The Story of Sinbad the Voyager - The Fourth Voyage

The pleasures which I enjoyed after my third voyage had
not charms suflScient to divert me from another. My passion
for trade, and my love of novelty, again prevailed. I therefore
settled my affairs, and having provided a stock of goods fit for
the trafiic I designed to engage in, I set out on my journey. I
took the route of Persia, travelled over several provinces, and
then arrived at a port, where I embarked. We hoisted our sails,
and touched at several ports of the continent, and then put out to
sea; when we were overtaken by such a sudden gust of wind, as
obliged the captain to lower his yards, and take all other necessary
precautions to prevent the danger that threatened us. But all
was in vain; our endeavours had no effect, the sails were
split in a thousand pieces, and the ship was stranded; several
of the merchants and seamen were drowned, and the cargo
was lost.

"I had the good fortune, with several of the merchants and
mariners, to get upon some planks, and we were carried by the
current to an island which lay before us. There we found fruit
and spring water, which preserved our lives. We stayed all
night near the place where we had been cast ashore and next
morning, as soon as the sun was up, advancing into the island,
saw some houses, which we approached. As soon as we drew
near, we were encompassed by a great number of negroes, who
seized us and carried us to their respective habitations.

I, and five of my comrades, were carried to one place; here
they made us sit down, and gave us a certain herb, which they
made signs to us to eat. My comrades, not taking notice that
the blacks ate none of it themselves, thought only of satisfying
their hunger, and ate with greediness. But I, suspecting some
trick, would not so much as taste it, which happened well for
me; for in a little time after, I perceived my companions had
lost their senses, and that when they spoke to me, they knew not
what they said.

"The negroes fed us afterward with rice, prepared with oil
of cocoa-nuts; and my comrades, who had lost their reason, ate
of it greedily. I also partook of it, but very sparingly. They
gave us that herb at first on purpose to deprive us of our senses,
that we might not be aware of the sad destiny prepared for us;
and they supplied us with rice to fatten us ; for, being cannibals,
their design was to eat us as soon as we grew fat. This accord-
ingly happened, for they devoured my comrades, who were not
sensible of their condition ; but my senses being entire, you may
easily guess that instead of growing fat I grew leaner every day.
The fear of death under which I laboured caused me to fall into
a languishing distemper, which proved my safety ; for the negroes,
having eaten my companions, seeing me to be withered, and sick,
deferred my death.

"Meanwhile I had much liberty, so that scarcely any notice
was taken of what I did, and this gave me an opportunity one
day to get at a distance from the houses and to make my escape.
An old man, who saw me and suspected my design, called to me
as loud as he could to return; but I redoubled my speed, and
quickly got out of sight. At that time there was none but the
old man about the houses, the rest being abroad, and not to
return till night, which was usual with them. Therefore, being
sure that they could not arrive in time enough to pursue me, I
went on till night, when I stopped to rest a little, and to eat some
of the provisions I had secured ; but I speedily set forward again,
and travelled seven days, avoiding those places which seemed to
be inhabited, and lived for the most part upon cocoa-nuts,
which served me both for meat and drink. On the eighth day
I came near the sea, and saw some white people like myself,
gathering pepper, of which there was great plenty in that place.
This I took to be a good omen, and went to them without any
scruple. They came to meet me as soon as they saw me, and
asked me in Arabic who I was, and whence I came. I was
overjoyed to hear them speak in my own language, and satisfied
their curiosity by giving them an account of my shipwreck, and
how I fell into the hands of the negroes. 'Those negroes,*
replied they, ' eat men, and by what miracle did you escape their
cruelty ?' I related to them the circumstances I have just men-
tioned, at which they were wonderfully surprised.

"I stayed with them till they had gathered their quantity
of pepper, and then sailed with them to the island from whence
they had come. They presented me to their king, who was a
good prince. He had the patience to hear the relation of my
adventures ; and he afterward gave me clothes, and commanded
care to be taken of me.

*'The island was very well peopled, plentiful in everything,
and the capital a place of great trade. This agreeable retreat
was very comfortable to me, after my misfortunes, and the kind-
ness of this generous prince completed my satisfaction. In a
word, there was not a person more in favour with him than
myself; and consequently every man in court and city sought to
oblige me; so that in a very little time I was looked upon rather
as a native than a stranger.

I observed one thing which to me appeared very extraor-
dinary. All the people, the king himself not excepted, rode
their horses without bridle or stirrups. This made me one day
take the liberty to ask the king how it came to pass. His Majesty
answered, that I talked to him of things which nobody knew
the use of in his dominions.

"I went immediately to a workman, and gave him a model
for making the stock of a saddle. When that was done, I cov-
ered it myself with velvet and leather, and embroidered it with
gold. I afterward went to a smith, who made me a bit, according
to the pattern I showed him, and also some stirrups. When I
had all things completed, I presented them to the king, and put
them upon one of his horses. His Majesty mounted immediately,
and was so pleased with them, that he testified his satisfaction
by large presents.

As I paid my court very constantly to the king, he said to
me one day : ' Sinbad, I love thee and I have one thing to demand
of thee, which thou must grant.' ' Sir,' answered I, 'there is noth-
ing but I will do, as a mark of my obedience to your Majesty.'
*I have a mind thou shouldst marry,' replied he, 'that so thou
mayest stay in my dominions, and think no more of thy own
country.' I durst not resist the prince's will, and he gave me one
of the ladies of his court, noble, beautiful, and rich. The cere-
monies of marriage being over, I went and dwelt with my wife,
and for some time we lived together in perfect harmony. I was
not, however, satisfied with my banishment, therefore designed
to make my escape the first opportunity, and to return to
Bagdad.

"At this time the wife of one of my neighbours fell sick, and
died, I went to see and comfort him in his affliction, and finding
him absorbed in sorrow, I said to him as soon as I saw him:
*God preserve you and grant you a long life.' 'Alas!' replied
he, ' how do you think I should obtain the favour you wish me ?
I have not above an hour to live.' 'Pray,' said I, 'do not enter-
tain such a melancholy thought; I hope I shall enjoy your
company many years.' 'I wish you,' he replied, 'a long life;
but my days are at an end, for I must be buried this day with my
wife. This is a law which our ancestors established in this
island, and it is always observed. The living husband is interred
with the dead wife, and the living wife with the dead husband.
Nothing can save me; every one must submit to this law.'

"While he was giving me an account of this barbarous cus-
tom, the very relation of which chilled my blood, his kindred,
friends, and neighbours came in a body to assist at the funeral.
They dressed the corpse of the woman in her richest apparel,
and all her jewels, as if it had been her wedding day ; then they
placed her in an open coffin, and began their march to the place
of burial, the husband walking at the head of the company.
They proceeded to a high mountain, and when they had reached
the place of their destination, they took up a large stone, which
covered the mouth of a deep pit, and let down the corpse with all
its apparel and jewels. Then the husband embracing his
kindred and friends, suffered himself, without resistance, to be put
into another open coffin with a pot of water, and seven small
loaves, and was let down in the same manner. The ceremony
being over, the aperture was again covered with the stone, and the
company returned.

It is needless for me to tell you that I was a melancholy
spectator of this funeral, while the rest were scarcely moved, the
custom was to them so familiar. I could not forbear communi-
cating to the king my sentiment respecting the practice: *Sir,' I
said, ' I cannot but feel astonished at the strange usage observed
in this country, of burying the living with the dead. I have been
a great traveller, and seen many countries, but never heard of so
cruel a law.' 'WTiat do you mean, Sinbad.?' replied the king:
*it is a common law. I shall be interred with the queen, my
wife, if she die first.' *But, sir,' said I, 'may I presume to ask
your Majesty, if strangers be obliged to observe this law.^'
'Without doubt,' returned the king; 'they are not exempted,
if they be married in this island.'

"I returned home much depressed by this answer; for the
fear of my wife's dying first and that I should be interred alive
with her, occasioned me very uneasy reflections. But there was
no remedy; I must have patience, and submit to the will of God.
I trembled, however, at every little indisposition of my wife, and,
alas! in a little time my fears were realised, for she fell sick and
died.

"The king and all his court expressed their wish to honour
the funeral with their presence, and the most considerable people
of the city did the same. When all was ready for the ceremony,
the corpse was put into a coffin with all her jewels and her most
magnificent apparel. The procession began, and as second
actor in this doleful tragedy, I went next the corpse, with my
eyes full of tears, bew^ailing my deplorable fate. Before we
reached the mountain, I made an attempt to affect the minds of
the spectators: I addressed myself to the king first, and then
to all those that were round me ; bowing before them to the earth,
and kissing the border of their garments, I prayed them to have
compassion upon me. * Consider,' said I, 'that I am a stranger,
and ought not to be subject to this rigorous law, and that I have
another w ife and children in my own country.' Although I spoke
in the most pathetic manner, no one was moved by my address;
on the contrary, they ridiculed my dread of death as cowardly,
made haste to let my wife's corpse into the pit, and lowered
me down the next moment in an open coffin with a vessel full of
water and seven loaves.

"As I approached the bottom, I discovered by the aid of the
little light that came from above the nature of this subterranean
place; it seemed an endless cavern, and might be about fifty
fathoms deep.

"Instead of losing my courage and calling death to my assist-
ance in that miserable condition, however, I felt still an inclina-
tion to live, and to do all I could to prolong my days. I went
groping about, for the bread and water that was in my coffin, and
took some of it. Though the darkness of the cave was so great
that I could not distinguish day and night, yet I always found
my coffin again, and the cave seemed to be more spacious than
it had appeared to be at first. I lived for some days upon
my bread and water, which being all spent, I at last prepared
for death.

"I was offering up my last devotions when I heard something
tread, and breathing or panting as it walked. I advanced toward
that side from whence I heard the noise, and on my approach the
creature puffed and blew harder, as if running away from me.
I followed the noise, and the thing seemed to stop sometimes, but
always fled and blew as I approached. I pursued it for a con-
siderable time, till at last I perceived a light, resembling a star;
I went on, sometimes lost sight of it, but always found it again,
and at last discovered that it came through a hole in the rock,
large enough to admit a man.

*'Upon this, I stopped some time to rest, being much fatigued
with the rapidity of my progress: afterward coming up to the
hole, I got through, and found myself upon the seashore. I leave
you to guess the excess of my joy : it was such that I could scarcely
persuade myself that the whole was not a dream.

"But when I was recovered from my surprise, and convinced
of the reality of my escape, I perceived what I had followed to
be a creature which came out of the sea, and was accustomed to
enter the cavern when the tides were high.

I examined the mountain, and found it to be situated betwixt
the sea and the town, but without any passage to or communica-
tion with the latter; the rocks on the sea side being high and
perpendicularly steep. I prostrated myself on the shore to thank
God for this mercy, and afterward entered the cave again to
fetch bread and water, which I ate by daylight with a better
appetite than I had done since my interment in the dark cavern.

"I returned thither a second time, and groped among the
coflBns for all the diamonds, rubies, pearls, gold bracelets, and
rich stuffs I could find; these I brought to the shore, and tying
them up neatly into bales, I laid them together upon the beach,
waiting till some ship might appear.

"After two or three days, I perceived a ship just come out
of the harbour, making for the place where I was. I made a sign
with the linen of my turban, and called to the crew as loud as I
could. They heard me, and sent a boat to bring me on board,
when they asked by what misfortune I came thither ; I told them
that I had suffered shipwreck two days before, and made shift
to get ashore with the goods they saw. It was fortunate for me
that these people did not consider the place where I was, nor
inquire into the probability of what I told them; but without
hesitation took me on board. When I came to the ship, the cap-
tain was so well pleased to have saved me, and so much taken up
with his own affairs, that he also took the story of my pretended
shipwreck upon trust, and generously refused some jewels which
I offered him.

"We passed by several islands, and among others that called
the isle of Bells, about ten days' sail from Serendib, and six from
that of Kela, where we landed. This island produces lead mines,
Indian canes, and excellent camphire.

" The King of the isle of Kela is very rich and powerful, and
the isle of Bells, which is about two days' journey in extent, is
also subject to him. The inhabitants are so barbarous that they
still eat human flesh. After we had finished our traflSc in that
island, we put to sea again, and touched at several other ports;
at last I arrived happily at Bagdad with infinite riches. Out
of gratitude to God for His mercies, I contributed liberally
toward the support of several mosques, and the subsistence of
the poor, and gave myself up to the society of my kindred and
friends, enjoying myself with them in festivities and amusements."

Here Sinbad finished the relation of his fourth voyage. He
made a new present of one hundred sequins to Hindbad, whom
he requested to return with the rest next day at the same hour to
dine with him, and hear the story of his fifth voyage. Hindbad
and the other guests took their leave and retired. Next morning
when they all met, they sat down at table, and when dinner was
over, Sinbad began the relation of his fifth voyage as follows