NOUREDDIN ALI AND THE DAMSEL ENIS EL JELIS.

There was once a King in Bassora who cherished the poor and needy

and loved his subjects and bestowed of his wealth on those who

believed in Mohammed (whom God bless and preserve!) and he was

even as the poet hath described him:

A King who, when the hostile hosts assault him in the field,

Smites them and hews them, limb from limb, with trenchant

sword and spear

Full many a character of red he writes upon the breasts What time

the mailed horsemen break before his wild career.

His name was King Mohammed ben Suleiman ez Zeini, and he had two

Viziers, one called Muin ben Sawa and the other Fezl ben Khacan.

Fezl was the most generous man of his time; noble and upright of

life, all hearts concurred in loving him, and the wise complied

with his counsel, whilst all the people wished him long life; for

that he was a compend of good qualities, encouraging good and

preventing evil and mischief. The Vizier Muin, on the contrary,

was a hater of mankind and loved not good, being indeed

altogether evil; even as says of him the poet:

Look thou consort with the generous, sons of the gen'rous; for

lo! The generous, sons of the gen'rous, beget the gen'rous,

I trow.

And let the mean-minded men, sons of the mean-minded, go, For the

mean-minded, sons of the mean, beget none other than so.

And as much as the people loved Fezl, so much did they hate Muin.

It befell one day, that the King, being seated on his throne,

with his officers of state about him, called his Vizier Fezl and

said to him, 'I wish to have a slave-girl of unsurpassed beauty,

perfect in grace and symmetry and endowed with all praiseworthy

qualities.' Said the courtiers, 'Such a girl is not to be had for

less than ten thousand dinars!' whereupon the King cried out to

his treasurer and bade him carry ten thousand dinars to Fezl's

house. The treasurer did so, and the Vizier went away, after the

King had charged him to go to the market every day and employ

brokers and had given orders that no girl worth more than a

thousand dinars should be sold, without being first shown to the

Vizier. Accordingly, the brokers brought him all the girls that

came into their hands, but none pleased him, till one day a

broker came to his house and found him mounting his horse, to go

to the palace; so he caught hold of his stirrup and repeated the

following verses:

O thou whose bounties have restored the uses of the state, O

Vizier helped of heaven, whose acts are ever fortunate!

Thou hast revived the virtues all were dead among the folk. May

God's acceptance evermore on thine endeavours wait!

Then said he, 'O my lord, she for whom the august mandate was

issued is here.' 'Bring her to me,' replied the Vizier. So he

went away and returned in a little with a damsel of elegant

shape, swelling-breasted, with melting black eyes and smooth

cheeks, slender-waisted and heavy-hipped, clad in the richest of

clothes. The dew of her lips was sweeter than syrup, her shape

more symmetrical than the bending branch and her speech softer

than the morning zephyr, even as says one of those who have

described her:

A wonder of beauty! Her face full moon of the palace sky; Of a

tribe of gazelles and wild cows the dearest and most high!

The Lord of the empyrean hath given her pride and state,

Elegance, charm and a shape that with the branch may vie;

She hath in the heaven of her face a cluster of seven stars, That

keep the ward of her cheek to guard it from every spy.

So if one think to steal a look, the imps of her glance Consume

him straight with a star, that shoots from her gleaming eye.

When the Vizier saw her she pleased him exceedingly, so he turned

to the broker and said to him, 'What is the price of this

damsel?' 'Her price is ten thousand dinars,' replied he, 'and

her owner swears that this sum will not cover the cost of the

chickens she hath eaten, the wine she hath drunk and the

dresses of honour bestowed on her teachers; for she hath learnt

penmanship and grammar and lexicology and the exposition of the

Koran and the rudiments of law and theology, medicine and the

calendar, as well as the art of playing on instruments of music.'

Then said the Vizier, 'Bring me her master.' So the broker

brought him at once, and behold, he was a foreigner, who had

lived so long that time had worn him to bones and skin. Quoth

the Vizier to him, 'Art thou content to sell this damsel to

the Sultan for ten thousand dinars?' 'By Allah,' replied the

merchant, 'if I made him a present of her, it were but my duty!'

So the Vizier sent for the money and gave it to the slave-dealer,

who said, 'By the leave of our lord the Vizier, I have something

to say.' 'Speak,' said the Vizier: and the slave-dealer said, 'If

thou wilt be ruled by me, thou wilt not carry the damsel to the

King to-day, for she is newly off a journey; the change of air

has affected her and the journey has fretted her. But let her

abide in thy palace ten days, that she may recover her good

looks. Then send her to the bath and dress her in the richest of

clothes and go up with her to the Sultan, and this will be more

to thy profit.' The Vizier considered the man's advice and

approved it; so he took her to his palace, where he appointed her

a separate lodging and a daily allowance of meat and drink and so

forth, and she abode thus awhile.

Now the Vizier Fezl had a son like the rising full moon, with

shining visage, red cheeks covered with a tender down and a mole

like a grain of ambergris; as says of him the poet and therein

errs not:

A moon,[FN#107] whose glances slay the folk, on whom he turns his

eye; A branch, whose graces break all hearts, as he goes

stately by

Slack as the night his browlocks are, his face the hue of gold;

Fair is his person, and his shape the spear-shaft doth

outvie.

Ah me, how hard his heart, how soft and slender is his waist! Why

is the softness not transferred from this to that, ah why?

Were but the softness of his sides made over to his heart, He'd

ne'er to lovers be unjust nor leave them thus to sigh.

O thou that blam'st my love of thee, excuse me rather thou, Nor

chide me, if my body pine for languor like to die.

The fault, indeed, lies not with me, but with my heart and eye;

So chide me not, but let me be in this my misery.

Now he knew not the affair of the damsel, and his father had

lessoned her, saying, 'Know, O my daughter, that I have bought

thee for the bed of the King Mohammed ben Suleiman ez Zeini, and

I have a son who leaves no girl in the quarter but he has to do

with her; so be on thy guard against him and beware of letting

him see thy face or hear thy voice.' 'I hear and obey,' replied

she; and the Vizier left her and went away. Some days after this

it chanced, as Fate would have it, that the damsel went to the

bath in the house, where some of the serving-women washed her,

after which she arrayed herself in rich apparel, and her beauty

and grace redoubled. Then she went in to the Vizier's wife and

kissed her hand; and the lady said to her, 'May it profit thee, O

Enis el Jelis! How didst thou find the bath?' 'O my lady,'

answered she, 'I lacked but thy presence there.' Thereupon said

the mistress to her waiting-women, 'Come with me to the bath, for

it is some days since I went thither.' 'We hear and obey,'

answered they; and rose and accompanied her to the bath, after

Enis el Jelis had retired to her own chamber and the lady had set

two little slave-girls to keep the door, charging them to let

none go in to the damsel. Presently, as Enis el Jelis sat resting

after the bath, in came the Vizier's son, whose name was

Noureddin Ali, and asked after his mother and her women, to which

the two little slaves replied that they had gone to the bath. The

damsel heard Noureddin's voice and said to herself, 'I wonder

what like is this youth, of whom his father says that there is

not a girl in the quarter but he has had to do with her. By

Allah, I long to see him!' So she rose, fresh as she was from the

bath, and going to the door, looked at Noureddin and saw that he

was like the moon at its full. The sight cost her a thousand

sighs, and Noureddin, chancing to look that way, caught a glance

of her that caused him also a thousand regrets, and each fell

into the snare of the other's love. Then he went up to the two

little slaves and cried out at them, whereupon they fled before

him and stood afar off to see what he would do. And behold, he

went up to the door of the damsel's chamber and entering, said to

her, 'Art thou she whom my father bought for me?' 'Yes,' answered

she: whereupon Noureddin, who was heated with wine, went up to

her and embraced her, whilst she wreathed her arms about his neck

and met him with kisses and sighs and amorous gestures. Then he

sucked her tongue and she his, and he did away her maidenhead.

When the two little slaves saw their young master go in to the

damsel, they cried out and shrieked. So, as soon as he had done

his desire, he rose and fled, fearing the issue of his conduct.

When the Vizier's wife heard the slaves' cries, she sprang up and

came out of the bath, with the sweat dripping from her, saying,

'What is this clamour in the house?' Then she came up to the two

little slaves, and said to them, 'Out on you! what is the

matter?' 'Our lord Noureddin came in and beat us,' answered they:

'so we fled and he went in to the damsel and embraced her, and we

know not what he did after this: but when we cried out to thee,

he fled.' Thereupon, the mistress went in to Enis el Jelis and

enquired what had happened. 'O my lady,' answered she, 'as I was

sitting here, there came in a handsome young man, who said to me,

"Art thou she whom my father bought for me?" I answered, "Yes;"

(for by Allah, O my lady, I believed that he spoke the truth!)

and with this he came up to me and embraced me.' 'Did he nought

else with thee?' asked the lady. 'Yes,' replied Enis el Jelis:

'he took of me three kisses.' 'He did not leave thee without

deflowering thee!' cried the Vizier's wife, and fell to weeping

and buffeting her face, she and her women, fearing that

Noureddin's father would kill him. Whilst they were thus, in came

the Vizier and asked what was the matter, and his wife said to

him, 'Swear that thou wilt hearken to what I say.' 'It is well,'

replied he. So she told him what his son had done, and he was

greatly afflicted and tore his clothes and buffeted his face and

plucked out his beard. 'Do not kill thyself,' said his wife: 'I

will give thee the ten thousand dinars, her price, of my own

money.' But he raised his head and said to her, 'Out on thee! I

have no need of her price, but I fear to lose both life and

goods.' 'How so?' asked his wife, and he said, 'Dost thou not

know that yonder is our enemy Muin ben Sawa, who, when he hears

of this affair, will go up to the Sultan and say to him, "Thy

Vizier, who thou wilt have it loves thee, had of thee ten

thousand dinars and bought therewith a slave-girl, whose like was

never seen; but when he saw her, she pleased him and he said to

his son, 'Take her: thou art worthier of her than the Sultan.' So

he took her and did away her maidenhead, and she is now with

him." The King will say, "Thou liest!" To which Muin will reply,

"With thy leave, I will fall on him at unawares and bring her to

thee." The King will order him to do this, and he will come down

upon the house and take the damsel and bring her before the King,

who will question her and she will not be able to deny what has

passed. Then Muin will say, "O my lord, thou knowest that I give

thee true counsel, but I am not in favour with thee." Thereupon

the Sultan will make an example of me, and I shall be a

gazing-stock to all the people and my life will be lost.' Quoth

his wife, 'Tell none of this thing, which has happened privily,

but commit thy case to God and trust in Him to deliver thee from

this strait.' With this the Vizier's heart was set at rest, and

his wrath and chagrin subsided.

Meanwhile, Noureddin, fearing the issue of the affair, spent the

whole day in the gardens and came back by night to his mother's

apartment, where he slept and rising before day, returned to the

gardens. He lived thus for a whole month, not showing his face to

his father, till at last his mother said to the Vizier, 'O my

lord, shall we lose our own son as well as the damsel? If things

continue thus for long, the lad will flee forth from us.' 'What

is to be done?' said he: and she answered, 'Do thou watch this

night, and when he comes, seize on him and frighten him. I will

rescue him from thee and do thou then make peace with him and

give him the girl, for she loves him and he her; and I will pay

thee her price.' So the Vizier watched that night and when his

son came, he seized him and throwing him down, knelt on his

breast and made as if he would cut his throat; but his mother

came to his succour and said to her husband, 'What wilt thou do

with him?' Quoth he, 'I mean to kill him.' And Noureddin said to

his father 'Am I of so little account with thee?' Whereupon the

Vizier's eyes filled with tears and he replied, 'O my son, is the

loss of my goods and my life of so little account in thine eyes?'

Quoth Noureddin, 'Hear, O my father, what the poet says:

Pardon me: true, I have sinned: yet the sagacious man Ceases

never to pardon freely the erring wight.

Surely, therefore, thy foe may hope for pardon from thee, Since

he is in the abyss and thou on honour's height!'

Then the Vizier rose from off his breast, saying, 'O my son, I

forgive thee!' for his heart was softened. Noureddin rose and

kissed the hand of his father, who said to him, 'If I knew that

thou wouldst deal fairly by Enis el Jelis, I would give her to

thee.' 'O my father,' replied Noureddin, 'how should I not deal

fairly by her?' Quoth the Vizier, 'O my son, I charge thee not to

take another wife nor concubine to share with her nor sell her.'

'O my father,' answered Noureddin, 'I swear to thee that I will

do none of these things.' Then he went in to the damsel and abode

with her a whole year, whilst God caused the King to forget the

affair. The matter, indeed, came to Muin's ears, but he dared not

speak of it, by reason of the favour in which the Vizier Fezl

stood with the Sultan. At the end of the year, the Vizier Fezl

went one day to the bath and coming out, whilst still in a sweat,

the air smote him and he caught cold and took to his bed. His

malady gained upon him and sleeplessness was long upon him; so he

called his son Noureddin and said to him, 'O my son, know that

fortune is lotted out and the term of life fixed, and needs must

every soul drain the cup of death.' And he repeated the following

verses:

I'm dead: yet glory be to Him that dieth not; For that I needs

must die, indeed, full well I wot,

He is no king, who dies with kingship in his hand, For sovranty

belongs to Him that dieth not.

Then he continued, 'O my son, I have no charge to lay on thee,

except that thou fear God and look to the issue of thine actions

and cherish the damsel Enis el Jelis.' 'O my father,' said

Noureddin, 'who is like unto thee? Indeed thou art renowned for

the practice of virtue and the praying of the preachers for thee

in the pulpits.' Quoth Fezl, 'O my son, I hope for acceptance

from God the Most High.' Then he pronounced the two professions

of the faith and was numbered among the blessed. The palace was

filled with crying and lamentation, and the news of his death

reached the King and the people of the city, and even the

children in the schools wept for Fezi ben Khacan. Then his son

Noureddin arose and took order for his funeral, and the Amirs and

Viziers and grandees were present, amongst them the Vizier Muin

ben Sawa; and as the funeral train came forth of the palace, one

of the mourners recited the following verses:

The fifth day I departed and left my friends alone: They laid me

out and washed me upon a slab of stone;

Then stripped me of the raiment that on my body was, That they

might put upon me clothes other than my own

On four men's necks they bore me unto the place of prayer And

prayed a prayer above me by no prostration known.

Then in a vaulted dwelling they laid me. Though the years Shall

waste, its door will never be open to them thrown.

When they had laid him in the earth, Noureddin returned with the

folk; and he lamented with groans and tears and the tongue of the

case repeated the following verses:

On the fifth day they departed in the eventide, and I Took of

them the last leave-taking, when they went and left me here.

When they turned away and left me, lo! the soul with them did go.

And I said, "Return." It answered, "Where, alas! should I

recur;

Shall I come back to a body whence the life and blood are flown?

Nothing now but bones are left it, rattling in the

sepulchre.

Lo! my eyes, excess of weeping hath put out their sight, I trow,

And a deafness eke is fallen on my ears: I cannot hear."

He abode a long while in great grief for his father, till one

day, as he sat in his house, there came a knocking at the door;

so he rose and opening the door, found there a man who had been

one of his father's friends and boon-companions. He entered and

kissing Noureddin's hand, said to him, 'O my lord, he who has

left the like of thee is not dead; and to this pass (death) came

even the lord of the first and the last.[FN#108] O my lord, take

comfort and leave mourning!' Thereupon Noureddin rose and going

to the guest-chamber, transported thither all that he needed.

Then his friends gathered together to him and he took his

slave-girl again and collecting round him ten of the sons of the

merchants, began to eat meat and drink wine, giving entertainment

after entertainment and dispensing gifts and favours with a

lavish hand, till one day his steward came to him and said, 'O my

lord Noureddin, hast thou not heard the saying, "He who spends

and does not reckon, becomes poor without knowing it?"' And he

repeated the following verses:

I'll hold my money fast, knowing, as well as I know, That 'tis my

sword and shield against my every foe.

If I should lavish it on those who love me not, My luck among the

folk would change to grief and woe.

So I will eat and drink my wealth for my own good Nor upon any

man a single doit bestow.

I will preserve with care my money from all those By nature base

and true to none. 'Tis better so

Than that I e'er should say unto the mean of soul, "Lend me so

much I'll pay to-morrow five-fold mo,"

And see my friend avert his face and turn away, Leaving my soul

cast down, as 'twere a dog's, I trow!

O what a sorry lot is his, who hath no pelf, E'en though his

virtues bright like to the sun should show!

'O my lord,' continued the steward, 'this lavish expense and

prodigal giving waste away wealth.' When Noureddin heard his

steward's words, he looked at him and said, 'I will not hearken

to one word of all thou hast said, for I have heard the following

saying of the poet:

If I be blessed with wealth and be not liberal with it, May my

hand wither and my foot eke paralysed remain!

Show me the niggard who hath won glory by avarice! Show me the

liberal man his own munificence hath slain!

And he said, 'Know, O steward, it is my desire that so long as

there remains in thy hands enough for my morning meal, thou

trouble me not with taking care for my evening meal.' Therewith

the steward went away and Noureddin continued his extravagant way

of living; and if any of his boon-companions chanced to say to

him, 'This thing is handsome,' he would answer, 'It is thine as a

gift;' or if another said, 'O my lord, such and such a house is

handsome,' he would say, 'Take it: it is thine.' In this manner

he continued to live for a whole year, giving his friends a

banquet in the morning and another in the evening, till one day

as they were sitting together, the damsel Enis el Jelis repeated

the following verses:

Thou madest fair thy thought of Fate, when that the days were

fair, And fearedst not the unknown ills that they to thee

might bring:

The nights were fair and calm to thee; thou wert deceived by

them, For in the peace of night is born full many a

troublous thing.

Just as she had finished, there came a knocking at the door; so

Noureddin rose to open it, and one of his companions followed him

without his knowledge. At the door he found his steward and said

to him, 'What is the matter?' 'Omylord,' replied he, 'what I

feared for thee has come to pass!' 'How so?' asked Noureddin; and

the steward said, 'Know that there remains not a dirhem's worth,

less nor more, in my hands. Here are registers containing an

account of the original state of thy property and the way in

which thou hast spent it.' At this, Noureddin bowed his head and

exclaimed, 'There is no power and no virtue but in God!' When the

man who had followed him secretly to spy on him heard what the

steward said, he returned to his companions and said to them,

'Look what ye do; for Noureddin Ali is bankrupt.' When Noureddin

returned, they read trouble in his face; so one of them rose and

said to him, 'O my lord, maybe thou wilt give me leave to

retire?' 'Why wilt thou go away to-day?' said he. 'My wife is

brought to bed,' replied the other; 'and I cannot be absent from

her; I wish to return and see how she does.' So Noureddin gave

him leave, whereupon another rose and said, 'O my lord, I wish to

go to my brother, for he circumcises his son to-day.' And each

made some excuse to retire, till they were all gone and Noureddin

remained alone. Then he called his slave-girl and said to her, 'O

Enis el Jelis, hast thou seen what has befallen me?' And he

related to her what the steward had told him. 'O my lord,'

replied she, 'some nights ago I had it in my mind to speak with

thee of this matter; but I heard thee reciting the following

verses:

If fortune be lavish to thee, look thou be lavish with it Unto

all classes of men, ere it escapes from thy hand!

Munificence will not undo it, whilst it is constant to thee, Nor,

when it turneth away, will avarice force it to stand.

When I heard thee speak thus, I held my peace and cared not to

say aught to thee.' 'O Enis el Jelis,' said Noureddin, 'thou

knowest that I have not expended my substance but on my friends,

who have beggared me, and I think they will not leave me without

help.' 'By Allah,' replied she, 'they will not profit thee in

aught.' Said he, 'I will rise at once and go to them and knock at

their doors: maybe I shall get of them somewhat with which I may

trade and leave pleasure and merry-making.' So he rose and

repaired to a certain street, where all his ten comrades lived.

He went up to the first door and knocked, whereupon a maid came

out and said, 'Who art thou?' 'Tell thy master,' replied he,

'that Noureddin Ali stands at the door and says to him, "Thy

slave kisses thy hands and awaits thy bounty."' The girl went in

and told her master, who cried out at her, saying, 'Go back and

tell him that I am not at home.' So she returned and said to

Noureddin, 'O my lord, my master is from home.' With this, he

went away, saying to himself, 'Though this fellow be a whoreson

knave and deny himself, another may not be so.' Then he came to

the second door and sent in a like message to the master of the

house, who denied himself as the first had done, whereupon

Noureddin repeated the following verse:

They're gone who, if before their door thou didst arrest thy

feet, Would on thy poverty bestow both flesh and roasted

meat.

And said 'By Allah, I must try them all: there may be one amongst

them who will stand me in the stead of the rest.' So he went

round to all the ten, but not one of them opened his door to him

or showed himself to him or broke a cake of bread in his face;

whereupon he repeated the following verses:

A man in time of affluence is like unto a tree, Round which the

folk collect, as long as fruit thereon they see,

Till, when its burden it hath cast, they turn from it away, Leave

it to suffer heat and dust and all inclemency.

Out on the people of this age! perdition to them all! Since not a

single one of ten is faithful found to be.

Then he returned to his slave-girl, and indeed his concern was

doubled, and she said to him, 'O my lord, did I not tell thee

that they would not profit thee aught?' 'By Allah,' replied he,

'not one of them would show me his face or take any notice of

me!' 'O my lord! said she, 'sell some of the furniture and

household stuff, little by little, and live on the proceed,

against God the Most High provide.' So he sold all that was in

the house, till there was nothing left, when he turned to her and

said, 'What is to be done now?' 'O my lord,' replied she, 'it is

my advice that thou rise and take me down to the market and sell

me. Thou knowest that thy father bought me for ten thousand

dinars; perhaps God may help thee to near that price, and if it

be His will that we be reunited, we shall meet again.' 'O Enis el

Jelis,' replied Noureddin, 'by Allah, I cannot endure to be

parted from thee for a single hour!' 'By Allah, O my lord,'

rejoined she, 'nor is it easy to me; but necessity compels, as

says the poet:

Necessity in life oft drives one into ways That to the courteous

mind are foreign and abhorred.

We do not trust our weight unto a rope, unless It be to do some

thing adapted to the cord.'

With this, he rose to his feet and took her, whilst the tears

streamed down his cheeks like rain and he recited with the tongue

of the case what follows:

Stay and vouchsafe me one more look before our parting hour, To

soothe the anguish of a heart well-nigh for reverence slain!

Yet, if it irk thee anywise to grant my last request, Far rather

let me die of love than cause thee aught of pain!

Then he went down to the market and delivered the damsel to a

broker, to whom he said, 'O Hajj[FN#109] Hassan, I would have

thee note the value of her thou hast to offer for sale!' 'O my

lord Noureddin,' replied the broker, 'I have not forgotten my

business.[FN#110] Is not this Enis el Jelis, whom thy father

bought of me for ten thousand dinars?' 'Yes,' said Noureddin.

Then the broker went round to the merchants, but found they were

not all assembled; so he waited till the rest had arrived and the

market was full of all kinds of female slaves, Turks and Franks

and Circassians and Abyssinians and Nubians and Egyptians and

Tartars and Greeks and Georgians and others; when he came forward

and said, 'O merchants! O men of wealth! every round thing is not

a walnut nor every long thing a banana; every thing red is not

meat nor everything white fat. O merchants, I have here this

unique pearl, this unvalued jewel! What price shall I set on

her?' 'Say four thousand five hundred dinars,' cried one. So the

broker opened the biddings for her at that sum and as he was yet

calling, behold, the Vizier Muin ben Sawa passed through the

market and seeing Noureddin standing in a corner, said to

himself, 'What doth the son of Khacan here? Has this gallows-bird

aught left to buy girls withal?' Then he looked round and seeing

the broker crying out and the merchants round him, said to

himself, 'Doubtless he is ruined and has brought the damsel Enis

el Jelis hither to sell her! What a solace to my heart!' Then he

called the crier, who came up and kissed the ground before him,

and he said to him, 'Show me the girl thou art crying for sale.'

The broker dared not cross him, so he answered, 'O my lord, in

the name of God!' And brought the damsel and showed her to him.

She pleased him and he said, 'O Hassan, what is bidden for this

damsel?' 'Four thousand five hundred dinars,' replied the broker,

'as an upset price.' Quoth the Vizier, 'I take that bid on

myself.' When the merchants heard this, they hung back and dared

not bid another dirhem, knowing what they did of the Vizier's

tyranny. Then Muin looked at the broker and said to him, 'What

ails thee to stand still? Go and offer four thousand dinars for

her, and the five hundred shall be for thyself.' So the broker

went to Noureddin and said to him, 'O my lord, thy slave is gone

for nothing!' 'How so?' said he. The broker answered, 'We had

opened the biddings for her at four thousand five hundred dinars,

when that tyrant Muin ben Sawa passed through the market and when

he saw the damsel, she pleased him and he said to me, "Call me

the buyer for four thousand dinars, and thou shalt have five

hundred for thyself." I doubt not but he knows she belongs to

thee, and if he would pay thee down her price at once, it were

well; but I know, of his avarice and upright, he will give thee a

written order on some of his agents and will send after thee to

say to them, "Give him nothing." So as often as thou shalt go to

seek the money, they will say, "We will pay thee presently," and

so they will put thee off day after day, for all thy high spirit,

till at last, when they are tired of thine importunity, they will

say, "Show us the bill." Then, as soon as they get hold of it,

they will tear it up, and so thou wilt lose the girl's price.'

When Noureddin heard this, he looked at the broker and said

to him, 'What is to be done?' 'I will give thee a counsel,'

answered he, 'which if thou follow, it will be greatly to thine

advantage.' 'What is that?' asked Noureddin. 'Do thou come to me

presently,' said the broker, 'when I am standing in the midst of

the market and taking the girl from my hand, give her a cuff and

say to her, "O baggage, I have kept my vow and brought thee down

to the market, because I swore that I would put thee up for sale

and make the brokers cry thee." If thou do this, it may be the

device will impose upon the Vizier and the folk, and they will

believe that thou broughtest her not to the market but for

the quittance of thine oath.' 'This is a good counsel,' said

Noureddin. Then the broker left him and returning to the midst of

the market, took the damsel by the hand; then beckoned to Muin

and said to him, 'O my lord, here comes her owner.' With this up

came Noureddin and snatching the girl from the broker, gave her a

cuff and said to her, 'Out on thee, thou baggage! I have brought

thee down to the market for the quittance of my oath; so now

begone home and look that thou cross me not again. Out on thee!

do I need thy price, that I should sell thee? The furniture of my

house would fetch many times thy value, if I sold it.' When Muin

saw this, he said to Noureddin, 'Out on thee! Hast thou aught

left to sell?' And he made to lay violent hands on him; but the

merchants interposed, for they all loved Noureddin, and the

latter said to them, 'Behold, I am in your hands, and ye all know

his tyranny!' 'By Allah,' exclaimed the Vizier, 'but for you, I

would have killed him!' Then all the merchants signed to

Noureddin with their eyes as who should say, 'Work thy will of

him; not one of us will come betwixt him and thee.' Whereupon

Noureddin, who was a stout-hearted fellow, went up to the Vizier

and dragging him from his saddle, threw him to the ground. Now

there was in that place a mortar-pit, into the midst of which he

fell, and Noureddin fell to cuffing and pummelling him, and one

of the blows smote his teeth, dyeing his beard with his blood.

There were with the Vizier ten armed slaves, who, seeing their

master thus evil entreated, clapped their hands to their swords

and would have drawn them and fallen on Noureddin, to kill him;

but the bystanders said to them, 'This is a Vizier and that a

Vizier's son; it may be they will make peace with one another

anon, in which case you will have gotten the hatred of both of

them. Or a blow may fall on your lord, and you will all die the

foulest of deaths; so you would do wisely not to interfere.' So

they held aloof and when Noureddin had made an end of beating the

Vizier, he took his slave-girl and went home; and Muin rose, with

his white clothes dyed of three colours with black mud, red blood

and ashes. When he saw himself in this plight, he put a halter

round his neck and taking a bundle of coarse grass in either

hand, went up to the palace and standing under the King's

windows, cried out, 'O King of the age, I am a man aggrieved!' So

they brought him before the Sultan, who looked at him and knowing

him for his chief Vizier, asked who had entreated him thus.

Whereupon he wept and sobbed and repeated the following verses:

Shall fortune oppress me, and that in thy day, O King? Shall

wolves devour me, whilst thou art a lion proud?

Shall all that are thirsty drink of thy water-tanks And shall I

thirst in thy courts, whilst thou art a rain-fraught cloud?

'O my lord,' continued he, 'thus fare all who love and serve

thee.' 'Make haste,' said the Sultan, 'and tell me how this

happened and who hath dealt thus with thee, whose honour is a

part of my own honour.' 'Know then, O my lord,' replied the

Vizier, 'that I went out this day to the slave-market to buy me a

cook-maid, when I saw in the bazaar a damsel, whose like for

beauty I never beheld. She pleased me and I thought to buy her

for our lord the Sultan; so I asked the broker of her and her

owner, and he replied, "She belongs to Noureddin Ali son of Fezl

ben Khacan." Now our lord the Sultan aforetime gave his father

ten thousand dinars to buy him a handsome slave-girl, and he

bought therewith this damsel, who pleased him, so that he grudged

her to our lord the Sultan and gave her to his own son. When Fezl

died, his son sold all that he possessed of houses and gardens

and household stuff and squandered the price, till he became

penniless. Then he brought the girl down to the market, to

sell her, and handed her to the broker, who cried her and the

merchants bid for her, till her price reached four thousand

dinars; whereupon I said to myself, "I will buy her for our lord

the Sultan, for it was his money that paid for her." So I said to

Noureddin, "O my son, sell her to me for four thousand dinars."

He looked at me and replied, "O pestilent old man, I will sell

her to a Jew or a Christian rather than to thee!" "I do not buy

her for myself," said I, "but for our lord and benefactor the

Sultan." When he heard my words, he flew into a passion and

dragging me off my horse, for all I am an old man, beat me till

he left me as thou seest; and all this has befallen me but

because I thought to buy the girl for thee.' Then the Vizier

threw himself on the ground and lay there, weeping and trembling.

When the Sultan saw his condition and heard his story, the vein

of anger started out between his eyes, and he turned to his

guards, who stood before him, forty swordsmen, and said to them,

'Go down at once to the house of Noureddin ben Fezl, and sack it

and raze it; then take him and the damsel and drag them hither

with their hands bound behind them.' 'We hear and obey,' answered

they: and arming themselves, set out for Noureddin's house. Now

there was with the Sultan a man called Ilmeddin Senjer, who had

aforetime been servant to Noureddin's father Fezl ben Khacan, but

had left his service for that of the Sultan, who had advanced him

to be one of his chamberlains. When he heard the Sultan's order

and saw the enemies intent upon killing his master's son, it was

grievous to him; so he went out from before the Sultan and

mounting his steed, rode to Noureddin's house and knocked at the

door. Noureddin came out and knowing him, would have saluted

him: but he said, 'O my lord, this is no time for greeting or

converse.' 'O Ilmeddin,' asked Noureddin, 'what is the matter?'

'Arise and flee for your lives, thou and the damsel,' replied he:

'for Muin ben Sawa hath laid a snare for you; and if you fall

into his hands, he will kill you. The Sultan hath despatched

forty swordsmen against you and I counsel you flee ere evil

overtake you.' Then Senjer put his hand to his pouch and finding

there forty dinars, took them and gave them to Noureddin, saying,

'O my lord, take these and journey with them. If I had more, I

would give them to thee; but this is no time to take exception.'

So Noureddin went in to the damsel and told her what had

happened, at which she wrung her hands. Then they went out at

once from the city, and God let down the veil of His protection

over them, so that they reached the river-bank, where they found

a ship about to sail. Her captain stood in the waist, saying,

'Whoso has aught to do, whether in the way of victualling or

taking leave of his friends, or who has forgotten any necessary

thing, let him do it at once and return, for we are about to

sail.' And every one said, 'O captain, we have nothing left to

do.' Whereupon he cried out to his crew, saying, 'Ho, there! cast

off the moorings and pull up the pickets!' Quoth Noureddin,

'Whither bound, O captain?' 'To the Abode of Peace, Baghdad,'

replied he. So Noureddin and the damsel embarked with him, and

they launched out and spread the sails, and the ship sped forth,

as she were a bird in full flight, even as says right well the

poet:

Look at a ship, how ravishing a sight she is and fair! In her

swift course she doth outstrip the breezes of the air.

She seems as 'twere a scudding bird that, lighting from the sky,

Doth on the surface of the stream with outspread pinions

fare.

Meanwhile the King's officers came to Noureddin's house and

breaking open the doors, entered and searched the whole place,

but could find no trace of him and the damsel; so they demolished

the house and returning to the Sultan, told him what they had

done; whereupon he said, 'Make search for them, wherever they

are!' And they answered, 'We hear and obey.' Then he bestowed

upon the Vizier Muin a dress of honour and said to him, 'None

shall avenge thee but myself.' So Muin's heart was comforted and

he wished the King long life and returned to his own house. Then

the Sultan caused proclamation to be made in the town, saying, 'O

all ye people! It is the will of our lord the Sultan that whoso

happens on Noureddin Ali ben Khacan and brings him to the Sultan

shall receive a dress of honour and a thousand dinars, and he who

conceals him or knows his abiding-place and informs not thereof,

deserves the exemplary punishment that shall befall him.' So

search was made for Noureddin, but they could find neither trace

nor news of him; and meantime he and the damsel sailed on with a

fair wind, till they arrived safely at Baghdad and the captain

said to them, 'This is Baghdad, and it is a city of safety: the

winter hath departed from it, with its cold, and the season of

the Spring is come, with its roses; its trees are in blossom and

its streams flowing.' So Noureddin landed, he and the damsel, and

giving the captain five dinars, walked on awhile, till chance

brought them among the gardens and they came to a place swept and

sprinkled, with long benches on either hand and hanging pots full

of water. Overhead was a trelliswork of canes shading the whole

length of the alley, and at the further end was the door of a

garden; but this was shut. 'By Allah,' said Noureddin to the

damsel, 'this is a pleasant place!' And she answered, 'O my lord,

let us sit down on these benches and rest awhile.' So they

mounted and sat down on the benches, after having washed their

faces and hands; and the air smote on them and they fell asleep,

glory be to Him who never sleeps! Now the garden in question was

called the Garden of Delight and therein stood a pavilion called

the Pavilion of Pictures, belonging to the Khalif Haroun er

Reshid, who used, when sad at heart, to repair thither and there

sit. In this pavilion were fourscore windows and fourscore

hanging lamps and in the midst a great chandelier of gold. When

the Khalif entered, he was wont to have all the windows opened

and to order his boon-companion Isaac ben Ibrahim and the

slave-girls to sing, till his care left him and his heart was

lightened. Now the keeper of the garden was an old man by name

Gaffer Ibrahim, and he had found, from time to time, on going out

on his occasions, idlers taking their case with courtezans in the

alley leading to the door of the garden, at which he was sore

enraged; so he complained to the Khalif, who said, 'Whomsoever

thou findest at the door of the garden, do with him as thou

wilt.' As chance would have it, he had occasion to go abroad that

very day and found these two sleeping at the gate, covered with

one veil; whereupon, 'By Allah,' said he, 'this is fine! These

two know not that the Khalif has given me leave to kill any one

whom I may catch at the door of the garden: but I will give them

a sound drubbing, that none may come near the gate in future.' So

he cut a green palm-stick and went out to them and raising his

arm, till the whiteness of his armpit appeared, was about to lay

on to them, when he bethought himself and said, 'O Ibrahim, wilt

thou beat them, knowing not their case? Maybe they are strangers

or wayfarers, and destiny hath led them hither. I will uncover

their faces and look on them.' So he lifted up the veil from

their faces and said, 'They are a handsome pair! It were not

fitting that I should beat them.' Then he covered their faces

again, and going to Noureddin's feet, began to rub them,

whereupon the young man awoke, and seeing an old man of venerable

appearance rubbing his feet, was abashed and drawing them in, sat

up; then took Ibrahim's hand and kissed it. Quoth the old man, 'O

my son, whence art thou?' 'O my lord,' replied Noureddin, 'we are

strangers.' And the tears started to his eyes. 'O my son,' said

Ibrahim, 'know that the Prophet (whom God bless and preserve!)

hath charged us to be hospitable to strangers. Wilt thou not

rise, O my son, and pass into the garden and take thy pleasure

therein and gladden thy heart?' 'O my lord,' said Noureddin, 'to

whom does the garden belong?' And he replied, 'O my son, I

inherited it from my family.' Now his object in saying this was

to put them at their ease and induce them to enter the garden. So

Noureddin thanked him and rose, he and the damsel, and followed

him into the garden. They entered through a gateway, vaulted like

a gallery and overhung with vines bearing grapes of various

colours, the red like rubies and the black like ebony, and

passing under a bower of trellised boughs, found themselves in a

garden, and what a garden! There were fruit-trees growing singly

and in clusters and birds warbling melodiously on the branches,

whilst the thousand-voiced nightingale repeated the various

strains: the turtle-dove filled the place with her cooing, and

there sang the blackbird, with its warble like a human voice, and

the ring-dove, with her notes like a drinker exhilarated with

wine. The trees were laden with all manner of ripe fruits, two of

each: the apricot in its various kinds, camphor and almond and

that of Khorassan, the plum, whose colour is as that of fair

women, the cherry, that does away discoloration of the teeth, and

the fig of three colours, red and white and green. There bloomed

the flower of the bitter orange, as it were pearls and coral,

the rose whose redness puts to shame the cheeks of the fair,

the violet, like sulphur on fire by night, the myrtle, the

gillyflower, the lavender, the peony and the blood-red anemone.

The leaves were jewelled with the tears of the clouds; the

camomile smiled with her white petals like a lady's teeth, and

the narcissus looked at the rose with her negro's eyes: the

citrons shone like cups and the limes like balls of gold, and the

earth was carpeted with flowers of all colours; for the Spring

was come and the place beamed with its brightness; whilst the

birds sang and the stream rippled and the breeze blew softly, for

the attemperance of the air. Ibrahim carried them up into the

pavilion, and they gazed on its beauty and on the lamps aforesaid

in the windows; and Noureddin called to mind his banquetings of

time past and said, 'By Allah, this is a charming place!' Then

they sat down and the gardener set food before them; and they ate

their fill and washed their hands; after which Noureddin went up

to one of the windows and calling the damsel, fell to gazing on

the trees laden with all manner of fruits. Then he turned to the

gardener and said to him, 'O Gaffer Ibrahim, hast thou no drink

here, for folk use to drink after eating?' The old man brought

him some fresh sweet cold water, but he said, 'This is not the

kind of drink I want.' 'Belike,' said Ibrahim, 'thou wishest for

wine?' 'I do,' replied Noureddin. 'God preserve me from it!' said

the old man. 'It is thirteen years since I did this thing, for

the Prophet (whom God bless and preserve!) cursed its drinker,

its presser, its seller and its carrier.' 'Hear two words from

me,' said Noureddin. 'Say on,' replied Ibrahim. 'If,' said

Noureddin, 'that unlucky ass there be cursed, will any part of

the curse fall on thee?' 'Not so,' replied the old man. 'Then,'

said Noureddin, 'take this dinar and these two dirhems and mount

the ass and stop at a distance (from the wineshop); then call the

first man thou seest buying, and say to him, "Take these two

dirhems and buy me this dinar's worth of wine and set it on the

ass." Thus thou wilt be neither the purchaser nor the carrier of

the wine and no part of the curse will fall on thee.' At this the

gardener laughed and said, 'O my son, never have I seen one

readier-witted than thou nor heard aught sweeter than thy

speech.' So he did as Noureddin had said, and the latter thanked

him, saying, 'We are dependent on thee, and it is only fitting

that thou comply with our wishes; so bring us what we require.'

'O my son,' replied he, 'there is my buttery before thee.' (Now

this was the store-room provided for the Commander of the

Faithful.) Enter and take what thou wilt; there is more there

than thou needest.' So Noureddin entered the pantry and found

therein vessels of gold and silver and crystal, incrusted with

all kinds of jewels, and was amazed and delighted at what he saw.

Then he took what he wanted and set it on and poured the wine

into flagons and decanters, whilst Ibrahim brought them fruits

and flowers and withdrew and sat down at a distance. So they

drank and made merry, till the wine got the mastery of them, so

that their cheeks flushed and their eyes sparkled and their hair

became dishevelled. Then said Ibrahim to himself, 'What ails me

to sit apart? Why should I not sit with them? When shall I find

myself in company with the like of these two, who are like two

moons?' So he came and sat down at the corner of the dais, and

Noureddin said to him, 'O my lord, my life on thee, come and sit

with us!' So he came and sat by them, and Noureddin filled a cup

and said to him, 'Drink, that thou mayst know the flavour of it.'

'God forbid!' replied he. 'I have not done such a thing these

thirteen years.' Noureddin did not press him, but drank off the

cup, and throwing himself on the ground, feigned to be overcome

with drunkenness. Then said the damsel, 'O Gaffer Ibrahim, see

how he serves me!' 'O my lady,' replied he, 'what ails him?'

'This is how he always treats me,' said she; 'he drinks awhile,

then falls asleep and leaves me alone, with none to bear me

company over my cup nor to whom I may sing whilst he drinks.' 'By

Allah,' said he (and indeed her words touched his heart and made

his soul incline to her), 'this is not well!' Then she looked at

him and filling a cup said to him, 'I conjure thee, on my life,

not to refuse me, but take this cup and drink it off and solace

my heart.' So he took it and drank it off and she filled a second

cup and set it on the chandelier, saying, 'O my lord, there is

still this one left for thee.' 'By Allah, I cannot take it,'

answered he; 'that which I have drunk suffices me.' 'By Allah,'

said she, 'thou must indeed drink it.' So he took the cup and

drank; and she filled him a third cup, which he took and was

about to drink, when behold, Noureddin opened his eyes and

sitting up, exclaimed, 'Hello, Gaffer Ibrahim, what is this? Did

I not adjure thee just now, and thou refusedst, saying, "I have

not done such a thing these thirteen years"?' 'By Allah,' replied

he (and indeed he was abashed), 'it is her fault, not mine.'

Noureddin laughed and they sat down again to carouse, but the

damsel turned to Noureddin and whispered to him, 'O my lord,

drink and do not press him, and I will show thee some sport with

him.' Then she began to fill her master's cup and he to fill to

her, and so they did time after time, till at last Ibrahim looked

at them and said, 'What manner of good fellowship is this? God's

malison on the glutton who keeps the cup to himself! Why dost

thou not give me to drink, O my brother? What manners are these,

O Blessed One!' At this they laughed till they fell backward;

then they drank and gave him to drink and ceased not to carouse

thus, till a third part of the night was past. Then said the

damsel, 'O Gaffer Ibrahim, with thy leave, I will light one of

these candles.' 'Do so,' said he; 'but light no more then one.'

So she rose and beginning with one candle, lighted fourscore and

sat down again. Presently Noureddin said, 'O Gaffer Ibrahim, how

stands my favour with thee? May I not light one of these lamps ?'

'Light one,' replied he, 'and plague me no more.' So Noureddin

rose and lighted one lamp after another, till he had lighted the

whole eighty and the palace seemed to dance with light. Quoth

Ibrahim (and indeed intoxication had mastered him), 'Ye are more

active than I.' Then he rose and opened all the windows and sat

down again; and they fell to carousing and reciting verses, till

the place rang with their mirth.

Now as God the All-powerful, who appointeth a cause to

everything, had decreed, the Khalif was at that moment seated at

one of the windows of his palace, overlooking the Tigris, in the

light of the moon. He saw the lustre of the candles and lamps

reflected in the river and lifting his eyes, perceived that it

came from the garden-palace, which was in a blaze with light. So

he called Jaafer the Barmecide and said to him, 'O dog of a

Vizier, has the city of Baghdad been taken from me and thou hast

not told me?' 'What words are these?' said Jaafer. 'If Baghdad

were not taken from me,' rejoined the Khalif, 'the Pavilion of

Pictures would not be illuminated with lamps and candles, nor

would its windows be open. Out on thee! Who would dare to do this

except the Khalifate were taken from me?' Quoth Jaafer (and

indeed he trembled in every limb), 'Who told thee that the

pavilion was illuminated and the windows open?' 'Come hither and

look,' replied the Khalif. So Jaafer came to the window and

looking towards the garden, saw the pavilion flaming with light,

in the darkness of the night, and thinking that this might be by

the leave of the keeper, for some good reason of his own, was

minded to make an excuse for him. So he said, 'O Commander of the

Faithful, Gaffer Ibrahim said to me last week, "O my lord Jaafer,

I desire to circumcise my sons during thy life and that of the

Commander of the Faithful." "What dost thou want?" asked I; and

he said, "Get me leave from the Khalif to hold the festival in

the pavilion." So I said to him, "Go, circumcise them, and I will

see the Khalif and tell him." So he went away and I forgot to

tell thee.' 'O Jaafer,' said the Khalif, 'thou hast committed two

offences against me, first, in that thou didst not tell me,

secondly, in that thou didst not give the old man what he sought;

for he only came and told thee this, by way of hinting a request

for some small matter of money, to help him out with the

expenses; and thou gavest him nothing nor toldest me.' 'O

Commander of the Faithful,' replied Jaafer, 'I forgot.' 'By the

virtue of my forefathers,' rejoined the Khalif, 'I will not pass

the rest of the night but with him, for he is a pious man, who

consorts with the elders of the faith and the fakirs: doubtless

they are now assembled with him and it may be that the prayer of

one of them may profit us both in this world and the next.

Besides, my presence will advantage him and he will be pleased.'

'O Commander of the Faithful,' objected Jaafer, 'the night is far

spent, and they will now be about to break up.' 'It matters not,'

replied the Khalif; 'I must and will go to them.' And Jaafer was

silent, being perplexed and knowing not what to do. Then the

Khalif rose to his feet and taking with him Jaafer and Mesrour

the eunuch, they all three disguised themselves as merchants and

leaving the palace, walked on through the by-streets till they

came to the garden. The Khalif went up to the gate and finding it

open, was surprised and said to the Vizier, 'Look, Jaafer, how

Gaffer Ibrahim has left the gate open to this hour, contrary to

his wont!' They entered and walked on till they came under the

pavilion, when the Khalif said, 'O Jaafer, I wish to look in upon

them privily before I join them, that I may see what they are

about, for up to now I hear no sound nor any fakir naming[FN#111]

God.' Then he looked about and seeing a tall walnut-tree, said to

Jaafer, 'I will climb this tree, for its branches come near the

windows, and so look in upon them.' So he mounted the tree and

climbed from branch to branch, till he reached a bough that came

up to one of the windows. On this he seated himself and looking

in at the window, saw a young lady and a young man as they were

two moons (glory be to Him who created them and fashioned them!),

and by them Gaffer Ibrahim seated, with a cup in his hand,

saying, 'O princess of fair ones, drink without music is nothing

worth; indeed I have heard a poet say:

Pass round the wine in the great and the small cup too, And take

the bowl from the hands of the shining moon.[FN#112]

But without music, I charge you, forbear to drink, For sure I see

even horses drink to a whistled tune.'

When the Khalif saw this, the vein of anger started out between

his eyes and he descended and said to the Vizier, 'O Jaafer,

never saw I men of piety in such a case! Do thou mount this tree

and look upon them, lest the benisons of the devout escape thee.'

So Jaafer climbed up, perplexed at these words, and looking in,

saw Noureddin and the damsel and Gaffer Ibrahim with a cup in his

hand. At this sight, he made sure of ruin and descending, stood

before the Commander of the Faithful, who said to him, 'O Jaafer,

praised be God who hath made us of those who observe the external

forms of the Divine ordinances!' Jaafer could make no answer for

excess of confusion, and the Khalif continued, 'I wonder how

these people came hither and who admitted them into my pavilion!

But the like of the beauty of this youth and this girl my eyes

never beheld!' 'Thou art right, O Commander of the Faithful,'

replied Jaafer, hoping to propitiate him. Then said the Khalif,

'O Jaafer, let us both mount the branch that overlooks the

window, that we may amuse ourselves with looking at them.' So

they both climbed the tree and looking in, heard Ibrahim say, 'O

my lady, I have laid aside gravity in drinking wine, but this is

not thoroughly delectable without the melodious sound of the

strings. 'By Allah,' replied Enis el Jelis, 'if we had but some

musical instrument, our joy would be complete!' When the old man

heard what she said, he rose to his feet, and the Khalif said to

Jaafer, 'I wonder what he is going to do.' 'I know not,' replied

Jaafer. Then Ibrahim went out and returned with a lute; and

the Khalif looked at it and knew it for that of Isaac the

boon-companion. 'By Allah,' said he, 'if this damsel sing ill, I

will crucify you, all of you; but if she sing well, I will pardon

them and crucify thee.' 'God grant she may sing ill!' said Jaafer

'Why so?' asked the Khalif. 'Because,' replied Jaafer 'if thou

crucify us all together, we shall keep each other company.' The

Khalif laughed at his speech; then the damsel took the lute and

tuning it, played a measure which made all hearts yearn to her,

then sang the following verses:

O ye that to help unhappy lovers are fain! We burn with the fire

of love and longing in vain.

Whatever ye do, we merit it: see, we cast Ourselves on your ruth!

Do not exult in our pain.

For we are children of sadness and low estate. Do with us what

you will; we will not complain.

What were your glory to slay us within your courts? Our fear is

but lest you sin in working us bane.

'By Allah,' said the Khalif, 'it is good, O Jaafer! Never in my

life have I heard so enchanting a voice!' 'Belike,' said Jaafer,

'the Khalif's wrath hath departed from him.' 'Yes,' said the

Khalif, 'it is gone.' Then they descended from the tree, and the

Khalif said to Jaafer, 'I wish to go in and sit with them and

hear the damsel sing before me.' 'O Commander of the Faithful,'

replied Jaafer, 'if thou go in to them, they will most like be

troubled and Gaffer Ibrahim will assuredly die of fright.' 'O

Jaafer,' said the Khalif, 'thou must teach me some device,

whereby I may foregather with them, without being known of them.'

So they walked on towards the Tigris, considering of this affair,

and presently came upon a fisher man standing fishing under the

windows of the pavilion. Now some time before this, the Khalif

(being in the pavilion) had called to Gaffer Ibrahim and said to

him, 'What is this noise I hear under the windows?' 'It is the

voices of the fishermen, fishing,' answered he; and the Khalif

commanded him to go down and forbid them to resort thither; so

the fishermen were forbidden to fish there. However, that night a

fisherman named Kerim, happening to pass by and seeing the garden

gate open, said to himself, 'This is a time of negligence: I will

take advantage of it to fish.' So he went in, but had hardly cast

his net, when the Khalif came up alone and standing behind

him, knew him and called out to him, saying, 'Ho, Kerim!' The

fisherman, hearing himself called by his name, turned round, and

seeing the Khalif, trembled in every limb and exclaimed, 'O

Commander of the Faithful, I did it not in mockery of the edict;

but poverty and distress drove me to what thou seest.' Quoth the

Khalif, 'Make a cast in my name.' At this the fisherman was glad

and going to the bank, cast his net, then waiting till it had

spread out to the utmost and settled down, pulled it up and found

in it various kinds of fish. The Khalif was pleased and said, 'O

Kerim, put off thy clothes.' So he put off a gown of coarse

woollen stuff, patched in a hundred places and full of disgusting

vermin, and a turban that had not been unwound for three years,

but to which he had sewn every rag he came across. The Khalif

pulled off his cassock and mantle and two vests of Alexandria and

Baalbec silk and saying to the fisherman, 'Take these and put

them on,' donned the latter's gown and turban and tied a chin

band [FN#113] round the lower part of his face. Then said he to

the fisherman, 'Go about thy business.' So he kissed the Khalif's

feet and thanked him and recited the following verses:

Thou hast heaped benefits on me, past all that I could crave! My

tongue suffices not to praise thy goodness to thy slave.

So I will thank thee whilst I live; and when I come to die, My

very bones shall never cease to thank thee in the grave.

Hardly had he finished, when the lice began to crawl over the

skin of the Khalif, who fell to snatching them with either hand

from his neck and throwing them down, exclaiming, 'Out on thee, O

fisherman, this gown is swarming with vermin!' 'O my lord,'

replied the fisherman, 'they torment thee just now, but before a

week has passed, thou wilt not feel them nor think of them.' The

Khalif laughed and said, 'Out on thee! Dost thou think I mean to

leave this gown on my body?' 'O my lord,' said the fisherman,

'I desire to say one word to thee.' 'Say on,' answered the

Khalif. 'It occurs to me, O Commander of the Faithful,' said the

fisherman, 'that if thou wish to learn hunting, so thou mayst

have an useful trade ready to thy hand, this gown will be the

very thing for thee.' The Khalif laughed, and the fisherman went

his way. Then the Khalif took up the basket of fish, and laying a

little grass over it, carried it to Jaafer and stood before him.

Jaafer, concluding that it was Kerim the fisherman, was alarmed

for him and said, 'O Kerim, what brings thee hither? Flee for thy

life, for the Khalif is in the garden to-night, and if he see

thee, thou wilt lose thy head.' At this the Khalif laughed, and

Jaafer knew him and said, 'Surely thou art our lord the Khalif?'

'Yes, O Jaafer,' replied he. 'And thou art my Vizier and I came

hither with thee; yet thou knewest me not; so how should Gaffer

Ibrahim know me, and he drunk? Stay here, till I come back.' 'I

hear and obey,' answered Jaafer. Then the Khalif went up to the

door of the pavilion and knocked softly, whereupon said

Noureddin, 'O Gaffer Ibrahim, some one knocks at the door.' 'Who

is at the door?' cried the old man; and the Khalif replied, 'It

is I, O Gaffer Ibrahim!' 'Who art thou?' asked the gardener. 'I,

Kerim the fisherman,' rejoined the Khalif. 'I hear thou hast

company, so have brought thee some fine fish.' When Noureddin

heard the mention of fish, he was glad, he and the damsel, and

they both said to Ibrahim, 'O my lord, open the door and let him

bring the fish in to us.' So he opened the door, and the Khalif

entered, in his fisherman's disguise, and began by saluting them.

Quoth Ibrahim, 'Welcome to the brigand, the robber, the gambler!

Let us see thy fish.' So the Khalif showed them the fish and

behold, they were still alive and moving, whereupon the damsel

exclaimed, 'O my lord, these are indeed fine fish! Would that

they were fried!' 'By Allah, O my mistress,' replied Ibrahim,

'thou art right.' Then said he to the Khalif, 'O fisherman, why

didst thou not bring us the fish ready fried? Go now and fry them

and bring them to us.' 'It shall be done at once,' answered he.

Said they, 'Be quick about it.' So he went out, running, and

coming up to Jaafer, cried out, 'Hallo, Jaafer!' 'Here am I, O

Commander of the Faithful!' replied he. 'They want the fish

fried,' said the Khalif. 'O Commander of the Faithful,' answered

Jaafer, 'give it to me and I will fry it for them.' 'By the tombs

of my forefathers,' said the Khalif, 'none shall fry it but I,

with my own hand!' So he repaired to the keeper's hut, where he

searched and found all that he required, even to salt and saffron

and marjoram and so forth. Then he laid the fish on the

frying-pan and setting it on the brazier, fried them handsomely.

When they were done, he laid them on a banana-leaf, and gathering

some lemons from the garden, carried the dish to the pavilion and

set it before them. So Noureddin and the damsel and Ibrahim came

forward and ate, after which they washed their hands and

Noureddin said to the Khalif, 'O fisherman, thou hast done us a

right welcome service this night!' Then he put his hand to his

pouch and taking out three of the dinars that Senjer had given

him, said, 'O fisherman, excuse me. By Allah, had I known thee

before that which has lately befallen me, I had done away the

bitterness of poverty from thy heart; but take this as an earnest

of my good will!' Then he threw the dinars to the Khalif, who

took them and kissed them and put them up. Now the Khalif's sole

desire in all this was to hear the damsel sing; so he said to

Noureddin, 'O my lord, thou hast rewarded me munificently, but I

beg of thy great bounty that thou wilt let this damsel sing an

air, that I may hear her.' So Noureddin said, 'O Enis el Jelis!'

'Yes,' replied she. And he said, 'My life on thee, sing us

something for the sake of this fisherman, for he wishes to hear

thee.' So she took the lute and struck the strings, after she had

tuned them, and sang the following verses:

The fingers of the lovely maid went wandering o'er the lute, And

many a soul to ravishment its music did compel.

She sang, and lo, her singing cured the deaf man of his ill, And

he that erst was dumb exclaimed, "Thou hast indeed done

well!"

Then she played again, so admirably that she ravished their wits,

and sang the following verses:

Thou honour'dst us, when thou didst in our land alight; Thy

lustre hath dispelled the moonless midnight gloom!

Wherefore with camphor white and rose-water and musk It e'en

behoveth us our dwelling to perfume.

At this the Khalif was agitated and so overcome with emotion that

he was not master of himself for excess of delight, and he

exclaimed, 'By Allah, it is good! By Allah, it is good! By Allah,

it is good!' Quoth Noureddin, 'O fisherman, doth this damsel

please thee?' 'Ay, by Allah!' replied he. Whereupon said

Noureddin, 'I make thee a present of her, the present of a

generous man who does not go back on his giving nor will revoke

his gift.' Then he sprang to his feet and taking a mantle, threw

it over the pretended fisherman and bade him take the damsel and

begone. But she looked at him and said, 'O my lord, art thou

going away without bidding me adieu? If it must be so, at least,

stay whilst I bid thee farewell and make known my case.' And she

repeated the following verses:

I am filled full of longing pain and memory and dole, Till I for

languor am become a body without soul.

Say not to me, beloved one, "Thou'lt grow consoled for me;" When

such affliction holds the heart, what is there can console?

If that a creature in his tears could swim as in a sea, I to do

this of all that breathe were surely first and sole.

O thou, the love of whom doth fill my heart and overflow, Even

when wine, with water mixed, fills up the brimming bowl,

O thou for whom desire torments my body and my spright! This

severance is the thing I feared was writ on fortune's

scroll.

O thou, whose love from out my heart shall nevermore depart, O

son of Khacan, thou my wish, my hope unshared and whole,

On my account thou didst transgress against our lord and king And

left'st thy native land for me, to seek a foreign goal.

Thou givest me unto Kerim,[FN#114] may he for aye be praised! And

may th' Almighty for my loss my dearest lord console!

When she had finished, Noureddin answered her by repeating the

following:

She bade me adieu on the day of our parting And said, whilst for

anguish she wept and she sighed,

"Ah, what wilt thou do, when from me thou art severed?" "Ask that

of the man who'll survive," I replied.

When the Khalif heard what she said in her verses, 'Thou hast

given me to Kerim,' his interest in her redoubled and it was

grievous to him to separate them; so he said to Noureddin, 'O my

lord, verily the damsel said in her verses that thou hadst

transgressed against her master and him who possessed her; so

tell me, against whom didst thou transgress and who is it that

has a claim on thee?' 'By Allah, O fisherman,' replied Noureddin

'there hangs a rare story by me and this damsel, a story, which,

were it graven with needles on the corners of the eye, would

serve as a lesson to him who can profit by example.' Said the

Khalif, 'Wilt thou not tell us thy story and acquaint us with thy

case? Peradventure it may bring thee relief, for the help of God

is near at hand.' 'O fisher man,' said Noureddin, 'wilt thou hear

our story in prose or verse?' 'Prose is but words,' replied the

Khalif, 'but verse is strung pearls.' Then Noureddin bowed his

head and spoke the following verses.

O my friend, I have bidden farewell to repose, And the

anguish of exile has doubled my woes

I once had a father, who loved me right dear, But left me,

to dwell in the tombs, where all goes.

There fell on me after him hardship and pain And Fate broke

in pieces my heart with its blows.

He bought me a slave-girl, the fairest of maids; Her shape

shamed the branch and her colour the rose.

I wasted the substance he left me, alas! And lavished it

freely on these and on those,

Till for need I was minded to sell the fair maid, Though

sorely I grudged at the parting, God knows!

But lo! when the crier 'gan call her for sale, A scurvy old

skin-flint to bid for her chose.

At this I was angered beyond all control And snatched her

away ere the crier could close;

Whereupon the old rancorous curmudgeon flamed up With

despite and beset me with insults and blows.

In my passion I smote him with right hand and left, Till my

wrath was assuaged; after which I arose

And returning, betook me in haste to my house, Where I hid

me for feat of the wrath of my foes.

Then the king of the city decreed my arrest: But a

kind-hearted chamberlain pitied my woes

And warned me to flee from the city forthright, Ere my

enemies' springes my life should enclose.

So we fled from our house in the dead of the night And came

to Baghdad for a place of repose.

I have nothing of value, nor treasures nor gold, Or I'd

handsel thee, fisherman, freely with those!

But I give thee, instead, the beloved of my soul, And in her

thou hast gotten my heart's blood, God knows!

When he had finished, the Khalif said to him, 'O my lord

Noureddin, explain to me thy case more fully!' So he told him the

whole story from beginning to end, and the Khalif said to him,

'Whither dost thou now intend?' 'God's world is wide!' replied

he. Quoth the Khalif, 'I will write thee a letter to carry to the

Sultan Mohammed ben Suleiman ez Zeini, which when he reads, he

will do thee no hurt.' 'Who ever heard of a fisherman writing to

kings?' said Noureddin. 'Such a thing can never be.' 'True,'

replied the Khalif; 'but I will tell thee the reason. Know that

he and I learnt in the same school, under one master, and that I

was his monitor. Since that time, fortune has betided him and he

is become a Sultan, whilst God hath abased me and made me a

fisherman: yet I never send to him to seek aught, but he does my

desire; nay, though I should ask of him a thousand favours a day,

he would comply.' When Noureddin heard this, he said, 'Good:

write that I may see.' So the Khalif took pen and inkhorn and

wrote as follows: 'In the name of God, the Compassionate, the

Merciful! This letter is from Haroun er Reshid son of el Mehdi

to His Highness Mohammed ben Suleiman ez Zeini, whom I have

compassed about with my favour and made governor for me in

certain of my dominions. The bearer of these presents is

Noureddin son of Felz ben Khacan the Vizier. As soon as they come

to thy hand, do thou put off thy kingly dignity and invest him

therewith, and look thou oppose not my commandment, so peace be

on thee.' Then he gave the letter to Noureddin, who took it and

kissed it, then put it in his turban and set out at once on his

journey. As soon as he was gone, Gaffer Ibrahim fumed to the

Khalif and said to him, 'O vilest of fishermen, thou hast brought

us a couple of fish, worth a score of paras, and hast gotten

three dinars for them; and thinkest thou to take the damsel

also?' When the Khalif heard this, he cried out at him and made a

sign to Mesrour, who discovered himself and rushed upon him. Now

Jaafer had sent one of the gardeners to the doorkeeper of the

palace for a suit of the royal raiment for the Commander of the

Faithful; so he went and returning with the suit, kissed the

earth before the Khalif and gave it to him. Then he threw off the

clothes he had on and dressed himself in those which the gardener

had brought, to the great amazement of Gaffer Ibrahim, who bit

his nails in bewilderment and exclaimed, 'Am I asleep or awake?'

'O Gaffer Ibrahim,' said the Khalif, 'what state is this in which

I see thee?' With this, he recovered from his drunkenness and

throwing himself on the ground, repeated the following verses:

Forgive the error into which my straying feet did fall, For the

slave sues for clemency from him to whom he's thrall!

Lo, by confessing I have done what the offence requires! Where

then is that for which good grace and generous mercy call?

The Khalif forgave him and bade carry the damsel to the palace,

where he assigned her a separate lodging and servants to wait

upon her, saying to her, 'Know that we have sent thy master to be

Sultan in Bassora, and God willing, we will despatch him a dress

of honour and thee with it.'

Meanwhile, Noureddin fared on, till he reached Bassora, when he

repaired to the Sultan's palace and gave a loud cry. The Sultan

heard him and sent for him; and when he came into his presence,

he kissed the earth before him and pulling out the letter, gave

it to him. The Sultan, seeing that the superscription was in the

handwriting of the Khalif, rose to his feet and kissed the letter

three times, then read it and said, 'I hear and obey God and the

Commander of the Faithful!' Then he summoned the four Cadis and

the Amirs and was about to divest himself of the kingly office,

when in came the Vizier Muin ben Sawa. The Sultan gave him the

Khalif's letter, and he read it, then tore it in pieces and

putting it in his mouth, chewed it and threw it away. 'Out on

thee!' exclaimed the Sultan (and indeed he was angry); 'what made

thee do that?' 'By thy life, O our lord the Sultan,' replied

Muin, 'this fellow hath never seen the Khalif nor his Vizier:

but he is a gallows-bird, a crafty imp who, happening upon a

blank[FN#115] sheet in the Khalif's handwriting, hath written his

own desire in it. The Khalif would surely not have sent him to

take the Sultanate from thee, without a royal mandate and a

patent appended thereto, nor would he have omitted to send with

him a chamberlain or a vizier. But he is alone and hath never

come from the Khalif, never! never!' 'What is to be done?' said

the Sultan. 'Leave him to me,' replied the Vizier: 'I will send

him in charge of a chamberlain to the city of Baghdad. If what he

says be true, they will bring us back royal letters-patent and a

diploma of investiture; and if not, I will pay him what I owe

him.' When the Sultan heard the Vizier's words, he said, 'Take

him.' So Muin carried Noureddin to his own house and cried out to

his servants, who threw him down and beat him, till he swooned

away. Then he caused heavy shackles to be put on his feet and

carried him to the prison, where he called the gaoler, whose name

was Cuteyt, and said to him, 'O Cuteyt, take this fellow and

throw him into one of the underground cells in the prison and

torture him night and day.' 'I hear and obey,' replied he, and

taking Noureddin into the prison, locked the door on him. Then he

bade sweep a bench behind the door and laying thereon a mattress

and a leather rug, made Noureddin sit down. Moreover, he loosed

his fetters and treated him kindly. The Vizier sent every day to

the gaoler, charging him to beat him, but he abstained from this,

and things abode thus forty days' time. On the forty-first day,

there came a present from the Khalif: which when the Sultan saw,

it pleased him and he took counsel about it with his Viziers, one

of whom said, 'Mayhap this present was intended for the new

Sultan.' Quoth Muin, 'We should have done well to put him to

death at his first coming;' and the Sultan said, 'By Allah, thou

remindest me of him! Go down to the prison and fetch him, and I

will strike off his head.' 'I hear end obey,' replied Muin. 'With

thy leave I will have proclamation made in the city, "Whoso hath

a mind to look upon the beheading of Noureddin Ali ben Khacan,

let him repair to the palace!" So, great and small will come out

to gaze on him and I shall heal my heart and mortify those that

envy me.' 'As thou wilt,' said the Sultan; whereupon the Vizier

went out, rejoicing, and commanded the chief of the police to

make the aforesaid proclamation. When the folk heard the crier,

they all mourned and wept, even to the little ones in the schools

and the tradersin the shops, and some hastened to get them places

to see the sight, whilst others repaired to the prison thinking

to accompany him thence. Presently, the Vizier came to the

prison, attended by ten armed slaves, and the gaoler said to him,

'What seekest thou, O our lord the Vizier?' 'Bring me that

gallows-bird,' replied the Vizier; and the gaoler said, 'He is in

the sorriest of plights for the much beating I have given him.'

Then Cuteyt went into the prison, where he found Noureddin

repeating the following verses:

Who shall avail me against the woes that my life enwind? Indeed

my disease is sore and the remedy hard to find.

Exile hath worn my heart and my spirit with languishment, And

evil fortune hath turned my very lovers unkind.

O folk, is there none of you all will answer my bitter cry! Is

there never a merciful friend will help me of all mankind?

Yet death and the pains of death are a little thing to me; I have

put off the hope of life and left its sweets behind.

O Thou that sentest the Guide, the Chosen Prophet to men, The

Prince of the Intercessors, gifted to loose and bind,

I prithee, deliver me and pardon me my default, And put the

troubles to flight that crush me, body and mind I

The gaoler took off his clean clothes and clothing him in two

filthy garments, carried him to the Vizier. Noureddin looked at

him, and knowing him for his enemy who still sought to compass

his death, wept and said to him, 'Art thou then secure against

Fate? Hast thou not heard the saying of the poet?

Where are now the old Chosroes, tyrants of a bygone day? Wealth

they gathered; but their treasures and themselves have

passed away!

O Vizier,' continued he, 'know that God (blessed and exalted be

He!) doth whatever He will!' 'O Ali,' replied the Vizier, 'dost

thou think to fright me with this talk? Know that I mean this day

to strike off thy head in despite of the people of Bassora, and

let the days do what they will, I care not; nor will I take

thought to thy warning, but rather to what the poet says:

Let the days do what they will, without debate, And brace thy

spirit against the doings of Fate.

And also how well says another:

He who lives a day after his foe Hath compassed his wishes, I

trow!

Then he ordered his attendants to set Noureddin on the back of a

mule, and they said to the youth (for indeed it was grievous to

them), 'Let us stone him and cut him in pieces, though it cost us

our lives.' 'Do it not,' replied Noureddin. 'Have ye not heard

what the poet says?

A term's decreed for me, which I must needs fulfil, And when its

days are spent, I die, do what I will.

Though to their forest dens the lions should me drag, Whilst but

an hour remains, they have no power to kill.'

Then they proceeded to proclaim before Noureddin, 'This is the

least of the punishment of those who impose upon kings with

forgery!' And they paraded him round about Bassora, till they

came beneath the windows of the palace, where they made him kneel

down on the carpet of blood and the headsman came up to him and

said, 'O my lord, I am but a slave commanded in this matter: if

thou hast any desire, let me know, that I may fulfil it; for now

there remains of thy life but till the Sultan shall put his head

out of the window.' So Noureddin looked in all directions and

repeated the following verses:

I see the headsman and the sword, I see the carpet spread, And

cry "Alas, my sorry plight! Alas, my humbled head!"

How is't I have no pitying friend to help me in my need? Will no

one answer my complaint or heed the tears I shed?

My time of life is past away and death draws nigh to me: Will no

one earn the grace of God by standing me in stead?

Will none take pity on my state and succour my despair With but a

cup of water cold, to ease my torments dread?

The people fell to weeping for him, and the headsman rose and

brought him a draught of water; but the Vizier smote the gugglet

with his hand and broke it: then he cried out at the executioner

and bade him strike off Noureddin's head. So he proceeded to bind

the latter's eyes; whilst the people cried out against the Vizier

and there befell a great tumult and dispute amongst them. At this

moment there arose a great cloud of dust and filled the air and

the plain; and when the Sultan, who was sitting in the palace,

saw this, he said to his attendants, 'Go and see what is the

meaning of that cloud of dust.' 'When we have cut off this

fellow's head,' replied Muin; but the Sultan said, 'Wait till we

see what this means.'

Now the cloud of dust in question was raised by Jaafer the

Barmecide, Vizier to the Khalif, and his retinue; and the reason

of his coming was as follows. The Khalif passed thirty days

without calling to mind the affair of Noureddin Ali ben Khacan,

and none reminded him of it, till one night, as he passed by the

apartment of Enis el Jelis, he heard her weeping and reciting the

following verse, in a low and sweet voice:

Thine image is ever before me, though thou art far away, Nor doth

my tongue give over the naming of thee aye!

And her weeping redoubled; when lo, the Khalif opened the door

and entering the chamber, found her in tears. When she saw him,

she fell to the earth and kissing his feet three times, repeated

the following verses:

O thou pure of royal lineage and exalted in thy birth! O thou

tree of fruitful branches, thou the all unstained of race!

I recall to thee the promise that thy noble bounty made: God

forbid thou shouldst forget it or withhold the gifted grace!

Quoth the Khalif, 'Who art thou?' And she answered, 'I am she

whom thou hadst as a present from Noureddin Ali ben Khacan, and I

crave the fulfilment of thy promise to send me to him with the

dress of honour; for I have now been here thirty days, without

tasting sleep.' Thereupon the Khalif sent for Jaafer and said to

him, 'O Jaafer, it is thirty days since we had news of Noureddin

Ali ben Khacan, and I doubt me the Sultan has killed him; but by

the life of my head and the tombs of my forefathers, if aught of

ill have befallen him, I will make an end of him who was the

cause of it, though he be the dearest of all men to myself! So it

is my wish that thou set out at once for Bassora and bring me

news of my cousin Mohammed ben Suleiman ez Zeini and how he hath

dealt with Noureddin; and do thou tell my cousin the young man's

history and how I sent him to him with my letter, and if thou

find that the King hath done otherwise than after my commandment,

lay hands on him and his Vizier Muin ben Sawa and bring them to

us, as thou shalt find them. Nor do thou tarry longer on the road

than shall suffice for the journey, or I will strike off thy

head.' 'I hear and obey,' replied Jaafer, and made ready at once

and set out for Bassora, where he arrived in due course. When he

came up and saw the crowd and turmoil, he enquired what was the

matter and was told how it stood with Noureddin Ali, whereupon he

hastened to go in to the Sultan and saluting him, acquainted him

with his errand and the Khalif's determination, in case of any

foul play having befallen Noureddin, to destroy whosoever should

have been the cause of it. Then he seized upon the Sultan and his

Vizier and laid them in ward, and commanding Noureddin to be

released, seated him on the throne in the place of Mohammed ben

Suleiman. After this Jaafer abode three days at Bassora, the

usual guest-time, and on the morning of the fourth day, Noureddin

turned to him and said, 'I long for the sight of the Commander of

the Faithful.' Then said Jaafer to Mohammed ben Suleiman, 'Make

ready, for we will pray the morning-prayer and take horse for

Baghdad.' And he answered, 'I hear and obey.' So they prayed the

morning-prayer and set out, all of them, taking with them the

Vizier Muin ben Sawa, who began to repent of what he had done.

Noureddin rode by Jaafer's side and they fared on without

ceasing, till they arrived in due course at the Abode of Peace,

Baghdad, and going in to the Khalif's presence, told him how

they had found Noureddin nigh upon death. The Khalif said to

Noureddin, 'Take this sword and strike off thine enemy's head.'

So he took the sword and went up to Muin ben Sawa, but the latter

looked at him and said, 'I did according to my nature; do thou

according to thine.' So Noureddin threw the sword from his hand

and said to the Khalif, 'O Commander of the Faithful, he hath

beguiled me with his speech,' and he repeated the following

verse:

Lo, with the cunning of his speech my heart he hath beguiled, For

generous minds are ever moved by artful words and mild!

'Leave him, thou,' said the Khalif, and turning to Mesrour,

commanded him to behead Muin. So Mesrour drew his sword and smote

off the Vizier's head. Then said the Khalif to Noureddin, 'Ask a

boon of me.' 'O my lord,' answered he, 'I have no need of the

sovereignty of Bassora: all my desire is to have the honour of

serving thee and looking on thy face.' 'With all my heart,'

replied the Khalif. Then he sent for Enis el Jelis and bestowed

plentiful favours upon them both, assigning them a palace at

Baghdad and regular allowances. Moreover, he made Noureddin one

of his boon-companions, and the latter abode with him in the

enjoyment of the most delectable life, till Death overtook him.