Page:The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Vol 5.djvu/364

330 wedding was to be held: but, when she came into the saloon, the youth sprang up to her and embraced her and kissed her hands and feet. She was confounded at his beauty, as well as at the elegance of the place and the profusion of meat and drink and flowers and perfumes that she saw therein, and deemed all this but a dream. When the old woman saw her amazement, she said to her, “The name of God be upon thee, O my daughter! Fear not; I am here with thee and will not leave thee for a moment. Thou art worthy of him and he of thee.” So the damsel sat down, in great confusion; but the young man jested and toyed with her and entertained her with stories and verses, till her breast dilated and she became at her ease. Then she ate and drank and growing warm with wine, took the lute and sang and inclined to the youth’s beauty. When he saw this, he was drunken without wine and his life was a light matter to him [compared with her love].

Presently the old woman went out and left them alone together till the next morning, when she went in to them and gave them good morrowgood-morrow [sic] and said to the damsel, “How hast thou passed the night, O my lady?” “Well,” answered the girl, “thanks to thine adroitness and the excellence of thine intermediation.” Then said the old woman, “Come, let us go back to thy mother.” But the young man pulled out a hundred dinars and gave them to her, saying, “Take this and leave her with me to-night.” So she left them and repaired to the girl’s mother, to whom quoth she, “Thy daughter salutes thee, and the bride’s mother is instant with her to abide with her this night.” “O my sister,” replied the mother, “bear her my greeting, and if it please the girl, there is no harm in her staying the night; so let her do this and divert herself and come back to me at her leisure, for all I fear for her is chagrin on account of her husband.”

The old woman ceased not to make excuse after excuse