When it was the Eight Hundred and Sixty-fifth Night,

She pursued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the merchants’ sons went down into the garth they saw therein all the fruits we mentioned and found pears Sinaïtic, Aleppine and Grecian of every hue, which here clustering there single grew, parcel green and parcel yellow to the gazer a marvel-view, as saith of them the poet,

“With thee that Pear agree, whose hue a-morn
Is hue of hapless
lover yellow pale;
Like virgin cloistered strait in strong Harím
Whose face like racing steed outstrips the veil.”

And Sultani³⁹⁶ peaches of shades varied, yellow and red, whereof saith the poet,

“Like Peach in vergier growing
And sheen of Andam³⁹⁷
showing:
Whose balls of yellow gold
Are dyed with blood-gouts flowing.”

There were also green almonds of passing sweetness, resembling the cabbage³⁹⁸ of the palm-tree, with their kernels within three tunics lurking of the Munificent King’s handiworking, even as is said of them,

“Three coats yon freshest form endue
God’s work of varied shape
and hue:
Hardness surrounds it night and day;
Prisoning without a sin to
rue.”

And as well saith another,

“Seest not that Almond plucked by hand
Of man from bough where
wont to dwell:
Peeling it shows the heart within
As union-pearl in oyster-shell.”

And as saith a third better than he,

“How good is Almond green I view!
The smallest fills the hand
of you:
Its nap is as the down upon
The cheeks where yet no beardlet grew:
Its kernels in the shell are seen,
Or bachelors or married two,
As pearls they were of lucent white
Casèd and lapped in Jasper’s hue.”

And as saith yet another and saith well,

“Mine eyes ne’er looked on aught the Almond like
For charms,
when blossoms³⁹⁹ in the Prime show bright:
Its head to hoariness of age inclines
The while its cheek by youth’s fresh down is dight.”

And jujube-plums of various colours, grown in clusters and alone whereof saith one, describing them,

“Look at the Lote-tree, note on boughs arrayed
Like goodly
apricots on reed-strown floor,⁴⁰⁰
Their morning-hue to viewer’s eye is like
Cascavels⁴⁰¹
cast of purest golden ore.”

And as saith another and saith right well,

“The Jujube-tree each Day
Robeth in bright array. As though each pome thereon
Would self to sight display. Like falcon-bell of gold
Swinging from every spray.”

And in that garth grew blood oranges, as they were the Khaulanján,⁴⁰² whereof quoth the enamoured poet, ⁴⁰³

“Red fruits that fill the hand, and shine with sheen
Of fire, albe the scarf-skin’s white as snow.
’Tis marvel snow on fire doth never melt
And, stranger still, ne’er burns this living lowe!”

And quoth another and quoth well,

“And trees of Orange fruiting ferly fair
To those who straitest
have their charms surveyed;
Like cheeks of women who their forms have decked
For holiday in
robes of gold brocade.”

And yet another as well,

“Like are the Orange-hills⁴⁰⁴ when Zephyr breathes
Swaying
the boughs and spray with airy grace,
Her cheeks that glow with lovely light when met
At greeting-tide by cheeks of other face.”

And a fourth as fairly,

“And fairest Fawn, we said to him ‘Portray
This garth and
oranges thine eyes survey:’
And he, ‘Your garden favoureth my face
Who gathereth orange
gathereth fire alway.’”

In that garden too grew citrons, in colour as virgin gold, hanging down from on high and dangling among the branches, as they were ingots of growing gold;⁴⁰⁵ and saith thereof the ‘namoured poet,

“Hast seen a Citron-copse so weighed adown
Thou fearest bending
roll their fruit on mould;
And seemed, when Zephyr passed athwart the tree
Its branches hung with bells of purest gold?”

And shaddocks,⁴⁰⁶ that among their boughs hung laden as though each were the breast of a gazelle-like maiden, contenting the most longing wight, as saith of them the poet and saith aright,

“And Shaddock mid the garden-paths, on bough
Freshest like
fairest damsel met my sight;
And to the blowing of the breeze it bent
Like golden ball to bat of chrysolite.”

And the lime sweet of scent, which resembleth a hen’s egg, but its yellowness ornamenteth its ripe fruit, and its fragrance hearteneth him who plucketh it, as saith the poet who singeth it,

“Seest not the Lemon, when it taketh form,
Catch rays of light
and all to gaze constrain;
Like egg of pullet which the huckster’s hand
Adorneth dyeing
with the saffron-stain?”

Moreover in this garden were all manner of other fruits and sweet-scented herbs and plants and fragrant flowers, such as jessamine and henna and water-lilies⁴⁰⁷ and spikenard ⁴⁰⁸ and roses of every kind and plantain⁴⁰⁹ and myrtle and so forth; and indeed it was without compare, seeming as it were a piece of Paradise to whoso beheld it. If a sick man entered it, he came forth from it like a raging lion, and tongue availeth not to its description, by reason of that which was therein of wonders and rarities which are not found but in Heaven: and how should it be otherwise when its doorkeeper’s name was Rizman? Though widely different were the stations of those twain! Now when the sons of the merchants had walked about gazing at the garden after taking their pleasure therein, they say down in one of its pavilions and seated Nur al-Din in their midst.—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.

When it was the Eight Hundred and Sixty-sixth Night,

She resume, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the sons of the merchants sat down in the pavilion they seated Nur al-Din in their midst on a rug of gold-purfled leather of Al-Táif,⁴¹⁰ leaning on a pillow ⁴¹¹ of minever, stuffed with ostrich down. And they gave him a fan of ostrich feathers, whereon were written these two couplets,

“A fan whose breath is fraught with fragrant scent;
Minding of
happy days and times forspent,
Wafting at every time its perfumed air
O’er face of noble youth
on honour bent.”

Then they laid by their turbands and outer clothes and sat talking and chatting and inducing one another to discourse, while they all kept their eyes fixed on Nur al-Din and gazed on his beauteous form. After the sitting had lasted an hour or so, up came a slave with a tray on his head, wherein were platters of china and crystal containing viands of all sorts (for one of the youths had so charged his people before coming to the garden); and the meats were of whatever walketh earth or wingeth air or swimmeth waters, such as Katá-grouse and fat quails and pigeon-poults and mutton and chickens and the delicatest fish. So, the tray being sat before them, they fell to and ate their fill; and when they had made an end of eating, they rose from meat and washed their hands with pure water and musk-scented soap, and dried them with napery embroidered in silk and bugles; but to Nur al-Din they brought a napkin laced with red gold whereon he wiped his hands. Then coffee⁴¹² was served up and each drank what he would, after which they sat talking, till presently the garden-keeper who was young went away and returning with a basket full of roses, said to them, “What say ye, O my masters, to flowers?” Quoth one of them, “There is no harm in them,⁴¹³ especially roses, which are not to be resisted.” Answered the gardener, “’Tis well, but it is of our wont not to give roses but in exchange for pleasant converse; so whoever would take aught thereof, let him recite some verses suitable to the situation.” Now they were ten sons of merchants of whom one said, “Agreed: give me thereof and I will recite thee somewhat of verse apt to the case.” Accordingly the gardener gave him a bunch of roses⁴¹⁴ which he took and at once improvised these three couplets,

“The Rose in highest stead I rate
For that her charms ne’er
satiate;
All fragrant flow’rs be troops to her
Their general of high
estate:
Where she is not they boast and vaunt;
But, when she comes, they stint their prate.”

Then the gardener gave a bunch to another and he recited these two couplets,

“Take, O my lord, to thee the Rose
Recalling scent by mush be
shed.
Like virginette by lover eyed
Who with her sleeves⁴¹⁵ enveileth head.”

Then he gave a bunch to a third who recited these two couplets,

“Choice Rose that gladdens heart to see her sight;
Of Nadd
recalling fragrance exquisite.
The branchlets clip her in her leaves for joy,
Like kiss of lips that never spake in spite.”

Then he gave a bunch to a fourth and he recited these two couplets,

“Seest not that rosery where Rose a-flowering displays
Mounted
upon her steed of stalk those marvels manifold?
As though the bud were ruby-stone and girded all around
With chrysolite and held within a little hoard of gold.”

Then he gave a posy to a fifth and he recited these two couplets,

“Wands of green chrysolite bare issue, which
Were fruits like
ingots of the growing gold.⁴¹⁶
And drops, a dropping from its leaves, were like
The tears my languorous eyelids railed and rolled.”

Then he gave a sixth a bunch and he recited these two couplets,

“O Rose, thou rare of charms that dost contain
All gifts and
Allah’s secrets singular,
Thou’rt like the loved one’s cheek where lover fond
And fain of
Union sticks the gold dinar.”⁴¹⁷

Then he gave a bunch to a seventh and he recited these two couplets,

“To Rose quoth I, ‘What gars thy thorns to be put forth
For all who touch thee cruellest injury?’
Quoth she, ‘These flowery troops are troops of me
Who be their
lord with spines for armoury.’”

And he gave an eighth a bunch and he recited these two couplets,

“Allah save the Rose which yellows a-morn
Florid, vivid and
likest the nugget-ore;
And bless the fair sprays that displayed such fowers
And mimic
suns gold-begilded bore.”

Then he gave a bunch to a ninth and he recited these two couplets,

“The bushes of golden-hued Rose excite
In the love-sick lover
joys manifold:
’Tis a marvel shrub watered every day
With silvern lymph and it
fruiteth gold.”

Then he gave a bunch of roses to the tenth and last and he recited these two couplets,

“Seest not how the hosts of the Rose display
Red hues and
yellow in rosy field?
I compare the Rose and her arming thorn
To emerald lance piercing golden shield.”

And whilst each one hent bunch in hand, the gardener brought the wine-service and setting it before them, on a tray of porcelain arabesqued with red gold, recited these two couplets,

“Dawn heralds day-light: so wine pass round,
Old wine, fooling
sage till his wits he tyne:
Wot I not for its purest clarity
An ’tis wine in cup or ’tis
cup in wine.”⁴¹⁸

Then the gardener filled and drank and the cup went round, till it came to Nur al-Din’s turn, whereupon the man filled and handed it to him; but he said, “This thing I wot it not nor have I ever drunken thereof, for therein is great offence and the Lord of All-might hath forbidden it in His Book.” Answered the gardener, “O my Lord Nur al-Din, an thou forbear to drink only by reason of the sin, verily Allah (extolled and exalted be He!) is bountiful, of sufferance great, forgiving and compassionate and pardoneth the mortalest sins: His mercy embraceth all things, Allah’s ruth be upon the poet who saith,

‘Be as thou, wilt, for Allah is bountiful
And when thou sinnest
feel thou naught alarm:
But ‘ware of twofold sins nor ever dare
To give God partner or
mankind to harm.’”

Then quoth one of the sons of the merchants, “My life on thee, O my lord Nur al-Din, drink of this cup!” And another conjured him by the oath of divorce and yet another stood up persistently before him, till he was ashamed and taking the cup from the gardener, drank a draught, but spat it out again, crying, “’Tis bitter.” Said the young gardener, “O my lord Nur al-Din, knowest thou not that sweets taken by way of medicine are bitter? Were this not bitter, ‘twould lack of the manifold virtues it possesseth; amongst which are that it digesteth food and disperseth cark and care and dispelleth flatulence and clarifieth the blood and cleareth the complexion and quickeneth the body and hearteneth the hen-hearted and fortifieth the sexual power in man; but to name all its virtues would be tedious. Quoth one of the poets,

‘We’ll drink and Allah pardon sinners all
And cure of ills by
sucking cups I’ll find:
Nor aught the sin deceives me; yet said He
‘In it there be
advantage⁴¹⁹ to mankind.’”

Then he sprang up without stay or delay and opened one of the cupboards in the pavilion and taking out a loaf of refined sugar, broke off a great slice which he put into Nur al-Din’s cup, saying, “O my lord, an thou fear to drink wine, because of its bitterness, drink now, for ’tis sweet.” So he took the cup and emptied it: whereupon one of his comrades filled him another, saying, “O my lord Nur al-Din, I am thy slave,” and another did the like, saying, “I am one of thy servants,” and a third said, “For my sake!” and a fourth, “Allah upon thee, O my lord Nur al-Din, heal my heart!” And so they ceased not plying him with wine, each and every of the ten sons of merchants till they had made him drink a total of ten cups. Now Nur al-Din’s body was virgin of wine-bibbing, or never in all his life had he drunken vine-juice till that hour, wherefore its fumes wrought in his brain and drunkenness was stark upon him and he stood up (and indeed his tongue was thick and his speech stammering) and said, “O company, by Allah, ye are fair and your speech is goodly and your place pleasant; but there needeth hearing of sweet music; for drink without melody lacks the chief of its essentiality, even as saith the poet,

‘Pass round the cup to the old and the young man, too, And take

the bowl from the hand of the shining moon,⁴²⁰
But without music, I charge you, forbear to drink; I see even
horses drink to a whistled tune.’”⁴²¹

Therewith up sprang the gardener lad and mounting one of the young men’s mules, was absent awhile, after which he returned with a Cairene girl, as she were a sheep’s tail, fat and delicate, or an ingot of pure silvern ore or a dinar on a porcelain plate or a gazelle in the wold forlore. She had a face that put to shame the shining sun and eyes Babylonian⁴²² and brows like bows bended and cheeks rose-painted and teeth pearly-hued and lips sugared and glances languishing and breast ivory white and body slender and slight, full of folds and with dimples dight and hips like pillows stuffed and thighs like columns of Syrian stone, and between them what was something like a sachet of spices in wrapper swathed. Quoth the poet of her in these couplets,

“Had she shown her shape to idolaters’ sight,
They would gaze
on her face and their gods detest:
And if in the East to a monk she’d show’d,
He’d quit Eastern
posture and bow to West.⁴²³
An she crached in the sea and the briniest sea
Her lips would give it the sweetest zest.”

And quoth another in these couplets,

“Brighter than Moon at full with kohl’d eyes she came
Like Doe, on chasing whelps of Lioness intent:
Her night of murky locks lets fall a tent on her
A tent of hair⁴²⁴ that lacks no pegs to hold the tent;
And roses lighting up her roseate cheeks are fed
By hearts and
livers flowing fire for languishment:
An ‘spied her all the Age’s Fair to her they’d rise
Humbly,⁴²⁵ and cry ‘The meed belongs to precedent!’”

And how well saith a third bard,⁴²⁶

“Three things for ever hinder her to visit us, for fear Of the

intriguing spy and eke the rancorous envier;
Her forehead’s lustre and the sound of all her ornaments And the
sweet scent her creases hold of ambergris and myrth.
Grant with the border of her sleeve she hide her brow and doff
Her ornaments, how shall she do her scent away from her?”

She was like the moon when at fullest on its fourteenth night, and was clad in a garment of blue, with a veil of green, overbrown flower-white that all wits amazed and those of understanding amated.—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying his permitted say.

When it was the Eight Hundred and Sixty-seventh Night,

She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the gardener brought a girl whom we have described, possessed of the utmost beauty and loveliness and fine stature and symmetrical grace as it were she the poet signified when he said,⁴²⁷

“She came apparelled in a vest of blue, That mocked the skies and shamed their azure hue; I thought thus clad she burst upon my sight, Like summer moonshine on a wintry night.”

And how goodly is the saying of another and how excellent,

“She came thick veiled, and cried I, ‘O display
That face like
full moon bright with pure-white ray.’
Quoth she, ‘I fear disgrace,’ quoth I, ‘Cut short
This talk, no shift of days thy thoughts affray.’
Whereat she raised her veil from fairest face
And crystal spray
on gems began to stray:
And I forsooth was fain to kiss her cheek,
Lest she complain of
me on Judgment–Day.
And at such tide before the Lord on High
We first of lovers were redress to pray:
So ‘Lord, prolong this reckoning and review’
(Prayed I) ‘that
longer I may sight my may.’”

Then said the young gardener to her, “Know thou, O lady of the fair, brighter than any constellation which illumineth air we sought, in bringing thee hither naught but that thou shouldst entertain with converse this comely youth, my lord Nur al-Din, for he hath come to this place only this day.” And the girl replied, “Would thou hadst told me, that I might have brought what I have with me!” Rejoined the gardener, “O my lady, I will go and fetch it to thee.” “As thou wilt,” said she: and he, “Give me a token.” So she gave him a kerchief and he fared forth in haste and returned after awhile, bearing a green satin bag with slings of gold. The girl took the bag from him and opening it shook it, whereupon there fell thereout two-and-thirty pieces of wood, which she fitted one into other, male into female and female into male⁴²⁸ till they became a polished lute of Indian workmanship. Then she uncovered her wrists and laying the lute in her lap, bent over it with the bending of mother over babe, and swept the strings with her finger-tips; whereupon it moaned and resounded and after its olden home yearned; and it remembered the waters that gave it drink and the earth whence it sprang and wherein it grew and it minded the carpenters who made it their merchandise and the ships that shipped it; and it cried and called aloud and moaned and groaned; and it was as if she asked it of all these things and it answered her with the tongue of the case, reciting these couplets,⁴²⁹

“A tree whilere was I the Bulbul’s home
To whom for love I
bowed my grass-green head:
They moaned on me, and I their moaning learnt
And in that moan
my secret all men read:
The woodman fell me falling sans offence,
And slender lute of me (as view ye) made:
But, when the fingers smite my strings, they tell
How man despite my patience did me dead;
Hence boon-companions when they hear my moan
Distracted wax as
though by wine misled:
And the Lord softens every heart of me,
And I am hurried to the
highmost stead:
All who in charms excel fain clasp my waist;
Gazelles of languid eyne and Houri maid:
Allah ne’er part fond lover from his joy
Nor live the loved one
who unkindly fled.”

Then the girl was silent awhile, but presently taking the lute in lap, again bent over it, as mother bendeth over child, and preluded in many different modes; then, returning to the first, she sang these couplets,

“Would they ⁴³⁰ the lover seek without ado,
He to his
heavy grief had bid adieu:
With him had vied the Nightingale⁴³¹ on bough
As one far parted from his lover’s view:
Rouse thee! awake! The Moon lights Union-night
As tho’ such
Union woke the Morn anew.
This day the blamers take of us no heed
And lute-strings bid us
all our joys ensue.
Seest not how four-fold things conjoin in one
Rose, myrtle, scents and blooms of golden hue.⁴³²
Yea, here this day the four chief joys unite
Drink and dinars,
beloved and lover true:
So win thy worldly joy, for joys go past
And naught but storied
tales and legends last.”

When Nur al-Din heard the girl sing these lines he looked on her with eyes of love and could scarce contain himself for the violence of his inclination to her; and on like wise was it with her, because she glanced at the company who were present of the sons of the merchants and she saw that Nur al-Din was amongst the rest as moon among stars; for that he was sweet of speech and replete with amorous grace, perfect in stature and symmetry, brightness and loveliness, pure of all defect, than the breeze of morn softer, than Tasnim blander, as saith of him the poet,⁴³³

“By his cheeks’ unfading damask and his smiling teeth I swear, By

the arros that he feathers with the witchery of his air,
By his sides so soft and tender and his glances bright and keen,
By the whiteness of his forehead and the blackness of his
hair,
By his arched imperious eyebrows, chasing slumber from my lids
With their yeas and noes that hold me ‘twixt rejoicing and
despair,
By the Scorpions that he launches from his ringlet-clustered
brows, Seeking still to slay his lovers with his rigours
unaware,
By the myrtle of his whiskers and the roses of his cheek, By his
lips’ incarnate rubies and his teeth’s fine pearls and rare,
By the straight and tender sapling of his shape, which for its
fruit Doth the twin pomegranates, shining in his snowy
bosom, wear,
By his heavy hips that tremble, both in motion and repose, And
the slender waist above them, all too slight their weight to
bear,
By the silk of his apparel and his quick and sprightly wit, By
all attributes of beauty that are fallen to his share;
Lo, the musk exhales its fragrance from his breath, and eke the
breeze From his scent the perfume borrows, that it scatters
everywhere.
Yea, the sun in all his splendour cannot with his brightness vie
And the crescent moon’s a fragment that he from his nails
doth pare.”

—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her
permitted say.

When it was the Eight Hundred and Sixty-eighth Night,

She continued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Nur al-Din was delighted with the girl’s verses and he swayed from side to side for drunkenness and fell a-praising her and saying,

“A lutanist to us inclined
And stole our wits bemused with
wine:
And said to us her lute, ‘The Lord
Bade us discourse by voice
divine.’”

When she heard him thus improvise the girl gazed at him with loving eyes and redoubled in passion and desire for him increased upon her, and indeed she marvelled at his beauty and loveliness, symmetry and grace, so that she could not contain herself, but took the lute in lap again and sang these couplets,

“He blames me for casting on him my sight
And parts fro’ me
bearing my life and sprite:
He repels me but kens what my heart endures
As though Allah himself had inspired the wight:
I portrayed his portrait in palm of hand
And cried to mine eyes, ‘Weep your doleful plight.’
For neither shall eyes of me spy his like
Nor my heart have patience to bear its blight:
Wherefore, will I tear thee from breast, O Heart
As one who regards him with jealous spite.
And when say I, ‘O heart be consoled for pine,’
’Tis that heart
to none other shall e’er incline:”

Nur al-Din wondered at the charms of her verse and the elegance of her expression and the sweetness of her voice and the eloquence of her speech and his wit fled for stress of love and longing, and ecstasy and distraction, so that he could not refrain from her a single moment, but bent to her and strained her to his bosom: and she in like manner bowed her form over his and abandoned herself to his embrace and bussed him between the eyes. Then he kissed her on the mouth and played with her at kisses, after the manner of the billing of doves; and she met him with like warmth and did with him as she was done by till the others were distracted and rose to their feet; whereupon Nur al-Din was ashamed and held his hand from her. Then she took her lute and, preluding thereon in manifold modes, lastly returned to the first and sang these couplets,

“A Moon, when he bends him those eyes lay bare
A brand that
gars gazing gazelle despair:
A King, rarest charms are the host of him
And his lance-like shape men with cane compare:
Were his softness of sides to his heart transferred
His friend
had not suffered such cark and care:
Ah for hardest heart and for softest sides!
Why not that to these alter, make here go there?
O thou who accusest my love excuse:
Take eternal and leave me the transient share.”⁴³⁴

When Nur al-Din heard the sweetness of her voice and the rareness of her verse, he inclined to her for delight and could not contain himself for excess of wonderment; so he recited these couplets.

“Methought she was the forenoon sun until she donned the veil
But lit she fire in vitals mine still flaring fierce and
high,
How had it hurt her an she deigned return my poor salám
With fingertips or e’en vouchsafed one little wink of eye?
The cavalier who spied her face was wholly stupefied
By charms
that glorify the place and every charm outvie.
‘Be this the Fair who makes thee pine and long for love liesse?
Indeed thou art excused!’ ‘This is my fairest she;’(quoth I)
Who shot me with the shaft of looks nor deigns to rue my woes
Of strangerhood and broken heart and love I must aby:
I rose a-morn with vanquished heart, to longing love a prey
And
weep I through the live long day and all the night I cry.”

The girl marvelled at his eloquence and elegance and taking her lute, smote thereon with the goodliest of performance, repeating all the melodies, and sang these couplets,

“By the life o’ thy face, O thou life o’ my sprite!
I’ll ne’er leave thy love for despair or delight:
When art cruel thy vision stands hard by my side
And the thought of thee haunts me when far from sight:
O who saddenest my glance albe weeting that I
No love but thy love will for ever requite?
Thy cheeks are of Rose and thy lips-dews are wine;
Say, wilt grudge them to us in this charming site?”

Hereat Nur al-Din was gladdened with extreme gladness and wondered with the utmost wonder, so he answered her verse with these couplets,

“The sun yellowed not in the murk gloom li’en
But lay pearl
enveiled ‘neath horizon-chine;
Nor showed its crest to the eyes of Morn
But took refuge from parting with Morning-shine.⁴³⁵
Take my tear-drops that trickle as chain on chain
And they’ll
tell my case with the clearest sign.
An my tears be likened to Nile-flood, like
Malak’s⁴³⁶
flooded flat be this love o’mine.
Quoth she, ‘Bring thy riches!’ Quoth I, ‘Come, take!’
‘And thy sleep?’ ‘Yes, take it from lids of eyne!’”

When the girl heard Nur al-Din’s words and noted the beauty of his eloquence her senses fled and her wit was dazed and love of him gat hold upon her whole heart. So she pressed him to her bosom and fell to kissing him like the billing of doves, whilst he returned her caresses with successive kisses; but preeminence appertaineth to precedence.⁴³⁷ When she had made an end of kissing, she took the lute and recited these couplets,

“Alas, alack and well-away for blamer’s calumny!
Whether or not
I make my moan or plead or show no plea:
O spurner of my love I ne’er of thee so hard would deem
That I
of thee should be despised, of thee my property.
I wont at lovers’ love to rail and for their passion chide,
But
now I fain debase myself to all who rail at thee:
Yea, only yesterday I wont all amourists to blame
But now I pardon hearts that pine for passion’s ecstasy;
And of my stress of parting-stowre on me so heavy weighs
At morning prayer to Him I’ll cry, ‘In thy name, O Ali!’”

And also these two couplets,

“His lovers said, ‘Unless he deign to give us all a drink
Of wine, of fine old wine his lips deal in their purity;
We to the Lord of Threefold Worlds will pray to grant our prayer’

And all exclaim with single cry ‘In thy name, O Ali!’”

Nur al-Din, hearing these lines and their rhyme, marvelled at the fluency of her tongue and thanked her, praising her grace and passing seductiveness; and the damsel, delighted at his praise, arose without stay or delay and doffing that was upon her of outer dress and trinkets till she was free of all encumbrance sat down on his knees and kissed him between the eyes and on his cheek-mole. Then she gave him all she had put off.—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.

When it was the Eight Hundred and Sixty-ninth Night,

She pursued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the girl gave to Nur al-Din all she had doffed, saying, “O beloved of my heart, in very sooth the gift is after the measure of the giver.” So he accepted this from her and gave it back to her and kissed her on the mouth and cheeks and eyes. When this was ended and done, for naught is durable save the Living, the Eternal, Provider of the peacock and the owl,⁴³⁸ Nur al-Din rose from the séance and stood upon his feet, because the darkness was now fallen and the stars shone out; whereupon quoth the damsel to him, “Whither away, O my lord?”; and quoth he, “To my father’s home.” Then the sons of the merchants conjured him to night with them, but he refused and mounting his shemule, rode, without stopping, till he reached his parent’s house, where his mother met him and said to him, “O my son, what hath kept thee away till this hour? By Allah, thou hast troubled myself and thy sire by thine absence from us, and our hearts have been occupied with thee.” Then she came up to him, to kiss him on his mouth, and smelling the fumes of the wine, said, “O my wine-bibber and a rebel against Him to whom belong creation and commandment?” But Nur al-Din threw himself down on the bed and lay there. Presently in came his sire and said, “What aileth Nur al-Din to lie thus?”; and his mother answered, “‘Twould seem his head acheth for the air of the garden.” So Taj al-Din went up to his son, to ask him of his ailment, and salute him, and smelt the reek of wine.⁴³⁹ Now the merchant loved not wine-drinkers; so he said to Nur al-Din, “Woe to thee, O my son! Is folly come to such a pass with thee, that thou drinkest wine?” When Nur al-Din heard his sire say this, he raised his hand, being yet in his drunkenness, and dealt him a buffet, when by decree of the Decreer the blow lit on his father’s right eye which rolled down on his cheek; whereupon he fell a-swoon and lay therein awhile. They sprinkled rose-water on him till he recovered, when he would have beaten his son; but the mother withheld him, and he swore, by the oath of divorce from his wife that, as soon as morning morrowed, he would assuredly cut off his son’s right hand.⁴⁴⁰ When she heard her husband’s words, her breast was straitened and she feared for he son and ceased not to soothe and appease his sire, till sleep overcame him. Then she waited till moon-rise, when she went in to her son, whose drunkenness had now departed from him, and said to him, “O Nur al-Din, what is this foul deed thou diddest with thy sire?” He asked, “And what did I with him?”; and answered she, “Thou dealtest him a buffet on the right eye and struckest it out so that it rolled down his cheek; and he hath sworn by the divorce-oath that, as soon as morning shall morrow he will without fail cut off thy right hand.” Nur al-Din repented him of that he had done, whenas repentance profited him naught, and his mother sait to him, “O my son, this penitence will not profit thee; nor will aught avail thee but that thou arise forthwith and seek safety in flight: go forth the house privily and take refuge with one of thy friends and there what Allah shall do await, for he changeth case after case and state upon state.” Then she opened a chest and taking out a purse of an hundred dinars said, “O my son, take these dinars and provide thy wants therewith, and when they are at an end, O my son, send and let me know thereof, that I may send thee other than these, and at the same time covey to me news of thyself privily: haply Allah will decree thee relief and thou shalt return to thy home. And she farewelled him and wept passing sore, nought could be more. Thereupon Nur al-Din took the purse of gold and was about to go forth, when he espied a great purse containing a thousand dinars, which his mother had forgotten by the side of the chest. So he took this also and binding the two purses about his middle,⁴⁴¹ set out before dawn threading the streets in the direction of Búlák, where he arrived when day broke and all creatures arose, attesting the unity of Allah the Opener and went forth each of them upon his several business, to win that which Allah had unto him allotted. Reaching Bulak he walked on along the riverbank till he sighted a ship with her gangway out and her four anchors made fast to the land. The folk were going up into her and coming down from her, and Nur al-Din, seeing some sailors there standing, asked them whither they were bound, and they answered, “To Rosetta-city.” Quoth he, “Take me with you;” and quoth they, “Well come, and welcome to thee, to thee, O goodly one!” So he betook himself forthright to the market and buying what he needed of vivers and bedding and covering, returned to the port and went on board the ship, which was ready to sail and tarried with him but a little while before she weighed anchor and fared on, without stopping, till she reached Rosetta,⁴⁴² where Nur al-Din saw a small boat going to Alexandria. So he embarked in it and traversing the sea-arm of Rosetta fared on till he came to a bridge called Al-Jámí, where he landed and entered Alexandria by the gate called the Gate of the Lote-tree. Allah protected him, so that none of those who stood on guard at the gate saw him, and he walked on till he entered the city.—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.

When it was the Eight Hundred and Seventieth Night,

She resumed, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Nur al-Din entered Alexandria he found it a city goodly of pleasaunces, delightful to its inhabitants and inviting to inhabit therein. Winter had fared from it with his cold and Prime was come to it with his roses: its flowers were kindly ripe and welled forth its rills. Indeed, it was a city goodly of ordinance and disposition; its folk were of the best of men, and when the gates thereof were shut, its folk were safe.⁴⁴³ And it was even as is said of it in these couplets,

“Quoth I to a comrade one day,
A man of good speech and rare,
‘Describe Alexandria.’
Quoth he, ’Tis a march-town fair.’
Quoth I, ‘Is there living therein?’
And he, ‘An the wind blow
there.’”

Or as saith one of the poets,

“Alexandria’s a frontier;⁴⁴⁴ Whose dews of lips are sweet

and clear;
How fair the coming to it is,
So one therein no raven speer!”

Nur al-Din walked about the city and ceased not walking till her came to the merchants’ bazar, whence he passed on to the mart of the money-changers and so on in turn to the markets of the confectioners and fruiterers and druggists, marvelling, as he went, at the city, for that the nature of its qualities accorded with its name.⁴⁴⁵ As he walked in the druggists’ bazar, behold, an old man came down from his shop and saluting him, took him by the hand and carried him to his home. And Nur al-Din saw a fair bystreet, swept and sprinkled, whereon the zephyr blew and made pleasantness pervade it and the leaves of the trees overshaded it. Therein stood three houses and at the upper end a mansion, whose foundations were firm sunk in the water and its walls towered to the confines of the sky. They had swept the space before it and they had sprinkled it freshly; so it exhaled the fragrance of flowers, borne on the zephyr which breathed upon the place; and the scent met there who approached it on such wise as it were one of the gardens of Paradise. And, as they had cleaned and cooed the by-street’s head, so was the end of it with marble spread. The Shaykh carried Nur al-Din into the house and setting somewhat of food before him ate with his guest. When they had made an end of eating, the druggist said to him, “When camest thou hither from Cairo?”; and Nur al-Din replied, “This very night, O my father.” Quoth the old man, “What is thy name?”; and quoth he, “Ali Nur al-Din.” Said the druggist, “O my son, O Nur al-Din, be the triple divorce incumbent on me, an thou leave me so long as thou abidest in this city; and I will set thee apart a place wherein thou mayst dwell.” Nur al-Din asked, “O my lord the Shaykh, let me know more of thee”; and the other answered, “Know, O my son, that some years ago I went to Cairo with merchandise, which I sold there and bought other, and I had occasion for a thousand dinars. So thy sire Taj al-Din weighed them out⁴⁴⁶ for me, all unknowing me, and would take no written word of me, but had patience with me till I returned hither and sent him the amount by one of my servants, together with a gift. I saw thee, whilst thou wast little; and, if it please Allah the Most High, I will repay thee somewhat of the kindness thy father did me.” When Nur al-Din heard the old man’s story, he showed joy and pulling out with a smile the purse of a thousand dinars, gave it to his host the Shaykh and said to him, “Take charge of this deposit for me, against I buy me somewhat of merchandise whereon to trade.” Then he abode some time in Alexandria city taking his pleasure every day in its thoroughfares, eating and drinking ad indulging himself with mirth and merriment till he had made an end of the hundred dinars he had kept by way of spending-money; whereupon he repaired to the old druggist, to take of him somewhat of the thousand dinars to spend, but found him not in his shop and took a seat therein to await his return. He sat there gazing right and left and amusing himself with watching the merchants and passers-by, and as he was thus engaged behold, there came into the bazar a Persian riding on a she-mule and carrying behind him a damsel; as she were argent of alloy free or a fish Balti⁴⁴⁷ in mimic sea or a doe-gazelle on desert lea. Her face outshone the sun in shine and she had witching eyne and breasts of ivory white, teeth of marguerite, slender waist and sides dimpled deep and calves like tails of fat sheep;⁴⁴⁸ and indeed she was perfect in beauty and loveliness, elegant stature and symmetrical grace, even as saith one, describing her,⁴⁴⁹

“’Twas as by will of her she was create
Nor short nor long, but
Beauty’s mould and mate:
Rose blushes reddest when she sees those cheeks
And fruits the
bough those marvel charms amate:
Moon is her favour, Musk the scent of her
Branch is her shape:–
she passeth man’s estate:
’Tis e’en as were she cast in freshest pearl
And every limblet
shows a moon innate.”

Presently the Persian lighted down from his she-mule and, making the damsel also dismount, loudly summoned the broker and said to him as soon as he came, “Take this damsel and cry her for sale in the market.” So he took her and leading her to the middlemost of the bazar disappeared for a while and presently he returned with a stool of ebony, inlaid with ivory, and setting it upon the ground, seated her thereon. Then he raised her veil and discovered a face as it were a Median targe⁴⁵⁰ or a cluster of pearls:⁴⁵¹ and indeed she was like the full moon, when it filleth on its fourteenth night, accomplished in brilliant beauty. As saith the poet,

“Vied the full moon for folly with her face,
But was eclipsed⁴⁵² and split for rage full sore;
And if the spiring Bán with her contend
Perish her hands who load of fuel bore!”⁴⁵³

And how well saith another,

“Say to the fair in the wroughten veil
How hast made that
monk-like worshipper ail?
Light of veil and light of face under it
Made the hosts of darkness to fly from bale;
And, when came my glance to steal look at cheek.
With a meteor-shaft the Guard made me quail.”⁴⁵⁴

Then said the broker to the merchants,⁴⁵⁵ “How much do ye bid for the union-pearl of the diver and prize-quarry of the fowler?” Quoth one, “She is mine for an hundred dinars.” And another said, “Two hundred,” and a third, “Three hundred”; and they ceased not to bid, one against other, till they made her price nine hundred and fifty dinars, and there the biddings stopped awaiting acceptance and consent.⁴⁵⁶—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.

When it was the Eight Hundred and Seventy-first Night,

She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the merchants bid one against other till they made the price of the girl nine hundred and fifty dinars. Then the broker went up to her Persian master and said to him, “The biddings for this thy slavegirl have reached nine hundred and fifty dinars: so say me, wilt thou sell her at that price and take the money?” Asked the Persian, “Doth she consent to this? I desire to fall in with her wishes, for I sickened on my journey hither and this handmaid tended me with all possible tenderness, wherefore I sware not to sell her but to him whom she should like and approve, and I have put her sale in her own hand. So do thou consult her and if she say, ‘I consent,’ sell her to whom thou wilt: but an she say, ‘No,’ sell her not.” So the broker went up to her and asked her, “O Princess of fair ones, know that thy master putteth thy sale in thine own hands, and thy price hath reached nine hundred and fifty dinars; dost thou give me leave to sell thee?” She answered, “Show me him who is minded to buy me before clinching the bargain.” So he brought her up to one of the merchants a man stricken with years and decrepit; and she looked at him a long while, then turned to the broker and said to him, “O broker, art thou Jinn-mad or afflicted in thy wit?” Replied he, “Why dost thou ask me this, O Princess of fair ones?”; and said she, “Is it permitted thee of Allah to sell the like of me to yonder decrepit old man, who saith of his wife’s case these couplets,

‘Quoth she to me,—and sore enraged for wounded pride was she,
For she in sooth had bidden me to that which might not be,—
‘An if thou swive me not forthright, as one should swive his
wife,
Thou be made a cuckold straight, reproach it not to me.
Meseems thy yard is made of wax, for very flaccidness;
For when
I rub it with my hand, it softens instantly.’⁴⁵⁷

And said he likewise of his yard,

‘I have a yard that sleeps in base and shameful way
When grants
my lover boon for which I sue and pray:
But when I wake o’ mornings⁴⁵⁸ all alone in bed,
’Tis fain
o’ foin and fence and fierce for futter-play.’

And again quoth he thereof of his yard,

‘I have a froward yard of temper ill
Dishonoring him who shows
it most regard:
It stands when sleep I, when I stand it sleeps
Heaven pity not
who pitieth that yard!’”

When the old merchant heard this ill flouting from the damsel, he was wroth with wrath exceeding beyond which was no proceeding and said to the broker, “O most ill-omened of brokers, thou hast not brought into the market this ill-conditioned wench but to gibe me and make mock of me before the merchants.” Then the broker took her aside and said to her, “O my lady, be not wanting in self-respect. The Shaykh at whom thou didst mock is the Syndic of the bazar and Inspector⁴⁵⁹ thereof and a committee-man of the council of the merchants.” But she laughed and improvised these two couplets,

“It behoveth folk who rule in our time,
And ’tis one of the
duties of magistrateship,
To hand up the Wali above his door
And beat with a whip the Mohtasib!”

Adding, “By Allah, O my lord, I will not be sold to yonder old man; so sell me to other than him, for haply he will be abashed at me and vend me again and I shall become a mere servant⁴⁶⁰ and it beseemeth not that I sully myself with menial service; and indeed thou knowest that the matter of my sale is committed to myself.” He replied, “I hear and I obey,” and carried her to a man which was one of the chief merchants. And when standing hard by him the broker asked, “How sayst thou, O my lady? Shall I sell thee to my lord Sharíf al-Dín here for nine hundred and fifty gold pieces?” She looked at him and, seeing him to be an old man with a dyed beard, said to the broker, “Art thou silly, that thou wouldst sell me to this worn out Father Antic? Am I cotton refuse or threadbare rags that thou marchest me about from greybeard to greybeard, each like a wall ready to fall or an Ifrit smitten down of a fire-ball? As for the first, the poet had him in mind when he said,⁴⁶¹

‘I sought of a fair maid to kiss her lips of coral red, But, ‘No,

by Him who fashioned things from nothingness!’ she said.
Unto the white of hoary hairs I never had a mind, And shall my
mouth be stuffed, forsooth, with cotton, ere I’m dead?’

And how goodly is the saying of the poet,

‘The wise have said that white of hair is light that shines and

robes
The face of man with majesty and light that awes the sight;
Yet until hoary seal shall stamp my parting-place of hair
I hope and pray that same may be black as the blackest night.
Albe Time-whitened beard of man be like the book he bears⁴⁶²

When to his Lord he must return, I’d rather ’twere not
white,’

And yet goodlier is the saying of another,

‘A guest hath stolen on my head and honour may he lack!
The
sword a milder deed hath done that dared these locks to
hack.
Avaunt, O Whiteness,⁴⁶³ wherein naught of brightness
gladdens sight
Thou ‘rt blacker in the eyes of me than very blackest black!’

As for the other, he is a model of wantonness and scurrilousness and a blackener of the face of hoariness; his dye acteth the foulest of lies: and the tongue of his case reciteth these lines,⁴⁶⁴

‘Quoth she to me, ‘I see thou dy’st thy hoariness;’ and I, ‘I do

but hide it from thy sight, O thou mine ear and eye!’
She laughed out mockingly and said, ‘A wonder ’tis indeed! Thou
so aboundest in deceit that even thy hair’s a lie.’

And how excellent is the saying of the poet,

‘O thou who dyest hoariness with black,
That youth wi’ thee
abide, at least in show;
Look ye, my lot was dyèd black whilome
And (take my word!) none
other hue ’twill grow.’”

When the old man with dyed beard heard such words from the slave-girl, he raged with exceeding rage in fury’s last stage and said to the broker, “O most ill-omened of brokers, this day thou hast brought to our market naught save this gibing baggage to flout at all who are therein, one after other, and fleer at them with flyting verse and idle jest?” And he came down from his shop and smote on the face the broker, who took her an angered and carried her away, saying to her, “By Allah, never in my life saw I a more shameless wench than thyself!⁴⁶⁵ Thou hast cut off my daily bread and thine own this day and all the merchants will bear me a grudge on thine account.” Then they saw on the way a merchant called Shihab al-Din who bid ten dinars more for her, and the broker asked her leave to sell her to him. Quoth she, “Trot him out that I may see him and question him of a certain thing, which if he have in his house, I will be sold to him; and if not, then not.” So the broker left her standing there and going up to Shihab al-Din, said to him, “O my lord, know that yonder damsel tells me she hath a mind to ask thee somewhat, which an thou have, she will be sold to thee. Now thou hast heard what she said to thy fellows, the merchants,”—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.

When it was the Eight Hundred and Seventy-second Night,

She continued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the broker said to the merchant, “Thou hast heard what this handmaid said to thy fellows, the traders, and by Allah, I fear to bring her to thee, lest she do with thee like as she did with thy neighbours and so I fall into disgrace with thee: but, an thou bid me bring her to thee, I will bring her.” Quoth the merchant, “Hither with her to me.” “Hearing and obeying,” answered the broker and fetched for the purchaser the damsel, who looked at him and said, “O my lord, Shihab al-Din, hast thou in thy house round cushions stuffed with ermine strips?” Replied Shihab al-Din, “Yes, O Princess of fair ones, I have at home half a score such cushions; but I conjure thee by Allah, tell me, what will thou do with them?” Quoth she, “I will bear with thee till thou be asleep, when I will lay them on thy mouth and nose and press them down till thou die.” Then she turned to the broker and said to him, “O thou refuse of brokers, meseemeth thou art mad, in that thou showest me this hour past, first to a pair of greybeards, in each of whom are two faults, and then thou proferrest me to my lord Shihab al-Din wherein be three defects; and thirdly, he is dwarfish, secondly, he hath a nose which is big, and thirdly, he hath a beard which is long. Of him quoth one of the poets,

‘We never heard of wight nor yet espied
Who amid men three
gifts hath unified:
To wit, a beard one cubit long, a snout
Span-long and figure tall a finger wide:’

And quoth another poet,

‘From the plain of his face springs a minaret
Like a bezel of
ring on his finger set:
Did creation enter that vasty nose
No created thing would elsewhere be met.’”

When Shihab al-Din heard this, he came down from his shop and seized the broker by the collar, saying, “O scurviest of brokers, what aileth thee to bring us a damsel to flout and make mock of us, one after other, with her verses and talk that a curse is?” So the broker took her and carried her away from before him and fared, saying, “By Allah, all my life long, since I have plied this profession never set I eyes on the like of thee for unmannerliness nor aught more curst to me than thy star, for thou hast cut off my livelihood this day and I have gained no profit by thee save cuffs on the neck-nape and catching by the collar!” Then he brought her to the shop of another merchant, owner of negro slaves and white servants, and stationing her before him, said to her, “Wilt thou be sold to this my lord ‘Alá al-Dín?” She looked at him and seeing him hump-backed, said, “This is a Gobbo, and quoth the poet of him,

‘Drawn in thy shoulders are and spine thrust out,
As seeking
star which Satan gave the lout;⁴⁶⁶
Or as he tasted had first smack of scourge
And looked in marvel
for a second bout.’

And saith another on the same theme,

‘As one of you who mounted mule,
A sight for me to ridicule:
Is ‘t not a farce? Who feels surprise
An start and bolt with
him the mule?’

And another on a similar subject,

‘Oft hunchback addeth to his bunchy back
Faults which gar folk
upon his front look black:
Like branch distort and dried by length of days
With citrons hanging from it loose and slack.’”

With this the broker hurried up to her and, carrying her to another merchant, said to her, “Wilt thou be sold to this one?” She looked at him and said, “In very sooth this man is blue-eyed;⁴⁶⁷ how wilt thou sell me to him?” Quoth one of the poets,

‘His eyelids sore and bleared
Weakness of frame denote:
Arise, ye folk and see
Within his eyes the mote!’”

Then the broker carried her to another and she looked at him and seeing that he had a long beard, said to the broker, “Fie upon thee! This is a ram, whose tail hath sprouted from his gullet. Wilt thou sell me to him, O unluckiest of brokers? Hast thou not heard say: ‘All long of beard are little of wits? Indeed, after the measure of the length of the beard is the lack of sense; and this is a well-known thing among men of understanding.’ As saith one of the poets,

‘Ne’er was a man with beard grown overlong,
Tho’ be he therefor
reverenced and fear’d,
But who the shortness noted in his wits
Added to longness noted
in his beard.’

And quoth another,⁴⁶⁸

‘I have a friend with a beard which God hath made to grow to a

useless length,
It is like unto one of the nights of winter long and dark and
cold.’”

With this the broker took her and turned away with her, and she asked, “Whither goest thou with me?” He answered, “Back to thy master the Persian; it sufficeth me what hath befallen me because of thee this day; for thou hast been the means of spoiling both my trade and his by thine ill manners.” Then she looked about the market right and left, front and rear till, by the decree of the Decreer her eyes fell on Ali Nur al-Din the Cairene. So she gazed at him and saw him⁴⁶⁹ to be a comely youth of straight slim form and smooth of face, fourteen years old, rare in beauty and loveliness and elegance and amorous grace like the full moon on the fourteenth night with forehead flower-white, and cheeks rosy red, neck like alabaster and teeth than jewels and dews of lips sweeter than sugar, even as saith of him one of his describers,

“Came to match him in beauty and loveliness rare
Full moons and
gazelles but quoth I, ‘Soft fare!
Fare softly, gazelles, nor yourselves compare
With him and, O Moons, all your pains forbear!’”

And how well saith another bard,

“Slim-waisted loveling, from his hair and brow
Men wake a-morn
in night and light renewed.
Blame not the mole that dwelleth on his cheek
For Nu’uman’s
bloom aye shows spot negro-hued.”

When the slave-girl beheld Nur al-Din he interposed between her and her wits; she fell in love to him with a great and sudden fall and her heart was taken with affection for him;—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.