Page:The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Vol 9.djvu/36

18 what is the use of this amulet.” And he answered, saying, “Know that the King of Hind hath a daughter, never was seen a fairer than she, and she is possessed with a demon. So the king summoned the scribes and men of science and diviners, but none of them could ease her of this. Now I was present in the assembly; so I said to him, ‘O king, I know a man called Saadullah the Babylonian, than whom there is not on the face of the earth one more versed in these matters, and if thou see fit to send me to him, do so.’ Quoth he, ‘Go to him.’ And I said, ‘Bring me a piece of cornelian.’ So he gave me a great piece of cornelian and a hundred thousand dinars and a present, with which I betook myself to the land of Babel and seeking out Saadullah, delivered him the money and the present, which he accepted and sending for a lapidary, caused him fashion the cornelian into this amulet. Then he abode seven months in observation of the stars, till he chose out an auspicious time for engraving it, when he graved upon it these talismanic characters that thou seest, and I took it and returned with it to the king.

Now the princess was bound with four chains, and every night a damsel lay with her and was found in the morning slain. The King took the amulet and laid it upon his daughter, whereupon she was straightway made whole. At this he rejoiced greatly and invested me with a dress of honour and gave alms of much money; and he caused set the amulet in the princess’s necklace. It chanced, one day, that she embarked with her damsels in a ship and went apleasuringa-pleasuring [sic] on the sea. Presently, one of her maids put out her hand to her, to sport with her, and the necklace broke asunder and fell into the sea. From that hour