approached them; and looking attentively at it, they saw in it two hundred memluks, different from those of the preceding night, and the bearers of the cressets proclaiming as usual. And the Khalifeh said, O Wezir, this is such a thing that if I heard of it I could not believe it; but I have beheld it with my eyes. He then said to the owner of the boat in which they were sitting, Take, O sheykh, these ten pieces of gold, and convey us towards them; for they are in the light, and we are in the dark; so we shall see them, and amuse ourselves by observing them, and they will not see us. The sheykh therefore took the ten pieces of gold, and, steering his boat towards them, proceeded in the gloom that surrounded the bark of the False Khalifeh, until they arrived at the gardens, where they beheld a walled enclosure. At this enclosure the bark of the False Khalifeh anchored; and, lo, young men were standing there, with a mule saddled and bridled; and the False Khalifeh, having landed, mounted the mule, and proceeded in the midst of the boon-companions; the cresset-bearers vociferating, and the household-attendants busying themselves in performing their several services for the False Khalifeh.

Harun Er-Rashid then landed, together with Ja'far and Mesrur, and they made their way through the midst of the memluks, and walked on before them. But the cressetbearers, looking towards them, and beholding three persons whose dress was that of the merchants, and who appeared to be strangers, were displeased with them, and they made a sign, and caused them to be brought before the False Khalifeh, who, when he saw them, said to them, How came ye to this place, and what brought you at this time? So they answered, O our lord, we are a party of foreign merchants: we arrived this day, and came forth to-night to walk, and, lo, ye approached, and these persons came and laid hold upon us, and placed us before thee. This is our story.-And the False Khalifeh replied, No harm shall befall you, as ye are strangers; but had ye been of Baghdad, I had struck off your heads. Then looking towards his Wezir, he said to him, Take these persons with thee; for they are our guests this night. And the Wezir replied, I hear and obey, Ŏ our lord. After this, the False Khalifeh proceeded, and they

VOL. II.

T

with him, until they arrived at a lofty and grand palace, strongly constructed, such as no Sultan hath possessed, rising from the dust, and reaching to the skirts of the clouds. Its door was of saj,* adorned with brilliant gold; and through this door one passed into a saloon with a fountain and a slightly-elevated platform, and carpets, and cushions covered with brocade, and small pillows, and long mattresses; in it a curtain was hung; and there was furniture that astonished the minds of the spectators, and that one would fail to describe; and upon the door were inscribed these two

verses :

This palace-on which be blessing and peace !-fortune hath invested with its loveliness:

In it are varieties of wonders and rarities, so that the penmen are perplexed in describing it.

The False Khalifeh, having entered, together with the company, proceeded and seated himself upon a throne of jewelled gold, upon which was a prayer-carpet of yellow silk; and when the boon-companions had taken their seats, and the executioner had stationed himself before his master, the servants spread the table, and the party ate. The dishes were then removed, and the hands were washed, and the attendants brought the wine-service. The bottles and the cups were arranged, and the wine circulated until it came to the Khalifeh Harun Er-Rashid; but he refused to drink; whereupon the False Khalifeh said to Ja'far, Wherefore doth not thy companion drink?—O my lord, answered the Wezir, for a long time he hath not drunk of this beverage. The False Khalifeh therefore said, I have another beverage, suitable to thy companion, and it is a kind of cider. And he gave orders to bring it. So they brought it immediately; and the False Khalifeh, advancing towards Harun Er-Rashid, and standing before him, said to him, Whenever the turn cometh round to thee, drink of this beverage. They then continued merrily taking the cups of wine, until it rose into their heads and overpowered their reason; when the Khalifeh Harun Er-Rashid said to his Wezir, O Ja'far, by Allah, we have not vessels like these. Would, then, that I knew the

* Teak.

history of this young man!-But while they were talking together privately, the young man cast a glance towards them, and found the Wezir whispering to the Khalifeh : so he said, Whispering is an act of rudeness. The Wezir therefore replied, No rudeness is committed here: but this my companion saith, Verily I have travelled into most countries, and caroused with the greatest of Kings, and associated with the warriors, yet I have not witnessed an entertainment better conducted than this, nor experienced a more joyous night than the present; save that the people of Baghdad say, Drink without music sometimes occasioneth the headache.

And when the False Khalifeh heard these words, he smiled, and became cheerful. He had in his hand a rod, and he struck a round cushion 57 with it; whereupon a door opened, and there came forth from it a eunuch bearing a throne of ivory inlaid with brilliant gold, and followed by a damsel of surpassing beauty and loveliness and elegance and consummate grace. The eunuch placed the throne, and the damsel seated herself upon it, resembling the sun shining forth in the clear sky. In her hand was a lute of Indian manufacture, and she placed it in her lap, and, leaning over it as the mother leaneth over her child, sang to it. But first, with emotion, she played over four and twenty airs, so that she astonished the minds of her hearers. Then returning to her first air, with exhilarating modulations she sang these

verses :

The tongue of love in my heart addresseth thee, informing thee that I am enamoured of thee;

And I have evidence in the burning of a tortured heart, and a wounded eye, and incessant tears.

I knew not love until I loved thee; but God's decree overtaketh his creatures.

And when the False Khalifeh heard these verses sung by the damsel, he uttered a great cry, and rent the dress that was upon him to the skirt; whereupon a curtain was let down over him, and the attendants brought him another dress, more handsome than the former one, and he put it on.

He then sat as before; and when the cup came to him, he again struck the rod upon the round cushion; and, lo, a

door opened, and there came forth from it a eunuch bearing a throne of gold, and behind him was a damsel more beautiful than the first damsel. And she seated herself upon the throne, having in her hand a lute that would sadden the heart of the envious; and she sang to it these two verses :

How can I be patient, with the fire of love in my heart, and the
tears ever pouring in a flood from my eye?

By Allah, life hath no sweetness to rejoice me.
heart filled with grief be happy?

And how can a

And the young man, on hearing these verses, again uttered a great cry, and tore the clothes that were upon him to the skirt; and the curtain was let down over him, and they brought him another suit, which he put on.

Then composing himself upon his seat, he resumed his former state, entering cheerfully into conversation; and when the cup came to him, he struck the round cushion, and there came forth a eunuch followed by a damsel handsomer than the one who had just preceded her. The eunuch had with him a throne, and the damsel seated herself upon it, with a lute in her hand, and sang to it these verses :

Cease from your abandonment, and abate your cruelty; for my heart, by your existence, hath not relinquished you!

Have mercy on a disordered, sad, mourning, lover, full of desire, and enslaved by his passion for you!

Sickness hath wasted him, through the excess of his ecstasy, and he hath supplicated the Deity for thine approval.

O full moon, whose place is in my heart! how can I prefer any mortal to you?

And again, when the young man heard these verses, he uttered a great cry, rending the clothes that were upon him, and they let down the curtain over him, and brought him other clothes.

After this, he resumed his former state with his booncompanions, and the cups circulated; and when the cup came to him, he struck the round cushion as before; whereupon the door opened, and a page came forth from it with a throne, and behind him was a damsel. He set the throne for her, and she seated herself upon it, and, taking the lute, tuned it, and thus sang to it :

When will disjunction and hatred cease, and the pleasures that

have passed return unto me?

Yesterday we were united in the same abode, in happy converse,

and saw the enviers heedless;

But fortune hath betrayed us and disunited us, having left our residence like the desert.

I

Wouldst thou have me relinquish the beloved, O my censurer?
find my heart will not comply with the censurer's wish.
Cease then to blame me, and leave me in my passion; for my mind
hath not been void of cheering thoughts of the beloved.
O my lord, who hast been faithless and changing, think not that
my heart on account of thine estrangement hath relinquished
thee.

And the False Khalifeh, when he had heard the damsel's song, again uttered a great cry, tore the clothes that were upon him, and fell down in a fit; upon which the attendants would have let fall the curtain over him as usual; but its cords were immoveable; and Harun Er-Rashid, looking towards the young man, beheld upon his body the marks of beating with mikra'ahs. So after he had looked, and certified himself of the fact, he said to his Wezir, O Ja'far, by Allah, he is a comely young man, but an abominable thief. -How, said Ja'far, hast thou discovered that, O Prince of the Faithful? The Khalifeh rejoined, Didst thou not see upon his sides the scars occasioned by whips?

Then the attendants let down the curtain over their master, and brought him another suit of clothing; and after he had put it on, he composed himself on his seat as at first, with his boon-companions; but looking towards the Khalifeh and Ja'far, he saw them conversing together privately; whereupon he said to them, What is the news, O ye two young men? So Ja'far answered, O our Lord, good news; save that it is a fact not concealed from thee that this my companion is of the merchants, and he hath journeyed to all the great cities and the regions of the earth, and hath associated with the Kings and with the best of men, and he saith to me, Verily that which hath been done by our lord the Khalifeh this night is excessive extravagance, and I have not seen any one do as he hath done in all the countries of the earth; for he hath rent such and such suits of apparel; each suit, of the value of a thousand pieces of gold; and this is exceeding extravagance.-But the False