found my mistress awaiting me. We sat down and ate and drank,
after which we did our need and slept till the morning; and as I
was going away, I repeated to her Azizeh's verses. When she heard
them, she gave a loud cry and was greatly moved and exclaimed,
"Alas! Alas! She who said these words is dead!" Then she wept and
said to me, "Out on thee! What kin is she, who spoke thus, to
thee?" "She is the daughter of my father's brother," replied I.
"Thou liest," rejoined she. "By Allah, were she thy cousin, thou
wouldst have loved her even as she loved thee! It is thou who
hast killed her, and may God in like manner kill thee! By Allah,
hadst thou told me thou hadst a cousin, I would not have admitted
thee to my favours!" Quoth I, "Indeed, she is my cousin, and it
was she who interpreted to me thy signs and taught me how to come
at thee and how I should deal with thee; and but for her, I had
never won to thee." "Did she then know of us?" asked she. "Yes,"
answered I; and she exclaimed, "God give thee sorrow of thy
youth, even as thou hast wasted hers!" Then she said to me, "Go
and see after her." So I went away, troubled at heart, and when I
reached our street, I heard a sound of wailing, and asking about
it, was answered, "We found Azizeh dead behind the door." I
entered the house, and when my mother saw me, she said to me,
"Her death lies at thy door, and may God not acquit thee of her
blood! Out on thee for a cousin!" Then came my father, and we
laid her out and did her the last offices and buried her.
Moreover, we let make recitations of the Koran over her tomb and
abode there three days, after which we returned home, grieving
for her. When I entered the house, my mother came to me and said,
"I would fain know what thou didst to her, to break her heart,
for, O my son, I questioned her many times of the cause of her
malady, but she would tell me nothing. So, God on thee, tell me
what thou didst to her, that she died." Quoth I, "I did nothing."
"May God avenge her on thee!" rejoined my mother. "She told me
nothing, but kept her secret till she died, of her affection for
thee. But when she died, I was with her, and she opened her eyes
and said to me, 'O wife of my uncle, may God hold thy son
guiltless of my blood and punish him not for that he hath done
with me! And now He transporteth me from this transitory house of
the world to the other and eternal dwelling-place.' 'O my
daughter,' said I, 'God preserve thee and preserve thy youth!'
And I questioned her of the cause of her illness; but she made me
no answer. Then she smiled and said, 'O wife of my uncle, when my
cousin is about to repair to the place whither he goes every day,
bid him repeat these two words at his going away: "Faith is fair
and perfidy foul." For this is of my tenderness over him, that I
am solicitous for him in my lifetime and after my death.' Then
she gave me somewhat for thee and made me swear that I would not
give it to thee, till I should see thee weeping for her and
lamenting her death. The thing is with me, and when I see thee as
I have said, I will give it to thee." "Show it me," quoth I: but
she would not. Then I gave myself up to my pleasures and thought
no more of my cousin's death; for I was light-witted and would
fain have been with my beloved day and night. So hardly had the
night fallen, when I betook myself to the garden, where I found
the lady sitting on coals of fire, for much waiting. As soon as
she saw me, she ran to me and throwing her arms about my neck,
enquired of my cousin. "She is dead," replied I; "and we have
caused litanies and recitations of the Koran to be performed for
her; and it is now four nights since she died." When she heard
this, she shrieked aloud and wept, saying, "Did I not tell thee
that thou hadst slain her? Hadst thou let me know of her before
her death, I would have requited her the kindness she did me, in
that she served me and brought thee to me; for but for her, we
had never come together; and I fear lest some calamity befall
thee by reason of thy sin against her." Quoth I, "She acquitted
me before she died." And I repeated to her what my mother had
told me. "God on thee," rejoined she, "when thou returnest to thy
mother, learn what it is she hath for thee." Quoth I, "My mother
also said to me, 'Before thy cousin died, she laid a charge upon
me, saying, "When thy son is about to go whither of wont, teach
him these two words, 'Faith is fair and perfidy foul.'" When my
mistress heard this, she exclaimed, "The mercy of God the Most
High be upon her! Indeed, she hath delivered thee from me, for I
had it in mind to do thee a mischief, but now I will not hurt
thee nor trouble thee." I wondered at this and said to her, "What
then didst thou purpose to do with me, and we lovers?" Quoth she,
"Thou art infatuated with me; for thou art young and witless; thy
heart is free from guile and thou knowest not our perfidy and
malice. Were she yet alive, she would protect thee, for she is
the cause of thy preservation and hath delivered thee from
destruction. And now I charge thee that thou speak not with
neither accost any of our sex, young or old, for thou art young
and simple and knowest not the wiles of women and their malice,
and she who explained the signs to thee is dead. And indeed I
fear for thee, lest thou fall into some calamity and find none to
deliver thee from it, now that thy cousin is dead. Alas, the pity
of her! Would God I had known her before her death, that I might
have visited her and requited her the fair service she did me!
The mercy of the Most High be upon her, for she kept her secret
and revealed not what she suffered, and but for her, thou hadst
never won to me! But there is one thing I desire of thee." "What
is it?" said I. "It is," answered she, "that thou bring me to her
grave, that I may visit her in the tomb wherein she is and write
some verses thereon." "To-morrow," replied I, "if it be the will
of God." Then I lay with her that night, and she ceased not, from
time to time, to say, "Would thou hadst told me of thy cousin,
before her death!" And I said to her, "What is the meaning of the
two words she taught me?" But she made me no answer. As soon as
it was day, she rose and taking a purse of dinars, said to me,
"Come, show me her tomb, that I may visit it and grave some
verses thereon and build a dome over it and commend her to the
mercy of God and bestow these dinars in alms for her soul." "I
hear and obey," replied I and went on before her, whilst she
followed me, giving alms by the way and saying to all to whom she
gave, "This is an alms for the soul of Azizeh, who kept her
counsel, till she drank the cup of death, and discovered not the
secret of her passion." And she stinted not thus to give alms and
say, "For Azizeh's soul," till the purse was empty and we came to
the burial-place. When she saw the tomb, she wept and threw
herself upon it; then pulling out a graver of steel and a light
mallet, she graved the following verses, in fine characters, upon
the stone at the head of the tomb:
I passed by a ruined tomb, in the midst of a garden-way, Upon
whose letterless stone seven blood-red anemones lay.
"Who sleeps in this unmarked grave?" I said; and the earth, "Bend
low; For a lover lies here and waits for the Resurrection
Day."
"God help thee, O victim of love," I cried, "and bring thee to
dwell In the highest of all the heavens of Paradise, I pray!
How wretched are lovers all, even in the sepulchre, When their
very graves are covered with ruin and decay!
Lo, if I might, I would plant thee a garden round about And with
my streaming tears the thirst of its flowers allay!"
Then she returned to the garden, weeping, and I with her, and she
said to me, "By Allah, thou shalt never leave me!" "I hear and
obey," answered I. Then I devoted myself wholly to her and paid
her frequent visits, and she was good and generous to me. As
often as I passed the night with her, she would make much of me
and ask me of the two words my cousin told my mother, and I would
repeat them to her.
I abode thus a whole year, till, what with eating and drinking
and dalliance and wearing change of rich raiment, I waxed stout
and fat, so that I lost all thought of sorrow and anxiety and
forgot my cousin Azizeh. At the end of this time, I went one
day to the bath, where I refreshed myself and put on a rich
suit of clothes, scented with various perfumes; then, coming
out I drank a cup of wine and smelt the fragrance of my new
clothes, whereupon my breast dilated, for I knew not the
perfidy of fortune nor the calamities of events. When the hour
of evening-prayer came, I thought to repair to my mistress; but
being heated with wine, I knew not where I went, so that, on the
way, my drunkenness turned me into a by-street called En Nekib,
where, as I was going along, I met an old woman with a lighted
flambeau in one hand and a folded letter in the other; and she
was weeping and repeating the following verses:
O welcome, bearer of glad news, thrice welcome to my sight; How
sweet and solaceful to me thy tidings of delight!
Thou that the loved one's greeting bringst unto my longing soul,
God's peace, what while the zephyr blows, dwell with thee
day and night!
When she saw me, she said to me, "O my son, canst thou read?" And
I, of my officiousness, answered, "Yes, O old aunt." "Then, take
this letter," rejoined she, "and read it to me." So I took the
letter, and unfolding it, read it to her. Now it contained the
greetings of an absent man to his friends; and when she heard its
purport, she rejoiced and was glad and called down blessings on
me, saying, "May God dispel thine anxiety, as thou hast dispelled
mine!" Then she took the letter and walked on. Meanwhile, I was
seized with a pressing need and squatted down on my heels to make
water. When I had finished, I stood up and cleansed myself with
pebbles, then shaking down my clothes, was about to go my way,
when the old woman came up to me again and bending down to kiss
my hand, said, "O my lord, God give thee joy of thy youth! I
entreat thee to go with me to yonder door, for I told them what
thou readest to me of the letter, and they believe me not: so
come with me two steps and read them the letter from behind the
door and accept my devout prayers." "What is the history of this
letter?" asked I; and she answered, "O my son, it is from my son,
who hath been absent from us these ten years. He set out with
merchandise and tarried long in foreign parts, till we lost hope
of him, supposing him to be dead. Now comes this letter from him,
and he has a sister, who weeps for him day and night; so I said
to her, 'He is in good health and case.' But she will not believe
and says, 'Thou must needs bring me one who will read the letter
in my presence, that my heart may be set at rest and my mind
eased.' Thou knowest, O my son, that those who love are prone to
imagine evil: so do me the favour to go with me and read the
letter, standing without the door, whilst I call his sister to
listen behind the curtain, so shalt thou dispel our anxiety and
fulfil our need. Quoth the Prophet (whom God bless and preserve),
'He who eases an afflicted one of one of the troubles of this
world, God will ease him of a hundred troubles;' and according to
another tradition, 'Whoso relieves his brother of one of the
troubles of this world, God will relieve him of two-and-seventy
troubles of the Day of Resurrection.' And I have betaken myself
to thee; so do not disappoint me." "I hear and obey," replied I.
"Do thou go before me." So she went on and I followed her a
little way, till she came to the gate of a large handsome house,
whose door was plated with copper. I stood without the door,
whilst the old woman cried out in Persian, and before I could
think, a damsel ran up, with a nimble and agile step. She had
tucked up her trousers to her knees, so that I saw a pair of legs
that confounded mind and eye, for they were like columns of
alabaster, adorned with anklets of gold, set with jewels. As says
the poet, describing her:
O thou who barest thy leg for lovers to look upon, That by the
sight of the leg the rest they may infer,
Who passest the cup around midst thy gallants, brisk and free,
Nought seduces the folk but the cup[FN#136] and the
cup-bearer.[FN#137]
She had seemingly been engaged in work of some kind, for she had
tucked the end of her shift within the ribbon of her trousers and
thrown the skirt of her robe over her arm. Her sleeves were
rolled up to the elbows, so that I could see her white wrists and
forearms, on which were two pairs of bracelets, with clasps of
great pearls and round her neck was a collar of precious stones.
Her ears were adorned with pendants of pearls and on her head she
wore a kerchief of brocade, embroidered with jewels of price.
When I saw her I was confounded at her beauty, for she was like
the shining sun. Then she said, with clear and dulcet speech,
never heard I sweeter, "O my mother, is this he who cometh to
read the letter?" "It is," replied the old woman; and she put out
her hand to me with the letter. Now she was standing about half a
rod within the door; so I stretched out my hand and put my head
and shoulders within the door, thinking to draw near her and read
the letter, when behold, before I knew what she would be at, the
old woman thrust her head into my back and pushed me forward,
with the letter in my hand, so that before I could think, I found
myself in the vestibule. Then she entered, swiftlier than the
blinding lightning, and had but to shut the door. When the damsel
saw me in the vestibule, she came up to me and straining me to
her bosom, threw me to the floor, then knelt upon my breast and
kneaded my belly with her hands, till I lost my senses. Then she
took me by the hand and led me unable to resist, for the violence
of her pressure, through seven vestibules, whilst the old woman
went before us with the lighted candle, till we came to a great
saloon, with four daises, in which a horseman might play at ball.
Here she released me, saying, "Open thine eyes." So I opened
them, still giddy for the excess of her pressing and pummelling,
and saw that the whole place was built of the finest alabaster
and hung and carpeted with stuffs of silk and brocade, with
cushions and divans of the same. Therein also were two benches of
brass and a couch of red gold set with pearls and jewels,
befitting none save kings like unto thee. Then said she, "O Aziz,
which wouldst thou rather, life or death?" "Life," answered I;
and she said, "If life be liefer to thee, thou must marry me."
Quoth I, "It were odious to me to marry the like of thee." "If
thou marry me," rejoined she, "thou wilt at least be safe from
the daughter of Delileh the crafty." "And who is she?" asked I.
She laughed and replied, "How comes it that thou knowest her not,
seeing that to-day thou hast companied with her a year and four
months, may God the Most High destroy her and afflict her with
one worse than herself! By Allah, there lives not a more
perfidious than she! How many hath she not slain before thee and
what deeds hath she not done! Nor can I understand how thou hast
been so long in her company, yet hath she not killed thee nor
done thee any hurt." When I heard this, I marvelled exceedingly
and said, "Who made thee to know of her, O my lady?" "I know of
her," said she, "as the age knows of its calamities: but now I
would fain have thee tell me all that has passed between you,
that I may know the cause of thy deliverance from her." So I told
her all that had happened, including the story of my cousin
Azizeh. When she heard of the latter's death, her eyes ran over
with tears and she smote hand upon hand and cried out, "God have
mercy on her, for she lost her youth in His service, and may He
replace her to thee! By Allah, O Aziz, it was she who was the
cause of thy preservation from the daughter of Delileh and but
for her, thou hadst been lost! Now she is dead and I fear for
thee from the other's perfidy and mischief; but my heart is full
and I cannot speak." "By Allah," quoth I, "all this happened,
even as thou sayest!" And she shook her head and said, "There
lives not this day the like of Azizeh." "And when she was dying,"
continued I, "she bade me repeat to my mistress these two words,
'Faith is fair and perfidy foul.'" When she heard this, she
exclaimed, "By Allah, O Aziz, it was this that saved thee from
dying by her hand: and now my heart is at ease for thee from her
for she will never slay thee and thy cousin preserved thee, both
in her lifetime and after her death. By Allah, I have desired
thee this many a day, but could not get at thee till now and
except by a trick, which succeeded with thee for thou art
inexperienced and knowest not the malice of women nor the wiles
of old women." "No, by Allah!" rejoined I. Then said she to me,
"Be of good cheer and take comfort; the dead is in the mercy of
God and the living shall be fairly entreated. Thou art a handsome
youth, and I do not desire thee but according to the ordinance of
God and of His prophet, on whom be peace and salvation! Whatever
thou desirest of money and stuff, thou shalt have without stint,
and I will not impose any toil on thee, for there is with me
always bread baked and water in the pitcher. All I ask of thee is
that thou do with me even as the cock does." "And what is it the
cock does?" asked I. At this she laughed and clapped her hands
and fell over on her back for excess of laughter: then she sat up
and said, "O light of my eyes, dost thou not know what the cock's
business is?" "No, by Allah!" replied I; and she said, "The
cock's business is to eat and drink and tread." I was abashed at
her words and said, "Is that the cock's business?" "Yes,"
answered she; "and all I ask of thee now is to gird thy loins and
strengthen thy resolution and swive thy best." Then she clapped
her hands and cried out, saying, "O my mother, bring hither those
who are with thee." Whereupon in came the old woman, carrying a
veil of silk and accompanied by four lawful witnesses, who
saluted me and sat down. Then she lighted four candles, whilst
the young lady covered herself with the veil and deputed one of
the witnesses to execute the contract on her behalf. So they drew
up the marriage contract and she acknowledged to have received
the whole of her dowry, both precedent and contingent, and to be
indebted to me in the sum of ten thousand dirhems. Then he gave
the witnesses their fee and they withdrew whence they came;
whereupon she put off her clothes and abode in a shift of fine
silk, laced with gold, after which she took me by the hand and
carried me up to the couch, saying, "There is no blame in what is
lawful." She lay down on her back and drawing me on to her
breast, heaved a sigh and followed it up with an amorous gesture.
Then she pulled up the shift above her breasts, and when I saw
her thus, I could not choose but thrust into her, after I had
sucked her lips, whilst she moaned and made a show of bashfulness
and wept without tears. And indeed the case reminded me of the
saying of the poet:
When I drew up her shift and discovered the terrace-roof of her
kaze, I found it as strait as my humour or eke my worldly
ways.
So I drove it incontinent in, halfway; and she heaved a sigh.
"For what dost thou sigh?" quoth I. "For the rest of it,
sure," she says.
Then said she, "O my beloved, to it and do thy best, for I am
thine handmaid. My life on thee, give it me, all of it, that I
may take it in my hand and thrust it into my entrails!" And she
ceased not to excite me with sobs and sighs and amorous gestures,
in the intervals of kissing and clipping, till we attained the
supreme felicity and the term of our desires. We lay together
till the morning, when I would have gone out; but she came up to
me, laughing, and said, "Thinkest thou that going out of the bath
is the same as going in?[FN#138] Verily, I believe thou deemest
me to be the like of the daughter of Delileh. Beware of such a
thought, for thou art my husband by contract and according to
law. If thou be drunken, return to thy right mind and know that
this house is opened but one day in every year. Go down and look
at the great door." So I went down and found the door locked and
nailed up and returned and told her so. "Know, O Aziz," said she,
"that we have in this house flour and grain and fruits and
pomegranates and sugar and meat and sheep and fowls and so forth,
enough to serve us for many years; and henceforth, the door will
not be opened till after the lapse of a whole year, nor shalt
thou find thyself without till then." Quoth I, "There is no power
and no virtue but in God!" "And what can this irk thee," rejoined
she, "seeing thou knowest the cock's craft, of which I told
thee?" Then she laughed and I laughed too, and I conformed to
what she said and abode with her, plying the cock's craft, eating
and drinking and cricketing, twelve whole months, during which
time she conceived by me and brought me a son. At the end of the
year, I heard the door opened and men came in with manchets and
flour and sugar. Thereupon, I would have gone out, but my wife
said, "Wait till nightfall and go out as thou camest in." So I
waited till the hour of evening-prayer, and was about to go forth
in fear and trembling, when she stopped me, saying, "By Allah, I
will not let thee go, except thou swear to return this night
before the closing of the door." I agreed to this, and she made
me take a solemn oath by sword and Koran and the oath of divorce
to boot that I would return to her. Then I left her and going
straight to the garden, found the door open as usual; whereat I
was angry and said to myself, "I have been absent a whole year
and come here at unawares and find the place open as of wont! I
wonder, is the damsel still in her old case? Algates I must enter
and see, before I go to my mother, more by token that it is now
nightfall." So I entered and making for the pavilion, found the
daughter of Delileh sitting there with her head on her knee and
her hand to her cheek. Her colour was changed and her eyes
sunken; but when she saw me, she exclaimed, "Praised be God for
thy safety!" and would have risen, but fell down for joy. I was
abashed before her and hung my head; but presently went up to
her, and kissing her, said, "How knewest thou that I should come
to thee to-night?" "I knew it not," replied she. "By Allah, this
whole year past I have not tasted sleep, but have watched every
night, expecting thee, from the day thou wentest out from me and
I gave thee the new suit of clothes, and thou didst promise me to
go to the bath and come back! So I abode awaiting thee that night
and a second and a third; but thou camest not till now, and I
ever expecting thy coming, for this is the way of lovers. And now
I would have thee tell me what has been the cause of thine
absence this year long." So I told her all that had happened: and
when she knew that I was married, her colour paled. "I have come
to thee to-night," added I; "but I must leave thee before day."
Quoth she, "Doth it not suffice her to have tricked thee into
marrying her and kept thee prisoner with her a whole year, but
she must make thee take the oath of divorce to return to her
before morning and not allow thee to divert thyself with thy
mother or me nor suffer thee to pass one night with either of us,
away from her? How, then, must it be with one from whom thou hast
been absent a whole year, and I knew thee before she did? But may
God have compassion on thy cousin Azizeh, for there befell her
what never befell any and she endured what never any endured else
and died, oppressed and rejected of thee; yet was it she
protected thee against me. Indeed, I thought thou didst love me,
so let thee take thine own way; else had I not let thee go safe
and sound, when I had it in my power to hold thee in duresse and
destroy thee." Then she wept and waxed wroth and shuddered in my
face and looked at me with angry eyes. When I saw this, I was
terrified at her and trembled in every nerve, for she was like a
dreadful ghoul and I like a bean over the fire. Then said she,
"Thou art of no use to me, now thou art married and hast a child,
nor art thou any longer fit for my company. I care only for
bachelors and not for married men; for they profit us nothing.
Thou hast sold me for yonder stinking nosegay; but by Allah, I
will make the baggage's heart ache for thee, for thou shalt not
live either for me or for her!" Then she gave a loud cry, and ere
I could think, up came ten damsels and threw me on the ground;
whereupon she rose and taking a knife, said, "I will slaughter
thee like a he-goat; and that will be less than thy desert, for
thy behaviour to me and to thy cousin before me." When I found
myself at the mercy of her women, with my cheeks stained with
dust, and saw her sharpen the knife, I made sure of death and
cried out to her for mercy. But she only redoubled in inhumanity
and ordered the maids to bind my hands behind me, which they did,
and throwing me on my back, sat down on my stomach and held my
head. Then two of them sat on my shins, whilst other two held my
hands, and she bade a third pair beat me. So they beat me till I
lost my senses and my voice failed. When I revived, I said to
myself, "It were easier and better for me to have my throat cut
than to be beaten thus!" And I remembered how my cousin used to
say to me, "God keep thee from her mischief!" and cried out and
wept, till my voice failed and I remained without breath or
motion. Then she sharpened the knife and said to the girls,
"Uncover him." With this God inspired me to repeat to her the
two words my cousin had bequeathed me, and I said, "O my lady,
dost thou not know that faith is fair and perfidy foul?" When
she heard this, she cried out and said, "God pity thee, Azizeh,
and give thee Paradise in exchange for thy wasted youth! Verily,
she served thee in her lifetime and after her death, and now
she has saved thee alive out of my hands with these two words.
Nevertheless, I cannot leave thee thus, but I must e'en set my
mark on thee, to spite yonder shameless baggage, who has kept
thee from me." Then she called out to the damsels and bade them
bind my feet with cords and sit on me. They did her bidding,
whilst I lay insensible, and she fetched a pan of copper and
setting it on a brazier, poured into it oil of sesame, in which
she fried cheese.[FN#139] Then she came up to me and unfastening
my trousers, tied a cord round my cullions and giving it to two
of her women, bade them pull at it. They did so, and I swooned
away and was for excess of pain in a world other than this. Then
she came with a steel scalpel and cut off my yard, so that I
remained like a woman: after which she seared the wound with the
boiling oil and rubbed it with a powder, and I the while
unconscious. When I came to myself, the blood had ceased to flow;
so she bade the damsels unbind me and gave me a cup of wine to
drink. Then said she to me, "Go now to her whom thou hast married
and who grudged me a single night, and the mercy of God be on thy
cousin Azizeh, who discovered not her secret! Indeed she was the
cause of thy preservation, for hadst thou not repeated those
words to me, I had surely slain thee. Rise and go to whom thou
wilt, for thou hadst nothing of mine, save what I have cut off,
and now I have no part in thee, nor have I any further care or
occasion for thee: so begone about thy business and bless thy
cousin's memory!" With that, she gave me a push with her foot,
and I rose, hardly able to walk, and went little by little, till
I came to the door of my wife's house I found it open, so I threw
myself within it and fell down in a swoon; whereupon my wife came
out and lifting me up, carried me into the saloon and found that
I was like unto a woman. Then I fell into a deep sleep; but when
I awoke, I found myself thrown down at the gate of the garden. I
rose, groaning for pain and misery, and made my way to my
mother's house, where I found her weeping for me and saying, "O
my son, would I knew where thou art!" So I drew near and threw
myself upon her, and when she saw me, she knew that I was ill,
for my face was at once pale and livid. Then I called to mind my
cousin and all the kind offices she had been wont to do me and
knew that she had indeed loved me; so I wept for her and my
mother wept also. Presently, she said to me, "O my son, thy
father is dead." At this my anguish redoubled, and I wept till I
lost my senses. When I came to myself, I looked at the place
where Azizeh had been used to sit and wept anew, till I all but
fainted for excess of grief; and I ceased not to weep and lament
thus till midnight, when my mother said to me, "Thy father has
been dead these ten days." "I shall never think of any one but my
cousin Azizeh," answered I; "and indeed I deserve all that hath
befallen me, in that I abandoned her who loved me so dear." "What
hath befallen thee?" asked my mother. So I told her all that had
happened, and she wept awhile, then rose and set meat and drink
before me. I ate a little and drank, after which I repeated my
story to her, and she exclaimed, "Praised be God that she did but
this to thee and forbore to slay thee!" Then she tended me and
medicined me till I regained my health: and when my recovery was
complete, she said to me, "O my son, I will now bring out to thee
that which thy cousin committed to me in trust for thee; for it
is thine. She made me swear not to give it thee, till I should
see thee recalling her to mind and weeping over her and thine
affections severed from other than her; and now I see these
conditions fulfilled in thee." So she arose and opening a chest,
took out the piece of linen, with the figures of gazelles worked
thereon, which I had given Azizeh; and I opened it and found
written therein the following verses:
Who moved thee, fairest one, to use this rigour of disdain And
slay, with stress of love, the souls that sigh for thee in
vain?
If thou recall me not to mind beyond our parting-day, God knows
the thought of thee with me for ever shall remain!
Thou smitest me with cruel words, that yet are sweet to me: Wilt
thou one day, though but in dreams, to look upon me deign?
I had not thought the ways of Love were languishment and woe And
stress of soul until, alas! to love thee I was fain.
I knew not weariness till I the captive of thine eyes Became and
all my soul was bound in passion's fatal chain.
Even my foes have ruth on me and pity my distress: But thou, O
heart of steel, wilt ne'er have mercy on my pain.
By God, although I die, I'll ne'er forget thee, O my hope, Nor
comfort take, though life itself for love should waste and
wane!