MANY THE ARABIAN ASTROLOGER. A MOORISH LEGEND. ANY hundred years ago, say the old Moorish chronicles, long before Mohammed Aben Alhamar founded his kingdom, an Arab king, named Aben Habuz, reigned in Granada. In his youthful days he had led a life of constant foray and depredation; but now that he was old, he wished to end his days at peace with the world, and in quiet possession of what he had wrested from his neighbours. These commendable intentions of the pacific Aben Habuz, how ever, were sadly frustated by certain neighbouring princes, who were disposed to call him to account for the scores which he had run up with their fathers. Certain districts of his own territories, also, which, during the days of his vigour he had treated with a high hand, were prone, now that he languished for repose, to rise in rebellion, and threatened to invest him in his capital. Thus he had foes on every side, and as Granada is surrounded by wild and craggy mountains, which hide the approach of an enemy, the unfortunate Aben Habuz was kept in a constant state of vigilance and alarm, not knowing in what quarter hostili- | ties might break out. While he was harassed by these perplexities and molestations, an ancient Arabian physician arrived at the court of Granada. His grey beard descended to his girdle, and he had every mark of extreme age, yet he had travelled almost the whole way from Egypt on foot, with no other aid than a staff marked with hieroglyphics. His fame had preceded him. His name was Ibrahim Ebn Abu Ajeeb; he was said to have lived since the days of Mohammed, and to be the son of Abu Ajeeb, the last of the companions of the prophet. When a child, he had followed the conquering army of Amru into Egypt, where he had remained many years studying the dark sciences, and particularly magic, amongst the Egyptian priests. This wonderful old man was gladly received, and honourably entertained, by the perplexed Aben Habuz. He would have assigned him an apartment in his palace, but the astrologer preferred a cave in the side of the hill which rises above the city of Granada, being the same on which the Alhambra has since been built. He caused the cave to be enlarged, so as to form a spacious and lofty hall, with a circular hole at the top, through which he could see the heavens, and behold the stars, even at midday. The walls of this hall he covered with Egyptian hieroglyphics, with cabalistic symbols, and with the figures of the stars in their signs. The sage Ibrahim soon became the bosom counsellor of the king, who applied to him for advice in every emergency. On one occasion, when Aben Habuz was inveighing against the injustice of his neighbours, and bewailing the restless vigilance which he had to observe to guard himself against their invasions, the astrologer, when he had finished, remained silent for a moment, and then replied: "Know, O king, that when I was in Egypt, I beheld a great marvel devised by a pagan priestess of old. On a mountain, above the city of Borsa, and overlooking the great valley of the Nile, was a figure of a ram, and above it a figure of a cock, both of molten brass, and turning upon a pivot. Whenever the country was threatened with invasion, the ram would turn in the direction of the enemy, and the cock would crow; upon this the inhabitants were apprised of the approaching danger, and enabled to guard against it in time." "God is great!" exclaimed the pacific Aben Habuz; "what a treasure would be such a ram to keep an eye on these mountains round me, and then such a cock to crow in time of danger! Allah Akbar, how securely I might sleep in my palace with such sentinels on the top!" The astrologer waited until the ecstacies of the king had subsided, and then continued: "After the victorious Amru (may he rest in peace!) had finished his conquest of Egypt, I remained among the ancient priests of the land, studying the rites and ceremonies of their idolatrous faith, and seeking to make myself master of the hidden knowledge for which they are renowned. Whilst thus employed, I succeeded in discovering a wondrous book of knowledge, which contained all the secrets of magic and of art. It had been given by Allah himself to Adam after his fall, and was handed down from generation to generation to King Solomon the Wise, and by its aid he built the temple of Jerusalem. Its resting-place, in a chamber of the central pyramid, was made known to me by an ancient priest; thither I penetrated, into the very heart of the pyramid, and found the precious volume lying on the breast of the mummy of the high priest who had aided in rearing that stupendous pile. I seized it with a trembling hand, and groped my way out of the pyramid, leaving the mummy in its dark and silent sepulchre, there to await the final day of resurrection and judgment." "Son of Abu Ajeeb," exclaimed the wonder-struck Aben Habuz, "thou hast been a great traveller, and hast seen marvellous things; but of what avail to me is the secret of the pyramid, and the volume of knowledge of the wise Solomon ?" "This it is, O king! by the study of that book I am instructed in all magic arts, and can command the assistance of genii to accomplish my plans. The mystery of the talisman of Borsa is familiar to me, and such a talisman - nay, one of greater virtues -can I make." "O wise son of Abu Ajeeb," cried Aben Habuz, "better were such a talisman than all the watch-towers on the hills of Granada. Give me such a safeguard, and the riches of my treasury are at thy command." The astrologer set to work to gratify the wishes of the king. He caused a great tower to be erected upon the top of the royal palace, which stood on the brow of the hill of the Albaycin. In the upper part of it was a circular hall, with windows looking to every point of the compass, and before each window was a table, on which was arranged, as on a chess-board, a mimic army of horse and foot, with the effigy of the prince who ruled in that direction, all carved in wood. On each of these tables was a lance, no bigger than a bodkin, on which were engraved certain Chaldaic characters. This hall was kept constantly closed, by a gate of brass, with a great lock, of which the king kept the key. On the top of the tower was the bronze figure of a Moorish horseman, fixed on a pivot, with a shield on one arm, and his lance in rest. Soon after the talisman was finished an opportunity occurred for testing its virtues. Tidings were brought one morning by the sentinel appointed to watch the tower, that the face of the bronze horseman was turned towards the mountains of Elvira, and that his lance pointed to the pass of Lope. "Let the drums and trumpets sound to arms, and all Granada be put on the alert," ordered Aben Habuz. "Fear not, O king!" said the astrologer; "Dismiss your attendants, and let us proceed alone to the secret hall of the tower." On reaching the brazen gate, they unlocked and entered. When they approached the seeming chess-board, thę mimic army was seen to be all in motion. The horses pranced, the warriors brandished their weapons, and there was a faint sound as of a distant army on its march. "Behold, O king," said the son of Abu Ajeeb, "a proof that thy foes are even now in the field. They are advancing through the pass of Lope, and if you would produce a panic and a bloodless retreat, strike these figures with the butt-end of this magic lance; but would you cause deadly feud and carnage, strike with the point." "Son of Abu Ajeeb," chuckled the exulting Aben Habuz, "I think we will have a little blood!" So saying, he thrust a magic lance into some of the magic effigies, and belaboured others with the butt-end; the former fell as dead upon the board, and the rest, turning pell-mell upon each other, took to flight. The pacific monarch was with difficulty prevented from exterminating his foes. Scouts were despatched to the pass of Lope, and returned with the intelligence that a Christian army had advanced through the heart of the mountains, almost within sight of Granada, where a dissension had broken out amongst them. They had turned their weapons against each other, and, after much slaughter, had retreated over the border. In the first transport of his joy, Aben Habuz offered the aged maker of the talisman whatever he chose to ask for. "The wants of an old man and a philosopher, O king," he answered, "are few and simple. Grant me but the means of fitting up my cave as a suitable hermitage, and I am content." "How noble is the moderation of the truly wise!" exclaimed the king, secretly pleased at the cheapness of the recompense. He summoned his treasurer, and bade him advance whatever money the fitting-up of Ibrahim's hermitage might require. The astrologer now gave orders to have the cave still further enlarged, and had ranges of apartments formed in connexion with his astrological hall. These he fitted up in the most magnificent manner, furnishing them with luxurious ottomans and rich divans; "for," said the reasonable Ibrahim, "I am an old man, and can no longer rest my bones on stone couches, and these damp walls want covering." He had baths, too, constructed, and provided with all kinds of perfumes and aromatic oils; "for a bath," said he, “is necessary to restore the suppleness of the frame withered by study, and counteract the stiffness of age." He caused the apartments to be hung with innumerable silver and crystal lamps, which he filled with a fragrant oil, prepared from a receipt discovered by him in the tombs of Egypt. "I am now content," said the sage to the complaining treasurer; "I will shut myself up in my cell, and devote my time to study. I desire nothing more, except a trifling solace to amuse me at the intervals of my mental labour. I would fain have a few dancing women," said the philosopher. "Dancing women!" echoed the surprised treasurer. "Dancing women," replied the sage, gravely. A few will suffice; for I am an old man, and a philosopher, simple habits, and easily satisfied. Let them, however, be young and fair to look upon : for the sight of youth and beauty is refreshing to old age." All things have an end, and the desires of the son of Abu Ajeeb were at last satisfied. The talismanic horseman and the mimic chess-men kept Granada from irruptions of the foe, whom the mysterious discomfitures sustained from time to time had rendered less ready to invade the territories of the peaceful Aben Habuz. One day, however, the mystic horseman veered suddenly round, and, lowering his lance, made a dead point toward the mountains of Gaudix. The old monarch tired of prolonged tranquillity, hastened gladly to the tower, but the magic table remained quiet. Puzzled at the circumstance, he despatched a troop of horsemen to scour the mountains. After three days, they returned, bringing with them a Christian damsel, of surpassing beauty, whom they had captured as she slept at noon beside a fountain. No traces of an enemy had been met with. The damsel was brought into the presence of the king, and his old heart grew warm at the sight of such transcendant loveliness. "Fairest of women," said the enraptured monarch, "who and what art thou?" "The daughter of one of the Gothic princes who lately ruled over this land. He has been driven into exile, and his daughter is a captive." The cautious and far-seeing Ibrahim warned the king against being caught by her seductive charms, assuring him that she was the enemy pointed at by the magic warrior, and advising that she should be given up to himself, who had counter-spells that would set her witchcraft at defiance. The sage counsel and disinterested proposal of the philosopher found no favour in the eyes of the enamoured Aben Habuz. The disappointed Ibrabim retired in high dudgeon, and shut himself up in his hermitage, after giving a last warning to the infatuated king. For a time, the dangerous captive held the heart of Aben Habuz in a delightful monopoly. He gave himself up to the full sway of his passion, and neglected all the affairs of his kingdom. The Zacatin of Granada was ransacked for the most precious merchandize of the East. Silks, jewels, precious gems, exquisite perfumesall that Asia and Africa yielded of rich and rare-were lavished upon the obdurate princess. With all his assiduity and munificence, the venerable lover could make no impression on her heart. Whenever he began to plead his passion, she struck a silver lyre which she had when taken captive in the mountains of Gaudix. There was a mystic charm in the sound. In an instant the monarch began to nod; he gradually sank into a sleep, from which he awoke wonderfully cooled in the ardour of his passion. Thus baffled, he alternately pleaded and slept, while all Granada groaned at the treasures lavished for a song. An insurrection broke out in the city, but it was speedily suppressed by the royal guards. A recurrence of these disturbances led Aben Habuz to think of retiring from the duties of his royal office to some quiet abode, where he might urge his suit, undisturbed by outward cares. In his perplexity, he sought the offended sage, whom he found amid the luxuries of his hermitage, chewing the bitter cud of resentment. Aben Habuz approached him with the appearance of regret at what had happened, and, in a conciliatory speech, made known his wishes. The softened astrologer regarded him for a moment from under his bushy eyebrows, and replied "Alas!" replied the modest Ibrahim, "thou knowest I am an old man, and a philosopher, and easily satisfied. All the reward I ask is the first beast of burden, with its load, that shall enter the magic portal of the garden." The monarch gladly agreed to so moderate a stipulation, and the astrologer began his work. In three days, by the power of his incantations, the garden and its palaces were complete. Its beauties can be "better imagined than described." All that could please the eye, or gratify the heart, was within it. At a late hour on the evening of the third day, the astrologer approached the king to "report progress," and announce that the earthly paradise was ready for his possession. Enough!" cried Aben Habuz, joyfully; "to-morrow, at the first dawn, we will ascend, and take possession." The happy monarch slept but little that night. The first rays of the sun had scarcely forced their way over the snowy summit of the Sierra Nevada, when Aben Habuz, accompanied by the Gothic princess, on a white palfrey, and a splendid cortège, in the midst of which walked the astrologer, ascended the hill of the Albaycin. It was in vain that the eager king sought for the palaces and embowered terraces of the earthly paradise. "Nothing, O king," explained the sage, can be seen until you have passed the "And what wouldst thou give, if I could magic portal, on whose front you perceive provide thee such a retreat?" the magic hand and key which guard the entrance." "Thou shouldst name thy own reward, and, as my soul liveth, it should be thine," answered the king. “Thou hast heard, O king,” rejoined the sage, "of the garden of Irem-one of the prodigies of Arabia the Happy ?" "I have heard of that garden; it is regarded in the Koran, even in the chapter entitled 'The Dawn of Day."" In silent wonder, Aben Habuz reined in his steed to gaze at the potent talismans, but the palfrey of the princess proceeded, and bore her in at the portal, to the very centre of the barbacan beyond. "Behold," cried the astrologer, "my promised reward—the first animal, with its burden, that should enter the magic gateway!" Wakening from his reverie to a consciousness of the trick, the enraged king exclaimed "Base son of the desert! name the richest gem in my treasury, or load the strongest mule in my stables with the wealth it contains, but presume not to juggle with thy king." "My king!" echoed the sage, derisively. “The monarch of a molehill to claim sway over him who possesses the talismans of Solomon! Farewell, Aben Habuz! reign over thy petty kingdom, and revel in thy paradise of fools. For me, I will laugh at thee, in my philosophic retirement.” So saying, he seized the bridle of the palfrey, smote the earth with his staff, and sank with the Gothic princess through the centre of the barbacan. The earth closed over them, and no trace of the opening remained. In vain did a thousand workmen dig. The flinty bosom of the hill resisted their implements, and the sage and his prize were nowhere to be found. Aben Habuz was in time gathered to his tomb, and after centuries rolled away, the Alhambra was built on the eventful hill. The spell-bound gateway still remains entire, and now forms the Puerta de la Justicia (Gate of Judgment), the grand entrance to the fortress. The old invalid sentinels, who mount guard at the gate in the summer nights, hear the strains of the princess's lyre soothing the love-sick astrologer to sleep, and, yielding to their suporific power, doze quietly at their posts. And as the tale circulates around the winter firesides of the Andalusian peasantry, the credulous listeners devoutly cross themselves, and offer up an Ave Maria to be preserved from the charms of the Arabian astrologer. LINES TO A GOOSE. BY AN EPICURE. O GOOSE! thou art a precious bird; I love thy simple, graceless shape, Than swan's majestic form, far better, Thou o'er the barren common ranges ; Alive!-I do not care a bit To hear thy fussy hiss and cackle; But dead, and roasting on the spit, I love to hear thee 'fiz' and crackle. "Good wine requires no bush," they say, They say, too, Rome was saved by thee That not like him should I have faltered; Oh, savoury bird! I love thee well, Thou suitest taste of saint and sinner; Thou-list though, there's the welcome bell, And now I'm off to eat my dinner! * Written after dinner (5 helpings.) |