THE STORY OF THE AMOURS OF
CAMARALZAMAN, PRINCE OF THE ISLES of THE
CHILDREN OF KHALEDAN; AND OF BADOURA,
PRINCESS OF CHINA.
About twenty days sail on the coast of Persia, there are islands
in the main ocean, called the islands of the Children of
Khaledan; these islands are divided into four great provinces,
which have all of them very flourishing and populous cities, and
which make together a most potent kingdom. It is governed by a
king named Schahzaman [Footnote: That is to say, in Persic, King
of the Time, or King of the Age.], who has four lawful wives, all
daughters of kings, and sixty concubines.
Schahzaman thought himself the most happy monarch of the world,
as well on account of his peaceful as prosperous reign. One thing
only disturbed his happiness, which was, that he was pretty old,
and had no children, though he had so many wives. He knew not
what to attribute this barrenness to; and what increased his
affliction was, that he was likely to leave his kingdom without a
successor. He dissembled his discontent a long while; and, what
was yet more uneasy to him, he was constrained to dissemble. At
length, however, he broke silence; and one day, after he had
complained bitterly of his misfortune to his grand vizier, he
demanded of him if he knew any remedy for it.
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