1 827.] The Adventures of Prince HasHan. 38 1 



other : but fate, jealous of the happiness of mankind, will not let them 

 remain long so, and they had to experience greater evils. 



Not far from the Island of Night was another island, where reigned the 

 son of the fairy Noirjabarbe : he was a thousand times more wicked than 

 his mother ; he was a monster ; he was a dwarf, with a hump before, and 

 another behind, which rendered him still more deformed. His eyes were 

 small, sunken, and bordered with red; his nose was flat; his red hair 

 covered his forehead, which was full of pimples ; his large mouth discovered 

 his black teeth ; his legs were crooked ; and his heart was a thousand 

 times more frightful than his person. One day, passing through the air, 

 in a car drawn by dragons, he beheld the princess of the Isle of Night, as 

 she was walking in the palace gardens. He was struck with her beauty, 

 and instantly demanded her hand in marriage. Her unhappy father, 

 dreading the fury and anger of so wicked a prince, sacrificed his daughter 

 to the interest of his people. He knew the power of the fairy Noirjabarbe's- 

 son ; and he was aware that he would have destroyed the whole island, if 

 he had refused him his daughter. 



This unfortunate princess was, therefore, delivered up to the monster, 

 who carried her off to his palace. Never was a princess so much to be 

 pitied. She had not even time to acquaint her lover. It is not possible to- 

 express her despair. Tho inquietude of Prince Hassan was not less. He 

 could not suspect her of inconstancy, but did not know what to think of her 

 long absence. Death would have been more welcome than the state of 

 suspense he was in ; but how much more would he have suffered if he had 

 known the real state of the case. 



The princess was confined under a hundred locks, and guarded night and 

 day by her husband, in a palace, the walls of which were of brass. This 

 monster never quitted her but to go into a cabinet, which was near the 

 chamber where she was confined. It was either in this cabinet, or with 

 the princess, that he passed night and day. There were no windows in 

 this palace. It was lighted up by a single lamp, to which the prince 

 fairy had given the powerto traverse the air, and to light up whatever place 

 he commanded. The princess passed the nights and days in tears ; and, 

 as Prince Hassan possessed her heart, she could not but feel for his anxiety 

 at her long absence. But what could she do to put an end to it ? Her 

 cruel husband never quitted her. One night, when he appeared to sleep 

 sounder than usual, curiosity induced the princess to enter the cabinet 

 where her husband passed so much of his time, and to see what it con- 

 tained. For that puqiose, she took the key from his side ; and, rising 

 without noise, ordered the lamp to shew her light. She quitted the 

 chamber, opened the door of the cabinet, where she saw nothing but a 

 table, on which was a book, and all round it an infinite number of phials. 

 She took up one to read the label : it contained a liquid, one drop of which 

 applied to the eyes caused sleep for a hundred years. She took this phial, 

 and stepping on tiptoe, and holding her breath, she approached her hus- 

 band's bed. The time was too precious to think of drawing the cork : she 

 broke the bottle over his face, and put him to sleep, not only for a hundred 

 years, but a hundred millions. Being now mistress in the palace, she 

 returned to the cabinet : she opened the book, and there read that these 

 phials contained the spells which the fairy Noirjabarbe and her wicked son 

 had cast over the greater part of the princes and princesses in the universe ; 

 and so long as they were riot broken, the charm remained. She searched 

 for that of her lover, arid found it ; and, charmed at the idea of releasing 



