Page:The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night - Volume 2.djvu/63

 Nur at- Din Ali and the Damsel Anis al-Jalis. 43 fertile root and noble growth of trunk ; o Ripe-fruitfuJ branch of never sullied race ; mind theeof what pact thy bounty made; o Far be 't from thee thou should'st forget my case ! Quoth the Caliph, " Who art thou ? " and she replied, " I am she whom Ali bin Khakan gave thee in gift, and 1 wish the fulfilment of thy promise to send me to him with the robe of honour ; for I have now been thirty days without tasting the food of sleep." Thereupon the Caliph sent for Ja'afar and said to him, " O Ja'afar, 'tis thirty days since we have had news of Nur al-Din bin Khakan, and I cannot but suppose that the Sultan hath slain him ; but, by the life of my head and by the sepulchres of my forefathers, if aught of foul play hath befallen him, I will surely make an end of him who was the cause of it, though he be the dearest of all men to myself ! So I desire that thou set out for Bassorah within this hour and bring me tidings of my cousin, King Mohammed bin Sulayman al-Zayni, and how he hath dealt with Nur al-Din Ali bin Khakan ; " adding, " If thou tarry longer on the road than shall suffice for the journey, I will strike off thy head. Furthermore, do thou tell the son of my uncle the whole story of Nur al-Din, and how I sent him with my written orders ; and if thou find, O my cousin, 1 that the King hath done otherwise than as I commanded, bring him and the Wazir Al-Mu'in bin Sawi to us in whatsoever guise thou shalt find them." 2 " Hearing and obedience," replied Ja'afar and, making ready on the instant, he set out for Bassorah where the news of his coming had foregone him and had reached to the ears of King Mohammed. When Ja'afar arrived and saw the crushing and crowding of the lieges, he asked, " What means all this gathering ? " so they told him what was doing in the matter of Nur al-Din ; whereupon he hastened to go to the Sultan and saluting him, acquainted him with the cause why he came and the Caliph's resolve, in case of any foul play having befallen the youth, to put to death whoso should have brought it about. Then he took into custody the King and the Wazir and laid them in ward and, giving order for the release of Nur al-Din Ali, enthroned him as Sultan in the stead of Mohammed bin Sulay- man. After this Ja'afar abode three days in Bassorah, the usual " Cousin is here a term of familiarity, our " coz."
 * i.r. without allowing them a moment's delay to change clothes.