Page:The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Vol 1.djvu/276

254 abide the risk of which thou speakest.’ Then said he, ‘As soon as it is night, go to the mosque built by the Lady Zubeideh on the Tigris and pray and pass the night there.’ ‘With all my heart,’ answered I. So at nightfall I repaired to the mosque, where I prayed and passed the night. Just before daybreak, there came up some eunuchs in a boat, with a number of empty chests, which they deposited in the mosque and went away all, except one who remained behind and whom, on examination, I found to be he who served as our go-between. Presently, in came my mistress herself and I rose to her and embraced her. She kissed me, weeping, and we talked awhile; after which she made me get into one of the chests and locked it upon me. Then the eunuchs came back with a number of packages; and she fell to stowing them in the chests and locking the latter one by one, till she had filled them all. Then they embarked the chests in the boat and made for the Lady Zubeideh’s palace. With this, reflection came to me and I said to myself, ‘My lust will surely bring me to destruction, nor do I know whether I shall gain my end or no!’ And I began to weep, shut up as I was in the chest, and to pray to God to deliver me from the peril I was in, whilst the boat ceased not going till it reached the palace gate, where they lifted out the chests and amongst them that in which I was. Then they carried them into the palace, passing through a troop of eunuchs, guardians of the harem and door-keepersdoorkeepers [sic], till they came to the post of the chief of the eunuchs, who started up from sleep and called out to the lady, saying, ‘What is in those chests?’ Quoth she, ‘They are full of wares for the Lady Zubeideh.’ ‘Open them,’ said he, ‘one by one, that I may see what is in them.’ ‘Why wilt thou open them?’ asked she: but he cried out at her, saying, ‘Give me no words! They must and shall be opened.’ Now the first that they brought to him to open was that in which I was: and when I felt