said to her brother Sharrkan and the four Kazis, "Here endeth the second
section of the first chapter. And it so happened that Omar bin Abd
al-Aziz wrote to the people of the festival at Meccah as follows:—I call
Allah to witness, in the Holy Month, in the Holy City and on the day of
the Greater Pilgrimage,[293] that I am innocent of your oppression and
of his wrongs that doth wrong you, in that I have neither commanded this
nor purposed it, neither hath any report of aught thereof hitherto
reached me, nor have I compassed any knowledge thereof; and I trust that
a cause for pardon will be found in that none hath authority from me to
oppress any man, for I shall assuredly be questioned concerning every
one opprest. And if any of my officers swerve from the right and act
otherwise than the Holy Book and the Traditions of the Apostle do
authorise, obey him not so that he may return to the way of
righteousness. He said also (Allah accept of him!), I do not wish to be
relieved from death, because it is the supreme thing for which the True
Believer is rewarded. Quoth one of authority, I went to the Prince of
the Faithful, Omar bin Abd al-Aziz, who was then Caliph, and saw before
him twelve dirhams, which he ordered for deposit in the public treasury.
So I said to him, O Commander of the Faithful, thou impoverishest thy
children and reducest them to beggary having nothing whereon to live. An
thou wouldst appoint somewhat by will to them and to those who are poor
of the people of thy house, it were well. Draw near to me, answered he:
so I drew near to him and he said, Now as for thy saying, Thou beggarest
thy children; provide for them and for the poor of thy household, it is
without reason; for Allah of a truth will replace me to my children and
to the poor of my house, and He will be their guardian. Verily, they are
like other men; he who feareth Allah, right soon will Allah provide for
him a happy issue, and he that is addicted to sins, I will not uphold
him in his sin against Allah. Then he summoned his sons who numbered
twelve, and when he beheld them his eyes dropped tears and presently he
said to them, Your Father is between two things; either ye will be well
to do, and your parent will enter the fire, or ye will be poor and your
parent will enter Paradise; and your father's entry into Paradise is
liefer to him than that ye should be well to do.[294] So arise and go,
Allah be your helper, for to Him I commit your affair! Khálid bin
Safwán[295] said, Yúsuf bin Omar[296] accompanied me to Hishám bin Abd
al-Malik,[297] and as I met him he was coming forth with his kinsmen and
attendants. He alighted and a tent was pitched for him. When the people
had taken their seats, I came up to the side of the carpet whereon he
sat reclining and looked at him; and, waiting till my eyes met his eyes,
bespoke him thus, May Allah fulfil His bounty to thee, O Commander of
the Faithful, I have an admonition for thee, which hath come down to us
from the history of the Kings preceding thee! At this, he sat up whenas
he had been reclining and said to me, Bring what thou hast, O son of
Safwan! Quoth I, O Commander of the Faithful, one of the Kings before
thee went forth in a time before this thy time, to this very country and
said to his companions, Saw ye ever any state like mine and say me, hath
such case been given to any man even as it hath been given unto me? Now
there was with him a man of those who survive to bear testimony to
Truth; upholders of the Right and wayfarers in its highway, and he said
to him, O King, thou askest of a grave matter. Wilt thou give me leave
to answer? Yes, replied the King, and the other said, Dost thou judge
thy present state to be short-lasting or everlasting? It is temporary,
replied the King. How then, rejoined the man, do I see thee exulting in
that which thou wilt enjoy but a little while and whereof thou wilt be
questioned for a long while, and for the rendering an account whereof
thou shalt be as a pledge which is pawned? Quoth the King, Whither shall
I flee and what must I seek for me? That thou abide in thy kingship,
replied the other, or else robe thee in rags[298] and apply thyself to
obey Almighty Allah thy Lord until thine appointed hour. I will come to
thee again at daybreak. Khalid bin Safwan further relates that the man
knocked at the door at dawn and behold, the King had put off his crown
and resolved to become an anchorite, for the stress of his exhortation.
When Hishám bin Abd al-Malik heard this, he wept till his beard was wet;
and, bidding his rich apparel be put off, shut himself up in his palace.
Then the grandees and dependants came to Khalid and said, What is this
thou hast done with the Commander of the Faithful? Thou hast troubled
his pleasure and disturbed his life!" Then quoth Nuzhat al-Zaman,
addressing herself to Sharrkan, "How many instances of admonition are
there not in this chapter! Of a truth I cannot report all appertaining
to this head in a single sitting"——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of
day and ceased to say her permitted say.
Now when it was the Sixty-seventh Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Nuzhat al-Zaman
continued, speaking to Sharrkan, "Know, O King, that in this chapter be
so many instances of admonition that of a truth I cannot report all
appertaining to this head in a single sitting but, with length of days,
O King of the age, all will be well." Then said the Kazis, "O King, of a
truth this damsel is the wonder of the world, and of our age the unique
pearl! Never heard we her like in the length of time or in the length of
our lives." And they called down blessings on the King and went away.
Then Sharrkan turned to his attendants and said, "Begin ye to prepare
the marriage festival and make ready food of all kinds." So they
forthright did his bidding as regards the viands, and he commanded the
wives of the Emirs and Wazirs and Grandees depart not until the time of
the wedding-banquet and of the unveiling of the bride. Hardly came the
period of afternoon-prayer when the tables were spread with whatso heart
can desire or eye can delight in of roast meats and geese and fowls; and
the subjects ate till they were satisfied. Moreover, Sharrkan had sent
for all the singing-women of Damascus and they were present, together
with every slave-girl of the King and of the notables who knew how to
sing. And they went up to the palace in one body. When the evening came
and darkness starkened they lighted candles, right and left, from the
gate of the citadel to that of the palace; and the Emirs and Wazirs and
Grandees marched past before King Sharrkan, whilst the singers and the
tire-women took the damsel to dress and adorn her, but found she needed
no adornment. Meantime King Sharrkan went to the Hammam and coming out,
sat down on his seat of estate, whilst they paraded the bride before him
in seven different dresses: after which they eased her of the weight of
her raiment and ornaments and gave such injunctions as are enjoined upon
virgins on their wedding-nights. Then Sharrkan went in unto her and took
her maidenhead;[299] and she at once conceived by him and, when she
announced it, he rejoiced with exceeding joy and commanded the savants
to record the date of her conception. On the morrow he went forth and
seated himself on his throne, and the high officers came in to him and
gave him joy. Then he called his private secretary and bade him write a
letter to his father, King Omar bin al-Nu'uman, saying that he had
bought him a damsel, who excels in learning and good breeding and who is
mistress of all kinds of knowledge. Moreover he wrote, "There is no help
but that I send her to Baghdad to visit my brother Zau al-Makan and my
sister Nuzhat al-Zaman. I have set her free and married her and she hath
conceived by me." And he went on to praise her wit and salute his
brother and sister together with the Wazir Dandan and all the Emirs.
Then he sealed the letter and despatched it to his father by a
post-courier who was absent a whole month, after which time he returned
with the answer and presented it in the presence. Sharrkan took it and
read as follows, "After the usual Bismillah, this is from the afflicted
distracted man, from him who hath lost his children and home by bane and
ban, King Omar bin al-Nu'uman, to his son Sharrkan. Know that, since thy
departure from me, the place is become contracted upon me, so that no
longer I have power of patience nor can I keep my secret: and the cause
thereof is as follows. It chanced that when I went forth to hunt and
course Zau al-Makan sought my leave to fare Hijaz-wards, but I, fearing
for him the shifts of fortune, forbade him therefrom until the next year
or the year after. My absence while sporting and hunting endured for a
whole month"——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying
her permitted say.
Now when it was the Sixty-eighth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that King Omar bin
al-Nu'uman wrote in his letter, "My absence while sporting and hunting
endured for a whole month, and when I returned I found that thy brother
and sister had taken somewhat of money and had set out with the
pilgrim-caravan for pilgrimage by stealth. When I knew this, the wide
world narrowed on me, O my son! but I awaited the return of the caravan,
hoping that haply they would come back with it. Accordingly, when the
palmers appeared I asked concerning the twain, but they could give me no
news of them; so I donned mourning for them, being heavy at heart, and
in sleep I have no part and I am drowned in the tears of my eyes." Then
he wrote in verse:—
That pair in image quits me not one single hour, ✿ Whom in my
heart's most honourable place I keep:
Sans hope of their return I would not live one hour, ✿ Without
my dreams of them I ne'er would stretch me in sleep.
The letter went on, "And after the usual salutations to thee and thine,
I command thee neglect no manner of seeking news of them, for indeed
this is a shame to us." When Sharrkan read the letter, he felt grief for
his father and joy for the loss of his brother and sister. Then he took
the missive and went in with it to Nuzhat al-Zaman who knew not that he
was her brother, nor he that she was his sister, albeit he often visited
her both by night and by day, till the months were accomplished and she
sat down on the stool of delivery. Allah made the child-birth easy to
her and she bare a daughter, whereupon she sent for Sharrkan and seeing
him she said to him, "This is thy daughter: name her as thou wilt."
Quoth he, "It is usual to name children on the seventh day after
birth."[300] Then he bent over the child to kiss it and he saw, hung
about its neck, a jewel, which he knew at once for one of those which
Princess Abrizah had brought from the land of the Greeks. Now when he
saw the jewel hanging from his babe's neck he recognised it right well,
his senses fled and wrath seized on him; his eyes rolled in rage and he
looked at Nuzhat al-Zaman and said to her, "Whence hadst thou this
jewel, O slave girl?" When she heard this from Sharrkan she replied, "I
am thy lady, and the lady of all in thy palace! Art thou not ashamed to
say to me, Slave-girl? I am a Queen, daughter of King Omar bin
al-Nu'uman." Hearing this, he was seized with trembling and hung his
head earthwards,——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to
say her permitted say.
Now when it was the Sixty-ninth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious king, that when Sharrkan
heard these words, his heart fluttered and his colour waxed yellow and
he was seized with trembling and he hung his head earthwards, for he
knew that she was his sister by the same father. Then he lost his
senses; and, when he revived, he abode in amazement, but did not
discover his identity to her and asked, "O my lady, say, art thou in
sooth the daughter of King Omar bin al-Nu'uman?" "Yes," answered she;
and he continued, "Tell me the cause of thy leaving thy sire and of thy
being sold for a slave." So she related to him all that had befallen her
from beginning to end, how she had left her brother sick in the
Sanctified City, Jerusalem, and how the Badawi had kidnapped her and had
sold her to the trader. When Sharrkan heard this, he was certified of
her being his sister on the sword-side and said to himself, "How can I
have my sister to wife? By Allah, needs must I marry her to one of my
chamberlains; and, if the thing get wind, I will declare that I divorced
her before consummation and married her to my Chief Chamberlain." Then
he raised his head and sighing said, "O Nuzhat al-Zaman, thou art my
very sister and I cry:—I take refuge with Allah from this sin whereinto
we have fallen, for I am Sharrkan, son of Omar bin al-Nu'uman." She
looked at him and knew he spoke the truth; and, becoming as one
demented, she wept and buffetted her face, exclaiming, "There is no
Majesty and there is no Might save in Allah! Verily have we fallen into
mortal sin![301] What shall I do and what shall I say to my father and
my mother when they ask me, Whence hadst thou thy daughter?" Quoth
Sharrkan, "It were meetest that I marry thee to my Chamberlain and let
thee bring up my daughter in his house, that none may know thou be my
sister. This hath befallen us from Almighty Allah for a purpose of his
own, and nothing shall cover us but thy marriage with this Chamberlain,
ere any know." Then he fell to comforting her and kissing her head and
she asked him, "What wilt thou call the girl?" "Call her
Kuzia-Fakan,"[302] answered he. Then he gave the mother in marriage to
the Chief Chamberlain, and transferred her to his house with the child,
which they reared on the laps of the slave-girls, and fed with milk and
dosed with powders. Now all this occurred whilst the brother, Zau
al-Makan, still tarried with the Fireman at Damascus. One day there came
to King Sharrkan a courier from his father, with a letter which he took
and read and found therein, "After the Bismillah know, O beloved King,
that I am afflicted with sore affliction for the loss of my children:
sleep ever faileth me and wakefulness ever assaileth me. I send thee
this letter that, as soon as thou receivest it, thou make ready the
monies and the tribute, and send them to us, together with the damsel
whom thou hast bought and taken to wife; for I long to see her and hear
her discourse; more especially because there hath come to us from
Roum-land an old woman of saintly bearing and with her be five damsels,
high-bosomed virgins, endowed with knowledge and good-breeding and all
arts and sciences befitting mortals to know; and indeed tongue faileth
me to describe this old woman and these who with her wend; for of a
truth they are compendiums of perfections in learning and
accomplishments. As soon as I saw them I loved them, and I wished to
have them in my palace and in the compass of my hand; for none of the
Kings owneth the like of them; so I asked the old woman their price and
she answered:—I will not sell them but for the tribute of Damascus. And
I, by Allah, did not hold this price exorbitant, indeed it is but
little, for each one of them is worth the whole valuation. So I agreed
to that and took them into my palace, and they remain in my possession.
Wherefore do thou forward the tribute to us that the woman may return to
her own country; and send to us the damsel to the end that she may
dispute with them before the doctors; and, if she prevail over them, I
will return her to thee accompanied by the tribute of Baghdad."——And
Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
Now when it was the full Seventieth Night,
She said, it hath reached me, O auspicious King, that King Omar son of
Al-Nu'uman said in his letter, "And send to us the damsel to the end
that she may dispute with them before the doctors; and, if she prevail
over them, I will return her to thee accompanied with the tribute of
Baghdad." As soon as Sharrkan knew the contents, he went in to his
brother-in-law and said to him, "Bring the damsel to whom I married
thee;" and when she came he showed her the letter and said, "O my
sister! what answer wouldst thou advise me make to this letter?" Replied
she, "Seek advice from thyself!" and presently added (for she yearned
after her people and her native land), "Send me together with my husband
the Chamberlain, to Baghdad, that I may tell my father my tale and let
him know whatso befel me with the Badawi who sold me to the merchant,
and that I also inform him how thou boughtest me of the trader and
gavest me in marriage to the Chamberlain, after setting me free." "Be it
so," replied Sharrkan. Then Sharrkan took his daughter, Kuzia Fakan, and
committed her to the charge of the wet-nurses and the eunuchs, and he
made ready the tribute in haste, bidding the Chamberlain travel with the
Princess and the treasure to Baghdad. He also furnished him two
travelling litters; one for himself and the other for his wife. And the
Chamberlain replied, "To hear is to obey." Moreover Sharrkan collected
camels and mules and wrote a letter to his father and committed it to
the Chamberlain; then he bade farewell to his sister, after he had taken
the jewel from her and hung it round his daughter's neck by a chain of
pure gold; and she and her husband set out for Baghdad the same night.
Now it so happened that Zau al-Makan and his friend the Fireman had come
forth from the hut in which they were, to see the spectacle, and they
beheld camels and Bukhti[303] dromedaries and bât-mules and torches and
lanterns alight; and Zau al-Makan enquired about the loads and their
owner and was told that it was the tribute of Damascus going to King
Omar bin al-Nu'uman, Lord of the City of Baghdad. He then asked, "Who be
the leader of the caravan?" and they answered, "The Head Chamberlain who
hath married the damsel so famous for learning and science." Thereupon
Zau al-Makan wept with bitter weeping and was minded of his mother and
his father and his sister and his native land, and he said to the
Stoker, "I will join this caravan and, little by little, will journey
homewards." Quoth the Fireman, "I would not suffer thee to travel
single-handed from the Holy City to Damascus, then how shall I be sure
of thy safety when thou farest for Baghdad? But I will go with thee and
care for thee till thou effectest thine object." "With joy and good
will," answered Zau al-Makan. Then the Fireman gat him ready for the
journey and hired an ass and threw saddle-bags over it and put therein
something of provaunt; and, when all was prepared, he awaited the
passage of the caravan. And presently the Chamberlain came by on a
dromedary and his footmen about him. Then Zau al-Makan mounted the ass
and said to his companion, "Do thou mount with me." But he replied, "Not
so: I will be thy servant." Quoth Zau al-Makan, "There is no help for it
but thou ride awhile." "'Tis well," quoth the Stoker; "I will ride when
I grow tired." Then said Zau al-Makan, "O my brother, soon shalt thou
see how I will deal with thee, when I come to my own folk." So they
fared on till the sun rose and, when it was the hour of the noonday
sleep[304] the Chamberlain called a halt and they alighted and reposed
and watered their camels. Then he gave the signal for departure and,
after five days, they came to the city of Hamah,[305] where they set
down and made a three day's halt;——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of
day and ceased saying her permitted say.
Now when it was the Seventy-first Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that they halted in the
city of Hamah three days; they then fared forwards and ceased not
travelling till they reached another city. Here also they halted three
days and thence they travelled till they entered the province Diyár
Bakr. Here blew on them the breezes of Baghdad, and Zau al-Makan
bethought him of his father and mother and native land, and how he was
returning to his sire without his sister: so he wept and sighed and
complained, and his regrets grew on him, and he began improvising these
couplets:—
Sweetheart! How long must I await by so long-suffering tried? ✿
Nor cometh messenger to tell me where thou dost abide:
Ah me! in very sooth our meeting-time was short enow: ✿ Would
Heaven shorter prove to me the present parting-tide!
Now hend my hand and ope my robe and thou within shall sight ✿
How wasted are the limbs of me and yet the waste I hide:
When say they "Comfort take for loss of love" I but reply ✿ "By
Allah, till the Day of Doom no comfort shall betide!"
Thereupon said to him the Fireman, "Leave this weeping and wailing, for
we are near the Chamberlain's tent." Quoth Zau al-Makan, "Needs must I
recite somewhat of verse; haply it may quench the fire of my heart."
"Allah upon thee," cried the other, "cease this lamentation till thou
come to thine own country; then do what thou wilt, and I will be with
thee wherever thou art." Replied Zau al-Makan, "By Allah! I cannot
forbear from this!" Then he turned his face towards Baghdad and the moon
was shining brightly and shedding her light on the place, and Nuzhat
al-Zaman could not sleep that night, but was restless and called to mind
her brother and wept. And while she was in tears, she heard Zau al-Makan
weeping and improvising the following distichs:—
"Al-Yaman's[306] leven-gleam I see, ✿ And sore despair despaireth me
For friend who erst abode wi' me ✿ Crowning my cup with gladdest gree;
It minds me o' one who jilted me ✿ To mourn my bitter liberty.
Say sooth, thou fair sheet-lightning! shall ✿ We meet once more in
joy and glee?
O blamer! spare to me thy blame ✿ My Lord hath sent this dule to dree,
Of friend who left me, fain to flee; ✿ Of Time that breeds calamity:
All bliss hath fled the heart of me ✿ Since Fortune proved mine enemy.
He[307] brimmed a bowl of merest pine, ✿ And made me drain the
dregs, did he:
I see me, sweetheart, dead and gone ✿ Ere I again shall gaze on thee.
Time! prithee bring our childhood back, ✿ Restore our happy infancy,
When joy and safety 'joyed we ✿ From shafts that now they shoot at me!
Who aids the hapless stranger-wight, ✿ That nights in fright
and misery,
That wastes his days in lonely grief, ✿ For "Time's Delight"[308]
no more must be?
Doomed us despite our will to bear ✿ The hands of base-borns cark
and care.
When he ended his verse he cried out and fell down in a fainting-fit.
This is how it fared with him; but as regards Nuzhat al-Zaman, when she
heard that voice in the night, her heart was at rest and she rose and in
her joy she called the Chief Eunuch, who said to her, "What is thy
will?" Quoth she, "Arise and bring me him who recited verses but now."
Replied he, "Of a truth I did not hear him"——And Shahrazad perceived the
dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
Now when it was the Seventy-second Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Nuzhat
al-Zaman heard her brother reciting, she called the Chief Eunuch and
said to him, "Go, fetch me the man who is repeating this poetry!"
Replied he, "Of a truth I heard him not and I wot him not and folks are
all sleeping." But she said, "Whomsoever thou seest awake, he is the
reciter." So he went, yet found none on wake save the Stoker; for Zau
al-Makan was still insensible, and when his companion saw the Eunuch
standing by his head he was afraid of him. Then said the Eunuch, "Art
thou he who repeated poetry but now and my lady heard him?" The Stoker
fancied that the dame was wroth with the reciter; and, being afraid, he
replied, "By Allah, 'twas not I!" Rejoined the Eunuch, "Who then was the
reciter?: point him out to me. Thou must know who it was, seeing that
thou art awake." The Fireman feared for Zau al-Makan and said in
himself, "Haply the Eunuch will do him some hurt"; so he answered, "By
Allah, I know not who it was." Said the Eunuch, "By Allah, thou liest,
for there is none on wake here but thou! So needs must thou know him."
"By Allah," replied the Fireman, "I tell thee the truth!: some
passer-by, some wayfarer must have recited the verses and disturbed me
and kept me awake; Allah requite him!" Quoth the Eunuch, "If thou happen
upon him, point him out to me and I will lay hands on him and bring him
to the door of our lady's litter;[309] or do thou take him with thine
own hand." Said the Fireman, "Go thou back and I will bring him to
thee." So the Eunuch left him and went his ways; and, going in to his
mistress, told her all this and said to her, "None knoweth who it was;
it must have been some passer-by, some wayfarer." And she was silent.
Meanwhile, Zau al-Makan came to himself and saw that the moon had
reached the middle Heavens; the breath of the dawn-breeze[310] breathed
upon him and his heart was moved to longing and sadness; so he cleared
his throat and was about to recite verses, when the Fireman asked him,
"What wilt thou do?" Answered Zau al-Makan, "I have a mind to repeat
somewhat of poetry, that I may quench therewith the fire of my heart."
Quoth the other, "Thou knowest not what befel me whilst thou wast
a-faint, and how I escaped death only by beguiling the Eunuch." "Tell me
what happened," quoth Zau al-Makan. Replied the Stoker, "Whilst thou
wast aswoon there came up to me but now an Eunuch, with a long staff of
almond-tree wood in his hand, who took to looking in all the people's
faces, as they lay asleep, and asked me who it was recited the verses,
finding none awake but myself. I told him in reply it was some
passer-by, some wayfarer; so he went away and Allah delivered me from
him; else had he killed me. But first he said to me:—If thou hear him
again, bring him to us." When Zau al-Makan heard this he wept and said,
"Who is it would forbid me to recite? I will surely recite, befal me
what may; for I am near mine own land and care for none." Rejoined the
Fireman, "Thy design is naught save to lose thy life;" and Zau al-Makan
retorted, "Needs must I recite verses." "Verily," said the Stoker,
"Needs must there be a parting between me and thee in this place, albeit
I had intended not to leave thee, till I had brought thee to thy native
city and reunited thee with thy mother and father. Thou hast now tarried
with me a year and a half and I have never harmed thee in aught. What
ails thee, then, that thou must needs recite verses, seeing that we are
tired out with walking and watching and all the folk are asleep, for
they require sleep to rest them of their fatigue?" But Zau al-Makan
answered, "I will not be turned away from my purpose."[311] Then grief
moved him and he threw off concealment and began repeating these
couplets:—
Stand thou by the homes and hail the lords of the ruined stead; ✿
Cry thou for an answer, belike reply to thee shall be sped:
If the night and absence irk thy spirit kindle a torch ✿ Wi'
repine; and illuminate the gloom with a gleaming gleed:
If the snake of the sand-dunes hiss, I shall marvel not at all! ✿
Let him bite so I bite those beauteous lips of the luscious red:
O Eden, my soul hath fled in despite of the maid I love: ✿ Had I
lost hope of Heaven my heart in despair were dead.
And he also improvised the two following distichs:
We were and were the days enthralled to all our wills, ✿ Dwelling
in union sweet and homed in fairest site:
Who shall restore the home of the beloved, where showed ✿ Light of
the Place for aye conjoined with Time's Delight?[312]
And as he ceased his verses, he shrieked three shrieks and fell
senseless to the ground and the Fireman rose and covered him. When
Nuzhat al-Zaman heard the first improvisation, she called to mind her
father and her mother and her brother and their whilom home; then she
wept and cried at the Eunuch and said to him, "Woe to thee! He who
recited the first time hath recited a second time and I heard him hard
by. By Allah, an thou fetch him not to me, I will assuredly rouse the
Chamberlain on thee, and he shall beat thee and cast thee out. But take
these hundred dinars and give them to the singer and bring him to me
gently, and do him no hurt. If he refuse, hand to him this purse of a
thousand dinars, then leave him and return to me and tell me, after thou
hast informed thyself of his place and his calling and what countryman
he is. Return quickly and linger not."——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn
of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
Now when it was the Seventy-third Night,