As the honied sweets of changeful fortune are mingled with bitter draughts, and the tablet of fortune is stamped with varying characters, Jehaundar was scarcely seated on the musnud of his desires, when mischance rolled up the carpet of his enjoyment; and his lip had hardly touched the cup of delight, when accident shed the wine of his hopes on the ground. The particulars of this astonishing event are as follow.
When this glorious planet of the firmament of royalty had departed from the city of Menousowaud towards his own country, and used the greatest speed in winding the path of travel, he at length reached the spot where he had taken the articles from the two brothers who had chosen him arbitrator of their disputes. Recollecting his injustice, the glow of shame moistened his forehead, and he resolved, should he luckily meet them, to return their property, and entreat their forgiveness.
As it happened, he lighted upon them without the trouble of much search, when he begged their pardon for his breach of trust; and having laid the goods at their feet, recounted his adventures, pleading his anxiety to reach the abode of his beloved, in alleviation of his crime. The generous young men said in reply, “Plunge not thyself, good friend, into the whirlpool of anxiety, nor distressfully wander in the plain of apology, for, in fact, we made thee a present of the goods when thou possessedst thyself of them. May they be lawful to thee as thy mother’s milk! for the characters of our obligation to thee are impressed on the tablets of our hearts; and now, in return for thy favours, if thou chusest, we will bestow upon thee a blessing which no other persons could confer. It is the power of quitting thy own and transferring thy soul into another body at pleasure.”
Jehaundar, filled with wonder, reflected a little, and then replied, “I wish to know first, how I, whose dishonesty towards you both is undeniable, should be thought worthy of your confidence as having obliged you.”
The young men answered, “O wise prince, when our father (on whose soul may heaven have mercy!) departed from this frail world, many wonderful curiosities and rare effects descended to us from his estate by inheritance, among which were the trifles you took away. As they could not be equally divided, they became a cause of contention between us, and we agreed to submit the allotment to arbitration; when accidentally you appeared, and by taking away the cause of dispute, obliged us by a reconcilement to each other. We rejoice that thou hast succeeded in thy object by the help of our effects, of which we freely make thee a present.”
Jehaundar, after thanking the generous brothers, and praising their nobleness of spirit and singular liberality, was instructed in the mystery of the soul’s transference to other bodies.
As it happened, Hoormuz, the vizier’s son, who still languished with love for Bherawir Banou, and followed the camp in disguise, was passing by while Jehaundar conversed with the brothers, and led by curiosity hid himself in a thicket to listen, so that he also heard and remembered the mysterious instruction given to the prince.
After two or three marches, having presented himself to Jehaundar, he congratulated him on his success, and made the most respectful professions of duty and attachment, which were graciously received; but the traitor had secretly plotted to overturn the foundations of his sovereign’s existence, and was nurturing the seeds of revenge for disappointed love in his heart. At length, they came to the borders of the extensive lake formerly mentioned, which having safely crossed, by the generous assistance of the same venerable sage heretofore described, Jehaundar encamped on the confines of his father’s dominions, and dispatched a messenger with tidings of his arrival, and a request that a proper force with the insignia of royalty might be sent to escort him in state to the capital, for whose coming he should halt where he was.
The following day, on which the game pursuer of fate had prepared a snare for him, the prince, at the instigation of the treacherous Hoormuz, rode to the chace, and like Bharam, drawing his bow, soon brought down with his rock-piercing arrow a beautiful antelope to the ground.
Hoormuz now cunningly addressed him, saying, “O Rustum-minded prince, I possess in my mind a rare science and mysterious art, equal to the miraculous powers of the Messiah, which no inhabitant under the concave dome of heaven, but myself, has ever yet acquired. It is the power of transferring the soul into another body with all facility, by repeating a mysterious name of the Deity; and, if desired, I will teach it to your highness, on condition that I shall be distinguished above all other courtiers.”
The prince, unmindful of the treachery of changeful fortune, and angry at the boasting vanity of Hoormuz, replied, “I need not thy instruction in a mystery, in which I am more versed than thyself.” Hoormuz replied, “It is astonishing, that high-born princes will descend to disgrace themselves by falsehood.” Upon this Jehaundar was enraged, and said, “I will instantly shew thee a proof of my veracity, but thy blood shall be the forfeit of thy insolent accusation.” Hoormuz exclaimed, “If thou canst transfer thy soul into this dead antelope, I call heaven to witness, that my blood will be but a just sacrifice to the law and my own rashness.”
The unfortunate prince, without considering the speech of an enemy, and impelled by fate, immediately deserted his own body, and animated that of the antelope;* when the traitor, seizing the opportunity, quitted his own impure carcase, and entering the chaste frame of Jehaundar, with agility mounted his horse, and speeded to the tents of the princess.
Bherawir Banou observing a strange change of manner in the seeming prince, suspected the cause, and pretending sudden illness, confined herself, that she might secure her person from his impure embraces. At length the father of Jehaundar dispatched a number of the nobles and officers of state to meet him; who conducted the disguised Hoormuz in royal pomp and splendour to the imperial presence.
The sultaun, overjoyed at the return of his supposed son, showered gold and precious stones over his head; and the impostor, having observed the customary forms of gratitude and obeisance, when dismissed, took possession of the palace of Jehaundar, where he passed his time in mirth and dalliance with the beautiful ladies of the haram; but the princess, whose vaunts of her own charms had been the original cause of the prince’s passion for Bherawir Banou, like her, was impressed by apprehensions of treachery, and following her example, pretended extreme sickness, and preserved herself immaculate. In short, after a little interval, the old emperor, according to the rule, that all things must perish, having said Welcome to the angel of death, departed to the resting place of another world.
Agreeably to the revolutions of the changeful skies, sometimes favouring the wicked, the throne of royalty and crown of power descended to the artful impostor; who, commanding the drums of sovereignty to be sounded, ascended the musnud of state, and struck the coins in his own name throughout the provinces of the empire.