第62章 KEMEREZZEMAN AND BUDOUR.(24)

When she had finished，she would have risen to pray，but Heyat en Nufous caught her by the skirt，saying，O my lord，art thou not ashamed to neglect me thus，after all the favour my father hath done thee？When Budour heard this，she sat down again and said，O my beloved，what is this thou sayest？What I say，'answered Heyat en Nufous，is that I never saw any so self-satisfied as thou.Is every fair one so disdainful？I say not this to incline thee to me，but only of my fear for thee from King Armanous；for he purposes，an thou go not in to me to-night and do away my maidenhead，to strip thee of the kingship on the morrow and banish thee the realm；and belike his much anger may lead him to kill thee.But I，O my lord，have compassion on thee and give thee fair warning；and it is thine to decide.'At this，Budour bowed her head in perplexity and said in herself，If I refuse，I am lost，and if I obey，I am shamed.I am now queen of all the Ebony Islands and they are under my rule and I shall never again foregather with Kemerezzeman except it be in this place；for there is no way for him to his native land but through the Ebony Islands.Verily，I know not what to do，for I am no man that I should arise and open this virgin girl；but I commit my case to God，who orders all for the best.'Then she said to Heyat en Nufous，O my beloved，it is in my own despite that I have neglected thee and abstained from thee.'And she discovered herself to her and told her her whole story，saying，I conjure thee by Allah to keep my counsel，till God reunite me with my beloved Kemerezzeman，and then let what will happen.'Her story moved Heyat en Nufous to wonder and pity，and she prayed God to reunite her with her beloved，saying，Fear nothing，O my sister，but have patience till God accomplish that which is to be.'And she repeated the following verses：

None keepeth counsel saving those whore trusty and discreet. A secrets ever safely placed with honest folk and leal；

And secrets trusted unto me are in a locked-up house，Whose keys are lost and on whose door is set the Cadis seal.

O my sister，'continued she，the breasts of the noble are the graves of secrets，and I will not discover thine.'Then they toyed and embraced and kissed and slept till near the call to morning-prayer，when Heyat en Nufous arose and slaughtering a young pigeon，besmeared herself and besprinkled her shift with its blood.Then she put off her trousers and cried out，whereupon her waiting-women hastened to her and raised cries of joy.Presently，her mother came in to her aad asked her how she did and tended her and abode with her till evening；whilst the lady Budour repaired to the bath and after washing herself，proceeded to the hall of audience，where she sat down on her throne and dispensed justice among the folk.When King Armanous heard the cries，he asked what was the matter and was informed of the consummation of his daughters marriage；whereat he rejoiced and his breast dilated and he made a great banquet.

To return to King Shehriman.When Kemerezzeman and Merzewan returned not at the appointed time，he passed the night without sleep，restless and consumed with anxiety.The night was long upon him and he thought the day would never dawn.He passed the forenoon of the ensuing day in expectation of his sons coming，but he came not；whereat his heart forebode separation and he was distraught with fears for Kemerezzeman.He wept till his clothes were drenched，crying out，Alas，my son！'and repeating the following verses from an aching heart：

Unto the votaries of love I still was contrary，Till of its bitter and its sweet myself perforce must taste.

I quaffed its cup of rigours out，yea，even to the dregs，And to its freemen and its slaves myself therein abased.

Fortune aforetime made a vow to separate our loves；Now hath she kept her vow，alack！and made my life a waste.

Then he wiped away his tears and bade his troops make ready for a long journey.So they all mounted and set forth，headed by the Sultan，whose heart burnt with grief and anxiety for his son.He divided the troops into six bodies，whom he despatched in as many directions，giving them rendezvous for the morrow at the cross-roads.Accordingly they scoured the country diligently all that day and night，till at noon of the ensuing day they joined company at the cross-roads.Here four roads met and they knew not which the prince had followed，till they came to the torn clothes and found shreds of flesh and blood scattered by the way on all sides.When the King saw this，he cried out from his inmost heart，saying，Alas，my son！'and buffeted his face and tore his beard and rent his clothes，doubting not but his son was dead.Then he gave himself up to weeping and wailing，and the troops also wept for his weeping，being assured that the prince had perished.They wept and lamented and threw dust on their heads till they were nigh upon death，and the night surprised them whilst they were thus engaged.Then the King repeated the following verses，with a heart on fire for the torment of his despair：

Blame not the mourner for the grief to which he is a prey，For yearning sure sufficeth him，with all its drear dismay.

He weeps for dreariment and grief and stress of longing pain，And eke his transport doth the fires，that rage in him，bewray.

Alas，his fortune whos Loves slave，whom languishment hath bound Never to let his eyelids stint from weeping night and day！

He mourns the loss of one was like a bright and brilliant moon，That shone out over all his peers in glorious array.

But Death did proffer to his lips a brimming cup to drink，What time he left his native land，and now hes far away.

He left his home and went from us unto calamity；Nor to his brethren was it given to him farewell to say.

Indeed，his loss hath stricken me with anguish and with woe；Yea，for estrangement from his sight my wits are gone astray.

Whenas the Lord of all vouchsafed to him His Paradise，Upon his journey forth he fared and passed from us for aye.