Page:Tales from the Arabic, Vol 2.djvu/229

207 presence and the tongues at thy sight, and the eloquent before thee are dumb; but thou art the looser of the veil.’ Then she clung to him and said, ‘Stand.’ So he stood and said to her, ‘Who art thou and what is thy need?’ She raised a corner of the veil, and he beheld a damsel as she were the rising full moon or the glancing lightning, with two side locks of hair that fell down to her anklets. She kissed his hand and said to him, ‘O my lord, know that I have been in this barrack these five months, during which time I have been withheld from sale till thou shouldst be present [and see me]; and yonder slave-dealer still made thy coming a pretext to me and forbade me, for all I sought of him night and day that he should cause thee come hither and vouchsafe me thy presence and bring me and thee together.’ Quoth Ishac, ‘Say what thou wouldst have.’ And she answered, ‘I beseech thee, by God the Most High, that thou buy me, so I may be with thee, by way of service.’ ‘Is that thy desire?’ asked he, and she replied, ‘Yes.’

So Ishac returned to the slave-dealer and said to him, ‘Harkye, Gaffer Said!’Saïd!’ [sic] ‘At thy service, O my lord,’ answered the old man; and Ishac said, ‘In the corridor