Page:The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Vol 8.djvu/177

165 Then the Khalif turned to Noureddin and seeing him to be a comely youth, as he were the shining full moon on its fourteenth night, said to him, ‘And thou, art thou Ali Noureddin, son of the merchant Tajeddin of Cairo?’ ‘Yes, O Commander of the Faithful and stay of those who seek [after righteousness]!’ replied he. ‘How comes it,’ asked the Khalif, ‘that thou hast taken this young lady and fled forth with her of her father’s kingdom?’ So Noureddin proceeded to relate to the Commander of the Faithful all that had befallen him, first and last; whereat the latter was beyond measure astonished and diverted and exclaimed, ‘How manifold are the things that men suffer!’

Then he turned to the princess and said to her, ‘Know, O Meryem, that thy father, the King of France, hath written to me, concerning thee. What sayst thou?’ ‘O Vicar of God in His earth,’ replied she, ‘and Executor of His ordinances and the precepts of His prophet, may He vouchsafe thee eternal happiness and preserve thee from evil and enmity! Thou art Vicar of God in His earth and I have entered thy faith, for that it is the true and righteous one, and have left the religion of the infidels, who make the Messiah a liar, and I am become a true believer in God the Bountiful and in the revelation of His compassionate Apostle. I serve God (blessed and exalted be He!) and acknowledge Him to be the One God and prostrate myself humbly before Him and glorify Him; and I say before the Khalif, “Verily, I testify that there is no god but God and I testify that Mohammed is the apostle of God, whom He sent with guidance [into the right way] and the true faith, that he might cause it to prevail over faiths, all of them, in despite of the idolaters.” Is it,