Page:The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Vol 8.djvu/140

128 it fell out; yet wouldst thou not hearken to me, but followedst thine own inclinations; albeit that whereof I gave thee to know I learnt not by means of divination nor augury nor dreams, but by eye-witness and very sight; for I saw the one-eyed vizier and knew that he was not come to Alexandria but in quest of me.’ ‘O my lady Meryem,’ replied he, ‘we seek refuge with God from the error of the intelligent!’ Then his affliction redoubled on him and he recited these verses:

And they ceased not from lovers’ chiding, which to set out would be tedious, relating to each other that which had befallen them and reciting verses and making moan, one to the other, of the violence of passion and the pangs of longing and desire, whilst the tears ran down their cheeks like rivers, till there was left them no strength to say a word. Now the princess was clad in a green dress, inwoven with red gold and broidered with pearls and jewels, which added to her beauty and grace; and right well saith the poet of her: