第26章

When it was the One Hundred and Fortieth Night，She said，It hath reached me，O auspicious King，that came to King Sasan the tidings of the departure of Kanmakan，through the Chief Emirs who said to him，'Verily he is the son of our Sovran and the seed of King Omar bin alNu'uman and it hath reached us that he hath exiled himself from the land.'When King Sasan heard these words，he was wroth with them and ordered one of them to be hanged by way of silencing him，whereat the fear of him fell upon the hearts of all the other Grandees and they dared not speak one word.Then he called to mind all the kindness that Zau alMakan had done him，and how he had charged him with the care of his son；wherefore he grieved for Kanmakan and said，'Needs must I have search made for him in all countries.'So he summoned Tarkash and bade him choose an hundred horse and wend with them in quest of the Prince.Accordingly he went out and was absent ten days，after which he returned and said，'I can learn no tidings of him and have hit on no trace of him，nor can any tell me aught of him.'Upon this King Sasan repented him of that which he had done by the Prince；whilst his mother abode in unrest continual nor would patience come at her call： and thus passed over her twenty days in heaviness all.This is how it fared with these；but as regards Kanmakan，when he left Baghdad，he went forth perplexed about his case and knowing not whither he should go： so he fared on alone through the desert for three days and saw neither footman nor horseman；withal，his sleep fled and his wakefulness redoubled，for he pined after his people and his homestead.He ate of the herbs of the earth and drank of its flowing waters and siesta'd under its trees at hours of noontide heats，till he turned from that road to another way and，following it other three days，came on the fourth to a land of green leas，dyed with the hues of plants and trees and with sloping valley sides made to please，abounding with the fruits of the earth.It had drunken of the cups of the cloud，to the sound of thunders rolling loud and the song of the turtledove gently sough'd，till its hill slopes were brightly verdant and its fields were sweetly fragrant.Then Kanmakan recalled his father's city Baghdad，and for excess of emotion he broke out into verse，'I roam，and roaming hope I to return；Yet of returning see not how or when：

I went for love of one I could not win，Nor way of 'scaping ills that pressed could ken.'

When he ended his recital he wept，but presently he wiped away his tears and ate of the fruits of the earth enough for his present need.Then he made the Wuzuablution and prayed the ordained prayers which he had neglected all this time；and he sat resting in that place through the livelong day.When night came he slept and ceased not sleeping till midnight，when he awoke and heard a human voice declaiming these couplets，'What's life to me，unless I see the pearly sheen Of teeth I love，and sight that glorious mien？

Pray for her Bishops who in convents reign，

Vying to bow before that heavenly queen.

And Death is lighter than the loved one's wrath，

Whose phantom haunts me seen in every scene：

O joy of cup companions，when they meet，

And loved and lover o'er each other lean！

E'en more in time of spring，the lord of flowers，

When fragrant is the world with bloom and green：

Drainer of vinejuice！ up wi' thee，for now

Earth is a Heaven where sweet waters flow.[76]'

When Kanmakan heard these distichs his sorrows surged up；his tears ran down his cheeks like freshets and flames of fire darted into his heart.So he rose to see who it was that spake these words，but saw none for the thickness of the gloom；whereupon passion increased on him and he was frightened and restlessness possessed him.He descended from his place to the sole of the valley and walked along the banks of the stream，till he heard the same voice sighing heavy sighs and reciting these couplets，'Tho' 'tis thy wont to hide thy love perforce，

Yet weep on day of parting and divorce！

Twixt me and my dear love were plighted vows；

Pledge of reunion，fonder intercourse：

With joy inspires my heart and deals it rest

Zephyr，whose coolness doth desire enforce.

O Sa'ada，[77] thinks of me that anklet wearer？

Or parting broke she troth without remorse？

And say！ shall nights foregather us，and we

Of suffered hardships tell in soft discourse？

Quoth she，'Thou'rt daft for us and fey'；quoth I，

'Sain thee！ how many a friend hast turned to corse！'

If taste mine eyes sweet sleep while she's away，

Allah with loss of her these eyne accurse.

O wounds in vitals mine！ for cure they lack

Union and dewy lips' sweet theriack.'[78]

When Kanmakan heard this verse again spoken by the same voice yet saw no one，he knew that the speaker was a lover like unto himself，debarred from union with her who loved him；and he said to himself，''Twere fitting that this man should lay his head to my head and become my comrade in this my strangerhood.'[79]