The Superior times. [volume] (Superior, Wis.) 1870-1912, 1873-11-15
The Thousand n nd One NIGHTS.

But how came that title of the Thou
sand and One Nights, which belonged,
and still belongs, to all the European
collections of these old Arabian storiess
| Will tell you why; and In telling you
why, [ shall give you the whole back
ground on which all these various Ara
bian stories, wherever found, are ar
rayed And the background is itself a
story, and this is the way it runs /:
Once there lived a wicked Sultan of
Persia, whose name was Schahriar
and he had many wives-like the Per
sian Shah who went journeying into
England this summer past; and he
thought of his wives as stock owners
think of their cattle-and [ fear the
wise.
Well, when this old Schahriar found
that his wives were faithless and de-
ceitful-as all wives will be who are
esteemed no more than cattle-he
vowed that he would cut off all chance
of their SHINING, by making an end of
them; SO it happened that whatever
new wife he espoused one day he
killed upon the next.
You will think the brides were fool
Ish to marry him; but many women
keep on making as foolish matches all
the world over; and she who marries a
sot, or the man who promises to be a sot,
is killed slowly, instead of being killed
quickly with a bow-strlng, AS the
Schahriar did his work.
Besides, all women of the East were
slaves, as they are mostly now, and
subject to whatever orders the Sultan
might make.
Now, 1t happened that this old Schah
riar had vizier, or chief officer, under
him (wno executed all his murderous
orders), and who was Mortified by the
cruelties he had to commit. And this
same grand vizier had beautiful and
accomplished daughter who was even
more Mortified than her father and
she plotted how she might stay the
bloody actions of the Shahriar.
She could gain no access to him, and
could hope to win no influence over
him, except by becoming his bride
but if she became his bride, she would
have but one day to live. SO, at least,
thought hersisters and her father She,
of course, found it very hard to win
the consent of her father, the vizier, to
her plan; but at last she succeeded,
and so arranged matters that the
Schahriar should command her to be
his bride.
The fatal marriage day came, and
the vlzler was IN an agony Of grief
and alarm. The morning after the es-
pousals, he waited--in an ecstacy of
fear-the usual order for the slaughter
= l., - L 80
amazement and present relief, the or
der was postponed to the following day
This bride, whose name was Sche-
herazade-known now to school boys
and schoolgirls all over the world
was most beguiling of speech, and a
most charming story-teller. And on
the day of her espousal she had COM
menced the narration of a most en-
crossing story to her husband the
Schahriar, and had SO artfully timed it,
and measured out it's length, that when
the hour came for the Sultan to set
about his cares of office she should be
at It's most interesting stage. The
Sultan had been SO beguiled by the
wltchery of her narrative, and so eager
to learn the issue, that he put off the
order to hear the termination of the
story on the following night.
And so rich was the narration and SO
great was the art of the Princess Sche-
herazade, that she kept alive the curl
osIty and wonder of her husband, the
Sultan, day after day, and week after
week, and month after month, until
. her fascinating stories had lasted for a
| thousand and one nights.
If you count up these you will find
they make a period of two years and
nine Notwithstanding which she had
| beguiled the Sultan and stayed the or
der for her execution. In the inter
val, children had been born to her, and
she had SO won upon her husband that
he abolished his cruel edlct forever
on condition that from time to time
she should tell over those enchanting
stories. And the stories she told on
those thousand and one nights, and
which have been recited since In every
language of Europe, thousands and
thousands of times, are the Arabian
Nights tales.
| If this account is not true In all par
ticulars, it is at least as true as the
stories are.
A good woman sacrificed herself tC
work a deed of benevolence. THAI
story at any rate is true, and is being
repeated over and over in lives al
around us.-G. Nicholas for NoU.