Page:The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Vol 6.djvu/246

218 and hath done oppression and violated the harem of a true believer! O Arab, thou comest to me with a story, the like whereof I never heard!’ Then he called for inkhorn and paper and wrote to Merwan as follows: ‘It hath reached me that thou transgressest the laws of the Faith with regard to thy subjects. Now it behoves him who is a governor to keep his eyes from their lusts and restrain his soul from its delights.’ And after he wrote many words, which [quoth he who tells the tale] I omit, for brevity’s sake, and amongst them these verses:

Then he folded the letter and sealing it with his seal, delivered it to El Kumeit and Nesr ben Dhiban [whom it was his wont to employ on matters of weight, because of their trustiness] who took the letter and carried it to Medina, where they went in to Merwan and saluting him, delivered to him the letter and told him how the case stood. He read the letter and fell a-weeping; but it was not in his power to refuse obedience to the Khalif; so he went in to Suad and acquainting her with the case, divorced her in the presence of Kumeit and Nesr; after which he equipped her and delivered her to them, together with a letter to the Khalif, under his own hand and seal, to the following purport:

Prince of the Faithful, hasten not: with a good grace thy vow I will accomplish, nor constraint to force me dost thou need