Page:The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Vol 8.djvu/29

17 Myself I heartened, saying, ‘Her to-day I shalt possess Upon the wager,’ [sic] fearing not defeat I should aby. My heart ceased not to covet her, till I to poverty Became reduced, and beggared now in goods and hope am I. Will he who is in love forswear a love that irketh him, Though in the oceans of desire he struggle like to die? So is the slave grown penniless, to love and longing thrall, All unaccomplished yet the hope he staked his all to buy.

Zein el Mewasif marvelled at the eloquence of his tongue and said to him, ‘O Mesrour, leave this madness and return to thy senses and go thy ways; for thou hast wasted all thy substance at the game of chess, yet hast not attained to thy desire, nor hast thou any resource whereby thou mayst accomplish it.’ But he turned to her and said, ‘O my lady, ask of me what thou wilt and I will bring it to thee and lay it at thy feet.’ ‘O Mesrour,’ answered she, ‘thou hast no money left.’ ‘O goal of all hopes,’ rejoined he, ‘if I have no money, the folk will help me.’ Quoth she, ‘Shall the giver turn asker?’ And he said, ‘I have friends and kinsfolk, and whatsoever I seek of them, they will give me.’ Then said she, ‘O Mesrour, I will have of thee four bladders of musk and four vases of civet and four pounds of ambergris and four thousand dinars and four hundred pieces of coloured brocade, wroughten with gold. Bring me these things, and I will grant thee my favours.’ ‘This is a light matter to me, O thou that puttest the moons to shame,’ replied he and went forth to fetch her what she sought.

She sent Huboub after him, to see what interest he had with the folk of whom he had spoken to her; but, as he went along the streets, he turned and seeing her afar off, waited till she came up to him and said to her, ‘Whither away, O Huboub?’ So she told him what her mistress had said to her and he said, ‘By Allah, O Huboub, I have nothing!’ ‘Then why didst thou promise her?’ asked VOL VIII.