第67章

So they opened the doors and windows and lighted the tapers till the place shone in the season of darkness even as the day. Then the eunuchs removed thither the wineservice and （quoth Abu alHasan）'I saw drinkingvessels and rarities whose like mine eyes never beheld，vases of gold and silver and all manner of noble metals and precious stones，such as no power of deion can describe，till indeed it seemed to me I was dreaming，for excess of amazement at what I saw！'But as for Ali bin Bakkar，from the moment Shams alNahar left him，he lay strown on the ground for stress of love and desire；and，when he revived，he fell to gazing upon these things that had not their like and saying to Abu alHasan，'O my brother，I fear lest the Caliph see us or come to know of our case；but the most of my fear is for thee. For myself，of a truth I know that I am about to be lost past recourse，and the cause of my destruction is naught but love and longing and excess of desire and distraction，and disunion from my beloved after union with her；but I beseech Allah to deliver us from this perilous predicament.'And they ceased not to look out of the balcony on the Caliph who was taking his pleasure，till the banquet was spread before him，when he turned to one of the damsels and said to her，'O Gharam，[189] let us hear some of thine enchanting songs.'So she took the lute and tuning it，began singing，'The longing of a Bedouin maid，whose folks are far away，Who yearns after the willow of the Hejaz and the bay，[190]Whose tears，when she on travellers lights，might for their water serve And eke her her passion，with its heat，their bivouacfire purvey，Is not more fierce nor ardent than my longing for my love，Who deems that I commit a crime in loving him alway.'[191]

Now when Shams alNahar heard these verses she slipped off the stool whereon she sat and fell to the earth fainting and became insensible to the world around her；upon which the damsels came and lifted her up. And when Ali bin Bakkar saw this from the balcony he also slipped down senseless，and Abu alHasan said，'Verily Fate hath divided lovedesire equally upon you twain！'[192] As he spoke lo！ in came the damsel who had led them up to the balcony and said to him，'O Abu alHasan，arise thou and thy friend and come down，for of a truth the world hath waxed strait upon us and I fear lest our case be discovered or the Caliph become aware of you；unless you descend at once we are dead ones.'Quoth he，'And how shall this youth descend with me seeing that he hath no strength to rise？'Thereupon the damsel began sprinkling rosewater on Ali bin Bakkar till he came to his senses，when Abu alHasan lifted him up and the damsel made him lean upon her. So they went down from the balcony and walked on awhile till the damsel opened a little iron door，and made the two friends pass through it，and they came upon a bench by the Tigris'bank. Thereupon the slavegirl clapped her hands[193]and there came up a man with a little boat to whom said she，'Take up these two young men and land them on the opposite side.'

So both entered the boat and，as the man rowed off with them and they left the garden behind them，Ali bin Bakkar looked back towards the Caliph's palace and the pavilion and the grounds；and bade them farewell with these two couplets，'I offered this weak hand as last farewell，While to heartburning fire that hand is guided：

O let not this end union！ Let not this

Be last provision for long road provided！'

Thereupon the damsel said to the boatman，'Make haste with them both.'So he plied his oars deftly （the slavegirl being still with them）；And Shahrazad perceived the dawning day and ceased saying her permitted say.

When it was the One Hundred and Fiftyfifth Night，She said，It hath reached me，O auspicious King，that the boatman rowed them towards the other bank till they reached it and landed，whereupon she took leave of them，saying，'It were my wish not to abandon you，but I can go no farther than this.'Then she turned back，whilst Ali bin Bakkar lay prostrate on the ground before Abu alHasan and by no manner of means could he rise，till his friend said to him，'Indeed this place is not sure and I fear lest we lose our lives in this very spot，by reason of the lewd fellows who infest it and highwaymen and men of lawlessness.'Upon this Ali bin Bakkar arose and walked a little but could not continue walking. Now Abu alHasan had friends in that quarter；so he made search for one of them，in whom he trusted，and who was of his intimates，and knocked at the door.

The man came out quickly and seeing them，bade them welcome and brought them into his house，where he seated them and talked with them and asked them whence they came. Quoth Abu alHasan，'We came out but now，being obliged thereto by a person with whom I had dealings and who hath in his hands dirhams of mine. And it reached me that he designed to flee into foreign parts with my monies；so I fared forth tonight in quest of him，taking with me for company this youth，Ali bin Bakkar；but，when we came hoping to see the debtor，he hid from us and we could get no sight of him. Accordingly we turned back，emptyhanded without a doit，but it was irksome to us to return home at this hour of the night；so weeting not whither to go，we came to thee，well knowing thy kindness and wonted courtesy.''Ye are welcome and well come！'