第22章 STORY OF ALI BEN BEKKAR AND SHEMSENNEHAR.(2)
and he wept and groaned and complained. O my brother，'replied Aboulhusn，I meant thee nought but good；but I feared to tell thee of this，lest such transport should overcome thee as might hinder thee from foregathering with her and intervene between thee and her： but take courage and be of good heart，for she is well disposed to thee and inclineth to favour thee.'What is the ladys name？asked Ali ben Bekkar. She is called Shemsennehar，
answered Aboulhusn she is one of the favourites of the Commander of the Faithful Haroun er Reshid and this is the palace of the Khalifate.'Then Shemsennehar sat gazing upon Ali ben Bekkars charms and he upon hers，till each was engrossed with love of the other. Presently，she commanded the damsels to sit；so they sat down，each in her place，on a couch before one of the windows，and she bade them sing；whereupon one of them took a lute and sang the following verses：
Twice be the message to my love made known，And take the answer from his lips alone.
To thee，O monarch of the fair，I come And stand，of this my case to make my moan.
O thou my sovereign，dear my heart and life，That in my inmost bosom hast thy throne，Prithee，bestow a kiss upon thy slave；If not as gift，then even as a loan.
I will repay it，（mayst thou never fail！） Even as I took it，not a little gone.
Or，if thou wish for more than thou didst lend，Take and content thee；it is all thine own.
May healths fair garment ever gladden thee，Thee that oer me the wede of woe hast thrown！
Her singing charmed Ali ben Bekkar，and he said to her，Sing me more of the like of these verses.'So she struck the strings and sang as follows：
By excess of estrangement，beloved mine，Thou hast taught long weeping unto my eyne.
O joy of my sight and its desire，O goal of my hopes，my worships shrine，Have pity on one，whose eyes are drowned In the sorrowful lovers tears of brine！
When she had finished，Shemsennehar said to another damsel，Sing us somewhat，thou.'So she played a lively measure and sang the following verses：
His looks twas made me drunken，in sooth，and not his wine；And the grace of his gait has banished sleep from these eyes of mine.
Twas not the wine-cup dazed me，but een his glossy curls；His charms it was that raised me and not the juice o the vine.
His winding browlocks have routed my patience，and my wit Is done away by the beauties his garments do enshrine.[5]
When Shemsennehar heard this，she sighed heavily，and the song pleased her. Then she bade another damsel sing；so she took the lute and chanted the following：
A face that vies，indeed，with heavens lamp，the sun；The welling of youths springs upon him scarce begun.
His curling whiskers write letters wherein the sense Of love in the extreme is writ for every one.
Beauty proclaimed of him，whenas with him it met，'A stuff in Gods best loom was fashioned forth and done！'
When she had finished，Ali Ben Bekkar. said to the damsel nearest him，Sing us somewhat，thou.'So she took the lute and sang these verses：
The time of unions all too slight For coquetry and prudish flight.
Not thus the noble are. How long This deadly distance and despite？
Ah，profit by the auspicious time，To sip the sweets of love-delight.
Ali ben Bekkar followed up her song with plentiful tears；and when Shemsennehar saw him weeping and groaning and lamenting，she burned with love-longing and desire and passion and transport consumed her. So she rose from the couch and came to the door of the alcove，where Ali met her and they embraced and fell down a-swoon in the doorway；whereupon the damsels came to them and carrying them into the alcove，sprinkled rose-water upon them.
When they revived，they missed Aboulhusn，who had hidden himself behind a couch，and the young lady said，Where is Aboulhusn？So he showed himself to her from beside the couch，and she saluted him，saying，I pray God to give me the means of requiting thee thy kindness！'Then she turned to Ali ben Bekkar and said to him，O my lord，passion has not reached this pass with thee，without doing the like with me；but there is nothing for it but to bear patiently what hath befallen us.'By Allah，O my lady，'rejoined he，converse with thee may not content me nor gazing upon thee assuage the fire of my heart，nor will the love of thee，that hath mastered my soul，leave me，but with the passing away of my life.'So saying，he wept and the tears ran down upon his cheeks，like unstrung pearls. When Shemsennehar saw him weep，she wept for his weeping；and Aboulhusn exclaimed，By Allah，I wonder at your plight and am confounded at your behaviour；of a truth，your affair is amazing and your case marvellous. If ye weep thus，what while ye are yet together，how will it be when ye are parted？
Indeed，this is no time for weeping and wailing，but for foregathering and gladness；rejoice，therefore，and make merry and weep no more.'Then Shemsennehar signed to a damsel，who went out and returned with handmaids bearing a table，whereon were silver dishes，full of all manner rich meats. They set the table before them，and Shemsennehar began to eat and to feed Ali ben Bekkar，till they were satisfied，when the table was removed and they washed their hands. Presently the waiting-women brought censors and casting bottles and sprinkled them with rose-water and incensed them with aloes and ambergris and other perfumes；
after which they set on dishes of graven gold，containing all manner of sherbets，besides fruits and confections，all that the heart can desire or the eye delight in，and one brought a flagon of carnelian，full of wine. Then Shemsennehar chose out ten handmaids and ten singing-women to attend on them and dismissing the rest to their apartments，bade some of those who remained smite the lute. They did as she bade them and one of them sang the following verses：
My soul be a ransom for him who returned my salute with a smile And revived in my breast the longing for union after despair！
The hands of passion have brought my secret thoughts to the light And that which is in my bosom unto my censors laid bare.