It is related that Abdallah ben Abou Kilabeh went forth in quest
of a camel that had strayed from him; and as he was wandering in
the deserts of Yemen and Sebaa, he came upon a great city in
whose midst was a vast citadel compassed about with pavilions,
that rose high into the air. He made for the place, thinking to
find there inhabitants, of whom he might enquire concerning his
camel; but, when he reached it, he found it deserted, without a
living soul in it. So (quoth Abdallah), 'I alighted and hobbling
my she-camel, took courage and entered the city. When I came to
the citadel, I found it had two vast gates, never in the world
was seen their like for size and loftiness, inlaid with all
manner jewels and jacinths, white and red and yellow and green.
At this I marvelled greatly and entering the citadel, trembling
and dazed with wonder and affright, found it long and wide, as it
were a city[FN#137] for bigness; and therein were lofty storied
pavilions, builded of gold and silver and inlaid with many-
coloured jewels and jacinths and chrysolites and pearls. The
leaves of their doors were even as those of the citadel for
beauty and their floors strewn with great pearls and balls, as
they were hazel-nuts, of musk and ambergris and saffron. When I
came within the city and saw no human being therein, I had nigh-
well swooned and died for fear. Moreover, I looked down from the
summit of the towers and balconies and saw rivers running under
them; in the streets were fruit-laden trees and tall palms, and
the manner of the building of the city was one brick of gold and
one of silver. So I said to myself, "Doubtless this is the
Paradise promised for the world to come." Then I took of the
jewels of its gravel and the musk of its dust as much as I could
bear and returned to my own country, where I told the folk what I
had seen.
After awhile, the news reached Muawiyeh ben Abou Sufyan, who was
then Khalif in the Hejaz; so he wrote to his lieutenant in Senaa
of Yemen to send for the teller of the story and question him of
the truth of the case. Accordingly the lieutenant sent for me and
questioned me, and I told him what I had seen; whereupon he
despatched me to Muawiyeh, to whom I repeated my story; but he
would not credit it. So I brought out to him some of the pearls
and balls of musk and ambergris and saffron, in which latter
there was still some sweet smell; but the pearls were grown
yellow and discoloured. The Khalif wondered at this and sending
for Kaab el Ahbar,[FN#138], said to him, "O Kaab el Ahbar, I have
sent for thee to learn the truth of a certain matter and hope
that thou wilt be able to certify me thereanent." "What is it, O
Commander of the Faithful?" asked Kaab, and Muawiyeh said,
"Wottest thou of a city builded of gold and silver, the pillars
whereof are of rubies and chrysolites and its gravel pearls and
balls of musk and ambergris and saffron?" "Yes, O Commander of
the Faithful," answered Kaab. "It is Irem of the Columns, the
like of which was never made in the lands,'[FN#139] and it was
Sheddad son of Aad the Great that built it." Quoth the Khalif,
"Tell us of its history," and Kaab said, "Aad the Great had two
sons, Shedid and Sheddad. When their father died, they ruled in
his stead, and there was no king of the kings of the earth but
was subject to them. After awhile Shedid died and his brother
Sheddad reigned over the earth alone. Now he was fond of reading
in old books, and happening upon the description of the world to
come and of Paradise, with its pavilions and galleries and trees
and fruits and so forth, his soul moved him to build the like
thereof in this world, after the fashion aforesaid.[FN#140] Now
under his hand were a hundred thousand kings, each ruling over a
hundred thousand captains, commanding each a hundred thousand
warriors; so he called these all before him and said to them, 'I
find in old books and histories a description of Paradise, as it
is to be in the next world, and I desire to build its like in
this world. Go ye forth therefore to the goodliest and most
spacious tract in the world and build me there a city of gold and
silver, whose gravel shall be rubies and chrysolites and pearls
and the columns of its vaults beryl. Fill it with palaces,
whereon ye shall set galleries and balconies, and plant its lanes
and thoroughfares with all manner of trees bearing ripe fruits
and make rivers to run through it in channels of gold and
silver.' 'How can we avail to do this thing,' answered they, 'and
whence shall we get the chrysolites and rubies and pearls whereof
thou speakest?' Quoth he, 'Know ye not that all the kings of the
word are under my hand and that none that is therein dare gainsay
my commandment?' 'Yes,' answered they; 'we know that.' 'Get ye
then,' rejoined he, 'to the mines of chrysolites and rubies and
gold and silver and to the pearl-fisheries and gather together
all that is in the world of jewels and metals of price and leave
nought; and take also for me such of these things as be in men's
hands and let nothing escape you: be diligent and beware of
disobedience.'
Then he wrote letters to all the [chief] kings of the world (now
the number of kings then reigning [in chief] over the earth was
three hundred and threescore kings) and bade them gather together
all of these things that were in their subjects' hands and get
them to the mines of precious stones and metals and bring forth
all that was therein, even from the abysses of the seas. This
they accomplished in the space of twenty years, and Sheddad then
assembled from all lands and countries builders and men of art
and labourers and handicraftsmen, who dispersed over the world
and explored all the wastes and deserts thereof, till they came
to a vast and fair open plain, clear of hills and mountains, with
springs welling and rivers running, and said, 'This is even such
a place as the King commanded us to find.' So they busied
themselves in building the city even as Sheddad, King of the
whole earth in its length and breadth, had commanded them, laying
the foundations and leading the rivers therethrough in channels
after the prescribed fashion. Moreover, all the Kings of the
earth sent thither jewels and precious stones and pearls large
and small and cornelian and gold and silver upon camels by land
and in great ships over the waters, and there came to the
builders' hands of all these things so great a quantity as may
neither be told or imagined. They laboured at the work three
hundred years; and when they had wrought it to end, they went to
King Sheddad and acquainted him therewith. Then said he, 'Depart
and make thereto an impregnable citadel, rising high into the
air, and round it a thousand pavilions, each builded on a
thousand columns of chrysolite and ruby and vaulted with gold,
that in each pavilion may dwell a Vizier.' So they returned and
did this in other twenty years; after which they again presented
themselves before the King and informed him of the accomplishment
of his will. Then he commanded his Viziers, who were a thousand
in number, and his chief officers and such of his troops and
others as he put trust in, to prepare for departure and removal
to Many-Columned Irem, at the stirrup of Sheddad son of Aad, king
of the world; and he bade also such as he would of his women and
of his female slaves and eunuchs make them ready for the journey.
They spent twenty years preparing for departure, at the end of
which time Sheddad set out with his host, rejoicing in the
attainment of his wish, and fared forward till there remained but
one day's journey between him and Item. Then God sent down on him
and on the stubborn unbelievers with him a thunderblast from the
heavens of His power, which destroyed them all with a mighty
clamour, and neither he nor any of his company set eyes on the
city. Moreover, God blotted out the road that led to the city,
and it stands unchanged, in its stead, until the Resurrection
Day."
Muawiyeh wondered greatly ad Kaab's story and said to him, "Hath
any mortal ever made his way to the city?" "Yes," answered Kaab;
"one of the companions of Mohammed (on whom be peace and
salvation) reached it, doubtless after the same fashion as this
man who sits here." And (quoth Es Shaabi) it is related, on the
authority of learned men of Himyer of Yemen, that Sheddad was
succeeded in his kingship by his son Sheddad the Less, whom he
left his viceregent in Hezremout and Sebaa, when he set out for
Irem. When he heard of his father's death on the road, he caused
his body to be brought back to Hezremout and let hew him out a
sepulchre in a cavern, where he laid the body on a throne of gold
and threw over it threescore and ten robes of cloth of gold,
embroidered with precious stones; and at his head he set up a
tablet of gold, on which were graven the following verses:
Take warning, thou that by long life Art duped and thinkst to
live alway.
I'm Sheddad son of Aad, a high And mighty monarch in my day;
Lord of the columned citadel, Great was my prowess in the fray.
All the world's peoples feared my might And did my ordinance
obey;
Yes, and I held the East and West And ruled them with an iron
sway.
One[FN#141] came to us with God's command And summoned us to the
right way
"Is there no 'scaping from this thing?" Quoth we and did his word
gainsay.
Then on us fell a thunderblast From out the heaven far away,
And like the sheaves in reaping-time Midmost a field, o'erthrown
we lay.
And now beneath the storied plains Of earth we wait the appointed
Day.
(Quoth Eth Thaalibi also) It chanced that two men once entered
this cavern and found at its upper end a stair; so they descended
and came to an underground chamber, a hundred cubits long by
forth wide and a hundred high. In the midst stood a throne of
gold, whereon lay a man of gigantic stature, filling the whole
length and breadth of the throne. He was covered with jewelry and
raiment gold and silver wrought, and at his head was a tablet of
gold, bearing an inscription. So they took the tablet and bore it
off, together with as many bars of gold and silver and so forth
as they could away with.
ISAAC OF MOSUL'S STORY OF THE LADY KHEDIJEH
AND THE KHALIF MAMOUN
(Quoth Isaac of Mosul[FN#142]) 'I went out one night from
Mamoun's presence, on my way to my house, and being taken with a
need to make water, I turned aside into a by-street and stood up
against a wall, fearing lest something might hurt me, if I
squatted down. Presently, I espied something hanging down from
one of the houses and feeling it, found that it was a great four-
handled basket, covered with brocade. "There must be some reason
for this," said I to myself and knew not what to think, then
drunkenness led me to seat myself in the basket, whereupon the
people of the house pulled me up, supposing me to be he whom they
expected. When I came to the top of the wall, I found four
damsels, who said to me, "Descend and welcome!" Then one of them
went before me with a flambeau and brought me down into a
mansion, wherein were furnished sitting-chambers, whose like I
had never seen, save in the Khalif's palace. So I sat down and
after awhile, the curtains were drawn from one side of the room
and in came damsels bearing lighted flambeaux and censers full of
Sumatran aloes-wood, and amongst them a young lady as she were
the rising full moon. I rose and she said, "Welcome to thee for a
visitor!" Then she made me sit down again and asked how I came
thither. Quoth I, "I was returning home from a friend's house and
went astray in the dark; then, being taken with an urgent
occasion, I turned aside into this street, where I found a basket
let down. The wine which I had drunk led me to seat myself in it
and it was drawn up with me into this house." "No harm shall
befall thee," rejoined she, "and I hope thou wilt have cause to
praise the issue of thine adventure. But what is thy condition?"
"I am a merchant in the Baghdad bazaar," replied I, and she,
"Canst thou repeat any verses?" "Some small matter," answered I.
"Then," said she, "let us hear some of them." But I said, "A
visitor is [naturally] bashful; do thou begin." "True," answered
she and recited some of the choicest verses of the poets, past
and present, so that I knew not whether more to marvel at her
beauty and grace or at the charm of her diction. Then said she,
"Is thy bashfulness gone?" "Yes, by Allah!" answered I. "Then, if
thou wilt," rejoined she, "recite us somewhat." So I repeated to
her a number of poems by old writers, and she applauded, saying,
"By Allah I did not look to find such culture among the trader
folk!"
Then she called for food and fell to taking of it and setting it
before me; and the place was full of all manner sweet-scented
flowers and rare fruits, such as are found only in kings' houses.
Presently, she called for wine and drank a cup, after which she
filled another and gave it to me, saying, "Now is the time for
converse and story-telling." So I bethought myself and related to
her a number of pleasing stories and anecdotes, with which she
was delighted and said, "It is wonderful that a merchant should
have such store of tales like unto these, for they are fit for
kings." Quoth I, "I have a neighbour who uses to consort with
kings and bear them company at table; so, when he is at leisure,
I visit his house and he often tells me what he has heard." "By
my life," exclaimed she, "thou hast a good memory!"
We continued to converse thus, and as often as I was silent, she
would begin, till the most part of the night was spent, whilst
the burning aloes-wood diffused its fragrance and I was in such
case as, if the Khalif had suspected it, would have made him wild
with longing for it. Then said she to me, "Verily, thou art one
of the most pleasant and accomplished of men and passing well-
bred; but there lacks one thing." "What is that?" asked I, and
she said, "If but thou knewest how to sing verses to the lute!" I
answered, "I was once passionately fond of this art, but finding
I had no gift for it, I abandoned it, thou reluctantly. Indeed, I
should love to sing somewhat well at this present and fulfil my
night's enjoyment." "Meseemeth thou hintest a wish for the lute
to be brought?" said she, and I, "It is thine to decide, if thou
wilt so far favour me, and to thee be the thanks." So she called
for a lute and sang a song, in a manner whose like I never heard,
both for sweetness of voice and perfection of style and skill in
playing, in short, for general excellence. Then said she,
"Knowest thou who made the air and words of this song?" "No,"
answered I; and she said, "The words are so and so's and the air
is Isaac's." "And hath Isaac then (may I be thy ransom!) such a
talent?" asked I. "Glory be to Isaac!" replied she. "Indeed he
excels in this art." "Glory be to Allah," exclaimed I, "who hath
given this man what He hath vouchsafed unto none other!" And she
said, "How would it be, if thou heardest this song from himself?"
Thus did we till break of day, when there came to her an old
woman, as she were her nurse, and said to her, "The time is
come." So she rose and said to me, "Keep what hath passed between
us to thyself; for meetings of this kind are in confidence." "May
I be thy ransom!" answered I. "I needed no enjoinder of this."
Then I took leave of her and she sent a damsel to open the door
to me; so I went forth and retuned to my own house, where I
prayed the morning prayer and slept.
Presently, there came to me a messenger from the Khalif; so I
went to him and passed the day in his company. When the night
came, I called to mind my yesternight's pleasure, a thing from
which none but a fool could be content to abstain, and betook
myself to the street, where I found the basket, and seating
myself therein, was drawn up to the place in which I had passed
the previous night. When the lady saw me, she said, "Indeed, thou
art assiduous," And I answered, "Meseems rather that I am
neglectful." Then we fell to conversing and passed the night as
before in talking and reciting verses and telling rare stories,
each in turn, till daybreak, when I returned home. I prayed the
morning prayer and slept, and there came to me a messenger from
Mamoun. So I went to him and spent the day with him till
nightfall, when he said to me, "I conjure thee to sit here,
whilst I go on an occasion and come back." As soon as he was
gone, my thoughts turned to the lady and calling to mind my late
delight, I recked little what might befall me from the Commander
of the Faithful. So I sprang up and going out, ran to the street
aforesaid, where I sat down in the basket and was drawn up as
before. When the lady saw me, she said, "Verily, thou art a
sincere friend to us." "Yea, by Allah!" answered I; and she said,
"Hath thou made our house thine abiding-place?" "May I be thy
ransom!" replied I. "A guest hath a right to three days'
entertainment, and if I return after this, ye are free to shed my
blood." Then we passed the night as before; and when the time of
departure drew near, I bethought me that Mamoun would certainly
question me nor be content save with a full explanation: so I
said to her, "I see thee to be of those who delight in singing.
Now I have a cousin who is handsomer than I and higher of station
and more accomplished; and he is the most intimate of all God's
creatures with Isaac." "Art thou a spunger?" asked she. "Verily,
thou art importunate." Quoth I, "It is for thee to decide;" and
she, "If thy cousin be as thou sayst, it would not displease me
to make his acquaintance."
Then I left her and returned to my house, but hardly had I
reached it, when the Khalif's messengers came down on me and
carried me before him by main force. I found him seated on a
chair, wroth with me, and he said to me, "O Isaac, art thou a
traitor to thine allegiance?" "No, by Allah, O Commander of the
Faithful!" answered I. "What hast thou then to say?" asked he.
"Tell me the truth." And I replied, "I will well; but in
private." So he signed to his attendants, who withdrew to a
distance, and I told him the case, adding, "I promised to bring
thee to visit her." And he said, "Thou didst well." Then we spent
the day in our usual pleasures, but Mamoun's heart was taken with
the lady, and hardly was the appointed time come, when we set
out. As we went along, I cautioned him, "Look that thou call me
not by my name before her; but do thou sing and I will accompany
thee." He assented to this, and we fared on till we came to the
house, where we found two baskets hanging ready. So we sat down
in them and were drawn up to the usual place, where the damsel
came forward and saluted us. When Mamoun saw her, he was amazed
at her beauty and grace; and she began to entertain him with
stories and verses. Presently, she called for wine and we fell to
drinking, she paying him especial attention and delighting in him
and he repaying her in kind. Then he took the lute and sang an
air, after which she said to me, "And is thy cousin also a
merchant?" "Yes," answered I, and she said, "Indeed, ye resemble
one another nearly." But when Mamoun had drunk three pints, he
grew merry with wine and called out saying, "Ho, Isaac!" "At thy
service, O Commander of the Faithful," answered I. Quoth he,
"Sing me such an air."
As soon as the lady knew that he was the Khalif, she withdrew to
another place, and when I had made an end of my song, Mamoun said
to me, "See who is the master of this house;" whereupon an old
woman hastened to make answer, saying, "It belongs to Hassan ben
Sehl."[FN#143] "Fetch him to me," said the Khalif. So she went
away and after awhile in came Hassan, to whom said Mamoun, "Hath
thou a daughter?" "Yes," answered he; "her name is Khedijeh." "Is
she married?" asked the Khalif. "No, by Allah!" replied Hassan.
"Then," said Mamoun, "I ask her of thee in marriage." "O
Commander of the Faithful," replied Hassan, "she is thy
handmaiden and at thy commandment." Quoth Mamoun, "I take her to
wife at a present dower of thirty thousand dinars, which thou
shalt receive this very morning; and do thou being her to us this
next night." And Hassan answered, "I hear and obey."
'Then he went out, and the Khalif said to me, "O Isaac, tell this
story to no one." So I kept it secret till Mamoun's death. Surely
never was man's life to fulfilled with delights as was mine these
four days' time, whenan I companied with Mamoun by day and with
Khedijeh by night; and by Allah, never saw I among men the like
of Mamoun, neither among women have I ever set eyes on the like
of Khedijeh, no, nor on any that came near her in wit and
understanding and pleasant speech!'
THE SCAVENGER AND THE NOBLE LADY OF
BAGHDAD.
At Mecca, one day, in the season of pilgrimage, whilst the people
were making the enjoined circuits about the Holy House and the
place of compassing was crowded, a man laid hold of the covering
of the Kaabeh and cried out, from the bottom of his heart,
saying, 'I beseech Thee, O God, that she may once again be wroth
with her husband and that I may lie with her!' A company of the
pilgrims heard him and falling on him, loaded him with blows and
carried him to the governor of the pilgrims, to whom said they,
'O Amir, we found this man in the Holy Places, saying thus and
thus.' The governor commanded to hang him; but he said, 'O Amir,
I conjure thee, by the virtue of the Prophet (whom God bless and
preserve), hear my story and after do with me as thou wilt.' 'Say
on,' quoth the Amir. 'Know then, O Amir,' said the man, 'that I
am a scavenger, who works in the sheep-slaughterhouses and
carries off the blood and the offal to the rubbish-heaps.[FN#144]
One day, as I went along with my ass loaded, I saw the people
running away and one of them said to me, "Enter this alley, lest
they kill thee." Quoth I, "What ails the folk to run away?" And
he answered, "It is the eunuchs in attendance on the wife of one
of the notables, who drive the people out of her way and beat
them all, without distinction." So I turned aside with the ass
and stood, awaiting the dispersal of the crowd. Presently up came
a number of eunuchs with staves in their hands, followed by nigh
thirty women, and amongst them a lady as she were a willow-wand
or a thirsty gazelle, perfect in beauty and elegance and amorous
grace. When she came to the mouth of the passage where I stood,
she turned right and left and calling one of the eunuchs,
whispered in his ear; whereupon he came up to me and laying hold
of me, bound me with a rope and haled me along after him, whilst
another eunuch took my ass and made off with it. I knew not what
was to do and the people followed us, crying out, "This is not
allowed of God! What has this poor scavenger done that he should
be bound with ropes?" and saying to the eunuchs, "Have pity on
him and let him go, so God have pity on you!" And I the while
said in myself, "Doubtless the eunuch seized me, because his
mistress smelt the offal and it sickened her. Belike she is with
child or ailing; but there is no power and no virtue save in God
the Most High, the Supreme!" So I walked on behind them, till
they stopped at the door of a great house and entering, brought
me into a great hall, I know not how I shall describe its
goodliness, furnished with magnificent furniture. The women
withdrew to the harem, leaving me bound with the eunuch and
saying in myself, "Doubtless they will torture me here till I
die, and none know of my death." However, after a while, they
carried me into an elegant bathroom, adjoining the hall; and as I
sat there, in came three damsels, who seated themselves round me
and said to me, "Strip off thy rags." So I pulled off my
threadbare clothes, and one of them fell a-rubbing my feet,
whilst another washed my head and the third scrubbed my body.
When they had made an end of washing me, they brought me a parcel
of clothes and said to me, "Put these on." "By Allah," answered
I, "I know not how!" So they came up to me and dressed me,
laughing at me the while; after which they brought casting-
bottles, full of rose-water, and sprinkled me therewith. Then I
went out with them into another saloon, by Allah, I know not how
to set out its goodliness, for the much paintings and furniture
therein; and here I found the lady seated on a couch of Indian
cane with ivory feet and before her a number of damsels. When she
saw me, she rose and called to me; so I went up to her and she
made me sit by her side. Then she called for food, and the
damsels brought all manner rich meats, such as I never saw in all
my life; I do not even know the names of the dishes. So I ate my
fill and when the dishes had been taken away and we had washed
our hands, she called for fruits and bade me eat of them; after
which she bade one of the waiting-women bring the wine-service.
So they set on flagons of divers kinds of wine and burned
perfumes in all the censers, what while a damsel like the moon
rose and served us with wine, to the sound of the smitten
strings. We sat and drank, the lady and I, till we were warm with
wine, whilst I doubted not but that all this was an illusion of
sleep. Presently, she signed to one of the damsels to spread us a
bed in such a place, which being done, she took me by the hand
and led me thither. So I lay with her till the morning, and as
often as I pressed her in my arms, I smelt the delicious
fragrance of musk and other perfumes that exhaled from her and
could think no otherwise but that I was in Paradise or in the
mazes of a dream. When it was day, she asked me where I lodged
and I told her, "In such a place;" whereupon she gave me a
handkerchief gold and silver wrought, with somewhat tied in it,
and bade me depart, saying, "Go to the bath with this." So I
rejoiced and said to myself, "If there be but five farthings
here, it will buy me the morning meal." Then I left her, as I
were leaving Paradise, and returned to my lodging, where I opened
the handkerchief and found in it fifty dinars of gold. I buried
them in the ground and buying two farthings' worth of bread and
meat, sat down at the door and breakfasted; after which I sat
pondering my case till the time of afternoon-prayer, when a
slave-girl accosted me, saying, "My mistress calls for thee." So
I followed her to the house aforesaid and she carried me in to
the lady, before whom I kissed the earth, and she bade me sit and
called for meat and wine as on the previous day; after which I
again lay with her all night. On the morrow, she gave me a second
handkerchief, with other fifty dinars therein, and I took it and
going home, buried this also.
Thus did I eight days running, going in to her at the hour of
afternoon-prayer and leaving her at daybreak; but, on the eighth
night, as I lay with her, one of her maids came running in and
said to me, "Arise, go up into yonder closet." So I rose and went
into the closet, which was over the gate and had a window giving
upon the street in front of the house. Presently, I heard a great
clamour and tramp of horse, and looking out of the window, saw a
young man, as he were the rising moon on the night of her full,
come riding up, attended by a number of servants and soldiers. He
alighted at the door and entering, found the lady seated on the
couch in the saloon. So he kissed the earth before her, then came
up to her and kissed her hands; but she would not speak to him.
However, he ceased not to soothe her and speak her fair, till he
made his peace with her, and they lay together that night. Next
morning, the soldiers came for him and he mounted and rode away;
whereupon she came in to me and said, "Sawst thou yonder man?"
"Yes," answered I; and she said, "He is my husband, and I will
tell thee what befell me with him.
"It chanced one day that we were sitting, he and I, in the garden
within the house, when he rose from my side and was absent a long
while, till I grew tired of waiting and said to myself, 'Most
like, he is in the wardrobe.' So I went thither, but not finding
him there, went down to the kitchen, where I saw a slave-girl, of
whom I enquired for him, and she showed him to me lying with one
of the cook-maids. When I saw this, I swore a great oath that I
would do adultery with the foulest and filthiest man in Baghdad;
and the day the eunuch laid hands on thee, I had been four days
going round about the town in quest of one who should answer this
description, but found none fouler nor more filthy than thee. So
I took thee and there passed between us that which God fore-
ordained to us; and now I am quit of my oath. But," added she,
"if my husband return yet again to the cook-maid and lie with
her, I will restore thee to thy late place in my favours."
When (continued the scavenger) I heard these words from her lips,
what while she transfixed my heart with the arrows of her
glances, my tears streamed forth, till my eyelids were sore with
weeping, and I repeated the saying of the poet:
Vouchsafe me the kiss of thy left hand, I prithee, And know that
it's worthier far than thy right;
For 'tis but a little while since it was washing Sir reverence
away from the stead of delight.
Then she gave me other fifty dinars (making in all four hundred
dinars I had of her) and bade me depart. So I went out from her
and came hither, that I might pray God (blessed and exalted be
He!) to make her husband return to the cook-maid, so haply I
might be again admitted to her favours.' When the governor of the
pilgrims heard the man's story, he set him free and said to the
bystanders, 'God on you, pray for him, for indeed he is
excusable.'