woman saluted her with the best salutation. And when she beheld No'm, she wondered at her excessive loveliness, and said to her, O my mistress, I commend thee to the protection of God, who hath made thee and thy lord to agree in beauty and loveliness. Then the old woman placed herself at the niche, and betook herself to inclination and prostration and supplication until the day had passed and the night had come with its thick darkness, when the damsel said, O my mother, give rest to thy feet a while. But the old woman replied, O my mistress, whoso seeketh the world to come wearieth himself in the present world; and whoso wearieth not himself in the present world will not attain to the mansions of the just in the world to come. Then No'm brought the food to the old woman, and said to her, Eat of my food, and beg propitiousness and mercy for me. The old woman, however, replied, Verily I am fasting; but as to thee, thou art a young woman, and eating and drinking and mirth are suitable to thee. God be propitious to thee! God (whose name be exalted!) hath said, Except him who shall repent, and believe, and shall work a righteous work.* -The damsel continued sitting a while with the old woman, conversing with her; after which she said to her master, ( my master, conjure this old woman to lodge with us for some time; for the impress of devotion is on her countenance. So he replied, Appropriate to her alone a chamber for devotion, and let not any one go in to her; and perhaps God (whose perfection be extolled, and whose name be exalted!) may grant us benefit from the blessing that attendeth her, and not separate us. And the old woman passed that night praying, and reciting [the Kur'an], until the morning, when she came to Ni'meh and No'm, and, having wished them good morning, said to them, I commend you both to the care of God. But No'm said to her, Whither goest thou, O my mother? My master hath ordered me to appropriate to thee alone a chamber in which thou mayest seclude thyself for devotion.-The old woman replied, May God preserve him, and continue his favours to you both but I desire of you that ye charge the doorkeeper not to prevent my ingress to you; and if it be the will of

* Kur'an, xxv, 70.

God (whose name be exalted!), I will go about to the holy places, and supplicate for both of you at the close of my prayer and devotion every day and night. She then went forth from the house, while the damsel No'm wept for her separation, not knowing the reason for which she had come to her.

The old woman repaired to El-Hajjaj; and he said to her, What hast thou done? She answered him, Verily I have beheld the damsel, and seen her to be such that women have not given birth to any more beautiful in her age. And El-Hajjaj said to her, If thou accomplish that which I have commanded thee, abundant good fortune will result to thee from me. She replied, I desire of thee a delay of a whole month. And he said to her, I grant thee a month's delay.— The old woman then accustomed herself to frequent the house of Ni'meh and No'm, who treated her with increased respect. She continued to pass the morning and evening with them, every one in the house welcoming her, until, one day, being with the damsel alone, she said, O my mistress, by Allah, when I visit the holy places, I will pray for thee; and I wish that thou wouldst accompany me, that thou mightest see the sheykhs that come thither, and they would pray for any blessing for thee that thou desirest. And the damsel Noʻm replied, By Allah, O my mother, take me with thee. So the old woman said to her, Ask leave of thy mother-in-law, and I will take thee with me. The damsel, therefore, said to her mother-in-law, the mother of Ni'meh, O my mistress, ask my master to let me and thee go one day with my mother, the old woman, to prayer and supplication with the poor devotees in the holy places. And when Ni'meh came, and sat down, the old woman went to him and kissed his hand; but he forbade her doing so and she prayed for him, and went forth from the house. And on the following day she came again, when Ni'meh was not in the house, and, accosting the damsel No'm, said to her, We prayed for you yesterday; but arise now and amuse thyself, and return before thy master cometh. So the damsel said to her mother-in-law, I conjure thee by Allah that thou give me permission to go out with this just woman to enjoy the sight of the saints of God in the holy places,

and I will return quickly, before my master cometh. The mother of Ni'meh replied, I fear lest thy master know of it. But the old woman said, By Allah, I will not let her seat herself upon the ground; but she shall look while she standeth upon her feet, and shall not loiter.

She then took the damsel, by this stratagem, and repaired with her to the palace of El-Hajjaj, and acquainted him with her arrival, after she had put her in a private apartment. So El-Hajjaj came and looked at her, and saw her to be the most lovely of the people of her age, and such as he had never seen equalled: but when No'm beheld him, she covered her face. He left her not until he had summoned his chamberlain; and he mounted with him fifty horsemen, and commanded him to take the damsel upon an excellent and swift dromedary, to repair with her to Damascus, and to deliver her to the Prince of the Faithful, 'Abd-El-Melik the son of Marwan, to whom he wrote a letter. And he said to the chamberlain, Give him this letter, and bring from him an answer, and make haste in returning. The chamberlain, therefore, went, and took the damsel upon a dromedary, and journeyed with her, she remaining all the while with tearful eye on account of the separation of her master, until they arrived at Damascus. He begged permission to present himself to the Prince of the Faithful, who gave him permission, and he went in to him, and acquainted him with the affair of the damsel; whereupon the Khalifeh appropriated to her exclusively a private apartment.

The Khalifeh then went into his Harim, and, seeing his wife, he said to her, El-Hajjaj hath purchased for me a slavegirl from among the daughters of the Kings of El-Kufeh, for ten thousand pieces of gold, and hath sent to me this letter, and her with the letter. His wife replied, May God increase to thee his bounty! And after this, the sister of the Khalifeh went in to the damsel; and when she beheld her, she said, By Allah, he is not disappointed in whose abode thou art, were thy price a hundred thousand pieces of gold! And the damsel No'm said to her, O lovely-faced, to whom among the Kings belongeth this palace, and what city is this? She answered her, This is the city of Damascus,

and this is the palace of my brother, the Prince of the Faithful, 'Abd-El-Melik the son of Marwan. Then she said to the damsel, It seemeth that thou knewest not this.By Allah, O my mistress, replied No'm, I had no knowledge of it. The sister of the Khalifeh said, And did not he who sold thee and took thy price inform thee that the Khalifeh had bought thee? And when the damsel heard these words, her tears flowed, and she lamented, and said within herself, The stratagem hath been accomplished against me. Then she said within herself, If I speak, no one will believe me: so I will be silent and be patient; for I know that the relief of God is near at hand. And she hung down her head in bashfulness, and her cheeks were reddened by her late travelling and by the sun. The sister of the Khalifeh left her that day, and came to her on the following day with linen and with necklaces of jewels, and attired her.

After this, the Prince of the Faithful came in to her, and seated himself by her side, and his sister said to him, Look at this damsel in whom God hath united every charm of beauty and loveliness. So the Khalifeh said to Noʻm, Remove the veil from thy face. But she removed it not, and he saw not her face. He beheld, however, her wrists, and love for her penetrated into his heart, and he said to his sister, I will not visit her again until after three days, that she may in the mean time be cheered by thy conversation. He then arose and went forth from her. And the damsel remained reflecting upon her case, and sighing for her separation from her master Ni'meh. And when the next night came, she fell sick of a fever, and ate not nor drank, and her countenance and her charms became changed. So they acquainted the Khalifeh with this, and her case distressed him, and he brought in to her the physicians and men of penetration; but no one could discover a remedy for her.

Meanwhile, her master Ni'meh came to his house, and, seating himself upon his bed, called out, O Noʻm! But she answered him not. So he arose quickly, and called out again; but no one came in to him; for every female slave in the house hid herself, in her fear of him. He therefore went to his mother, and found her sitting with her hand

upon her cheek; and he said to her, O my mother, where is No'm?-O my son, she answered, with one who is more trustworthy than myself respecting her; namely, the just old woman; for she went forth with her to visit the poor devotees, and to return.-And when, said he, was she accustomed to do this? And at what hour did she go forth? She answered, She went forth early in the morning. -And how didst thou give her permission to do so? he asked. O my son, she answered, it was she who persuaded me to it. And Ni'meh exclaimed, There is no strength nor power but in God, the High, the Great! He then went forth from his house, in a state of distraction, and, repairing to the chief of the police, said to him, Dost thou employ stratagems against me, and take my slave-girl from my house? I will assuredly journey and complain against thee to the Prince of the Faithful.-So the chief of the police said, And who took her? He answered, An old woman, of such and such a description, clad in garments of wool, and having in her hand a rosary, the beads of which were thousands in number. And the chief of the police replied, Acquaint me with the old woman, and I will deliver to thee thy slavegirl. And who knoweth the old woman? said Ni‘meh.— And who, said the chief of the police, knoweth what is hidden from the senses, except God, whose perfection be extolled, and whose name be exalted? But he knew that she was an artful woman employed by El-Hajjaj. Ni'meh then said to him, I look for my slave-girl from none but thee, and El-Hajjaj shall decide between me and thee. And he replied, Go unto whom thou wilt.

So Ni'meh went to the palace of El-Hajjaj. His father was one of the chief people of El-Kufeh: therefore when he arrived at the residence of El-Hajjaj, the chamberlain went in and informed him of the case, and El-Hajjaj said, Bring him in unto me. And when he stood before him, El-Hajjaj said to him, What is thy business? Ni'meh answered him, Such and such things have happened unto me. And El-Hajjaj said, Bring ye to me the chief of the police, and we will order him to search for the old woman. Accordingly, when the chief of the police came, he said to him, I desire of thee that thou search for the slave-girl of