astonished at the rarities which they beheld. And while they were amusing themselves with the sight of these extraordinary objects, lo, ten female slaves approached with a graceful and conceited gait, resembling moons, dazzling the sight, and confounding the imagination. They stood in ranks, looking like the black-eyed damsels of Paradise; and after them came ten other female slaves, with lutes in their hands, and other instruments of diversion and mirth; and they saluted the two guests, and played upon the lutes, and sang verses; and every one of them was a temptation to the servants of God. After these, came ten more female slaves, like them, high-bosomed and of equal age, with black eyes, and red cheeks, with joined eyebrows, and languishing looks, a temptation to God's servants, and a delight to beholders; and they were clad in various kinds of coloured silks, such as astonished the mind. They stationed themselves at the door; and after them came ten female slaves more beautiful than they, attired in magnificent apparel; and these, also, stationed themselves at the door. At last there came forth from the door twenty female slaves, and among them was one named Shems-en-Nahar, like the moon among the stars. She was encircled by the exuberant locks of her hair, disposed like necklaces upon her; and wore blue trousers, and an izar of silk embroidered with gold, and round her waist was a girdle adorned with a variety of jewels. She continued advancing with a dignified gait until she seated herself upon the couch; and when ‘Ali the son of Bekkar beheld her, he recited these verses :— Verily this is she who is the source of my malady, and of the protraction of my transport, and prolonging of my passion! In her presence I find that my soul hath melted, through my eager. ness for her, and the wasting of my bones. He then said to Abu-l-Hasan, Hadst thou acted well towards me, thou hadst informed me of these things before I came in hither, in order that I might have applied my mind to consider the case, and fortified it by patience to endure the affliction that hath befallen it. And he wept and groaned and lamented. So Abu-l-Hasan said to him, O my brother, I desired nothing for thee but good; but I feared to acquaint thee with this, lest such transport should affect thee as would prevent thy meeting her, and would interpose an obstacle between thee and thy union with her. Be cheerful, then, and happy; for she offereth thee good fortune, and receiveth thee with favour.-And 'Ali the son of Bekkar said, What is the name of this damsel? Abu-l-Hasan answered, She is named Shems-en-Nahar, and is one of the concubines of the Prince of the Faithful, Harun Er-Rashid, and this place is the palace of the Khalifeh. Then Shems-en-Nahar sat contemplating the charms of 'Ali the son of Bekkar, and he gazed at her beauty, and they were engrossed with mutual love; and she ordered the female slaves to seat themselves, each of them in her proper place, upon a couch: so each sat before a window; and she commanded them to sing; whereupon one of them took her lute, and sang thus : Repeat the message a second time, and receive the answer aloud. I will pay it thee back (may thy life be prolonged !) exactly as I And if thou desire an addition, receive it, and be content. O thou who clothest me with the garment of sickness, may the garment of health delight thee! She there And 'Ali the son of Bekkar was charmed, and said to her, Sing to me some more verses of the same kind. fore touched the strings, and sang these lines :— By excessive distance, O my beloved, thou hast caused mine eyelids long to weep. O delight of mine eye, and its desire, and goal of my utmost wishes and my worship! Have pity upon him whose eye is drowned in the tears of the distracted and sorrowful lover! Shems-en-Nahar then ordered another slave-girl to sing; and after her, another and 'Ali the son of Bekkar next desired one who was near him to do the same; and when she had finished her song, he sighed, and shed abundant tears; and Shems-en-Nahar, seeing him weeping and groaning and lamenting, burned with transport and passion, and was consumed by excessive love and distraction. So she rose from the couch, and advanced to the door of the chamber; and 'Ali the son of Bekkar rose also, and met her; and they embraced each other, and fell down fainting at the door. The female slaves, therefore, came to them, and, lifting them up, brought them back into the chamber, and sprinkled upon them some rose-water; and when they recovered, they found not Abu-l-Hasan; for he had hidden himself by the side of a couch and the damsel said, Where is Abu-l-Hasan? So he came forth to her from the side of the couch; and she saluted him, and said, I beg of God that He will enable me to recompense thee, O thou of kind conduct! Then addressing 'Ali the son of Bekkar, she said, O my master, thy love hath not become extreme without my experiencing the like; and we have no resource but to bear with patience that which hath befallen us.—By Allah, O my mistress, replied 'Ali the son of Bekkar, my union with thee will not content me, nor will the flame that I feel for thee be extinguished, nor the love for thee that hath taken possession of my heart quit me, until my soul departeth! Having said this, he wept, and his tears descended upon his cheek like rain; and when Shems-en-Nahar beheld him thus weeping, she wept with him; whereupon Abu-l-Hasan said, By Allah, I am in wonder at your case, and am perplexed by your condition; for your state is wonderful, and your case is extraordinary! If ye weep thus when ye are together, how will it be after ye are separated! This is not a time for lamentation and weeping, but a time for joy and gladness. So Shems-en-Nahar made a sign to a female slave, who arose and returned with some maids carrying a table, the dishes of which were of silver, containing a variety of viands. The slave-girl then placed the table before them; and Shemsen-Nahar began to eat, and to feed 'Ali the son of Bekkar, until they were satisfied, when the table was removed, and they washed their hands, and the perfuming-vessels were brought with various kinds of aloes-wood, and the sprinklingbottles with rose-water, and they were perfumed and scented; after which, vessels of graven gold were presented to them, containing varieties of drinks, and fresh and dried fruits, such as the appetite desired, and such as delighted the eyes; and next, a slave-girl brought them a basin of carnelian full of wine. Shems-en-Nahar then chose ten maids, whom she stationed by them, and ten female slaves from among the singing-girls, and, having dismissed all the rest of the slave-girls to their apartments, ordered some of those who remained present to play upon the lute; and they did as she commanded them. One of them sang; and when she had finished her song, Shems-en-Nahar filled a cup, and drank it, and then filled it again and gave it to 'Ali the son of Bekkar, and ordered another slave-girl to sing; after which, 'Ali the son of Bekkar drank his cup, and returned it to Shems-en-Nahar, who filled it, and handed it to Abu-l-Hasan. She then took a lute, and said, No one shall sing over my cup but myself:-and, having tightened the strings, she sang these verses: The tears fall confusedly upon his cheeks, through transport; the fire of love flaming in his breast. He weepeth when united, fearing their separation; his tears flowing when they are near, and when distant. She then sang the following words of the poet : Our life be thy ransom, O cup-bearer, whom beauty hath clad from the bright parting of thy hair unto thy feet! The sun beameth from thy hands, and from thy mouth shine the Pleiades, and the full moon riseth from the upper border of thy vest. Verily thy cups which have rendered us intoxicated are those which are distributed around by thine eyes. Is it not wonderful that thou art a full moon, when waning is experienced not by thee, but by thy lovers? Art thou a deity, that thou killest and reanimatest, by receiving whom thou wilt, and withdrawing from others? From the model of thy form hath God originated beauty, and the fragrance of the zephyr from thy disposition. Thou art not of this order of created beings; but thou art an angel sent by thy Maker. When 'Ali the son of Bekkar, and Abu-l-Hasan, and the rest of those who were present, heard these verses sung by Shems-en-Nahar, they almost flew with delight, and they sported and laughed; but while they were thus enjoying themselves, lo, a female slave came, trembling with fear, and said, O my mistress, the Prince of the Faithful hath come, and he is at the door, with 'Afif and Mesrur and others. And when they heard her words, they nearly died with fright; but Shems-en-Nahar laughed, and said, Fear not. And she said to the female slave, Return them an answer while we remove from this place. She then gave orders to shut the doors of the apartment, and to let down the curtains over them, while they remained in it, and she closed the door of the adjoining saloon, and then went forth into the garden, and, seating herself upon her couch, ordered a slave-girl to rub her feet, commanding the rest of the female slaves to go to their apartments, and desiring the girl who remained with her to leave the gate open, that the Khalifeh might enter. And Mesrur came in, and those who were with him, twenty in number, with swords in their hands; and they saluted Shems-en-Nahar, and she said to them, Wherefore have ye come? They answered, The Prince of the Faithful saluteth thee: he hath become cheerless through desire of seeing thee, and informeth thee that he hath experienced this day unusual joy and happiness, and wisheth now to complete it by thy presence. Wilt thou, then, come to him, or shall he come to thee ?-And she rose, and, kissing the ground, replied, I hear and obey the commands of the Prince of the Faithful. She then gave orders to bring her chief female attendants and the other slaves, and they came in, and she intimated to them that she was going to comply with the commands of the Khalifeh. The place was completely prepared; but she said to the eunuchs, Go to the Prince of the Faithful, and inform him that I shall soon be waiting for him, when I shall have prepared the place for him with the carpets and other things. So the eunuchs repaired quickly to the Prince of the Faithful, and Shems-en-Nahar arose and went to her beloved 'Ali the son of Bekkar, and pressed him to her bosom, and took leave of him. And he wept violently, and said, O my mistress, prolong to me this leave-taking: perhaps it may help to hasten the termination of my life through my love of thee: but I beg of God that He will bestow upon me patience to endure the passion with which He hath afflicted me.-By Allah, replied Shems-en-Nahar, none will fall into a state of dissolution but myself; for thou wilt go forth into the market-street, and wilt enjoy the company of such as will amuse thee, and thou wilt be preserved from |