第11章

Leave this thy purpose lest my wrath come down on thee some day，A day of wrath shall hoary turn the partings of thy hair！'

Then she folded the letter and gave it to the old woman，who took it and repaired to Taj alMuluk.And when he saw her，he rose to his feet and exclaimed，'May Allah never bereave me of the blessing of thy coming！'Quoth she，'Take the answer to thy letter.'He took it and reading it，wept with sore weeping and said，'I long for some one to slay me at this moment and send me to my rest，for indeed death were easier to me than this my state！'Then he took ink case and pen and paper and wrote a letter containing these two couplets，'O hope of me！ pursue me not with rigour and disdain：

Deign thou to visit lover wight in love of thee is drowned；Deem not a life so deeply wronged I longer will endure；My soul for severance from my friend divorced this frame unsound.'

Lastly he folded the letter and handed it to the old woman，saying，'Be not angry with me，though I have wearied thee to no purpose.'And he bade Aziz give her other thousand ducats，saying，'O my mother，needs must this letter result in perfect union or utter severance.'Replied she，'O my son，by Allah，I desire nought but thy weal；and it is my object that she be thine，for indeed thou art the shining moon，and she the rising sun.[37] If I do not bring you together，there is no profit in my existence；and I have lived my life till I have reached the age of ninety years in the practice of wile and intrigue；so how should I fail to unite two lovers，though in defiance of right and law？'Then she took leave of him having comforted his heart，and ceased not walking till she went in to the Lady Dunya.Now she had hidden the letter in her hair：so when she sat down by the Princess she rubbed her head and said，'O my lady，maybe thou wilt untwist my hair knot，for it is a time since I went to the Hammam.'The King's daughter bared her arms to the elbows and，letting down the old woman's locks，began to loose the knot of back hair；when out dropped the letter and the Lady Dunya seeing it，asked，'What is this paper？'Quoth the nurse，'As I sat in the merchant's shop，this paper must have stuck to me：give it to me that I may return it to him；possibly it containeth some account whereof he hath need.'But the Princess opened it and read it and，when she understood it，she cried out，'This is one of thy manifold tricks，and hadst thou not reared me，I would lay violent hands on thee this moment！ Verily Allah hath afflicted me with this merchant：but all that hath befallen me with him is on thy head.I know not from what country this one can have come：no man but he would venture to affront me thus，and I fear lest this my case get abroad，more by token as it concerneth one who is neither of my kin nor of my peers.'Rejoined the old woman'None would dare speak of this for fear of thy wrath and for awe of thy sire；so there can be no harm in sending him an answer.'

Quoth the Princess，'O my nurse，verily this one is a perfect Satan！ How durst he use such language to me and not dread the Sultan's rage.Indeed，I am perplexed about his case：if I order him to be put to death，it were unjust；and if I leave him alive his boldness will increase.'Quoth the old woman，'Come，write him a letter；it may be he will desist in dread.'So she called for paper and ink case and pen and wrote these couplets，'Thy folly drives thee on though long I chid，Writing in verse：how long shall I forbid？

For all forbiddal thou persistest more，And my sole grace it is to keep it hid；

Then hide thy love nor ever dare reveal，For an thou speak，of thee I'll soon be rid If to thy silly speech thou turn anew，Ravens shall croak for thee the wold amid：

And Death shall come and beat thee down ere long，Put out of sight and bury'neath an earthen lid：

Thy folk，fond fool！ thou'lt leave for thee to mourn，And through their lives to sorrow all forlorn.'

Then she folded the letter and committed it to the old woman，who took it and returning to Taj alMuluk，gave it to him.When he read it，he knew that the Princess was hard hearted and that he should not win access to her；so he complained of his case to the Wazir and besought his counsel.Quoth the Minister，'Know thou that naught will profit thee save that thou write to her and invoke the retribution of Heaven upon her.'And quoth the Prince，'O my brother，O Aziz，do thou write to her as if my tongue spake，according to thy knowledge.'So Aziz took a paper and wrote these couplets，'By the Five Shaykhs，[38] O Lord，I pray deliver me；Let her for whom I suffer bear like misery：

Thou knowest how I fry in flaming lowe of love，

While she I love hath naught of ruth or clemency：

How long shall I，despite my pain，her feelings spare？

How long shall she wreak tyranny o'er weakling me？

In pains of never ceasing death I ever grieve：

O Lord，deign aid；none other helping hand I see.

How fain would I forget her and forget her love！

But how forget when Love garred Patience death to dree？

O thou who hinderest Love to'joy fair meeting tide

Say！ art thou safe from Time and Fortune's jealousy？

Art thou not glad and blest with happy life，while I

From folk and country for thy love am doomed flee？'