And did she crache in Ocean’s face, next Morn would see a change ✿ To sweeter than the honeycomb of what was briny sea:
And did she deign her favours grant to grey-beard staff-en-propped ✿ He’d wake and rend the lion’s limbs for might and valiancy.
Then Abdullah continued:—O Prince of True Believers, as soon as I saw that girl I fell passionately in love with her and going straight up to her, found her seated on a high couch, reciting by heart and in grateful memory the Book of Allah, to whom belong honour and glory! Her voice was like the harmony of the gates of Heaven, when Rizwan openeth them, and the words came from her lips like a shower of gems; whilst her face was with beauty dight, bright and blossom-white, even as saith the poet of a similar sight:—
O thou who gladdenest man by speech and rarest quality; ✿ Grow longing and repine for thee and grow beyond degree!
In thee two things consume and melt the votaries of Love; ✿ The dulcet song of David joined with Joseph’s brilliancy.
When I heard her voice of melody reciting the sublime Koran, my heart quoted from her killing glances, ‘Peace, a word from a compassionating Lord;’[[513]] but I stammered[[514]] in my speech and could not say the salam-salutation aright, for my mind and sight were confounded and I was become as saith the bard:—
Love-longing urged me not except to trip in speech o’er free; ✿ Nor, save to shed my blood I passed the campment’s boundary:
I ne’er will hear a word from those who love to rail, but I ✿ Will testify to love of him with every word of me.
Then I hardened myself against the horrors of repine and said to her, “Peace be with thee, O noble Lady, and treasured jewel! Allah grant endurance to the foundation of thy fortune fair and upraise the pillars of thy glory rare!” Said she, “And on thee from me be peace and salutation and high honour, O Abdullah, O son of Fazil! Well come and welcome and fair welcome to thee, O dearling mine and coolth of mine eyne!” Rejoined I, “O my lady, whence wottest thou my name and who art thou and what case befel the people of this city, that they are become stones? I would have thee tell me the truth of the matter, for indeed I am admiring at this city and its citizens and that I have found none alive therein save thyself. So, Allah upon thee, tell me the cause of all this, according to the truth!” Quoth she, “Sit, O Abdullah, and Inshallah, I will talk with thee and acquaint thee in full with the facts of my case and of this place and its people; and there is no Majesty and there is no Might save in Allah, the Glorious, the Great!” So I sat me down by her side and she said to me, “Know, O Abdullah, (may Allah have mercy on thee!) that I am the daughter of the King of this city and that it is my sire whom thou sawest seated on the high stead in the Divan, and those who are round about him were the Lords of his land and the Guards of his empery. He was a King of exceeding prowess and had under his hand a thousand thousand and sixty thousand troopers. The number of the Emirs of his Empire was four-and-twenty thousand, all of them Governors and Dignitaries. He was obeyed by a thousand cities, besides towns, hamlets and villages; and sconces and citadels, and the Emirs[[515]] of the wild Arabs under his hand were a thousand in number, each commanding twenty thousand horse. Moreover, he had monies and treasures and precious stones and jewels and things of price, such as eye never saw nor of which ear ever heard.——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
Now when it was the Nine Hundred and Eighty-third Night,