Bristol news. [volume] (Bristol, Va. & Tenn.) 1867-189?, 1873-11-18
The Thousand and One
Nights"

but now cOtllN IIidI Ute OF the lnOu-
sand and One Nights, which belonged,
and still belongs, to all the European
collections OF these old Arabian stories?
| will tell you why and in telling you
why, shall give you the whole back
ground on which all these various
Arabian stories, wherever found, are
arrayed. Ard the background is it,
self a story, and this is the way it
runs
Once there lived wicked Sultan of
Persia, whose name was Schahriar !:
and he had many wives-like the Per-
sian Shah who went journtying into
Eng and this summer past; and he
thought of his wives as stock owners
think of the.r cattle-and l fear the
present Persian Shah thinks no other
wise.
Well, when this old Shahriar found
that his wives were faithleSs and de-
ceitfui-aS all wives will be who are
esteemed no more tan cattle-he
vowed that he would cut off all chance
of their SHINING, 10y 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 maray him; but many women
keep on making as foolish matches all
the world over; and she who marries
Il sOt, or the man who promises to be q
sol, is killed slowly, instead of being
XII led quickly with a how-string,-as
the Sch .hriar d his ork.
Besides all women of tne East were
slaves, as they are mostly now. and
Al 10 ff, huff
mig ut make.
Now: 1t happened that this old
Schahriar had viZicr, or chief officer
und him (whO executed all his muir
derous orders). and who was Mortified
by the cTueities lie had To commit
AMI this same viZier had a beautiful
and accomplished daughter, who was
even more Mortified than her father !:
and she plotted how she might stay
the bloody actions of the SlIahriar.
She could gail no access to him, and
COuIL hope 10 win no influence over
him. EXCEPT by becoming his bride );
but if she became his brid,. she W Ould
have but one day to live. So, at least,
thought her sisters and her father
She, of course, found it very bard to
win the consent of her father, the vi
zier to her plan but at last she sue
ceeded, and SO arranged matters that
the Schahriar should command her TO
be his bride.
The fatal marriage-day came, and
the viZier was in an agony of grief and
alarm. The morning after the espOu-
sails, he waited-in an ecstasy of fear
the usual order for the slaughter of
the innocent bride; but to his amaze
nent and present relief, the order was
postponed to the following day.
This bride whose name Schehera-
Zade-Gnown now to school boys and
shool girls all over the wOrld-was
most bcguiIing of speech, and most
charming stOry-teller. And on the
day of her espousals she had COM
menced the mar alton of a most ell
crossing story to her husband the
Schahriar, and had so artfully timed
it, and measured out its length. that
when the hour came for the sultan to
set about his cares of office, she should
be at its most interesting state. The
sultan had been so beguiled by the
witchery of her narrative, and so eager
to learn the issue, that he put off the
execution of his InurderOus design, in
order to hear the termination of the
story on the following night.
And so rich vas the narration and
so great was the art of the princess
ScIeherazatie, that she kept alive the
curiosity and wonder of her husband,
the sultan, day after day, and week af-
ter week, and month after month, un-
til her fascinating stories had lasted
for thousand and one nights.
If you count up these you will find
they make period of two years and
nine notwithstanding which she had
beguiled the sultan and stayed the or
der for her execution. In the interval.
children had been born to her, and
she had so won upon her husband,
that he abolished his cruel edict forev-
err, on condition that from time to time
she should tell ever again, those en-
chanting 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 Ara
bian Nights tales.
II this account is not true in all par
ticulars. it is at least as tue as the stO-
rIes are.
A good woman sacrificed herself TO
work a deed of benevoienCe. That stO-
nv at any rate is true and is being re-
ppated over and over in lives all around
US Dondid q. Mitchell IA st. Nicho-
las for November.