Page:The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night - Volume 3.djvu/314

286 O ye who broke up camp, you've left behind ○ My spirit wearied and my heart a-cold: In my hearts core ye dwell, and now these eyne ○ Roll blood-drops with the tears they whilome rolled: The absent will I ransom with my soul; ○ All can my yearning for their sight behold: I have an eye whose babe, for love of thee, ○ Rejected sleep nor hath its tears controlled. The foeman bids me patient bear his loss, ○ Ne'er may mine ears accept the ruth he doled! I tricks their deme of me, and won my wish ○ Of Kamar al-Zaman's joys manifold: He joins all perfect gifts like none before, ○ Boasted such might and main no King of old: Seeing his gifts, Bin Zá'idah's largesse ○ Forget we, and Mu'áwiyah mildest-soul'd: Were verse not feeble and o'er short the time ○ I had in laud of him used all of rhyme.

Then Queen Budur stood up and wiped away her tears and, making the lesser ablution, applied her to pray: nor did she give over praying till drowsiness overcame the Lady Hayat al-Nufus and she slept, whereupon the Lady Budur came and lay by her till the morning. At daybreak, she arose and prayed the dawn-prayer; and presently seated herself on the royal throne and passed the day in ordering and counter ordering and giving laws and administering justice. This is how it fared with her; but as regards King Armanus he went in to his daughter and asked her how she did; so she told him all that had befallen her and repeated to him the verses which Queen Budur had recited, adding, "O my father, never saw I one more abounding in sound sense and modesty than my husband, save that he cloth nothing but weep and sigh." He answered, "O my daughter, have patience with