From the most humble friend to the most excellent object of affection. And he opened the paper, and saw written in it as follows:

The messenger came from thee to give me hopes of union; but I rather imagined that he had misconceived:

I rejoiced not, therefore; but my grief increased, through my knowledge that my messenger had not rightly understood.

To proceed :-Know, O my master, that I am unacquainted with the cause of the interruption of the correspondence between me and thee; but if cruelty have originated from thee, I will requite it with fidelity; and if affection have departed from thee, I will preserve affection during estrangement; for I will act towards thee as saith the poet :

Be haughty: I will endure :-and tyrannize: I will be patient : -and be difficult: I will be abject :-and depart: I will approach :-and say: I will hear :-and command: I will obey. And when he had read it, lo, the slave-girl approached, looking to the right and left, and saw the paper in his hand; so she said to him, O my master, verily this paper dropped from me. But he returned her not an answer, walking on and the slave-girl followed him until he approached his house; and he entered, and the slave-girl behind him. She then said to him, O my master, return to me this paper; for it dropped from me. And he looked at her, and said, O slave-girl, fear not, nor be grieved, but tell me the story with truth; for I am a concealer of secrets; and I conjure thee by an oath that thou hide from me nothing of the affair of thy mistress: perhaps God may assist me to accomplish her desires, and make easy by my means things that now are difficult. And when the slavegirl heard his words, she replied, O my master, a secret will not be lost when thou art its depositary, nor will an affair be unsuccessful when thou strivest to accomplish it. Know that my heart hath inclined to thee, and I will acquaint thee with the truth of the affair, and do thou give me the letter.-She then told him the whole story, and added, God is witness of the truth of what I say. He replied, Thou hast spoken truth; for I am acquainted with the foundation of the story. And he proceeded to relate

to her the case of 'Ali the son of Bekkar, and how he had become acquainted with the state of his mind, telling her the story from first to last. And when she had heard this, she rejoiced; and they agreed together that she should take the paper and give it to 'Ali the son of Bekkar, and of all that should happen she should return and inform him. So he gave her the paper, and she took it and sealed it as it was before, saying, My mistress Shems-en-Nahar gave it to me sealed; and when he hath read it and given me an answer, I will bring it to thee.

The slave-girl then bade him farewell, and repaired to 'Ali the son of Bekkar, whom she found expecting her coming; and she gave him the paper and he read it, and then wrote for her an answer, and gave it to her. She therefore took it, and returned with it to the jeweller, according to the agreement; and he broke open its seal, and read it, and saw written in it,—

Verily the messenger by whom our correspondence was kept concealed hath failed, having conceived displeasure:

Choose for me, therefore, a faithful messenger from among you, who approveth truth, and approveth not falsehood.

To proceed :-Verily cruelty hath not originated from me, nor have I abandoned fidelity, nor have I broken a covenant, nor have I cut short affection, nor have I ceased from grief, nor have I found after separation aught but destruction, nor have I had any knowledge of that which ye have mentioned, nor do I love anything but what ye love: by Him who knoweth every secret and hidden action, my wish is only for union with the person whom I love; and my business, the concealment of the desire that I suffer, though disease afflict me in consequence. This is the exposition of my state and peace be on you.

When the jeweller read this paper, and knew its contents, he wept violently. The slave-girl then said to him, Go not forth from this place until I return to thee; for he hath made an accusation against me; but he is excused; and I desire to effect an interview between thee and my mistress Shems-en-Nahar, by whatever stratagem it may be accomplished. I left her prostrate, waiting for my bringing

her the answer. Then the slave-girl repaired to her mistress, and the jeweller passed the night troubled in heart; and when the morning came, he performed the prayers of that period, and sat expecting her arrival; and lo, she approached, and with joy came in to him, and he said to her, What is the news, O slave-girl? She answered, I went from thee to my mistress, and gave to her the paper which 'Ali the son of Bekkar wrote; and when she had read it and understood its meaning, her mind was perplexed; so I said to her, O my mistress, fear not the frustration of the affair between you in consequence of the absence of Abu-l-Hasan ; for I have found one who will take his place, and who is better than he, and of higher rank, and one who will keep secrets. And I related to her what had passed between thee and Abu-l-Hasan, and how thou obtainedst his confidence and that of 'Ali the son of Bekkar, and how that note dropped from me and thou foundest it, and I acquainted her with the determination made between me and thee. And the jeweller wondered extremely. She then said to him, She desireth to hear thy words, that she may be confirmed by them in her belief of the covenants made between thee and him: make up thy mind, then, immediately to repair with me to her. But when the jeweller heard these words of the slave-girl, he considered that the visiting her was a momentous affair, and of great peril, not to be undertaken, nor suddenly attempted: so he replied, O my sister, I am of the sons of the common class, and not like Abu-l-Hasan; for Abu-l-Hasan was of high rank, of known reputation, in the habit of frequenting the palace of the Khalifeh because its inmates required his merchandise; but as for me, Abu-l-Hasan used to converse with me and I trembled before him. If thy mistress, therefore, desireth my conversation with her, it will be requisite that it be in some other place than the palace of the Khalifeh, distant from the abode of the Prince of the Faithful; for my heart will not consent to that which thou proposest. So he refused to go with her. She proceeded to tell him that she would be surety for his safety, and said to him, Be not apprehensive nor fearful. But while they were thus talking, lo, his legs shook, and his hands trembled; and the

slave-girl therefore said to him, If it will be painful to thee to go to the palace of the Khalifeh, and thou canst not accompany me, I will persuade her to come to thee: therefore move not from thy place until I return to thee with her. She then departed; but soon returned to the jeweller, and said to him, Take care lest there be with thee a slave-girl or man-servant. He replied, There is no one with me but a black female slave advanced in age, who serveth me. And the slave-girl arose, and closed the doors between the jeweller's female slave and himself, and sent his young men

out from the house.

After this, the slave-girl went forth, and returned with a damsel behind her, and the latter entered the jeweller's abode with her, imparting a sweet odour to the house; and when the jeweller saw her, he rose and stood up, and placed a cushion for her, and seated himself before her. She remained a while without speaking, until she had rested herself, when she uncovered her face, and it appeared to the jeweller as though the sun had risen in his abode. She then said to her slave-girl, Is this the man of whom thou spakest to me? The slave-girl answered, Yes. And she looked towards the jeweller, and said to him, How art thou? He answered, In prosperity:-and prayed for her. And she said to him, Thou hast induced us to come to thee, and to acquaint thee with our secret. And she asked him respecting his family and his children; and he acquainted her with all his circumstances, and said to her, I have a house beside this, which I have devoted to the purpose of assembling there with my friends and brethren, and I have in it nothing but what I have mentioned to thy slave-girl. After this, she asked him how he had become acquainted with the foundation of the story; and he informed her of the particulars which she demanded, from the first of the affair to the last whereupon she sighed for the separation of Abu-l-Hasan, and said, O such a one, know that the souls of mankind accord in their desires, and persons stand in need, one of another; an action is not accomplished without words; nor a wish, without exertion; nor doth ease come unless after fatigue; nor doth success ensue but through the means of the generous. And now I have

acquainted thee with our affair, and it is in thy power to expose or protect us; but thy generous disposition requireth nothing to be added; for thou already knowest that this my slave-girl concealeth my secret, and on that account occupieth a high place with me; and I have chosen her for the transaction of my affairs. Let none, then, be more worthy in thy sight than she, and do thou acquaint her with thy proceedings; and be of good heart for thou art secure from what thou fearest on our account, and no place shall be closed from thee but she shall open it unto thee, and she shall convey to thee my messages for 'Ali the son of Bekkar, and thou shalt be the intermediary in the transmittal of communications between me and him.

Shems-en-Nahar then arose, scarcely able to do so, and departed, and the jeweller walked before her until she arrived at the gate of the palace, after which he returned, and sat in his place, having beheld, of her beauty, what astonished him, and heard, of her words, what confounded his reason, and witnessed, of her elegance and politeness, what amazed him. He remained reflecting upon her endowments until his mind became tranquillized; when he demanded food, and ate as much as would stay his spirit. He then changed his clothes, and went forth from his house, and repaired to 'Ali the son of Bekkar, whose servants came and met him, and walked before him until they introduced him to their master, and he found him laid upon his bed; and when he beheld the jeweller, he said to him, Thou hast been tardy in coming to me, and increased my anxiety. Having thus said, he dismissed his servants, and gave orders to shut his doors, and said to the jeweller, I have not closed my eye since thou quittedst me; for the slave-girl came to me yesterday, bringing a sealed letter from her mistress Shems-en-Nahar.-And he proceeded to relate to him all that had passed between him and her; after which he said, I have become perplexed in my affair, and my patience hath failed; for Abu-l-Hasan was a cheering companion unto me, as he knew the slave-girl. And when the jeweller heard his words, he laughed: so 'Ali the son of Bekkar said to him, Wherefore dost thou laugh at my words, when I have augured well of thy coming, and