’Tis a marvel shrub watered every day ✿ With silvern lymph and it fruiteth gold.
Then he gave a bunch of roses to the tenth and last and he recited these two couplets:—
Seest not how the hosts of the Rose display ✿ Red hues and yellow in rosy field?
I compare the Rose and her arming thorn ✿ To emerald lance piercing golden shield.
And whilst each one hent bunch in hand, the gardener brought the wine-service and setting it before them, on a tray of porcelain arabesqued with red gold, recited these two couplets:—
Dawn heralds day-light: so wine pass round, ✿ Old wine, fooling sage till his wits he tyne:
Wot I not for its purest clarity ✿ An ’tis wine in cup or ’tis cup in wine.[[417]]
Then the gardener filled and drank and the cup went round, till it came to Nur al-Din’s turn, whereupon the man filled and handed it to him; but he said, “This thing I wot it not nor have I ever drunken thereof, for therein is great offence and the Lord of All-might hath forbidden it in His Book.” Answered the gardener, “O my Lord Nur al-Din, an thou forbear to drink only by reason of the sin, verily Allah (extolled and exalted be He!) is bountiful, of sufferance great, forgiving and compassionate and pardoneth the mortalest sins: His mercy embraceth all things, Allah’s ruth be upon the poet who saith:—
Be as thou wilt, for Allah is bountiful ✿ And when thou sinnest feel thou naught alarm:
But ’ware of twofold sins nor ever dare ✿ To give God partner or mankind to harm.”