relief.”  Having said this much, he vanished from my sight.  In short, having set my heart at ease from the happy tidings I received from my spiritual guide [Murtaza ’Ali], “the remover of difficulties,” I formed the design of [proceeding to] Constantinople.  On the road I suffered all those misfortunes which were decreed me by fate; with the hopes of meeting the princess.  Through the assistance of God, I am come here, and by good fortune I have become honoured by your presence.  The promised meeting has taken place between us, and we have enjoyed each other’s society and conversation; now it only remains for us to be known to, and acquainted with, the king Azad Bakht.

Assuredly after this, we five shall attain the desires of our hearts.  Do you also beseech the blessings of God, and say amen.  O ye holy guides! such have been the adventures which have befallen this bewildered wanderer, which have been faithfully related in your presence; now let us look forward [to the time] when my trouble and sorrows will be changed into joy and gladness by the recovery of the princess. Azad Bakht, concealed in silence in his corner, having heard with attention the story of the first Darwesh, was greatly pleased; then he betook himself to listen to the adventures of the next Darwesh.

ADVENTURES OF THE SECOND DARWESH

When it came to the turn of the second Darwesh to speak, he placed himself at his ease, [194] and said—­

    “O friends, to this fakir’s story listen a little;—­
    I will tell it to you,—­from first to the last, listen;
    Whose cure no physician can perform;
    My pain is far beyond remedy,—­listen.”

O ye clothed in the dalk! [195] this wretch is the prince of the kingdom of Persia; men skilled in every science are born there, for which reason the [Persian] proverb “Isfahan nisfi Jahan,” [196] or “Ispahan is half the world,” has become well known.  In the seven climes, there is no kingdom equal to that ancient kingdom; the star of that country is the sun, and of all the seven constellations it is the greatest. [197] The climate of that region is delightful, and the inhabitants are of enlightened minds, and refined in their manners.  My father (who was the king of that country), in order to teach me the rules and lessons of government, made choice of very wise tutors in every art and science, and placed them over me for my instruction from my infancy.  So, having received complete instruction in every kind [of knowledge], I am now learned.  With the favour of God, in my fourteenth year I had learned every science, polite conversation, and polished manners; and I had acquired all that is fit and requisite for kings to know; moreover, my inclinations night and day, led me to associate with the learned, and hear the histories of every country, and of ambitious princes and men of renown.