That’s very singular.
And what can Sittah then so earnestly,
So warmly have to sue for from a stranger,
A dervis, rather than from me, her brother?
Al-Hafi, I command. Dervis, speak out.
SITTAH.
Let not a trifle, brother, touch you nearer
Than is becoming. You know I have often
Won the same sum of you at chess, and, as
I have not just at present need of money,
I’ve left the sum at rest in Hafi’s chest,
Which is not over-full; and thus the stakes
Are not yet taken out—but, never fear,
It is not my intention to bestow them
On thee, or Hafi.
HAFI.
Were it only this—
SITTAH.
Some more such trifles are perhaps unclaimed;
My own allowance, which you set apart,
Has lain some months untouched.
HAFI.
Nor is that all—
SALADIN.