Page:The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night - Volume 4.djvu/229



"They said, Thou revest upon the person thou lovest. * And I     replied, The sweets of life are only for the mad. Drop the subject of my madness, and bring her upon whom I rave *     If she cure my madness do not blame me."

So his old neighbour knew him for a lover who had lost his beloved and said, "There is no Majesty and there is no Might, save in Allah, the Glorious, the Great! O my son, I wish thou wouldest acquaint me with the tale of thine affliction. Peradventure Allah may enable me to help thee against it, if it so please Him." So he told her all that had befallen him with Barsum the Nazarene and his brother the wizard who had named himself Rashid al-Din and, when she understood the whole case, she said, "O my son, indeed thou hast excuse." And her eyes railed tears and she repeated these two couplets,

"Enough for lovers in this world their ban and bane: * By Allah,     lover ne'er in fire of Sakar fries: For, sure, they died of love-desire they never told * Chastely,     and to this truth tradition testifies."

And after she had finished her verse, she said, "O my son, rise at once and buy me a crate, such as the jewel-pedlars carry; buy also bangles and seal-rings and bracelets and ear-rings and other gewgaws wherein women delight and grudge not the cash. Put all the stock into the crate and bring