Page:The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night - Volume 3.djvu/362

332 And hearing these lines from Amjad she sighed with the deepest sighs and, signing to him again, repeated these couplets,

'Tis thou hast trodden coyness path not I: ○ Grant me thy favours for the time draws nigh: O thou who makest morn with light of brow, ○ And with loosed brow-locks night in lift to stye! Thine idol-aspect made of me thy slave, ○ Tempting as temptedst me in days gone by: 'Tis just my liver fry with hottest love: ○ Who worship fire for God must fire aby: Thou sellest like of me for worthless price; ○ If thou must sell, ask high of those who buy.

When Amjad heard these her words he said to her, "Wilt thou come to my lodging or shall I go with thee to shine?" So she hung her head in shame to the ground and repeated the words of Him whose Name be exalted, "Men shall have the pre-eminence above women, because of those advantages wherein Allah hath caused the one of them to excel the other." Upon this, Amjad took the hint.——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.

She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Amjad took the woman's hint and understood that she wished to go with him whither he was going; he felt himself bounder to find a place wherein to receive her, but was ashamed to carry her to the house of his host, the tailor. So he walked on and she walked after him, and the two ceased not walking from street to street and place to place, till she was tired and said to him, "O my lord, where is thy house?" Answered he, "Before us a little way." Then he turned aside into a handsome by-street, followed by the young woman, and walked on till he came to the end, when he found it was no thoroughfare and exclaimed, "There is no Majesty and there is no Might save in Allah, the Glorious, the Great!" Then raising his eyes, he saw, at the upper end of the lane a great door with two stone benches; but it was locked. So Amjad sat down on one of