Page:The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night - Volume 4.djvu/140

 eyes on the city. Moreover, Allah blotted out the road which led to the city, and it stands in its stead unchanged until the Resurrection Day and the Hour of Judgement." So Mu'awiyah wondered greatly at Ka'ab al-Ahbar's story and said to him, "Hath any mortal ever made his way to that city?" He replied, "Yes; one of the companions of Mohammed (on whom be blessing and peace!) reached it, doubtless and forsure after the same fashion as this man here seated." "And (quoth Al-Sha'abi ) it is related, on the authority of learned men of Himyar in Al-Yaman that Shaddad, when destroyed with all his host by the sound, was succeeded in his Kingship by his son Shaddad the Less, whom he left vice-regent in Hazramaut and Saba, when he and his marched upon Many-columned Iram. Now as soon as he heard of his father's death on the road, he caused his body to be brought back from the desert to Hazramaut and bade them hew him out a tomb in a cave, where he laid the body on a throne of gold and threw over the corpse threescore and ten robes of cloth of gold, purfled with precious stones. Lastly at his sire's head he set up a tablet of gold whereon were graven these verses,

'Take warning O proud, * And in length o' life vain! I'm Shaddád son of Ad, * Of the forts castellain; Lord of pillars and power,* Lord of tried might and main, Whom all earth-sons obeyed* For my mischief and bane And who held East and West* In mine awfullest reign. He preached me salvation * Whom God did assain, But we crossed him and asked * 'Can no refuge be ta'en?' When a Cry on us cried * From th' horizon plain, And we fell on the field * Like the harvested grain, And the Fixt Day await * We, in earth's bosom lain!'"