Page:The Harvard Classics Vol. 16.djvu/165

 woman said to me, Thou hast yet more than ample time, and if thou go to the bath and shave, especially for the sake of obliterating the traces of thy disorder, it will be more becoming.It is a judicious piece of advice, replied I; but I will shave my head first, and then go into the bath.

So I sent for a barber to shave my head, saying to the boy, Go to the market, and bring me a barber, one who is a man of sense, little inclined to impertinence, that he may not make my head ache by his chattering. And the boy went, and brought this sheykh, who, on entering, saluted me; and when I returned his salutation, he said to me, May God dispel thy grief and thine anxiety, and misfortunes and sorrows! I responded, May God accept thy prayer! He then said, Be cheerful, O my master; for health hath returned to thee. Dost thou desire to be shaved or to be bled?for it hath been handed down, on the authority of Ibn-'Abba that the Prophet said, Whoso shorteneth his hair on Friday, God will avert from him seventy diseases;and it hath been handed down also, on the same authority, that the Prophet said, Whoso is cupped on Friday will not be secure from the loss of sight and from frequent diseaseAbstain, said I, from this useless discourse, and come immediately, shave my head for I am weak. And he arose, and, stretching forth his hand, took out a handkerchief, and opened it; and lo, there was in it an astrolabe, consisting of seven plates; and he took it, and went into the middle of the court, where he raised his head towards the sun, and looked for a considerable time; after which he said to me, Know that there have passed, of this our day,which is Friday, and which is the tenth of Safar, of the year 263 of the Flight of the Prophet,—upon whom be the most excellent of blessings and peace!and the ascendant star of which, according to the required rules of the science of computation, is the planet Mars,—seven degrees and six minutes; and it happeneth that Mercury hath come in conjunction with that planet; and this indicateth that the shaving of hair is now a most excellent operation: and it hath indicated to me, also, that thou desirest to confer a benefit upon a person: and fortunate is he!but after that, there is an announcement that presenteth itself to me respecting a matter which I will not mention to thee.