Page:The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Vol 9.djvu/230

200 slave-girls and eunuchs, for I must give each of them a jewel in honour of the bride; besides wherewithal to clothe a thousand naked poor folk, and alms too must be given. All this cannot be done till my baggage comes; but I have abundance, and once it is here, I shall make no account of all this expense.’

The vizier returned to the king and told him what Marouf said, whereupon quoth he, ‘Since this is his wish, how canst thou style him an impostor and a liar?’ ‘And I cease not to say this,’ replied the vizier. But the king chid him angrily and berated him, saying, ‘As my head liveth, if thou leave not this talk, I will slay thee! Go back to him and fetch him to me and I will settle with him myself.’ So the vizier returned to Marouf and said to him, ‘Come and speak with the king.’ ‘I hear and obey,’ replied Marouf and went in to the king, who said to him, ‘Thou shalt not put me off with these excuses, for my treasury is full; so take the keys and spend all thou needest and give what thou wilt and clothe the poor and do thy desire and have no care for the girl and the waiting-women. When thy baggage comes, do what thou wilt with thy wife, by way of generosity, and we will have patience with thee for the marriage-portion till then, for there is no manner of difference betwixt me and thee.’

Then he sent for the Sheikh el Islam and bade him draw up the contract of marriage between his daughter and the merchant Marouf, and he did so; after which the king gave the signal for the commencement of the wedding festivities and commanded to decorate the city. The drums beat and the tables were spread with meats of all kinds and there came mimes and mountebanks and players. Marouf sat upon a throne in a gallery and the mimes and mountebanks and jugglers and dancing-men and posture-makers and acrobats came before him, whilst he called out to the treasurer and said to him, ‘Bring gold