第23章 STORY OF ALI BEN BEKKAR AND SHEMSENNEHAR.(3)

The very tears of my eyes press betwixt me and him，As though they，even as I，enamoured of him were.

When she had finished，Shemsennehar rose and filling a. cup，drank it off，then filled it again and gave it to Ali ben Bekkar；

after which she bade another damsel sing；and she sang the following verses：

My tears，as they flow，are alike to my wine，as I brim it up！

For my eyes pour forth of their lids the like of what froths in my cup.[6]

By Allah，I know not，for sure，whether my eyelids it is Run over with wine or else of my tears it is that I sup！

Then Ali ben Bekkar drank off his cup and returned it to Shemsennehar. She filled it again and gave it to Aboulhusn，who drank it off. Then she took the lute，saying，None shall sing over my cup but myself.'So she tuned the strings and sang these verses：

The hurrying tears upon his cheeks course down from either eye

For very passion，and loves fires within his heart flame high.

He weeps whilst near to those he loves，for fear lest they depart： So，whether near or far they be，his tears are never dry.

And again：

Our lives for thee，O cupbearer，O thou whom beautys self From the bright parting of thy hair doth to the feet army！

The full moon[7] from thy collar-folds rises，the Pleiades[8] Shine from thy mouth and in thine hands there beams the sun of day.[9]

I trow，the goblets wherewithal thou makst us drunk are those Thou pourest to us from thine eyes，that lead the wit astray.

Is it no wonder that thou art a moon for ever full And that thy lovers tis，not thou，that wane and waste away？

Art thou a god，that thou，indeed，by favouring whom thou wilt And slighting others，canst at once bring back to life and slay？

GCod moulded beauty from thy form and eke perfumed the breeze With the sheer sweetness of the scent that cleaves to thee alway.

None of the people of this world，an angel sure thou art，Whom thy Creator hath sent down，to hearten our dismay.

When Ali and Aboulhusn and the bystanders heard Shemsennehars song，they were transported and laughed and sported；but while they were thus engaged，up came a damsel，trembling for fear，and said，O my lady，Afif and Mesrour and Merjan and others of the Commander of the Faithfuls eunuchs，whom I know not，are at the door.'When they heard this they were like to die of fright，but Shemsennehar laughed and said，Have no fear.'Then said she to the damsel，Hold them in parley，whilst we remove hence.'And she caused shut the doors of the alcove upon Ali and Aboulhusn and drew the curtains over them；after which she shut the door of the saloon and went out by the privy gate into the garden，where she seated herself on a couch she had there and bade one of the damsels rub her feet. Then she dismissed the rest of her women and bade the portress admit those who were at the door；whereupon Mesrour entered，he and his company，twenty men with drawn swords，and saluted her. Quoth she，Wherefore come-ye？And they answered，The Commander of the Faithful salutes thee. He wearies for thy sight and would have thee to know that this with him is a day of great joy and gladness and he is minded to seal his gladness with thy present company： wilt thou then go to him or shall he come to thee？At this she rose，and kissing the earth，said，I hear and obey the commandment of the Commander of the Faithful.'Then she summoned the chief （female） officers of her household and other damsels and made a show of complying with the Khalifs orders and commanding them to make preparations for his reception，albeit all was in readiness；and she said to the eunuchs，Go to the Commander of the Faithful and tell him that I await him after a little space，that I may make ready for him a place with carpets and so forth.'So they returned in haste to the Khalif，whilst Shemsennehar，doffing her （outer） clothing，repaired to her beloved Ali ben Bekkar and strained him to her bosom and bade him farewell，whereat he wept sore and said，O my lady，this leave-taking will lead to the ruin of my soul and the loss of my life；but I pray God to grant me patience to bear this my love，wherewith He hath smitten me！'By Allah，answered she，none will suffer perdition but I；for thou wilt go out to the market and company with those that will divert thee，and thine honour will be in safety and thy passion concealed；whilst I shall fall into trouble and weariness nor find any to console me，more by token that I have given the Khalif a rendezvous，wherein haply great peril shall betide me，by reason of my love and longing passion for thee and my grief at being parted from thee.

For with what voice shall I sing and with what heart shall I present me before the Khalif and with what speech shall I entertain the Commander of the Faithful and with what eyes shall I look upon a place where thou art not and take part in a banquet at which thou art not present and with what taste shall I drink wine of which thou partakest not？Be not troubled，'said Aboulhusn but take patience and be not remiss in entertaining the Commander of the Faithful this night，neither show him any neglect，but be of good courage.'At this juncture，up came a damsel，who said to Shemsennehar，O my lady，the Khalifs pages are come.'So she rose to her feet and said to the maid，Take Aboulhusn and his friend and carry them to the upper gallery giving upon the garden and there leave them，till it be dark；