Page:The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night - Volume 5.djvu/85

 lovers much treasure and despatched them to King Shamikh's court with a company of his own troops. The day of their arrival was a notable day, never was seen a grander; for the King gathered together all the singing-women and players on instruments of music and made wedding banquets and held high festival seven days; and on each day he gave largesse to the folk and bestowed on them sumptuous robes of honour. Then Uns al-Wujud went in to Rose-in-Hood and they embraced and sat weeping for excess of joy and gladness, whilst she recited these couplets,

"Joyance is come, dispelling cark and care; *         We are united, enviers may despair.     The breeze of union blows, enquickening *         Forms, hearts and vitals, fresh with fragrant air:     The splendour of delight with scents appears, *         And round us [FN#78] flags and drums show gladness rare.     Deem not we're weeping for our stress of grief;*           It is for joy our tears as torrents fare:     How many fears we've seen that now are past! *         And bore we patient what was sore to bear:     One hour of joyance made us both forget *         What from excess of terror grey'd our hair."

And when the verses were ended, they again embraced and ceased not from their embrace, till they fell down in a swoon,--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.

When it was the Three Hundred and Eighty-first Night,

She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Uns al-Wujud and Rose-in-Hood embraced when they foregathered and ceased not from their embrace, till they fell down in a swoon for the delight of reunion; and when they came to themselves, Uns al-Wujud recited these couplets,

"How joyously sweet are the nights that unite, *         When my dearling deigns keep me the troth she did plight;     When union conjoins us in all that we have, *         And parting is severed and sundered from sight,