The master therefore embarked, and loosed the sails, and God decreed him safety, so that he arrived at the Island of the Magians; and, landing by night, he went up to the garden. The night had become tedious to Kamarez-Zeman, and he was thinking upon his beloved, as he sat in the garden weeping for the misfortunes that had befallen him; and the master of the ship knocked at the gate of his garden. He therefore opened the gate and went forth to him, and immediately the sailors carried him off, and, embarking with him, loosed the sails, and departed. They continued their voyage days and nights, while Kamar-ezZeman knew not the occasion of this conduct. He asked them the cause, and they answered him, Thou art an offender against the King of the Ebony Islands, the son of the King Armanus, and hast stolen his wealth, O thou unlucky! But he replied, By Allah, in my life I never entered that country, nor do I know it.

They continued their voyage with him until they came in sight of the Ebony Islands, and took him up to the lady Budur, who, as soon as she saw him, knew him, and said, Commit him to the eunuchs, that they may conduct him into the bath. She then dispelled the fears of the merchants, and bestowed upon the master of the ship a robe of honour worth ten thousand pieces of gold: after which, she went in to the lady Hayat-en-Nufus, and acquainted her with the event, saying to her, Conceal the news until I have attained my desire, and done a deed which shall be recorded, and read after us to Kings and subjects. And when she gave orders to conduct Kamar-ez-Zeman into the bath, they did so, and clad him in the apparel of Kings; and when he came forth from the bath, he appeared like a branch of the Oriental willow, or a planet at whose appearance the sun and moon were abashed; and his soul returned to him. He then repaired to her, and entered the palace; but when she beheld him, she restrained her heart, that her purpose might be accomplished. She bestowed upon him memluks and servants, and camels and mules, gave him a treasury of wealth, and ceased not to promote him from grade to grade until she made him treasurer, delivering all the treasures to his care. She admitted him into high favour, and

acquainted the emirs with his station, and they all loved him. Every day the Queen Budur increased his appointments, and Kamar-ez-Zeman knew not the cause of her thus honouring him. From the abundance of his wealth he gave liberal presents; and he served the King Armanus with such zeal that he loved him, as did the emirs and other great men, and the common people, so that they swore by his life.

But all this time Kamar-ez-Zeman wondered at the honours which the Queen Budur shewed him, and said within himself, By Allah, this love must have some cause; or perhaps this King thus favoureth me from some evil intention: I must therefore ask his permission to depart from his country. Accordingly, he went to the Queen Budur, and said to her, O King, thou hast bestowed on me great favours, and thy favours will be complete if thou permit me to depart, and take from me all that thou hast bestowed upon me. And the Queen Budur smiled, and said, What induceth thee to desire to travel, and to rush headlong into perils, when thou art enjoying the highest favour, and extraordinary beneficence?-O King, answered Kamar-ez-Zeman, if this favour be without cause, it is most wonderful, especially as thou hast conferred upon me dignities such as are proper for the aged, when I am but a child. The Queen Budur then took him into a private apartment, and made herself known to him: and he discovered that she was his wife, the Queen Budur, the daughter of the King El-Ghayur, lord of the Islands and the Seas; whereupon they embraced and kissed each other. She related to him all that had happened to her from first to last; and he in like manner acquainted her with all that had befallen him.

And when the next morning came, and diffused its light, the Queen Budur sent to the King Armanus, and informed him of the truth of her case, that she was the wife of Kamarez-Zeman, relating to him their story and the cause of their separation; and the King Armanus, on hearing her tale, wondered at it extremely. He gave orders to write it in letters of gold, and then, looking towards Kamar-ez-Zeman, said to him, O son of the King, wilt thou form an alliance

with me by marrying my daughter Hayat-en-Nufus? He answered, I must consult the Queen Budur; for I owe her unlimited gratitude. But when he consulted her, she replied, Excellent is this proposal! Marry her, therefore, and I will be a handmaid to her; for I owe her a debt of kindness and beneficence, and favour and obligation, especially as we are in her abode, and since we have been loaded with the benefits of her father.-So when Kamar-ez-Zeman saw that the Queen Budur inclined to this, and was not jealous of Hayat-en-Nufus, he agreed with her on this subject, and acquainted the King Armanus with that which the Queen Budur had said, that she approved of the marriage, and would be a handmaid to Hayat-en-Nufus. And on hearing these words from Kamar-ez-Zeman, the King Armanus rejoiced exceedingly. He went forth immediately, and seated himself upon his throne, and, having summoned all the emirs and wezirs and chamberlains, and the other lords of the empire, acquainted them with the story of Kamar-ezZeman and his wife the Queen Budur from first to last, telling them that he desired to marry his daughter Hayaten-Nufus to Kamar-ez-Zeman, and to appoint him Sultan over them in the place of his wife the Queen Budur. Upon which all of them said, Since Kamar-ez-Zeman is the husband of the Queen Budur, who was our sovereign before him when we thought her the son-in-law of our King Armanus, we are all content to have him as our Sultan, and we will be servants unto him, and never swerve from our allegiance to him.

The King Armanus, therefore, rejoiced at this exceedingly he summoned the kadis and witnesses, and the chief officers of the empire, and performed Kamar-ez-Zeman's contract of marriage to his daughter, the Queen Hayat-enNufus. He celebrated festivities, gave sumptuous banquets, conferred costly robes of honour upon all the emirs and chiefs and soldiers, bestowed alms upon the poor and the needy, and liberated all the prisoners; and the people rejoiced at the accession of the King Kamar-ez-Zeman, praying for the continuance of his glory and prosperity, and felicity and honour. As soon as he had become Sultan over them, Kamar-ez-Zeman remitted the custom-taxes; he

conducted himself in a praiseworthy manner towards his people, and resided with his wives in enjoyment and happiness, and fidelity and cheerfulness, behaving towards both of them with impartiality. Thus he remained for a length of time; his anxieties and sorrows were obliterated; and he forgot his father, the King Shah-Zeman, and the glory and power that he had enjoyed under him.

THE STORY OF THE TWO PRINCES EL-AMJAD AND EL-AS'AD

After this, God (whose name be exalted!) blessed Kamar-ez-Zeman with two male children by his two wives. They were like two shining moons: the elder of them was the son of the Queen Budur, and his name was the Prince El-Amjad; and the younger was the son of Hayat-en-Nufus, and his name was the Prince El-As‘ad; and El-As'ad was more lovely than his brother El-Amjad. They were reared with magnificence and tenderness, and instructed in polite arts and accomplishments: they learned calligraphy and general science, and the arts of government and horsemanship, until they attained the utmost perfection, and became distinguished by consummate beauty and loveliness, so that the women were ravished by their charms. They grew up to the age of seventeen years, always in each other's company, eating and drinking together, and never separated; and all the people envied them on this account. And when they had attained to manhood, and were both endowed with every accomplishment, their father, whenever he made a journey, seated them by turns in the hall of judgment, and each of them judged the people for one day at a time.

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Now it happened, in accordance with confirmed destiny and determined fate, that two ladies in the King's palace,' on whom he had set his affections, became enamoured of the two princes, El-Amjad and El-As'ad. Each of these two women used to toy with the object of her love, and kiss him, and press him to her bosom; and when his mother beheld this, she imagined that it was only an affection like

that of a parent. Love took entire possession of the hearts of the two women, and when they had waited long without finding any way of accomplishing their union, they abstained from drink and food, and relinquished the delight of sleep.

The King then went forth to the chase, and ordered his two sons to sit in his place to administer justice, each of them for one day at a time, according to their custom. So on the first day, El-Amjad, the son of the Queen Budur, sat for judgment, and commanded and forbade, and invested and deposed, and gave and denied. And his enamoured wrote him a letter, endeavouring to conciliate his affection, and declaring that she was wholly devoted to him, and transported with love for him, exposing her whole case to him, and telling him that she desired to be united to him. She took a paper, and wrote in it these words :

From the poor, the love-sick female; the mourning, the estranged; whose youth is consumed by love for thee, and whose torment on thine account hath been protracted.-If I described to thee the extent of my sorrow, and the sadness that I suffer, and the violent love that is in my heart, and how I weep and moan, and how my mourning heart is cut in pieces, and my constant griefs, and continual anxieties, and the pain that I endure from separation, and from sadness and ardent desire, the exposition of my case would be too long for a letter, and none could calculate its extent. The earth and heaven have become strait unto me, and I have no hope nor trust but in thee; for I have arrived at the point of death, and suffered the horrors of destruction. My ardour hath become excessive, with my disjunction and estrangement, and if I described the longing desire that I feel, papers would be insufficient for it.-And after this, she wrote these two verses :

If I would explain the burnings I experience, and the sickness, and ecstasy of love, and agitation,

Neither paper nor pen would remain upon the earth, nor ink, nor a scrap upon which to write.

She then wrapped up the letter in a piece of costly silk, richly perfumed with musk and ambergris, and put with it the silk strings of her hair,* for the price of which, treasures

* A mark of abject submission.