第100章 ALAEDDIN ABOU ESH SHAMAT.(10)

When the old merchant heard this，he said，He whom thou seekest is my son-in-law and I will show thee his house.' Now Alaeddin was sitting in great concern，when one knocked at the door，and he said，O Zubeideh，God is all-knowing！Thy father hath surely sent me an officer from the Cadi or the Chief of the Police.' Go down，'said she，and see what it is.' So he went down and opening the door，found his father-in-law，with an Abyssinian slave，dusky-hued and pleasant of favour，riding on a mule. When the slave saw him，he alighted and kissed his hands： and Alaeddin said，What dost thou want？Quoth he，I am the slave of my load Alaeddin Abou esh Shamat，son of Shemseddin，Provost of the merchants of Cairo，who has sent me to him with this charge.'

Then he gave him the letter and Alaeddin，opening it，read what follows：

Harkye，my letter，when my beloved sees thee，Kiss thou the earth before him and his shoes.

Look thou go softly and hasten not nor hurry，For in his hands are my life and my repose.

Then after the usual salutations from Shemseddin to his son，the letter proceeded thus： Know，O my son，that news hath reached me of the slaughter of thy men and the plunder of thy baggage；so I send thee herewith fifty loads of Egyptian stuffs，together with a suit of clothes and a cloak of sables and an ewer and basin of gold. Fear no evil and be not anywise troubled，for，O my son，the goods thou hast lost were the ransom of thy life. Thy mother and the people of the house are well and in good case and send thee many greetings. Moreover，O my son，I hear that they have married thee，by way of intermediation，to the lady Zubeideh the Lutanist and have imposed on thee a dowry of ten thousand dinars；

wherefore I send thee also fifty thousand dinars by thy slave Selim，the bearer of these presents，whereout thou mayest pay the dowry and provide thyself with the rest.' When Alaeddin had made an end of reading the letter，he took possession of the goods and turning to the old merchant，said to him，O my father-in-law，take the ten thousand dinars，thy daughters dowry，and take also the loads of goods and dispose of them，and thine be the profit；

only return me the cost-price.' Nay，by Allah，'answered he，I will take nothing；and as for thy wifes dowry，do thou settle it with her.' Then they went in to Zubeideh，after the goods had been brought in，and she said to her father，O my father，whose goods are these？They belong to thy husband Alaeddin，'answered he；his father hath sent them to him in place of those of which the Bedouins spoiled him. Moreover，he hath sent him fifty thousand dinars and a parcel of clothes and a cloak of sables and a riding mule and an ewer and basin of gold. As for the dower，that is thine affair.' Thereupon Alaeddin rose and opening the chest [of money] gave her her dowry. Then said the ladys cousin，O my uncle，let him divorce to me my wife；but the old man replied，This may never be now，for the marriage-tie is in his hand.' With this the young man went out，sore afflicted，and returning home，fell sick，for he had received his death-blow；so he took to his bed and presently died. But as for Alaeddin，he went to the market and buying what victual he needed，made a banquet as usual against the night，saying to Zubeideh，See these lying dervishes；they promised us and broke their promise.'

Quoth she，Thou art the son of a Provost of the merchants yet did thy hand lack of a para；how then should it be with poor dervishes？God the Most High hath enabled us to do without them，'answered Alaeddin；but never again will I open the door to them.' Why so，'asked she，seeing that their coming brought us good luck，and moreover，they put a hundred dinars under the prayer-carpet for us every night？So needs must thou open to them，if they come.' So when the day departed with its light and the night came，they lighted the candles and he said to her，Come，Zubeideh，make us music.' At this moment some one knocked at the door，and she said，Go and see who is at the door.' So he went down and opened it and seeing the dervishes，said，Welcome to the liars！Come up.' Accordingly，they went up with him，and he made them sit down and brought them the tray of food. So they ate and drank and made merry and presently said to him，O my lord，our hearts have been troubled for thee： what hath passed between thee and thy father-in-law？God hath compensated us beyond our desire，'answered he. By Allah，'rejoined they，we were in fear for thee and nought kept us from thee but our lack of money.' Quoth he，My Lord hath vouchsafed me speedy relief；

for my father hath sent me fifty thousand dinars and fifty loads of stuffs，each worth a thousand dinars，besides an Abyssinian slave and a riding mule and a suit of clothes and a basin and an ewer of gold. Moreover，I have made my peace with my father-in-law and my wife is confirmed to me；so praised be God for this！'

Presently the Khalif rose to do an occasion；whereupon Jaafer turned to Alaeddin and said to him，Look to thy manners，for thou art in the presence of the Commander of the Faithful.' How have I failed in good breeding before the Commander of the Faithful，'asked he，and which of you is he？Quoth Jaafer，He who went out but now is the Commander of the Faithful and I am the Vizier Jaafer： this is Mesrour the headsman，and this other is Abou Nuwas ben Hani. And now，O Alaeddin，use thy reason and bethink thee how many days journey it is from Cairo hither.'

Five-and-forty days journey，'answered he，and Jaafer rejoined，Thy baggage was stolen but ten days ago；so how could the news have reached thy father，and how could he pack thee up other goods and send them to thee five-and-forty days journey in ten days time？O my lord，'said Alaeddin，and whence then came they？From the Commander of the Faithful，'replied Jaafer，of his much affection for thee.' As he spoke，the Khalif entered and Alaeddin，rising，kissed the ground before him and said，God keep thee，O Commander of the Faithful，and give thee long life，so the folk may not lack thy bounty and beneficence！'