第66章

When Ali bin Bakkar and Abu alHasan and those present heard Shams alNahar's song，they were like to fly for joy，and sported and laughed；but while they were thus enjoying themselves lo！ up came a damsel，trembling for fear and said，'O my lady，the Commander of the Faithful's eunuchs are at the door，Afif and Masrur and Marjan[185] and others whom wot I not.'When they heard this they were like to die with fright，but Shams alNahar laughed and said，'Have no fear！'Then quoth she to the damsel，'Keep answering them whilst we remove hence.'And she caused the doors of the alcove to be closed upon Ali and Abu alHasan，and let down the curtains over the entrance （they being still within）；after which she shut the door of the saloon and went out by the privy wicket into the flowergarden，where she seated herself on a couch she had there and made one of the damsels knead her feet.[186] Then she dismissed the rest of her women to their rooms and bade the portress admit those who were at the door；whereupon Masrur entered，he and his company of twenty with drawn swords. And when they saluted her，she asked，'Wherefore come ye？'；whereto they answered，'The Commander of the Faithful saluteth thee. Indeed he is desolated for want of thy sight；he letteth thee know that this be to him a day of joy and great gladness and he wisheth to seal his day and complete his pleasure with thy company at this very hour. So say，wilt go to him or shall he come to thee？'Upon this she rose and，kissing the earth，replied，'I hear and I obey the commandment of the Prince of True Believers！'Then she summoned the women guards of her household and other slavedamsels，who lost no time in attending upon her and made a show of obeying the Caliph's orders. And albeit everything about the place was in readiness，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 other matters.'So they returned in haste to the Caliph，whilst Shams alNahar，doffing her outer gear，repaired to her lover，Ali bin Bakkar，and drew him to her bosom and bade him farewell，whereat he wept sore and said，'O my lady，this leavetaking will cause the ruin of my very self and the loss of my very soul；but I pray Allah grant me patience to support the passion wherewith he hath afflicted me！'Replied she，'By Allah，none shall suffer perdition save I；for thou wilt fare forth to the bazar and consort with those that shall divert thee，and thy life will be sound and thy love hidden forsure；but I shall fall into trouble and tristesse nor find any to console me，more by token that I have given the Caliph a tryst，wherein haply great peril shall betide me by reason of my love for thee and my longing for thee and my grief at being parted from thee. For with what tongue shall I sing and with what heart shall I present myself before the Caliph？ and with what speech shall I company the Commander of the Faithful in his cups？ and with what eyes shall I look upon a place where thou art absent？ and with what taste shall I drink wine of which thou drinkest not？'Quoth Abu alHasan，'Be not troubled 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 heart.'Now at this juncture，behold，up came a damsel，who said to Shams alNahar，'O my lady，the Caliph's pages are come.'So she hastily rose to her feet and said to the maid，'Take Abu alHasan and his friend and carry them to the upper balcony[187] giving upon the garden and there leave them till darkness come on；when do thou contrive to carry them forth.'Accordingly the girl led them up to the balcony and，locking the door upon them both，went her way. As they sat looking on the garden lo！ the Caliph appeared escorted by near an hundred eunuchs，with drawn swords in hand and girt about with a score of damsels，as they were moons，all clad in the richest of raiment and on each one's head was a crown set with jewels and rubies；while each carried a lighted flambeau. The Caliph walked in their midst，they encompassing him about on all sides，and Masrur and Afif and Wasif[188] went before him and he bore himself with a graceful gait. So Shams alNahar and her maidens rose to receive him and，meeting him at the gardendoor，kissed ground between his hands；nor did they cease to go before him till they brought him to the couch whereon he sat down，whilst all the waitingwomen who were in the garden and the eunuchs stood before him and there came fair handmaids and concubines holding in hand lighted candles and perfumes and incense and instruments of mirth and music. Then the Sovereign bade the singers sit down，each in her place，and Shams alNahar came up and，seating herself on a stool by the side of the Caliph's couch，began to converse with him；all this happening whilst Abu alHasan and Ali bin Bakkar looked on and listened，unseen of the King. Presently the Caliph fell to jesting and toying with Shams alNahar and both were in the highest spirits，glad and gay，when he bade them throw open the garden pavilion.