The Thousand and One Nights Volume I Part 44

After this, he mounted, and was about to depart; when, casting a glance at the caravan, he saw a young man, a comely youth, attired in clean clothes, of elegant person, with shining forehead and brilliant countenance; but the charms of this youth had suffered a change, and paleness had overspread him, in consequence of his separation from the objects of his affection; great was his groaning and lamentation, and, with tears flowing from his eyes, he recited these verses:--

Our separation is protracted, and anxiety and fear are prolonged; and tears from my eye, O my friend, are flowing.

I bade farewell to my heart on the day of parting, and now I am alone, without heart, and without hope.

O my friend, pause with me while I bid her farewell by whose voice diseases and infirmities would be cured.

Having thus said, he wept a while, and fell down in a swoon, while Taj-el-Mulook looked at him, wondering at his case; and when he recovered, he stared with a bold look, and again recited some verses, commencing thus:--

Beware of her eye; for it is enchanting, and none escapeth upon whom it is cast.

He then uttered a loud sigh, and a second time swooned; and when Taj-el-Mulook beheld him in this state, he was perplexed at his case, and walked towards him; and as soon as he recovered from his fit, he saw the King's son standing at his head; whereupon he rose upon his feet, and kissed the ground before him; and Taj-el-Mulook said to him, Wherefore hast thou not displayed thy merchandise to us?--O my lord, he answered, my merchandise compriseth nothing suitable to thy highness.

But the King's son said, Thou must positively shew me what thou hast, and acquaint me with thy circ.u.mstances; for I see thee with weeping eye and mourning heart; and if thou be oppressed, we will put an end to the oppression that thou sufferest; and if thou be in debt, we will discharge thy debt; for my heart hath been tormented on thine account since I first beheld thee.

Then Taj-el-Mulook gave orders to place a chair; and they set for him a chair of ivory and ebony ornamented with reticulated work of gold and silk, and they spread for him a silken carpet; and Taj-el-Mulook seated himself upon the chair, and commanded the young man to sit upon the carpet, and said to him, Display to me thy merchandise. The young man replied, O my lord, mention it not unto me; for my merchandise is not suitable to thee. But Taj-el-Mulook said to him, It must be done:--and ordered some of his pages to bring it: so they brought it in spite of him; and when the young man beheld it, his tears flowed, and he wept and sighed and lamented, and groans rose from his throat. After again repeating some verses, he opened his merchandise, and displayed it before Taj-el-Mulook, portion by portion and piece by piece, and took forth from among it a garment of satin interwoven with gold, worth two thousand pieces of gold; and when he opened this, there fell from the midst of it a piece of linen, and the young man, s.n.a.t.c.hing it hastily, put it beneath him, his reason wandering, and thus exclaimed.--

When will the tortured heart be healed by thee? The constellation of the Pleiades is nearer to me than thou!

Taj-el-Mulook was struck with the utmost wonder at his words, not knowing the cause of them; and when the young man took the piece of linen, and put it beneath him, Taj-el-Mulook said to him, What is this piece of linen? He answered, O my lord, thou hast no interest in this.

But the King's son said, Shew it to me.--O my lord, he replied, I refrained not from exposing to thee my merchandise but on account of this; for I cannot allow thee to see it. Taj-el-Mulook, however, said, I must see it:--and he urged him, and was angry. The young man, therefore, took it from beneath his knee, and wept and sighed and lamented exceedingly: so Taj-el-Mulook said to him, I regard thy conduct as not right: acquaint me then with the cause of thy weeping at beholding this piece of linen. And when the young man heard the mention of the piece of linen, he sighed, and said, O my lord, my story is wonderful, and my case is strange with respect to this piece of linen and her to whom it belonged, and her who designed these figures and emblems. He then unfolded the piece of linen; and lo, in it was the figure of a gazelle worked with silk, and embroidered with red gold, and facing it was the figure of another gazelle worked with silver, and having upon its neck a ring of red gold and three ?a?abehs[VIII_13] of chrysolite. When Taj-el-Mulook beheld this, and observed the beauty of its execution, he exclaimed, Extolled be the perfection of G.o.d, who hath taught man that which he knew not![VIII_14] And his heart was engrossed with desire to hear the story of this young man; so he said to him, Relate to me the story of thyself and of her who was the owner of these gazelles. The young man, therefore, replied,--

THE STORY OF 'AZEEZ AND 'AZEEZEH.

Know, O my lord, that my father was a great merchant, and he was blest with no child but me. I had a cousin (the daughter of a paternal uncle) with whom I was brought up in my father's house; for her father had died, and before his death he had made an agreement with my father that they should marry me to her: so, when I had attained to manhood, and she to womanhood, they did not exclude her from me, nor me from her. My father then spoke to my mother, and said to her, This year we will perform the marriage-contract of 'Azeez and 'Azeezeh.[VIII_15] And having agreed with my mother to do this, he began to make ready the provisions for the entertainments.

All this was done while I and my cousin were living together without the slightest restraint, and ignorant of the circ.u.mstance; and she was more intelligent and more knowing than I. And when my father had made the preparations for the festivity, and nothing remained but the performance of the contract, and my union to my cousin, my father proposed that they should perform the contract after the Friday-prayers: so he repaired to his friends, the merchants and others, and acquainted them with his intention; and my mother went and invited her female friends and relations. And when the Friday came, they washed the saloon which was appropriated to the guests, and cleansed its marble pavement, and spread the carpets in our house, and furnished it with everything that was requisite, after they had decorated its walls with stuffs interwoven with gold; the people having agreed to pay their compliments to our family after the Friday-prayers. My father then went and caused sweetmeats and dishes of sugar to be prepared; and there remained nothing but the performance of the contract. My mother had sent me to the bath, and sent after me a new suit of clothes of the richest description; and on my coming out from the bath, I put on this handsome suit, which was perfumed; and when I put it on, a delicious odour was diffused from it, and left a fragrance in the way.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

I desired now to repair to the mosque; but, remembering one of my friends, I returned to search for him, that he might be present at the ceremony of the contract, saying within myself, I will busy me with this affair until the time of prayer draws near. I then entered a by-street which I had never entered before. I was perspiring from the effect of the bath and the new clothes which I wore, and the moisture dropped from me while my perfumes diffused their odour; so I seated myself at the upper end of the street to take rest upon a ma??abah, and spread beneath me an embroidered handkerchief that I had with me. The heat became oppressive to me, and my forehead perspired, and the drops ran down my face, and I could not wipe the moisture from it with my handkerchief because it was spread beneath me: I was therefore about to take the skirt of my farajeeyeh to wipe with it my cheek, when suddenly a white handkerchief fell upon me from above. This handkerchief was more delicate to the feel than the zephyr, and the sight of it was more pleasant than restoration to the diseased; and I took it in my hand, and, raising my head to see whence it had fallen, my eye met the eye of the female who owned these gazelles; and lo, she was looking out from a lattice in a window of bra.s.s. My eye never beheld a person more lovely, and altogether her charms were such as the tongue cannot describe; and when she saw me looking at her, she put her finger in her mouth, and then united her middle finger and her fore finger, and placed them upon her bosom; after which, she drew in her head from the window, and shut the lattice and withdrew. A fire had been darted into my heart, and the flame increased; the sight drew from me a thousand sighs, and I was perplexed; for I heard not anything from her, and understood not what she meant by her signs. I looked again towards the window; but found it closed: and I waited until sunset; but heard no sound, nor saw any person; so, despairing of seeing her again, I rose from my place, and took the handkerchief with me. I opened it, and the odour of musk was diffused from it, and I was so exhilarated by the scent that I seemed as if I were in paradise. I then spread it before me; whereupon there fell from it a piece of delicate paper, and, opening this, I found it richly perfumed with exquisite scents, and inscribed with these verses:--

I sent a letter to complain to him of the pain of my pa.s.sion, in a delicate handwriting (for handwritings are various); So my beloved said, Wherefore is thy writing thus delicate and minute, so as scarce to be discernible?

I answered, Because I am wasted and attenuated: so, therefore, should the writing of lovers be.

After this, I cast a glance at the beauty of the handkerchief, and beheld an amatory couplet worked upon one of its two borders,[VIII_16]

and another, of a similar kind, on its other border.

When I saw these verses upon the handkerchief, a flame of fire shot into my heart, and my desire and perplexity increased; and I took the handkerchief and the paper, and went with them to the house, not knowing any means of obtaining what I desired, and incapable of discovering how to proceed properly in my love. I arrived not at the house until a considerable portion of the night had elapsed, and beheld my cousin sitting weeping; but when she saw me, she wiped away her tears, and approached me, and took off from me my outer clothes, and asked me the cause of my absence. She told me that all the people, the emeers and grandees, and merchants and others, had a.s.sembled in our house, and the ?a?ee and the witnesses had come, and they ate the repast, and remained a considerable while sitting in expectation of my presence for the purpose of performing the marriage-contract, and when they despaired of my coming, they dispersed and went their ways.--Thy father, said she, was violently enraged on account of this, and swore that he would not perform our marriage-contract until next year; for he hath expended upon this festivity a large sum of money. What, she added, hath happened unto thee this day, that thou hast delayed thy return until now, and that this hath happened on account of thine absence?

I answered her, Such and such things have happened to me:--and mentioned to her the handkerchief, acquainting her with the affair from first to last: and she took the paper and the handkerchief, and read what was upon them, and her tears ran down upon her cheeks; and she asked me, What did she say to thee, and of what did she make signs to thee? I answered, She uttered not a word; but put her finger in her mouth, and then united it with the middle finger, and placed both fingers upon her bosom, and pointed to the ground: then she drew in her head, and closed the lattice, and I saw her not afterwards. She carried off my heart with her, and I sat until sunset in expectation of her looking out from the lattice a second time; but she did it not; and when I despaired of seeing her again, I rose from the place. This is my story; and I beg of thee to aid me in the trouble in which I am involved.--Upon this, she raised her head towards me, and said, O son of my uncle, if thou requiredst mine eye, I would pull it out for thee from my eyelids; and I must a.s.sist thee in the accomplishment of thy desire, and a.s.sist her in like manner; for she is overwhelmed by love for thee, as thou art by love for her.--And what, said I, is the interpretation of the signs which she made?--Her putting her finger in her mouth, she answered, indicateth that thou art in her estimation as her soul to her body,[VIII_17] and that she longeth for thy union with her; and as to the handkerchief, it is a signal of the lover's salutation to the beloved; and the paper denoteth that her soul is captivated by thee; and as to her putting her two fingers upon her bosom, the meaning of it is as though she said to thee, After two days come hither, that my affliction may be dissipated by thy countenance.[VIII_18] And know, O son of my uncle, she continued, that she loveth thee and confideth in thee. This is my interpretation of her signs; and if I had liberty to go in and out at pleasure, I would effect thy union with her in the shortest time, and protect you both with my skirt.--When I heard these words from her, said the young man, I thanked her for what she had said, and I said within myself, I will wait two days. I then remained two days in the house, neither going out nor coming in, nor eating nor drinking.

I put my head in the lap of my cousin; and she cheered me by her conversation, and said to me, Be resolute and of good heart, and dress thyself, and repair to her at the time appointed. And she arose, and changed my clothes, and perfumed me with incense.

I then braced up my nerves, and fortified my heart, and went forth, and proceeded until I entered the by-street, and after I had sat a while upon the ma??abah, lo, the lattice opened. I looked towards the damsel, and when I saw her I fell down in a swoon: then recovering, I summoned resolution, and took heart, and looked at her a second time; but again I became insensible; and when I recovered, I saw with her a mirror and a red handkerchief. Observing me now, she tucked up her sleeves from her fore arms, and, opening her five fingers, struck her bosom with them (with the palm and the five fingers): next she raised her hands, and held forth the mirror from the lattice, and took the red handkerchief, and retired with it; after which she returned, and let it down from the lattice towards the street three times, letting it down and raising it, and then wringing it and twisting it with her hand, and bending down her head: she then drew it in through the lattice, and closed the lattice, and departed, without speaking to me one word, but leaving me in perplexity, not knowing to what she alluded. I remained sitting there until the hour of nightfall, and went home near midnight.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

I found my cousin with her hand placed to her cheek, and her eyelids pouring forth tears; and upon this, my anxieties and griefs increased, and I fell down in a corner of the chamber; but she sprang towards me, and lifted me up, and, having taken off from me my outer clothes, wiped my face with her sleeve, and asked me what had happened to me. I related to her, therefore, all that had happened on the part of the damsel: and she said to me, O son of my uncle, as to her sign with her hand and five fingers, its interpretation is, Come hither after five days:--and as to her sign with the mirror, and her putting forth her head from the lattice [and her actions with the red handkerchief],[VIII_19] the meaning is, Seat thyself at the shop of the dyer until my messenger shall come to thee.--When I heard her words, fire burned in my heart, and I replied, By Allah, O daughter of my uncle, thou sayest truly in this interpretation; for I saw in the by-street a Jewish dyer. I then wept, and my cousin said, Be resolute, and firm of heart; for others than thou are troubled with love for a period of years, and contend with the fierceness of pa.s.sion, while thou hast but a week to endure: wherefore then should this impatience overcome thee? And she proceeded to cheer me with her conversation, and brought me food; and I took a morsel, and would have eaten it; but I could not. I abstained from drink and food, and renounced the delights of sleep, and my complexion became pallid, and my charms became changed; for I had never known love before that, nor tasted the fervency of that pa.s.sion before; and I fell sick, and my cousin became sick on my account. She occupied herself in relating to me the sufferings of lovers, in order to enliven me, until I fell asleep; and I used to awake, and find her sleepless on my account, with her tears flowing upon her cheeks; and thus I remained until the five days had pa.s.sed, when my cousin arose, and heated some water for me, and bathed me with it, and dressed me, and said to me, Repair to her, and may Allah accomplish thy wish, and grant thee what thou desirest of thy beloved.

So I went, and walked on until I came to the upper end of the by-street, and that day was Sat.u.r.day; so I found the shop of the dyer shut: and I sat there till the call to afternoon-prayers; and the sun became yellow, and the call to evening-prayers was chanted; and night commenced, and I saw no trace of her, nor heard a voice, nor received any message: I therefore feared for myself, sitting alone; and I rose and walked away, like one intoxicated, until I entered the house.

There, on going in, I beheld my cousin 'Azeezeh with one of her hands holding a peg knocked into the wall, and her other hand upon her bosom; and she was groaning, and reciting verses; but when she had finished her recitation, she turned her eyes towards me, and beheld me; whereupon she wiped away her tears and mine with her sleeve, and, smiling in my face, said to me, O son of my uncle, Allah grant thee enjoyment of that which He hath given thee! Wherefore hast thou not visited thy beloved this night?--And when I heard her words, I kicked her with my foot upon her bosom, and she fell down upon the raised floor, and there was a peg there, and it wounded her forehead. On looking at her I saw that her forehead was cut open, and her blood was flowing; yet she was silent, and uttered not a single letter; but rose immediately, and burned some tinder of rags, and, having closed with it the wound, tied a bandage round her head, and wiped away the blood that had flowed upon the carpet; and it was as though this accident had not occurred. She then came to me, and, smiling in my face, said to me with a gentle voice, By Allah, O son of my uncle, I said not this to make a jest of thee or of her. I was troubled just now by the aching of my head, and with wiping away the blood: but at the present moment the pain of my head is alleviated, and that of my forehead: tell me therefore what hath happened to thee this day.--So I related to her all that had befallen me through the conduct of that damsel on this day; and after I had done so I wept; but she said to me, Rejoice at the announcement of the success of thy desire, and the accomplishment of thy hope. Verily this is a sign of acceptance: for she absented herself from thee because she desireth to try thee, and to know whether thou art patient or not, and whether thou art sincere in thy love of her or not. To-morrow go to her, and station thyself at thy first place, and see what sign she will make to thee; for thy happiness is near, and thy sorrow is dissipated.--And she proceeded to console me; but I ceased not to increase in anxiety and grief. She then placed the food before me; but I kicked it with my foot, and the contents of each saucer were scattered about; and I said, Every one who is in love is insane, and inclineth not to food, nor findeth pleasure in sleep.--By Allah, O son of my uncle, exclaimed my cousin 'Azeezeh, these are indeed symptoms of love! And her tears flowed, and she gathered together the fragments of the saucers, and wiped up the food that was spilt, and sat chatting to me, while I prayed to G.o.d that He would hasten the morning.

And when the morning came, and diffused its light, I repaired to the damsel, and entered hastily the by-street, where I seated myself upon the ma??abah before mentioned; and lo, the window was opened, and she put forth her head from it, laughing. She then retired, and returned bringing a mirror, and a bag, and a pot filled with green plants, and having also in her hand a lamp: and the first thing that she did was this: she took the mirror in her hand, and put it into the bag: then she tied it up and threw it back into the chamber. After this, she let down her hair over her face, and put the lamp upon the top of the green plants for a moment, and then took all these things and departed with them, and closed the lattice. My heart was riven by her secret signs and her obscure intimations, for she addressed me not with a single word, and my pa.s.sion grew more violent thereat, and my excitement and distraction increased.

I retraced my steps with weeping eye and sorrowful heart until I entered the house, where I saw my cousin sitting with her face to the wall: her heart was burning with anxiety and grief and jealousy; but her affection prevented her from acquainting me at all with the pa.s.sion which she felt on witnessing my excessive love and distraction. I then looked at her again, and saw that she had, on her head, two bandages: one of them was on account of the accident that had happened to her forehead, and the other was upon her eye, on account of a pain that she suffered in consequence of the violence of her weeping. She was in a most miserable case, weeping, and reciting these verses:--

Wherever thou be, mayst thou be in safety, O thou who departest, and yet dwellest in my heart!

May G.o.d be near thee wherever thou goest, to deliver thee from vicissitudes and from misfortunes!

Thou hast gone, and mine eye is cheerless through thine absence, and my tears are flowing--O how abundantly!

And when she had ended her recitation, she looked towards me and saw me as she wept, and she wiped away her tears, and rose to me; but she could not speak, from the excessive love with which she was affected, and she remained for some time silent; after which, she said to me, O son of my uncle, tell me what thou hast experienced from her on this occasion. And I told her all that had happened to me; whereupon she said to me, Be patient; for the time of thy union is come, and thou hast attained the object of thy hopes. As to the sign that she made to thee with the mirror, and her putting it into the bag, it is equivalent to her saying to thee, Wait until the sun shall have set:--and as to her letting fall her hair over her face, it implieth her saying to thee, When night cometh, and letteth fall its black shade over the light of day, come hither:--and the sign that she made to thee with the pot containing the plants meant that she would say to thee, When thou comest, enter the garden that is behind the by-street:--and the sign which she made to thee with the lamp denoted her saying to thee, When thou enterest the garden, to the place where thou findest the lighted lamp do thou repair, and seat thyself beneath it, and there wait for me; for the love of thee destroyeth me.--But when I heard these words of my cousin, I cried out from the excess of my pa.s.sion, and said, How many times dost thou promise me, and I go to her and attain not my desire, nor find a true meaning to thine interpretation? And upon this, my cousin laughed, and replied, It remaineth for thee to have patience during the rest of this day, until the daylight is gone, and the night cometh with its deep darkness, and then shalt thou enjoy thy union and the accomplishment of thy hopes; and these words are true, without any falsehood. She then drew near to me, and comforted me with soft words, but dared not bring me any food, fearing that I should be angry with her, and hoping that I might incline to her with favour: she only came to me, and took off my outer clothes: after which she said to me, O son of my uncle, sit with me that I may converse with thee to amuse thee until the close of the day, and, if it be the will of G.o.d, the night shall not come without thy being in the company of thy beloved. But I took no notice of her, waiting for the night, and saying, O Allah, hasten the coming of the night! And when it arrived, my cousin wept violently, and gave me a grain of pure musk, saying to me, O son of my uncle, put this grain in thy mouth, and when thou hast met thy Beloved, and she hath accepted thy suit, recite to her this verse:--

O ye lovers, by Allah, inform me, how a youth should act when his love is intense.

She then kissed me, and desired me to swear that I would not recite this verse until my departure from the damsel; and I replied, I hear and obey.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

I went forth at the hour of nightfall, and proceeded until I came to the garden. I found its gate open, and entered, and beheld a light in the distance; so I advanced towards it, and when I arrived at it, I found there a large ma?'ad,[VIII_20] over which was constructed a dome of ivory and ebony, and the lamp was suspended in the midst of the dome.

The ma?'ad was furnished with silken carpets embroidered with gold and silver; and there was a great lighted candle in a candlestick of gold beneath the lamp: in the midst of the chamber was a fountain ornamented with various designs:[VIII_21] by the side of this fountain was a table of viands covered with a silk napkin, near which was a large china bottle full of wine, with a cup of crystal adorned with gilding; and by the side of all these things was a great tray of silver, covered over. I uncovered it, and beheld in it a variety of fruits, such as figs and pomegranates and grapes and oranges and citrons of different kinds, together with various flowers, as roses and jasmine and myrtle and eglantine and narcissus, and all kinds of sweet scents. I was astonished at this place, and affected with the utmost delight, and my anxiety and grief were dissipated; but I found not in this abode any being of the creatures of G.o.d (whose name be exalted!); not even a male or female slave did I see, nor the person who thus neglected these things. I sat in this chamber, waiting for the coming of the beloved of my heart, until the first hour of the night had pa.s.sed, and the second hour, and the third; but she came not; and hunger began to torment me violently, for a long time had elapsed without my eating food, through the excess of my pa.s.sion; but when I beheld this place, and my cousin's correct understanding of the signs made by my beloved became manifest to me, I felt at ease; yet I still experienced the torment of hunger, and the savoury odours of the food upon the table had excited my desire on my arrival there. Feeling secure, therefore, of the attainment of my object, and longing to eat, I approached the table, and took off the cover, and found in the midst of it a dish of china containing four fricandoed fowls seasoned with spices, around which were four saucers; one containing sweetmeats; and another, conserve of pomegranate-grains; and a third, ba?laweh;[VIII_22] and the fourth, ?a?af:[VIII_23] the contents of these saucers consisting both of sweet and acid. So I ate of the ?a?af, and a piece of meat, and I put my hand to the ba?laweh and ate of it as much as was agreeable, and then turned to the sweetmeat and ate a spoonful, or two, or three, or four, and I ate a portion of a fowl, and a morsel of another dish: and when I had done this, my stomach was full, and my joints became loose, and I was too lazy to remain awake; so I laid my head upon a cushion, after I had washed my hands, and sleep overcame me, and I knew not what happened to me after this. I awoke not until the sun scorched me (for some days had pa.s.sed without my having tasted sleep); and when I awoke, I found upon my stomach some salt and charcoal; and I stood up and shook my clothes, and looked to the right and left, but found no one: I discovered that I had been sleeping upon the marble pavement without anything spread beneath me, and I was perplexed in my mind, and mourned greatly; my tears ran down upon my cheeks, and I lamented for myself.

I then returned to the house, and when I arrived there I found my cousin striking her hand upon her bosom, and weeping with tears like raining clouds; but when she beheld me she arose quickly, and wiped away her tears, and, addressing me with her soft speech, said to me, O son of my uncle, G.o.d hath been gracious to thee in thy pa.s.sion, since the person whom thou lovest loveth thee, while _I_ remain weeping and mourning for the separation of thee who findest fault with me; but may G.o.d not chastise thee on my account! She then smiled in my face with the smile of one in anger, and caressed me, and took off my outer clothes, and spread them out, and said, By Allah, these are not the odours of one who hath enjoyed the company of his beloved! Tell me, then, what hath happened to thee, O son of my uncle.--And I told her all that had befallen me; whereupon she smiled a second time with the smile of one in anger, and said, Verily, my heart is full and in pain! But may the person who paineth thy heart cease to exist! This woman maketh herself extravagantly difficult to thee. By Allah, O son of my uncle, I fear what she may do to thee. Know that the meaning of the salt is, Thou art drowned in sleep, and seemest insipid, so that the soul regardeth thee with loathing, and thou requirest to be salted, that the stomach may not eject thee: thou pretendest that thou art of the number of generous lovers; but sleep, unto lovers, is forbidden; and thy pretension to love is false.--Such, however, is her pretension: her love for thee is false, for when she saw thee sleeping she did not rouse thee; and had her love for thee been true she would have roused thee.--And as to the charcoal, the meaning indicated by it is, May G.o.d blacken thy face,[VIII_24]

since thou hast made false pretensions to love, when thou art only a child, and hast no care but for eating and drinking and sleeping. This is the interpretation of her sign; and may Allah (whose name be exalted!) deliver thee from her.--Now when I heard what she said, I struck my hand upon my breast, and exclaimed, By Allah, this is the truth; for I slept; and lovers sleep not: so I have wronged mine own self. What could have been more injurious to me than eating and sleeping? And what is to be done?--I then wept exceedingly, and said to my cousin, Direct me what to do, and have mercy upon me; so may G.o.d have mercy upon thee; otherwise I shall die. My cousin, therefore, having a very great love for me, replied, On my head and my eye! But, O son of my uncle, I have told thee several times, that, if I had the privilege of coming in and going out when I pleased, I would accomplish thy union with her in the shortest time, and cover you both with my skirt; and this I would not do but from the desire of obtaining thine approval. If G.o.d permit, I will employ my utmost endeavours to bring you together; but hear my words, and comply with my directions, and go to that same place, and seat thyself there: when the hour of nightfall is come, seat thyself in the place where thou wast, and beware of eating anything; for eating induceth sleep: have a care then that thou sleep not; for she will not come to thee until a quarter of the night hath pa.s.sed: and may G.o.d avert from thee her wickedness!--So, when I heard her words, I rejoiced, and prayed G.o.d to hasten the night; and when night came, I desired to depart; and my cousin said to me, When thou hast met her, repeat to her the verse before mentioned, at the time of thy departure.

I replied, On the head and the eye.

And when I went forth and repaired to the garden, I found the place prepared, in the same state in which I had seen it before; in it was everything requisite, of food and drink and dried fruits and sweet scents and other things; and I went up into the ma?'ad, and, smelling the odour of the food, I longed for it. I refrained from it several times; but at length I could not withstand it: so I arose and went to the table, and took off its cover, and found a dish of fowls, around which were four saucers of food of four different kinds; and I ate of each kind a morsel, and as much as was agreeable of the sweetmeat, and a piece of meat, and drank some zardeh,[VIII_25] and, finding it pleasant to me, I drank again of it plentifully by the spoonful until I was satiated and my stomach was full. And after this, my eyelids closed; so I took a pillow and put it beneath my head, saying, Perhaps I may recline upon it without sleeping. But I closed my eyes and slept, and awoke not until the sun had risen, when I found upon my stomach a play-bone and a ?ab-stick[VIII_26] and a date-stone and a locust-seed; and there was no furniture nor anything else in the place and it seemed as if nothing had been there on the preceding night.

I rose, and shook off all these things from me, and went forth enraged, and, arriving at the house, I found my cousin groaning; and I chid her and abused her; whereupon she wept, and, having wiped away her tears, approached and kissed me, and pressed me to her bosom; but I drew back from her, blaming myself. She then said to me, O son of my uncle, it seemeth that thou hast slept again this last night. I replied, Yes; and when I awoke I found a play-bone laid upon my stomach, and a ?ab-stick and a date-stone and a locust-seed; and I know not wherefore she did this. Then I wept, and approached her, and said to her, Explain to me the meaning of her doing this, and tell me how I shall act, and a.s.sist me in my trouble. She replied, On the head and the eye. As to the ?ab-stick [and the play-bone], which she placed upon thy stomach, she meaneth thereby, that thou camest there and thy heart was absent; as though she would say to thee, Love is not thus; therefore reckon not thyself among lovers.[VIII_27] And as to the date-stone, she indicated by it, that, if thou wert a lover, thy heart had been burning with pa.s.sion, and thou wouldst not taste the delight of sleep; for the sweetness of love is like a date, which kindleth a fire in the heart.[VIII_28] And as to the locust-seed, she intimated to thee by it, that the heart of the lover is fatigued; and she would say to thee thereby, Endure our separation with the patience of Job.[VIII_29]--When I heard this interpretation, fire darted into my heart, and my grief increased, and I cried out and exclaimed, G.o.d had decreed that I should sleep, on account of my little fortune! I then said to her, O daughter of my uncle, by my life I conjure thee to contrive for me some stratagem by means of which I may obtain an interview with her. And I wept.--O 'Azeez, O son of my uncle, she replied, verily my heart is full of thoughts, and I cannot talk; but go thou to-night to that place, and beware of sleeping, and so shalt thou attain thy desire. This is my counsel, and peace be on thee.--I said, If it please G.o.d, I will not sleep; but I will do as thou chargest me. And my cousin arose, and brought me food, saying to me, Eat now what will satisfy thee, that thou mayest have no desire remaining. So I ate what satisfied me: and when night came, my cousin arose, and brought me a superb suit of clothing, and clad me with it, and conjured me to repeat to the damsel the verse before mentioned, and cautioned me against sleeping.

I then departed from her, and, having repaired to the garden, went up into the ma?'ad; and I gazed at the garden, and kept opening my eyes with my fingers, and shaking my head, as the night grew dark. But I became hungry from watching, and the odours of the food were wafted towards me, and my hunger in consequence increased: so I went to the table, and removed its cover, and ate a morsel of every dish, and a piece of meat, and I went to the bottle of wine, saying within myself, I will drink a cup:--and I drank it, and then drank the second, and the third, and so on to the number of ten; and being already stricken by love, I fell upon the floor as one slain. Thus I remained until day came, and I awoke, and found myself outside the garden, with a large sharp knife upon my stomach, and an iron dirhem;[VIII_30] and I trembled with fear, and took them with me and returned to the house.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

I found my cousin saying, I am in this house wretched and sorrowful, with no relief but weeping. And as I entered, I fell down prostrate, throwing the knife and dirhem from my hand, and fainted; and when I recovered, I acquainted her with that which had befallen me, and said to her, I shall not attain my desire. Her grief increased at witnessing my weeping and my excessive pa.s.sion, and she said to me, I have failed of success in cautioning thee against sleeping; for thou wouldst not attend to my advice: my words profit thee nothing. But I replied, I conjure thee by Allah that thou explain to me the meaning of the knife and the iron dirhem. So she said, As to the dirhem, she alluded by it to her right eye,[VIII_31] and intimated that she swore by it, and said, By the Lord of all creatures, and by my right eye,[VIII_32] if thou come again and sleep I will a.s.suredly slaughter thee with this knife!--I fear for thee, therefore, O son of my uncle, from her malice; and my heart is full of grief on thine account, and I cannot talk. If, then, thou art confident in thyself that, if thou return to her, thou wilt not sleep, return to her, and beware of sleeping, and so shalt thou attain thy desire; but if thou know that, shouldst thou go to her again, thou wilt sleep as usual, and so go to her and sleep, she will slaughter thee.--What then, said I, is to be done, O daughter of my uncle? I conjure thee by Allah to help me in this affliction.--She replied, On my head and my eye: and if thou attend to my words and comply with my directions thou wilt accomplish thy desire. I said, I will do so. And she rejoined, When the time of departure cometh I will tell thee. She then pressed me to her bosom, and laid me on the bed, and continued gently kneading my limbs until slumber overcame me, and I sank into sleep;[VIII_33] and she took a fan, and, seating herself at my head, fanned my face until the close of day, when she roused me; and on my awaking, I found her at my head with the fan in her hand, and weeping so that her tears had wetted her clothes. But when she saw me that I had awoke, she wiped away her tears, and brought me some food. I refrained from it; but she said to me, Did I not tell thee that thou must attend to my directions? Eat, therefore.--So I ate, and would not oppose her; and she proceeded to put the food into my mouth, while I chewed it, until my stomach was full. She then gave me to drink some infusion of jujubes[VIII_34] with sugar, and washed my hands, and dried them with a handkerchief, and sprinkled some rose-water upon me; after which I sat with her, in healthy frame; and when the night became dark, she put on me my clothes, and said, O son of my uncle, watch all night, and sleep not; for she will not come to thee this night until near its close; and, if it be the will of G.o.d, thou shalt meet her this night; but forget not my charge. Then she wept, and my heart was pained for her, on account of her excessive weeping; and I said to her, What is the charge which thou gavest me? She answered, When thou departest from her, repeat to her the verse before mentioned.

I then went forth from her full of joy, and proceeded to the garden, and went up to the ma?'ad, satiated with food. I remained sleepless a quarter of the night, and the night seemed as long to me as though it were a year; and I continued watching until two thirds of it had pa.s.sed, and the c.o.c.ks crew, and I became violently hungry from watching: so I went up to the table, and ate until I was satisfied; and my head became heavy, and I desired to sleep; but suddenly I heard a noise in the distance; whereupon I arose, and washed my hands and mouth, and roused myself; and soon after, she came. She was accompanied by ten female slaves, and she appeared among them like the full moon among the planets: she was attired in a garment of green satin embroidered with red gold; and when she saw me, she laughed, and said, How is it that thou hast remained awake, and that sleep hath not overcome thee? Now that thou hast pa.s.sed the night sleepless I am convinced that thou art a lover; for among the characteristics of lovers is the watching by night in the resolute endurance of desire.--She then turned towards her female slaves, and made a sign to them; whereupon they departed from her; and she approached me, and pressed me to her bosom, and kissed me, and we conversed together until the morning, when I desired to depart; but she held me, and said to me, Stop, that I may acquaint thee with something, and give thee a charge.--So I stopped; and she unfolded a handkerchief, and, taking forth from it this piece of linen, spread it open before me; and I found in it the design of the gazelles, as thou seest, and I admired it exceedingly, and took it; after which I made a promise to her that I would pay her a visit every night in that garden, and departed from her, full of joy; but in my joy I forgot the verse which my cousin had charged me to repeat. And when she gave me the piece of linen containing the design of the gazelles, she said to me, This is the work of my sister.--And what, said I, is the name of thy sister? She answered, Her name is Noor-el-Huda:[VIII_35] and do thou take care of this piece of linen.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

After this, when I had taken leave of her and departed, full of joy, I returned and went in to my cousin, and found her lying down, and when she saw me she rose, her tears dropping, and approached me, and, kissing my bosom, said, Hast thou recited the verse as I charged thee? I answered, I forgot it; and nothing drove it from my mind but the design of these gazelles. And I threw down the piece of linen before her. She arose, and then seated herself again, and, in her impatience, shed tears, and said, O son of my uncle, make a present to me of this piece of linen. So I gave it her, and she took it and spread it open, and saw what was in it. And when the time of my departure came, she said, Go, and may safety attend thee; but when thou retirest from her, recite to her the verse that I taught thee before, and which thou didst forget.--Repeat it to me, said I. And she did so.

I then repaired to the garden, and entered the ma?'ad. I found the damsel waiting for me, and when she beheld me she arose and kissed me and seated me, and we ate and drank, and in the morning I repeated to her the verse, which was this:--

O ye lovers, by Allah, inform me, how a youth should act when his love is intense.

And when she heard it, her eyes filled with tears, and thus she replied:--

He should hide his love, and conceal his secret, and be patient under every event, and submissive.

I committed this to memory, and, glad at having done what my cousin desired, went forth and returned to her. I found her lying down, with my mother, at her head, weeping for her unhappy state; and when I went in to her, my mother said to me, Perdition to such a cousin as thou! How canst thou leave the daughter of thine uncle indisposed and not inquire respecting her disease?--But my cousin, on beholding me, raised her head, and sat up, and said to me, O 'Azeez, hast thou repeated to her the verse that I taught thee? I answered, Yes: and when she heard it, she wept, and recited to me another verse, which I retain in my memory.--Let me hear it, said my cousin. And when I had repeated it to her she wept violently, and recited this other verse:--