“This is a singular dowry,” said Tyrab; “and has she accepted?”
“Certainly,” said the young man.
Then the Sultan said to the girl,—
“Wilt thou allow me to take a substitute, and to pay a ransom?”
“Willingly,” answered she; “I consent—I accept.”
So Tyrab sent for the father of the young girl, and asked her in marriage, and drew out the contract with her father; and gave to the bride for dowry two beautiful slaves, and to the bridegroom a handsome negro; and, moreover, added wherewith to live comfortably. Verily, this was a fine trait, for there is nothing more excellent than to unite those who love by a pure tie.
A similar story is told of the Kaliph, Abou-Bekr. He used to wander by night through the Brilliant City, in order to know the true state of his people, and to discover who was the victim of oppression. In one of his rounds he heard in the street a young girl singing these verses:—
“Alas, I loved him even before they tore away my talisman;
In his walk he describes the graceful bending of a branch:
His countenance is like the lustre of the full moon—