and no one else had. I
was totally in love although I wasn’t ready to admit it to him.
In May, when Matt got sick with anemia and had to be hospitalized in Hayti, Missouri (a small town
sixteen miles north of Steele), Sam drove me to the hospital every day for five days. He was so good with
Matt, he really won me over. When Matt came home from the hospital, I left him with my folks quite a bit
while I worked, so of course, the family met Sam. My dad told me, “I don’t like that guy, there’s something
phony about him. It’s so obvious—you go after the calf to get the cow.” My sister, Nancy, called him a “cocky
little bastard.” I could see my mom didn’t like Sam either, but she didn’t have much to say about him.
I began to feel that no one understood Sam but me. He talked about how lonely and discriminated against
he had felt during his first weeks in Blythe-ville. The more he talked, the more I could sense him letting his
barriers down with me.
I had told him many times, “I’m not interested in sex,” and his reply always was, “You’ve never slept with
the right man yet.” It was after another outing at Crowley Ridge that Sam and I made love for the first time.
The day was magical, filled with laughing, swimming, and picnicking. By that point, I was enchanted by
everything he said and did. When he pulled into a motel on the way back from our outing at Crowley Ridge, I
was shaky with fear and desire all mixed together. But I didn’t say no. I had never enjoyed sex before Sam, but
with him, the earth moved and bells rang. More than anything, he was gentle and patient and seemed
concerned only with satisfying me. I began to see him as my one true love.
I was excited but scared by the strong feelings he brought out in me. So at breakfast the morning after our
first night together, I told him I was getting too involved, that he would be around only a short time, and that
was just about as long as I wanted the relationship to last. “I’m not going to see you every day,” I said. He just
said, “We’ll see.” I had a strong premonition not to get too involved with him and refused to go out with him
for several days.
Sam’s reaction to this was to show up at my job every night; there he was, right under my nose, hanging
around during most of my shifts. The song, “Let the Devil Take Tomorrow” was popular then, and I heard it
played so often, I began to think like the song. After almost a week, I broke down and went out with him
again.
We talked a lot about the Vietnam war. One of my friends from school had died in Vietnam, and two
others had returned home severely wounded. I had tried to organize a welcome-home party for one of them,
but the reaction I got from other people was, “You want to give a party for a baby killer?” It bothered me
deeply to see these Vietnam vets treated as if they were traitors. Sam had already done a tour of duty in

18
Vietnam and had put in a request to be reassigned there. I cringed every time I thought of him going back to
such a hellhole. While we agreed that the military was necessary to protect our country, we questioned the
handling of U.S. troops sent to Vietnam—as if they were disposable. Our views on this became a strong bond
between us.
As time went on, I began to see Sam’s cockiness as confidence and charm. He could be the life of the
party, making everybody laugh, including me. He could also be very kind, gentle, and loving. He was always
coming up behind me, hugging me, and saying, “I could just squeeze you to death.” No one had ever been so
attentive and affectionate with me before, and I was filled with joy.
Sam occasionally used drugs, mainly marijuana, uppers, or downers, when we were together. I didn’t like it
and told him as much, but he said he only used them once in awhile and that it was no problem for him to
control his usage. He drank heavily almost daily, but I didn’t pay much attention to that. After all, his buddies
drank, and they were young and away from home, plus they were stressed about Vietnam. At Susan’s house,
Sam and his buddies turned one wall into a pyramid of empty beer cans. At the time, I didn’t see this as a
problem; I guess I thought Sam would outgrow his drinking habit.
The one thing we disagreed most about was his belief in free love—that it was OK to have sex with
anyone anytime, married or single. He had different rules for me, though; he said that if I were ever unfaithful
to him, it would be wrong because of my own rule not to have sex unless I loved the man. This riled me in one
way, but in another way, I saw it as a sign that he didn’t really believe in free love.
I guess I should have believed him, because I soon developed a vaginal infection which my doctor could
not diagnose. Much later, I learned that Sam was being treated for chlamydia and venereal warts at this time.
But it would be years before I received the treatment I needed.
Some time in June, I gave him a key to my house, and he came and went as he pleased. Often he watched
Matt while I worked, and Matt became very attached to Sam. At times, Sam took Matt with him to his
barracks. I never expected a man to do anything for me, and I didn’t really notice that Sam didn’t bring food
or contribute to any of my household expenses. I did notice that he seemed to like all my cooking; he wasn’t
hard to please at all. Often he sat on the couch watching television while I cleaned up the dinner mess. Once I
asked him if he would buy my cigarettes at the commissary if I gave him the money to pay for them; he
refused, saying, “That’s illegal and I won’t do it.” I was too much in love to notice the discrepancy—he could
do drugs, which were illegal, but he couldn’t buy my cigarettes. He began to open and read all my mail. At the
time, I looked at this as another sign that he preached free love but really did not want to practice it.
In June, we went with another couple to Reelfoot Lake, a resort area in northwestern Tennessee sixty
miles north of Steele. Sam canoed me across the lake, and when we got to the other side, he told me how
much he loved me. He held up the palms of his hands and said, “See, I’ve got the blisters to prove it.” He
started talking about marriage that day. “I didn’t plan to marry until age twenty-four; I’m only twenty-two
now, but I’m beginning to change my mind,” he told me. I reminded him of his own belief that marriage
wasn’t necessary, but he said, “I’ve changed my mind about that.” I told him, “I haven’t changed mine; I don’t
want to get married. Living together is enough of a commitment.” Throughout that summer, I felt wonderful.
Sam spent his free time with me, as much as my schedule allowed.
In July, I ran out of my birth control pills for one weekend. It hardly seemed important at the time; the
doctor just said, “Double up for a couple of days.” I did as the doctor told me and thought I was safe.

19
 But by August 1, I knew I was pregnant. I had decided to tell no one, absolutely no one. I knew Sam’s
request for Vietnam duty was in the works, and I planned to let him go without telling him about our baby. I
figured if he came back to me, then I would know he really loved me, and we could decide about marriage at
that time. One day my friend Susan caught me throwing up and questioned me until I admitted that I was
pregnant. I swore her to secrecy and trusted her not to tell anyone.
That same night, Sam came storming into my house and grabbed me by the shoulders, shaking me and
yelling, “What the hell’s going on? Why do I have to find out you’re pregnant from someone else?” I was
already sick, throwing up, when he walked in, and at first, I just stared at him, speechless, in shock. I wasn’t
sure if he was concerned about me or the baby or both. I felt scared and disappointed; it kept running through
my mind, “he’s not the person I thought he was.” I started throwing up again and told him to get out.
He calmed down then, started telling me how much he loved me, how much he wanted to marry me, how
much he wanted the baby and for us to be a family. All the while, he was taking care of me, putting a cold
towel on my head, holding me, trying to make me feel better. I let him stay, but I was firm about not
marrying him. Even so, he phoned his family in Nevada and told them that I was pregnant and that he was
planning to get married. After he got off the phone, I said, “Why don’t you talk to me about it? I am not
marrying you.” He started to threaten me with his family, saying they would take me to court and get my
baby. “After all,” he said, “you’re very poor and you already have one child to raise.” When I still didn’t say yes,
he changed his tactics. “How can you face staying here? Everyone will talk,” he said. I just said, “So what? All
they can say is that I’m pregnant and I’m not married. That’s true and I’m not ashamed of it.” He also argued
that I would get no benefits or status for me or the baby if we didn’t get married. But I still was not willing to
marry him. I felt he was the only man I had ever loved, but I didn’t want to marry him with a cloud over my
head.
Throughout the next month and a half, Sam was very nice to me, no more threats. But I got all kinds of
pressure from several of my friends. They said what a good guy he was and that he really loved me, that it
wasn’t fair to anyone if I didn’t marry him.
In September, Sam had to spend a week in Little Rock, Arkansas, on a work assignment. I really missed
him during that time. He returned on September 19, and after that night together, I agreed to marry him. We
drove to Memphis, Tennessee, and got married at the courthouse September 20, 1971. My friend Marilyn
went with us as a witness.
It was definitely not formal; I wore a lilac pantsuit, and Sam wore dress slacks with a green shirt. Sam was
so romantic in those days. He said, “One day we’ll marry each other again—in a mountain meadow. Very
simple, no minister, just exchange the vows we’ve written to each other. You’ll wear flowers in your beautiful
hair and a long white dress, not a wedding gown. We can’t do all that right now; the most important thing is
for us to be legally married so that I can take care of you and our baby.” Of course, I lapped this up, glowing in
the warmth of his love. Sam really loved me—I could feel it. I knew everything would work out right for us.
We planned to have dinner at a nice restaurant before driving home. I had lived in Memphis, and I knew
the way to the restaurant. But when I tried to tell Sam where to turn, he flew into a rage. He screamed and
cursed me all the way to the restaurant. “Shut up, stupid!” he yelled at me, and I did. I was hurt and
humiliated that he would treat me this way, especially in front of my friend. It made me so sick I threw up my
dinner. To myself, I thought, “This is why I didn’t want to get married again. Men think they own you and

20
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Conclusion.
 INDEX IV.—D.
COMPARISON OF THE SAME WITH MR. LANE’S
AND MY VERSION.
Introduction and

Nos. 1 to 6 of the preceding list from Volume I. of my

Edition.
Nos. 7 to 9aa of the preceding list from Volume II. of my
Edition.
Nos. 9aa to 21 of the preceding list from Volume III. of my
Edition.
(contd.)
Nos. 21 to 58 of the preceding list from Volume IV. of my
Edition.
(contd.)
Nos. 59 to 131 of the preceding list from Volume V. of my
Edition.
Nos. 132 to 136 of the preceding list from Volume VI. of my
Edition.
Nos. 136 to 154a of the preceding list from Volume VII. of
my Edition.
(contd.)
Nos. 154a to 158 of the preceding list from Volume VIII. of
my Edition.
(contd.)
Nos. 158 to 168 of the preceding list from Volume IX. of my
Edition.
(contd.)
 Nos. 169 and conclusion from Volume X. of my Edition.

For full details, see contents pages to each of the respective

Volumes.
Appendix II.
 CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE BIBLIOGRAPHY OF
THE THOUSAND AND ONE NIGHTS, AND THEIR
IMITATIONS, WITH A TABLE SHOWING THE
CONTENTS OF THE PRINCIPAL EDITIONS AND
TRANSLATIONS OF THE NIGHTS.
By W. F. KIRBY,

Author of “Ed-Dimiryaht: an Oriental Romance,” “The New Arabian

Nights,” &c.

The European editions of the Thousand and One Nights, even

excluding the hundreds of popular editions which have nothing
specially noticeable about them, are very numerous; and the
following Notes must, I am fully aware, be incomplete, though they
will, perhaps, be found useful to persons interested in the subject.
Although I believe that editions of most of the English, French, and
German versions of any importance have passed through my hands,
I have not had an opportunity of comparing many in other
languages, some of which at least may be independent editions, not
derived from Galland. The imitations and adaptations of The Nights
are, perhaps, more numerous than the editions of The Nights
themselves, if we exclude mere reprints of Galland; and many of
them are even more difficult of access.
In the following Notes, I have sometimes referred to tales by their
numbers in the Table.
 GALLAND’S MS. AND TRANSLATION.
The first MS. of The Nights known in Europe was brought to Paris by
Galland at the close of the 17th century; and his translation was
published in Paris, in twelve small volumes, under the title of “Les
Mille et une Nuit: Contes Arabes, traduits en Francois par M.
Galland.” These volumes appeared at intervals between 1704 and
1717. Galland himself died in 1715, and it is uncertain how far he
was responsible for the latter part of the work. Only the first six of
the twelve vols. are divided into Nights, vol. 6 completing the story
of Camaralzaman, and ending with Night 234. The Voyages of
Sindbad are not found in Galland’s MS., though he has intercalated
them as Nights 69–90 between Nos. 3 and 4. It should be
mentioned, however, that in some texts (Bresl., for instance) No. 133
is placed much earlier in the series than in others.
The stories in Galland’s last six vols. may be divided into two classes,
viz., those known to occur in genuine texts of The Nights, and those
which do not. To the first category belong Nos. 7, 8, 59, 153 and
170; and some even of these are not found in Galland’s own MS.,
but were derived by him from other sources. The remaining tales
(Nos. 191–198) do not really belong to The Nights; and, strange to
say, although they are certainly genuine Oriental tales, the actual
originals have never been found. I am inclined to think that Galland
may, perhaps, have written and adapted them from his recollection
of stories which he himself heard related during his own residence in
the East, especially as most of these tales appear to be derived
rather from Persian or Turkish than from Arabian sources.
The following Preface appeared in vol. 9 which I translate from
Talander’s German edition, as the original is not before me:
“The two stories with which the eighth volume concludes do not
properly belong to the Thousand and One Nights. They were added
and printed without the previous knowledge of the translator, who
had not the slightest idea of the trick that had been played upon him
until the eighth volume was actually on sale. The reader must not,
therefore, be surprised that the story of the Sleeper Awakened,
which commences vol. 9, is written as if Scheherazade had related it
immediately after the story of Ganem, which forms the greater part
of vol. 8. Care will be taken to omit these two stories in a new
edition, as not belonging to the work.”
It is, perhaps, not to be wondered at that when the new edition was
actually published, subsequently to Galland’s death, the condemned
stories were retained, and the preface withdrawn; though No. 170
still reads as if it followed No. 8.
The information I have been able to collect respecting the disputed
tales is very slight. I once saw a MS. advertised in an auction
catalogue (I think that of the library of the late Prof. H. H. Wilson) as
containing two of Galland’s doubtful tales, but which they were was
not stated. The fourth and last volume of the MS. used by Galland is
lost; but it is almost certain that it did not contain any of these tales
(compare Payne, ix. 265 note).
The story of Zeyn Alasnam (No. 191) is derived from the same
source as that of the Fourth Durwesh, in the well-known Hindustani
reading-book, the Bagh o Bahar. If it is based upon this, Galland has
greatly altered and improved it, and has given it the whole colouring
of a European moral fairy tale.
The story of Ali Baba (No. 195) is, I have been told, a Chinese tale.
It occurs under the title of the Two Brothers and the Forty-nine
Dragons in Geldart’s Modern Greek Tales. It has also been stated
that the late Prof. Palmer met with a very similar story among the
Arabs of Sinai (Payne, ix. 266).
The story of Sidi Nouman (No. 194b) may have been based partly
upon the Third Shaykh’s Story (No. 1c), which Galland omits. The
feast of the Ghools is, I believe, Greek or Turkish, rather than Arabic,
in character, as vampires, personified plague, and similar horrors are
much commoner in the folk-lore of the former peoples.
Many incidents of the doubtful, as well as of the genuine tales, are
common in European folk-lore (versions of Nos. 2 and 198, for
instance, occur in Grimm’s Kinder und Hausmärchen), and some of
the doubtful tales have their analogues in Scott’s MS., as will be
noticed in due course.
I have not seen Galland’s original edition in 12 vols.; but the Stadt-
Bibliothek of Frankfort-on-Main contains a copy, published at La
Haye, in 12 vols. (with frontispieces), made up of two or more
editions, as follows:—
Vol. i. (ed. 6) 1729; vols. ii. iii. iv. (ed. 5) 1729; vols. v. vi. viii. (ed.
5) 1728; vol. vii. (ed. 6) 1731; vols. ix. to xi. (ed. not noted) 1730;
and vol. xii. (ed. not noted) 1731.
The discrepancies in the dates of the various volumes looks (as Mr.
Clouston has suggested) as if separate volumes were reprinted as
required, independently of the others. This might account for vols. v.
vi. and viii. of the fifth edition having been apparently reprinted
before vols. ii. iii. and iv.
The oldest French version in the British Museum consists of the first
eight vols., published at La Haye, and likewise made up of different
editions, as follows:—
i. (ed. 5) 1714; ii. iii. iv. (ed. 4) 1714; v. vi. (ed. 5) 1728; vii. (ed. 5)
1719; viii. (“suivant la copie imprimée à Paris”) 1714.
Most French editions (old and new) contain Galland’s Dedication, “À
Madame Madame la Marquise d’O., Dame du Palais de Madame la
Duchesse de Bourgogne,” followed by an “Avertissement.” In
addition to these, the La Haye copies have Fontenelle’s Approbation
prefixed to several volumes, but in slightly different words, and
bearing different dates. December 27th, 1703 (vol. i.); April 14th,
1704 (vol. vi.); and October 4th, 1705 (vol. vii.). This is according to
the British Museum copy; I did not examine the Frankfort copy with
reference to the Approbation. The Approbation is translated in full in
the old English version as follows: “I have read, by Order of my Lord
Chancellor, this Manuscript, wherein I find nothing that ought to
hinder its being Printed. And I am of opinion that the Publick will be
very well pleased with the Perusal of these Oriental Stories. Paris,
27th December, 1705 [apparently a misprint for 1703] (Signed)
Fontenelle.”
In the Paris edition of 1726 (vide infrà), Galland says in his
Dedication, “Il a fallu le faire venir de Syrie, et mettre en François, le
premier volume que voici, de quatre seulement qui m’ont été
envoyez.” So, also, in a Paris edition (in eight vols. 12mo) of 1832;
but in the La Haye issue of 1714, we read not “quatre” but “six”
volumes. The old German edition of Talander (vide infrà) does not
contain Galland’s Dedication (Epitre) or Avertissement.
The earliest French editions were generally in 12 vols., or six; I
possess a copy of a six-volume edition, published at Paris in 1726. It
may be the second, as the title-page designates it as “nouvelle
edition, corrigée.”
Galland’s work was speedily translated into various European
languages, and even now forms the original of all the numerous
popular editions. The earliest English editions were in six volumes,
corresponding to the first six of Galland, and ending with the story of
Camaralzaman; nor was it till nearly the end of the 18th century that
the remaining half of the work was translated into English. The date
of appearance of the first edition is unknown to bibliographers;
Lowndes quotes an edition of 1724 as the oldest; but the British
Museum contains a set of six vols., made up of portions of the
second, third and fourth editions, as follows:—
Vols. i. ii. (ed. 4) 1713; vols. iii. iv. (ed. 2) 1712; and vols. v. vi. (ed.
3) 1715.
Here likewise the separate volumes seem to have been reprinted
independently of each other; and it is not unlikely that the English
translation may have closely followed the French publication, being
issued volume by volume, as the French appeared, as far as vol. vi.
The title-page of this old edition is very quaint:
“Arabian-Nights Entertainments, consisting of One thousand and one
Stories, told by the Sultaness of the Indies to divert the Sultan from
the Execution of a Bloody Vow he had made, to marry a Lady every
day, and have her head cut off next Morning, to avenge himself for
the Disloyalty of the first Sultaness, also containing a better account
of the Customs, Manners and Religion of the Eastern Nations, viz.,
Tartars, Persians and Indians than is to be met with in any Author
hitherto published. Translated into French from the Arabian MSS. by
Mr. Galland of the Royal Academy, and now done into English.
Printed for Andrew Bell at the Cross Keys and Bible, in Cornhill.”
The British Museum has an edition in 4to published in 1772, in
farthing numbers, every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. It extends
to 79 numbers, forming five volumes.
The various editions of the old English version appear to be rare,
and the set in the British Museum is very poor. The oldest edition
which I have seen containing the latter half of Galland’s version is
called the 14th edition, and was published in London in four
volumes, in 1778. Curiously enough, the “13th edition,” also
containing the conclusion, was published at Edinburgh in three
volumes in 1780. Perhaps it is a reprint of a London edition
published before that of 1778. The Scotch appear to have been fond
of The Nights, as there are many Scotch editions both of The Nights
and the imitations.
Revised or annotated editions by Piguenit (4 vols., London, 1792)
and Gough (4 vols., Edinburgh, 1798) may deserve a passing notice.
A new translation of Galland, by Rev. E. Forster, in five vols. 4to, with
engravings from pictures by Robert Smirke, R.A., appeared in 1802;
and now commands a higher price than any other edition of Galland.
A new edition in 8vo appeared in 1810. Most of the recent popular
English versions are based either upon Forster’s or Scott’s.
Another translation from Galland by G. S. Beaumont (four vols. 8vo),
appeared in 1811. (Lowndes writes Wiliam Beaumont.)
Among the various popular editions of later date we may mention an
edition in two vols., 8vo, published at Liverpool (1813), and
containing Cazotte’s Continuation; an edition published by Griffin and
Co., in 1866, to which Beckford’s “Vathek” is appended; an edition
“arranged for the perusal of youthful readers,” by the Hon. Mrs.
Sugden (Whittaker & Co., 1863); and “Five Favourite Tales from The
Arabian Nights in words of one syllable, by A. & E. Warner” (Lewis,
1871).
Some of the English editions of Galland aim at originality by
arranging the tales in a different order. The cheap edition published
by Dicks in 1868 is one instance.
An English version of Galland was published at Lucknow, in four
vols., 8vo, in 1880.
I should, perhaps, mention that I have not noticed De Sacy’s “Mille
et une Nuit,” because it is simply a new edition of Galland; and I
have not seen either Destain’s French edition (mentioned by Sir R. F.
Burton), nor Cardonne’s Continuation (mentioned in Cabinet des
Fées, xxxvii. p. 83). As Cardonne died in 1784, his Continuation, if
genuine, would be the earliest of all.
The oldest German version, by Talander, seems to have appeared in
volumes, as the French was issued; and these volumes were
certainly reprinted when required, without indication of separate
editions; but in slightly varied style, and with alteration of dates. The
old German version is said to be rarer than the French. It is in twelve
parts—some, however, being double. The set before me is clearly
made up of different reprints, and the first title-page is as follows:
“Die Tausend und eine Nacht, worinnen seltzame Arabische Historien
und wunderbare Begebenheiten, benebst artigen Liebes-Intriguen,
auch Sitten und Gewohnheiten der Morgenländer, auf sehr
anmuthige Weise erzehlet werden; Erstlich vom Hrn. Galland, der
Königl. Academie Mitgliede aus der Arabischen Sprache in die
Französische und aus selbiger anitzo ins Deutsche übersetzt: Erster
und Anderer Theil. Mit der Vorrede Herrn Talanders. Leipzig Verlegts
Moritz Georg Weidmann Sr. Königl. Maj. in Hohlen und Churfürstl.
Durchl. zu Sachsen Buchhändler, Anno 1730.” Talander’s Preface
relates chiefly to the importance of the work as illustrative of Arabian
manners and customs, &c. It is dated from “Liegnitz, den 7 Sept.,
Anno 1710,” which fixes the approximate date of publication of the
first part of this translation. Vols. i. and ii. of my set (double vol. with
frontispiece) are dated 1730, and have Talander’s preface; vols. iii.
and iv. (divided, but consecutively paged, and with only one title-
page and frontispiece and reprint of Talander’s preface) are dated
1719; vols. v. and vi. (same remarks, except that Talander’s preface
is here dated 1717) are dated 1737; vol. vii. (no frontispiece;
preface dated 1710) is dated 1721; vol. 8 (no frontispiece nor
preface, nor does Talander’s name appear on the title-page) is dated
1729; vols. ix. and x. (divided, but consecutively paged, and with
only one title-page and frontispiece; Talander’s name and preface do
not appear, but Galland’s preface to vol. ix., already mentioned, is
prefixed) are dated 1731; and vols. xi. and xii. (same remarks, but
no preface) are dated 1732.
Galland’s notes are translated, but not his preface and dedication.
There is a later German translation (6 vols. 8vo, Bremen, 1781–
1785) by J. H. Voss, the author of the standard German translation
of Homer.
The British Museum has just acquired a Portuguese translation of
Galland, in 4 volumes: “As Mil e uma Noites, Contos Arabes,”
published by Ernesto Chardron, Editor, Porto e Braga, 1881.
There are two editions of a modern Greek work in the British
Museum, (1792 and 1804) published at Venice (Ενετιηριν) in three
small volumes. The first volume contains Galland (Nos. 1–6 of the
table) and vols. ii. and iii. chiefly contain the Thousand and One
Days. It is, apparently, translated from some Italian work.
Several editions in Italian (Mille ed una Notte) have appeared at
Naples and Milan; they are said by Sir R. F. Burton to be mere
reprints of Galland.
There are, also, several in Dutch, one of which, by C. Van der Post,
in 3 vols. 8vo, published at Utrecht in 1848, purports, I believe, to
be a translation from the Arabic, and has been reprinted several
times. The Dutch editions are usually entitled, “Arabische
Vertellinge.” A Danish edition appeared at Copenhagen in 1818,
under the title of “Prindsesses Schehezerade. Fortällinger eller de
saakatle Tusende og een Nat. Udgivna paa Dansk vid Heelegaan.”
Another, by Rasmassen, was commenced in 1824; and a third
Danish work, probably founded on the Thousand and One Nights,
and published in 1816, bears the title, “Digt og Eventyr fra
Osterland, af arabiska og persischen utrykta kilder.”
I have seen none of these Italian, Dutch or Danish editions; but
there is little doubt that most, if not all, are derived from Galland’s
work.
The following is the title of a Javanese version, derived from one of
the Dutch editions, and published at Leyden in 1865, “Eenige
Vertellingen uit de Arabisch duizend en één Nacht. Naar de
Nederduitsche vertaling in het Javaansch vertaald, door Winter-
Roorda.”
Mr. A. G. Ellis has shown me an edition of Galland’s Aladdin (No.
193) in Malay, by M. Van der Lawan (?) printed in Batavia, A.D.
1869.
 CAZOTTE’S CONTINUATION, AND THE
COMPOSITE EDITIONS OF THE ARABIAN
NIGHTS.
We shall speak elsewhere of the Cabinet des Fées; but the last four
volumes of this great collection (38 to 41) published at Geneva from
1788 to 1793, contain a work entitled, “Les Veillées du Sultan
Schahriar avec la Sultane Scheherazade; histoires incroyables,
amusantes et morales, traduites de l’arabe par M. Cazotte et D.
Chavis. Faisant suite aux Mille et une Nuits.” Some copies bear the
abridged title of “La suite des Mille et une Nuits. Contes Arabes,
traduits par Dom Chavis et M. Cazotte.”
This collection of tales was pronounced to be spurious by many
critics, and even has been styled “a bare-faced forgery” by a writer
in the Edinburgh Review of July, 1886. It is, however, certain that
the greater part, if not all, of these tales are founded on genuine
Eastern sources, though very few have any real claim to be regarded
as actually part of the Thousand and One Nights.
Translations of the originals of most of these tales have been
published by Caussin de Perceval and Gauttier; and a comparison
clearly shows the great extent to which Chavis and Cazotte have
altered, amplified and (in a literary sense) improved their materials.
It is rather surprising that no recent edition of this work seems to
have been issued, perhaps owing to the persistent doubts cast upon
its authenticity, only a few of the tales, and those not the best,
having appeared in different collections. My friend, Mr. A. G. Ellis,
himself an Oriental scholar, has remarked to me that he considers
these tales as good as the old “Arabian Nights;” and I quite agree
with him that Chavis and Cazotte’s Continuation is well worthy of re-
publication in its entirety.
The following are the principal tales comprised in this collection,
those included in our Table from later authors being indicated.
1. The Robber Caliph, or the Adventures of Haroun Alraschid with
the Princess of Persia, and the beautiful Zutulbe. (No. 246).
2. The Power of Destiny, being the History of the Journey of Giafar
to Damas, containing the Adventures of Chelih and his Family. (No.
280).
3. History of Halechalbe and the Unknown Lady. (No. 204c.).
4. Story of Xailoun the Idiot.
5. The Adventures of Simoustapha and the Princess Ilsetilsone. (No.
247).
6. History of Alibengiad, Sultan of Herak, and of the False Birds of
Paradise.
7. History of Sinkarib and his Two Viziers. (No. 249).
8. History of the Family of the Schebandad of Surat.
9. Story of Bohetzad and his Ten Viziers. (No. 174).
10. Story of Habib and Dorathil-Goase. (No. 251).
11. History of the Maugraby, or the Magician.
Of these, Nos. 4, 6, 8 and 11 only are not positively known in the
original. No. 11 is interesting, as it is the seed from which Southey’s
“Thalaba the Destroyer” was derived.
On the word Maugraby, which means simply Moor, Cazotte has the
following curious note: “Ce mot signifie barbare, barbaresque plus
proprement. On jure encore par lui en Provence, en Languedoc, et
en Gascogne Maugraby; ou ailleurs en France Meugrebleu.”
The Domdaniel, where Zatanai held his court with Maugraby and his
pupil-magicians, is described as being under the sea near Tunis. In
Weil’s story of Joodar and Mahmood (No. 201) the magician
Mahmood is always called the Moor of Tunis.
No. 3 (= our No. 204c) contains the additional incident of the door
opened only once a year which occurs in our No. 9a, aa.
Moore probably took the name Namouna from Cazotte’s No. 5, in
which it occurs. In the same story we find a curious name of a
Jinniyah, Setelpedour. Can it be a corruption of Sitt El Budoor?
For further remarks on Cazotte’s Continuation, compare Russell’s
History of Aleppo, i. p. 385; and Russell and Scott, Ouseley’s Oriental
Collections, i. pp. 246, 247; ii. p. 25; and the “Gentleman’s
Magazine” for February, 1779.
An English version under the title “Arabian Tales, or a Continuation
of the Arabian Nights’ Entertainments,” translated by Robert Heron,
was published in Edinburgh in 1792 in 4 vols., and in London in 1794
in 3 vols. It was reprinted in Weber’s “Tales of the East” (Edinburgh,
1812); and, as already mentioned, is included in an edition of the
Arabian Nights, published in Liverpool in 1813.
A German translation forms vols. 5 to 8 of the “Blaue Bibliothek,”
published in Gotha in 1790 and 1791; and the British Museum
possesses vols. 3 and 4 of a Russian edition, published at Moscow in
1794 and 1795, which is erroneously entered in the catalogue as the
Arabian Nights in Russian.
Respecting the work of Chavis and Cazotte, Sir R. F. Burton remarks,
“Dom Dennis Chavis was a Syrian priest of the order of Saint Bazil,
who was invited to Paris by the learned minister, Baron Arteuil, and
he was assisted by M. Cazotte, a French author, then well known,
but wholly ignorant of Arabic. These tales are evidently derived from
native sources; the story of Bohetzad (King Bakhtiyar) and his Ten
Wazirs is taken bodily from the Bres. Edit. [not so; but the original
Arabic had long been known in the French libraries]. As regards the
style and treatment, it is sufficient to say that the authors out-
Gallanded Galland, while Heron exaggerates every fault of his
original.”
The first enlarged edition of Galland in French was published by
Caussin de Perceval, at Paris, in 9 vols., 8vo (1806). In addition to
Galland’s version, he added four tales (Nos. 21a, 22, 32 and 37),
with which he had been furnished by Von Hammer. He also added a
series of tales, derived from MSS. in the Parisian libraries, most of
which correspond to those of Cazotte.
The most important of the later French editions was published by E.
Gauttier in 7 vols. in 1822; it contains much new matter. At the end,
the editor gives a list of all the tales which he includes, with
arguments. He has rather oddly distributed his material so as to
make only 568 nights. The full contents are given in our Table; the
following points require more special notice. Vol. i. Gauttier omits the
Third Shaykh’s story (No. 1c) on account of its indecency, although it
is really no worse than any other story in The Nights. In the story of
the Fisherman, he has fallen into a very curious series of errors. He
has misunderstood King Yunan’s reference to King Sindbad (Burton i.
p. 50) to refer to the Book of Sindibad (No. 135); and has
confounded it with the story of the Forty Vazirs, which he says exists
in Arabic as well as in Turkish. Of this latter, therefore, he gives an
imperfect version, embedded in the story of King Yunan (No. 2a).
Here it may be observed that another imperfect French version of
the Forty Vazirs had previously been published by Petis de la Croix
under the title of Turkish Tales. A complete German version by Dr.
Walter F. A. Behrnauer was published at Leipzig in 1851, and an
English version by Mr. E. J. W. Gibb has appeared while these sheets
are passing through the press.
Vol. ii. After No. 6 Gauttier places versions of Nos. 32 and 184 by
Langlès. The Mock Caliph is here called Aly-Chah. The other three
tales given by Caussin de Perceval from Von Hammer’s MSS. are
omitted by Gauttier. Vol. v. (after No. 198) concludes with two
additional tales (Nos. 207h and 218) from Scott’s version. But the
titles are changed, No. 207h being called the Story of the Young
Prince and the Green Bird, and No. 218 the Story of Mahmood,
although there is another story of Mahmood in vol. i. (= No. 135m)
included as part of the Forty Vazirs.
Vol. vi. includes the Ten Vazirs (No. 174) derived, however, not from
the Arabic, but from the Persian Bakhtyar Nameh. Three of the
subordinate tales in the Arabic version are wanting in Gauttier’s, and
another is transferred to his vol. vii., but he includes one, the King
and Queen of Abyssinia (No. 252), which appears to be wanting in
the Arabic. The remainder of the volume contains tales from Scott’s
version, the title of Mazin of Khorassaun (No. 215) being altered to
the Story of Azem and the Queen of the Genii.
Vol. vii. contains a series of tales of which different versions of six
only (Nos. 30, 174, 246, 248, 249 and 250) were previously
published. Though these have no claim to be considered part of The
Nights, they are of sufficient interest to receive a passing mention,
especially as Gauttier’s edition seems not to have been consulted by
any later writer on The Nights, except Habicht, who based his own
edition mainly upon it. Those peculiar to Gauttier’s edition are
therefore briefly noticed.
Princess Ameny (No. 253)—A princess who leaves home disguised as
a man, and delivers another princess from a black slave. The
episode (253b) is a story of enchantment similar to Nos. 1a-c.
Aly Djohary (No. 254)—Story of a young man’s expedition in search
of a magical remedy.
The Princes of Cochin China (No. 255)—The princes travel in search
of their sister who is married to a Jinni, who is under the curse of
Solomon. The second succeeds in breaking the spell, and thus
rescues both his brother, his sister, and the Jinni by killing a bird to
which the destiny of the last is attached. (This incident is common in
fiction; we find it in the genuine Nights in Nos. 154a and 201.)
The Wife with Two Husbands (No. 256)—A well-known Eastern
story; it may be found in Wells’ “Mehemet the Kurd,” pp. 121–127,
taken from the Forty Vazirs. Compare Gibbs, the 24th Vazir’s Story,
pp. 257–266.
The Favourite (No. 257)—One of the ordinary tales of a man
smuggled into a royal harem in a chest (compare Nos. 6b and 166).
Youssouf and the Indian Merchant (No. 258)—Story of a ruined man
travelling to regain his fortune.
Prince Benazir (No. 258)—Story of a Prince promised at his birth,
and afterwards given up by his parents to an evil Jinni, whom he
ultimately destroys. (Such promises, especially, as here, in cases of
difficult labour, are extremely common in folk-tales; the idea
probably originated in the dedication of a child to the Gods.) Gauttier
thinks that this story may have suggested that of Maugraby to
Cazotte; but it appears to me rather doubtful whether it is quite
elaborate enough for Cazotte to have used it in this manner.
Selim, Sultan of Egypt (No. 261)—This and its subordinate tales
chiefly relate to unfaithful wives; that of Adileh (No. 261b) is curious;
she is restored to life by Jesus (whom Gauttier, from motives of
religious delicacy, turns into a Jinni!) to console her disconsolate
husband, and immediately betrays the latter. These tales are
apparently from the Forty Vazirs; cf. Gibbs, the 10th Vazir’s Story, pp.
122–129 (= our No. 261) and the Sixth Vazir’s Story, pp. 32–84 (=
No. 261b.)
The bulk of the tales in Gauttier’s vol. vii. are derived from
posthumous MSS. of M. Langlès, and several have never been
published in English. Gauttier’s version of Heycar (No. 248) was
contributed by M. Agoub.
The best known modern German version (Tausend und Eine Nacht,
Arabische Erzahlungen, Deutsch von Max. Habicht, Fr. H. von der
Hagen und Carl Schall. Breslau, 15 vols. 12mo) is mainly based upon
Gauttier’s edition, but with extensive additions, chiefly derived from
the Breslau text. An important feature of this version is that it
includes translations of the prefaces of the various editions used by
the editors, and therefore supplies a good deal of information not
always easily accessible elsewhere. There are often brief notes at
the end of the volumes.
The fifth edition of Habicht’s version is before me, dated 1840; but
the preface to vol. i is dated 1824, which maybe taken to represent
the approximate date of its first publication. The following points in
the various vols. may be specially noticed:—
Vol. i. commences with the preface of the German editor, setting
forth the object and scope of his edition; and the prefaces of
Gauttier and Galland follow. No. 1c, omitted by Gauttier, is inserted
in its place. Vols. ii. and iii. (No. 133), notes, chiefly from Langlès,
are appended to the Voyages of Sindbad; and the destinations of the
first six are given as follows:—

I. Voyage to Sumatra.
II. Voyage to Ceylon.
III. Voyage to Selahath.
IV. Voyage to the Sunda Islands.
V. Voyage to the Sunda Islands.
VI. Voyage to Zeilan.
Vol. v. contains an unimportant notice from Galland, with additional
remarks by the German editors, respecting the division of the work
into Nights.
Vol. vi. contains another unimportant preface respecting Nos. 191
and 192.
Vol. x. Here the preface is of more importance, relating to the
contents of the volume, and especially to the Ten Vazirs (No. 174).
Vol. xi. contains tales from Scott. The preface contains a full account
of his MSS., and the tales published in his vol. vi. This preface is
taken partly from Ouseley’s Oriental Collections, and partly from
Scott’s own preface.
Vol. xii. contains tales from Gauttier, vol. vii. The preface gives the
full contents of Clarke’s and Von Hammer’s MSS.
Vol. xiii. includes Caussin de Perceval’s Preface, the remaining tales
from Gauttier’s vol. vii. (ending with Night 568); and four tales from
Caussin which Gauttier omits (Nos. 21a, 22, 37 and 202).
Vols. xiv. and xv. (extending from Night 884 to Night 1001) consist of
tales from the Breslau edition, to which a short preface, signed by
Dr. Max. Habicht is prefixed. The first of these tales is a fragment of
the important Romance of Seyf Zul Yesn (so often referred to by
Lane), which seems to have been mixed with Habicht’s MS. of The
Nights by mistake. (Compare Payne, Tales, iii. 243.)
In this fragment we have several incidents resembling The Nights;
there is a statue which sounds an alarm when an enemy enters a
city (cf. Nos. 59 and 137); Seyf himself is converted to the faith of
Abraham, and enters a city where a book written by Japhet is
preserved. The text of this story has lately been published; and Sir
R. F. Burton informs me that he thinks he has seen a complete
version in some European language; but I have not succeeded in
obtaining any particulars concerning it.
On account of the interest and importance of the work, I append to
this section an English version of the fragment translated into
German by Habicht. (From the extreme simplicity of the style, which
I have preserved, I suspect that the translation is considerably
abridged.)
There is an Icelandic version of The Nights (Þúsund og ein Nott.
Arabiskar Sögur. Kaupmannahöfn, 1857, 4 vols. roy. 8vo), which
contains Galland’s tales, and a selection of others, distributed into
1001 Nights, and apparently taken chiefly from Gauttier, but with the
addition of two or three which seem to be borrowed from Lane (Nos.
9a, 163, 165, &c.). It is possibly derived immediately from some
Danish edition.
There is one popular English version which may fairly be called a
composite edition; but it is not based upon Gauttier. This is the
“Select Library Edition. Arabian Nights’ Entertainments, selected and
revised for general use. To which are added other specimens of
Eastern Romance. London: James Burns, 1847. 2 vols.”
It contains the following tales from The Nights: Nos. 134, 3, 133,
162, 1, 2, 155, 191, 193, 192, 194, 194a, 194c, 21, 198, 170, 6.
No. 134 is called the City of Silence, instead of the City of Brass, and
is certainly based partly upon Lane. In No. 155, Manar Al Sana is
called Nur Al Nissa. One story, “The Wicked Dervise,” is taken from
Dow’s “Persian Tales of Inatulla;” another “The Enchanters, or the
Story of Misnar,” is taken from the “Tales of the Genii.” Four other
tales, “Jalaladdeen of Bagdad,” “The two Talismans,” “The Story of
Haschem,” and “Jussof, the Merchant of Balsora,” clearly German
imitations, are said to be translated from the German of Grimm, and
there are two others, “Abdullah and Balsora,” and “The King and his
Servant,” the origin of which I do not recognise, although I think I
have read the last before.
Grimm’s story of Haschem, concludes with the hero’s promotion to
the post of Grand Vizier to Haroun Al-Rashid, in consequence of the
desire of the aged “Giafar” to end his days in peaceful retirement!
The principal incident in Jalaladdeen, is that of the Old Woman in
the Chest, borrowed from the well-known story of the Merchant
Abudah in the “Tales of the Genii,” and it is thus an imitation of an
imitation.
THE COMMENCEMENT OF THE STORY OF SAIF
ZUL YEZN (ZU’L YAZAN) ACCORDING TO
HABICHT’S GERMAN VERSION.
In very ancient times, long before the age of Mohammed, there lived
a King of Yemen, named Zul Yezn. He was a Himyarite of the race of
Fubbaa (Tabbá’) and had large armies and a great capital. His
Minister was named Yottreb (Yathrab = Medinat), and was well
skilled in the knowledge of the ancients. He once had a vision in
which the name of the Prophet was revealed to him, with the
announcement of his mission in later times; and he was also
informed that he would be the last of the Prophets. In consequence
of this vision he believed in the Prophet before his advent; but he
concealed his faith. One day the King held a review of his troops,
and was delighted with their number and handsome appearance. He
said to the Wazir, “Is there any person on earth whose power can
compare with mine?” “O yes,” answered the Wazir, “there is King
Baal-Beg, whose troops fill the deserts and the cultivated lands, the
plains and the valleys.” “I must make war upon him, then,”
exclaimed the King, “and destroy his power.” He immediately ordered
the army to prepare to march, and after a few days the drums and
trumpets were heard. The King and his Wazir set forth in
magnificent array, and after a rapid march, they arrived before the
holy city Medina, which may God keep in high renown! The Wazir
then said to the King, “Here is the holy house of God, and the place
of great ceremonies. No one should enter here who is not perfectly
pure, and with head and feet bare. Pass around it with your
companions, according to the custom of the Arabs.” The King was so
pleased with the place that he determined to destroy it, to carry the
stones to his own country, and to rebuild it there, that the Arabs
might come to him on pilgrimage, and that he might thus exalt
himself above all Kings. He pondered over this plan all night, but
next morning he found his body fearfully swollen. He immediately
sent for his Wazir, and lamented over his misfortune. “This is a
judgment sent upon you,” replied the Wazir, “by the Lord of this
house. If you alter your intention of destroying the temple, you will
be healed at once.” The King gave up his project, and soon found
himself cured. Soon afterwards he said to himself, “This misfortune
happened to me at night, and left me next day of its own accord;
but I will certainly destroy the house.” But next morning his face was
so covered with open ulcers that he could no longer be recognised.
The Wazir then approached him and said, “O King, renounce your
intention, for it would be rebellion against the Lord of Heaven and
Earth, who can destroy every one who opposes him.” When the King
heard this, he reflected awhile and said, “What would you wish me
to do?” The Wazir replied, “Cover the house with carpets from
Yemen.” The King resolved to do this, and when night came he
retired to rest. He then saw an apparition which ordered him not to
march further into the country of King Baal-Beg, but to turn towards
Abyssinia and Nigritia, adding, “Remain there, and choose it as thy
residence, and assuredly one of thy race will arise through whom the
threat of Noah shall be fulfilled.” When the King awoke next morning
he related this to the Wazir, who advised him to use his own
judgment about it. The King immediately gave orders to march. The
army set forth, and after ten days they arrived at a country the soil
of which seemed to consist of chalk, for it appeared quite white. The
Wazir Yottreb then went to the King and requested his permission to
found a city here for his people. “Why so?” asked the King.
“Because,” replied the Wazir, “this will one day be the place of
Refuge of the Prophet Mohammed, who will be sent at the end of
time.” The King then gave his consent, and Yottreb immediately
summoned architects and surveyors, who dug out the ground, and
reared the walls, and erected beautiful palaces. They did not desist
from the work until the Wazir ordered a number of his people to
remove to this city with their families. This was done, and their
posterity inhabit the city to this day. He then gave them a scroll, and
said, “He who comes to you as a fugitive to this house will be the
ruler of this city.” He then called the city Yottreb after his own name,
and the scroll descended from father to son till the Apostle of God
arrived as a fugitive from Mecca, when the inhabitants went out to
meet him, and presented him with it. They afterwards became his
auxiliaries and were known as the Ansar. But we must now return to
King Zul Yezn. He marched several days towards Abyssinia, and at
last arrived in a beautiful and fertile country where he informed his
Wazir that he would like to build a city for his subjects. He gave the
necessary orders, which were diligently executed; canals were dug
and the surrounding country cultivated; and the city was named
Medinat El-Hamra, the Red. At last the news reached the King of
Abyssinia, whose name was Saif Ar-Raad (Thunder-sword), and
whose capital was called Medinat ad-Durr (the Rich in Houses). Part
of this city was built on solid land and the other was built in the sea.
This prince could bring an army of 600,000 men into the field, and
his authority extended to the extremity of the then known world.
When he was informed of the invasion of Zul Yezn, he summoned
his two Wazirs, who were named Sikra Divas and Ar-Ryf. The latter
was well versed in ancient books, in which he had discovered that
God would one day send a Prophet who would be the last of the
series. He believed this himself, but concealed it from the
Abyssinians, who were still worshippers of Saturn. When the Wazirs
came before the King, he said to them, “See how the Arabs are
advancing against us; I must fight them.” Sikra Divas opposed this
design, fearing lest the threat of Noah should be fulfilled. “I would
rather advise you,” said he, “to make the King a present and to send
with it the most beautiful maiden in your palace. But give her poison
secretly, and instruct her to poison the King when she is alone with
him. If he is once dead, his army will retire without a battle.” The
King adopted this advice, and prepared rich presents, and
summoned a beautiful girl, whose artfulness and malice were well
known. Her name was Kamrya (Moonlight.) The King said to her, “I
have resolved to send you as a present, for a secret object. I will
give you poison, and when you are alone with the Prince to whom I
will send you, drop it into his cup, and let him take it. As soon as he
is dead, his army will leave us in peace.” “Very well, my master,”
replied the girl, “I will accomplish your wish.” He then sent her with
the other presents and a letter to the city of Zul Yezn. But the Wazir
Ar-Ryf had scarcely left the King’s presence when he wrote a letter,
and commanded a slave to carry it to Zul Yezn. “If you can give it to
him before the arrival of the slave-girl,” added he, “I will give you
your freedom.” The slave made all possible haste to the Arab King,
but yet the presents arrived before him. A chamberlain went to the
King and informed him that a messenger had arrived at the gate
with presents from the King of Abyssinia, and requested permission
to enter. Zul Yezn immediately ordered that he should be admitted,
and the presents and the maiden were at once delivered to him.
When he saw her, he was astonished at her beauty, and was greatly
delighted. He immediately ordered her to be conveyed to his palace,
and was very soon overcome with love for her. He was just about to
dissolve the assembly to visit Kamrya, when the Wazir Yottreb
detained him, saying, “Delay a while, O King, for I fear there is some
treachery hidden behind this present. The Abyssinians hate the
Arabs exceedingly, but are unwilling to make war with them, lest the
threat of Noah should be fulfilled. It happened one day that Noah
was sleeping when intoxicated with wine, and the wind uncovered
him. His son Ham laughed, and did not cover him; but his other son
Seth [sic] came forward, and covered him up. When Noah awoke, he
exclaimed to Ham, ‘May God blacken thy face!’ But to Seth he said,
‘May God make the posterity of thy brother the servants of thine
until the day of Resurrection!’ This is the threat which they dread as
the posterity of Ham.” While the King was still conversing with his
Wazir, the Chamberlain announced the arrival of a messenger with a
letter. He was immediately admitted, and delivered the letter, which
was read by the Wazir Yottreb. Ar-Ryf had written, “Be on your
guard against Kamrya, O King, for she hath poison with her, and is
ordered to kill you when she is alone with you.” The King now began
loudly to praise the acuteness of his Wazir, and went immediately to
Kamrya with his drawn sword. When he entered, she rose and kissed
the ground, but he exclaimed, “You have come here to poison me!”
She was confounded, and took out the poison, and handed it to the
King, full of artifice, and thinking “If I tell him the truth, he will have
a better opinion of me, and if he confides in me, I can kill him in
some other manner than with this poison.” It fell out as she
expected, for the King loved her, gave her authority over his palace
and his female slaves, and found himself very happy in her
possession. But she herself found her life so pleasant that, although
King Ar-Raad frequently sent to ask her why she had not fulfilled her
commission, she always answered, “Wait a little; I am seeking an
opportunity, for the King is very suspicious.” Some time passed over,
and at length she became pregnant. Six months afterwards Zul Yezn
fell ill; and as his sickness increased, he assembled the chief men of
his Court, informed them of the condition of Kamrya, and after
commending her to their protection, he ordered that if she bore a
son, he should succeed him. They promised to fulfil his commands,
and a few days afterwards Zul Yezn died. Kamrya now governed the
country, till she brought forth a son. He was a child of uncommon
beauty, and had a small mole on his cheek. When she saw the child
she envied him, and said to herself, “What, shall he take away the
kingdom from me? No, it shall never be;” and from this time forward
she determined to put him to death. After forty days, the people
requested to see their King. She showed him to them, and seated
him on the throne of the kingdom, whereupon they did homage to
him, and then dispersed. His mother took him back into the Palace,
but her envy increased so much that she had already grasped a
sword to kill him, when her nurse entered and asked what she was
going to do? “I am about to kill him,” answered she. “Have you not
reflected?” said the nurse, “that if you kill him the people will revolt,
and may kill you also?” “Let me kill him,” persisted she; “for even
should they kill me too, I should at least be released from my envy.”
“Do not act thus,” warned the nurse, “or you may repent it, when
repentance cannot help you.” “It must be done,” said Kamrya. “Nay,
then,” said the nurse, “if it cannot be avoided, let him at least be
cast into the desert, and if he lives, so much the better for him; but
if he dies, you are rid of him for ever.” She followed this advice and
set out on the way at night time with the child, and halted at a
distance of four days’ journey, when she sat down under a tree in
the desert. She took him on her lap, and suckled him once more,
and then laid him on a bed, putting a purse under his head,
containing a thousand gold pieces and many jewels. “Whoever finds
him,” said she, “may use the money to bring him up;” and thus she
left him.
It happened by the gracious decree of God, that hunters who were
chasing gazelles, surprised a female with a fawn; the former took to
flight, and the hunters carried off the little one. When the mother
returned from the pasture, and found her fawn gone, she traversed
the desert in all directions in search of it, and at length the crying of
the deserted child attracted her. She lay down by the child, and the
child sucked her. The gazelle left him again to go to graze, but
always returned to the little one when she was satisfied. This went
on till it pleased God that she should fall into the net of a hunter. But
she became enraged, tore the net, and fled. The hunter pursued her,
and overtook her when she reached the child, and was about to give
him suck. But the arrival of the hunter compelled the gazelle to take
to flight, and the child began to cry, because he was not yet
satisfied. The hunter was astonished at the sight, and when he lifted
the child up, he saw the purse under his head, and a string of jewels
round his neck. He immediately took the child with him, and went to
a town belonging to an Abyssinian king named Afrakh, who was a
dependent of King Saif Ar-Raad. He handed over the child to him,
saying that he had found it in the lair of a gazelle. When the King
took the child into his care, it smiled at him, and God awakened a
feeling of love towards him in the King’s heart; and he then noticed
the mole on his cheek. But when his Wazir Sikar Diun, the brother of
Sikar Divas, who was Wazir to King Saif Ar-Raad, entered and saw
the child, God filled his heart with hate towards him. “Do not believe
what this man told you,” he said, when the King told him the
wonderful story of the discovery, “it can only be the child of a
mother who has come by it wrongly, and has abandoned it in the
desert, and it would be better to kill it.” “I cannot easily consent to
this,” said the King. But he had hardly spoken, when the palace was
filled with sounds of rejoicing, and he was informed that his wife had
just been safely delivered of a child. On this news he took the boy
on his arm, and went to his wife, and found that the new-born child
was a girl, and that she had a red mole on her cheek. He wondered
when he saw this, and said to Sikar Diun, “See how beautiful they
are!” But when the Wazir saw it, he slapped his face, and cast his
cap on the ground, exclaiming, “Should these two moles unite, I
prophesy the downfall of Abyssinia, for they presage a great
calamity. It would be better to kill either the boy or your daughter.”
“I will kill neither of them,” replied the King, “for they have been
guilty of no crime.” He immediately provided nurses for the two
children, naming his daughter Shama (Mole) and the boy Wakhs[471]
El Fellat (Lonely one, or Desert); and he reared them in separate
apartments, that they might not see each other. When they were ten
years old, Wakhs El Fellat grew very strong, and soon became a
practised horseman, and surpassed all his companions in this
accomplishment, and in feats of arms. But when he was fifteen, he
was so superior to all others, that Sikar Diun threatened the King
that he would warn King Saif Ar-Raad that he was nurturing his
enemy in his house, if he did not immediately banish him from the
country; and this threat caused King Afrakh great alarm. It
happened that he had a general, who was called Gharag El Shaker
(Tree-splitter), because he was accustomed to hurl his javelin at
trees, and thus to cleave them asunder. He had a fortress three
days’ journey from the town; and the King said to him, “Take Wakhs
El Fellat to your castle, and never let him return to this
neighbourhood.” He added privately, “Look well after him and
preserve him from all injury, and have him instructed in all
accomplishments.” The general withdrew, and took the boy with him
to his castle, and instructed him thoroughly in all accomplishments
and sciences. One day he said to him, “One warlike exercise is still
unknown to you.” “What is that?” said Wakhs El Fellat. “Come and
see for yourself,” replied he. The general then took him to a place
where several trees were growing, which were so thick that a man
could not embrace the trunk. He then took his javelin, hurled it at
one of them, and split the trunk. Wakhs El Fellat then asked for the
javelin, and performed the same feat, to the astonishment of his
instructor. “Woe to thee!” exclaimed he, “for I perceive that you are
the man through whom the threat of Noah will be fulfilled against
us. Fly, and never let yourself be seen again in our country, or I will
kill you.” Wakhs El Fellat then left the town, not knowing where to
go. He subsisted for three days on the plants of the earth, and at
last he arrived at a town encircled by high walls, the gates of which
were closed. The inhabitants were clothed in black, and uttered cries
of lamentation. In the foreground he saw a bridal tent, and a tent of
mourning. This was the city of King Afrakh who had reared him, and
the cause of the mourning of the inhabitants was as follows. Sikar
Diun was very angry that the King had refused to follow his advice,
and put the boy to death, and had left the town to visit one of his
friends, who was a magician, to whom he related the whole story.
“What do you propose to do now?” asked the magician. “I will
attempt to bring about a separation between him and his daughter,”
said the Wazir. “I will assist you,” was the answer of the magician.
He immediately made the necessary preparations, and summoned
an evil Jinni named Mukhtatif (Ravisher) who inquired, “What do you
require of me?” “Go quickly to the city of King Afrakh, and contrive
that the inhabitants shall leave it.” In that age men had intercourse
with the more powerful Jinn, and each attained their ends by means
of the other. The Jinn did not withdraw themselves till after the
advent of the Prophet. The Magician continued, “When the
inhabitants have left the city, they will ask you what you want.” Then
say, “Bring me out Shama, the daughter of your King, adorned with
all her jewels, and I will come to-morrow and carry her away. But if
you refuse, I will destroy your city, and destroy you all together.”
When Mukhtatif heard the words of this priest of magis, he did as he
was commanded, and rushed to the city. When Sikar Diun saw this,
he returned to King Afrakh to see what would happen; but he had
scarcely arrived when the voice of Mukhtatif resounded above the
city. The inhabitants went to the King, and said, “You have heard
what is commanded, and if you do not yield willingly, you will be
obliged to do so by force.” The King then went weeping to the
mother of the Princess, and informed her of the calamity. She could
scarcely contain herself for despair, and all in the palace wept at
parting from the Princess. Meantime Shama was richly attired, torn
from her parents, and hurried to the bridal tent before the town, to
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