I was overawed by her, O Commander of the Faithful, and drew near her
to greet her, and behold, the house and vestibule and highways breathed
fragrant with musk. So I saluted her and she returned my salam with a
voice dejected and heart depressed and with the ardour of passion
consumed. Then said I to her, “O my lady, I am an old man and a
stranger and sore troubled by thirst. Wilt thou order me a draught of
water, and win reward in heaven?” She cried, “Away, O Shaykh, from me!
I am distracted from all thought of meat and drink.”——And Shahrazad
perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
When it was the Six Hundred and Ninety-fourth Night,
She pursued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the damsel
said, “O Shaykh, I am distracted from all thought of meat and drink.”
Quoth I (continued Husayn), “By what ailment, O my lady?” and quoth
she, “I love one who dealeth not justly by me and I desire one who of
me will none. Wherefore I am afflicted with the wakefulness of those
who wake star-gazing.” I asked, “O my lady, is there on the wide
expanse of earth one to whom thou hast a mind and who to thee hath no
mind?” Answered she, “Yes; and this for the perfection of beauty and
loveliness and goodliness wherewith he is endowed.” “And why standeth
thou in this porch?” enquired I. “This is his road,” replied she, “and
the hour of his passing by.” I said, “O my lady, have ye ever
foregathered and had such commerce and converse as might cause this
passion?” At this she heaved a deep sigh; the tears rained down her
cheeks, as they were dew falling upon roses, and she versified with
these couplets,
“We were like willow-boughs in garden shining * And scented
joys in happiest life combining;
Whenas one bough from other self would rend * And oh! thou
seest this for that repining!”
Quoth I, “O maid, and what betideth thee of thy love for this man?”;
and quoth she, “I see the sun upon the walls of his folk and I think
the sun is he; or haply I catch sight of him unexpectedly and am
confounded and the blood and the life fly my body and I abide in
unreasoning plight a week or e’en a se’nnight.” Said I, “Excuse me, for
I also have suffered that which is upon thee of love-longing and
distraction of soul and wasting of frame and loss of strength; and I
see in thee pallor of complexion and emaciation, such as testify of the
fever-fits of desire. But how shouldst thou be unsmitten of passion and
thou a sojourner in the land of Bassorah?” Said she, “By Allah, before
I fell in love of this youth, I was perfect in beauty and loveliness
and amorous grace which ravished all the Princes of Bassorah, till he
fell in love with me.” I asked, “O maid, and who parted you?”; and she
answered, “The vicissitudes of fortune, but the manner of our
separation was strange; and ’twas on this wise. One New Year’s day I
had invited the damsels of Bassorah and amongst them a girl belonging
to Siran, who had bought her out of Oman for four score thousand
dirhams. She loved me and loved me to madness and when she entered she
threw herself upon me and well nigh tore me in pieces with bites and
pinches.[FN#159] Then we withdrew apart, to drink wine at our ease,
till our meat was ready[FN#160] and our delight was complete, and she
toyed with me and I with her, and now I was upon her and now she was
upon me. Presently, the fumes of the wine moved her to strike her hand
on the inkle of my petticoat-trousers, whereby it became loosed,
unknown of either of us, and my trousers fell down in our play. At this
moment he came in unobserved and, seeing me thus, was wroth at the
sight and made off, as the Arab filly hearing the tinkle of her
bridle.”——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her
permitted say.
When it was the Six Hundred and Ninety-fifth Night,
She resumed, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the maiden
said to Husayn al-Khali’a, “When my lover saw me playing, as I
described to thee, with Siran’s girl, he went forth in anger. And ’tis
now, O Shaykh, three years ago, and since then I have never ceased to
excuse myself to him and coax him and crave his indulgence, but he will
neither cast a look at me from the corner of his eye, nor write me a
word nor speak to me by messenger nor hear from me aught.” Quoth I,
“Harkye maid, is he an Arab or an Ajam?”; and quoth she, “Out on thee!
He is of the Princes of Bassorah.” “Is he old or young?” asked I; and
she looked at me laughingly and answered, “Thou art certainly a
simpleton! He is like the moon on the night of its full, smooth-cheeked
and beardless, nor is there any defect in him except his aversion to
me.” Then I put the question, “What is his name?” and she replied,
“What wilt thou do with him?” I rejoined, “I will do my best to come at
him, that I may bring about reunion between you.” Said she, “I will
tell thee on condition that thou carry him a note;” and I said “I have
no objection to that.” Then quoth she, “His name is Zamrah bin
al-Mughayrah, hight Abú al-Sakhá,[FN#161] and his palace is in the
Mirbad.” Therewith she called to those within for inkcase and paper and
tucking up[FN#162] her sleeves, showed two wrists like broad rings of
silver. She then wrote after the Basmalah as follows, “My lord, the
omission of blessings[FN#163] at the head of this my letter shows mine
insufficiency, and know that had my prayer been answered, thou hadst
never left me; for how often have I prayed that thou shouldest not
leave me, and yet thou didst leave me! Were it not that distress with
me exceedeth the bounds of restraint, that which thy servant hath
forced herself to do in writing this writ were an aidance to her,
despite her despair of thee, because of her knowledge of thee that thou
wilt fail to answer. Do thou fulfil her desire, my lord, of a sight of
thee from the porch, as thou passest in the street, wherewith thou wilt
quicken the dead soul in her. Or, far better for her still than this,
do thou write her a letter with thine own hand (Allah endow it with all
excellence!), and appoint it in requital of the intimacy that was
between us in the nights of time past, whereof thou must preserve the
memory. My lord, was I not to thee a lover sick with passion? An thou
answer my prayer, I will give to thee thanks and to Allah praise; and
so—The Peace!”[FN#164] Then she gave me the letter and I went away.
Next morning I repaired to the door of the Viceroy Mohammed bin
Sulayman, where I found an assembly of the notables of Bassorah, and
amongst them a youth who adorned the gathering and surpassed in beauty
and brightness all who were there; and indeed the Emir Mohammed set him
above himself. I asked who he was and behold, it was Zamrah himself: so
I said in my mind, “Verily, there hath befallen yonder unhappy one that
which hath befallen her[FN#165]!” Then I betook myself to the Mirbad
and stood waiting at the door of his house, till he came riding up in
state, when I accosted him and invoking more than usual blessings on
him, handed him the missive. When he read it and understood it he said
to me, “O Shaykh, we have taken other in her stead. Say me, wilt thou
see the substitute?” I answered, “Yes.” Whereupon he called out a
woman’s name, and there came forth a damsel who shamed the two greater
lights; swelling-breasted, walking the gait of one who hasteneth
without fear, to whom he gave the note, saying, “Do thou answer it.”
When she read it, she turned pale at the contents and said to me, “O
old man, crave pardon of Allah for this that thou hast brought.” So I
went out, O Commander of the Faithful, dragging my feet and returning
to her asked leave to enter. When she saw me, she asked, “What is
behind thee?”; and I answered, “Evil and despair.” Quoth she, “Have
thou no concern of him. Where are Allah and His power?”[FN#166] Then
she ordered me five hundred dinars and I took them and went away. Some
days after I passed by the place and saw there horsemen and footmen. So
I went in and lo! these were the companions of Zamrah, who were begging
her to return to him; but she said, “No, by Allah, I will not look him
in the face!” And she prostrated herself in gratitude to Allah and
exultation over Zamrah’s defeat. Then I drew near her, and she pulled
out to me a letter, wherein was written, after the Bismillah, “My lady,
but for my forbearance towards thee (whose life Allah lengthen!) I
would relate somewhat of what betided from thee and set out my excuse,
in that thou transgressedst against me, whenas thou wast manifestly a
sinner against thyself and myself in breach of vows and lack of
constancy and preference of another over us; for, by Allah, on whom we
call for help against that which was of thy free will, thou didst
transgress against the love of me; and so The Peace!” Then she showed
me the presents and rarities he had sent her, which were of the value
of thirty thousand dinars. I saw her again after this, and Zamrah had
married her. Quoth Al-Rashid, “Had not Zamrah been beforehand with us,
I should certainly have had to do with her myself.”[FN#167] And men
tell the tale of