Among the first who succeeded Zoheir was Prince Malik; he sprang towards Antar, and embraced him and kissed him between the eyes; and he likewise cried out—Welcome, welcome to my cousin, the reliever of sorrow! When the horsemen saw what King Zoheir and his son had done, they could not avoid following the example; so they sprang towards Antar and embraced him, and kissed him between the eyes, and admitted him to the honour and rank of an Arab, and all cried out—Welcome, welcome to my cousin! But Shas was violently enraged; he was nearly bursting with passion; he arose hastily and went to his tent. But the warriors sat down and began talking and jesting, anxiety and sorrow left them, and they were all joy and merriment; they ate meat and drank wine till night brought on the darkness; and at the termination of the feast the King clothed Antar in a robe worked with red gold, and girded on a trusty sword, and gave him a pike of Khata, and mounted him on an Arab horse, and called him the Champion of the tribes of Abs and Adnan. And Antar returned with his father and his uncles towards the tents, and his glory and honour were exalted among all the horsemen; the warriors of the tribe of Carad rejoiced, but his enemies and the envious were grieved, particularly the family of Zeead.
Amarah went home, and his regret and affliction increased; he laid himself down at full length, and a fever and trembling attacked him, and his knees and legs pained him, and he was fearfully indisposed. He sent for his brother Rebia, and wept before him; O brother, said he, if Ibla escape me, I shall die of grief, and no one will know of my death. Amarah, said Rebia, verily you have done a deed you ought not to have done. We must now consider this slave as our equal. From the first, I never wished you to interfere with Ibla, or connect yourself with the tribe of Carad; and now that this vile slave has liberated her from slavery we can do nothing with her, and cannot succeed, unless her father indeed be inclined towards you. To morrow I will go and see about your business, and if I find that he still wishes for you, it may be accomplished: otherwise make your heart easy, Amarah; for if he inclines towards Antar on account of his courage, we will consult how to destroy him, and annihilate his life ere he actually obtain her.
Thus were his alarms and jealousies in part relieved. He waited patiently till the next day, when he dressed himself in fine clothes, and perfumed himself, and sent for Malik and his son Amroo, who attended him and complimented him; and instantly Amarah arose and received them with all due courtesy. And Malik said to Amarah, what do you wish of us? Most noble and excellent sir, I only invited you to day, he replied, that I might see whether your heart was pleased in marrying that guarded pearl and concealed jewel to that black slave, that feeder of camels and sheep, whom the horsemen have preferred to their rank and condition. Thus will your daughter be disgraced amongst the noble Arabs. If indeed you do such a deed, it will be impossible for us to remain in this land. We only promised so to Antar, and only admitted him to our relationship and rank, said Malik, when he assisted us in the battle and conflict; but we never thought he could escape safe out of those perils, and rout such armies.
Well, said Amarah, to morrow when we repair to King Zoheir, and when we are in full assembly, I will demand your daughter; do you assent and settle the amount of the dower, and when once the dower is decided on, neither King Zoheir or any one else can say any thing to the contrary: and I promise you that the dower shall be a thousand he and she camels, and a thousand head of sheep, and twenty Ooshareeyi camels, and twenty horses of the noblest breed, and a hundred silk robes, and fifty satin garments spangled rich in gold, and twenty strings of the finest jewels, and a hundred skins of wine for the marriage feast, and a hundred male, and as many female slaves.
Malik overjoyed, agreed to this proposal; Amarah too, flattered himself he should succeed in his expectations; and soon after Malik and his son went home and tarried there till the morning. The next day King Zoheir was sitting in his tent, surrounded by the nobles of the tribe of Abs, when Amarah and the family of Zeead presented themselves before him; they had greatly enlarged their turbans, and seated themselves according to their rank on the left of the King, and Antar and the Carad tribe were on the right, and the horsemen took their places. O Chief, said Amarah, turning towards Malik, do you think my rank mean, or my connexion low? Are you not, said Malik, one of our illustrious horsemen? We are now in the presence of King Zoheir, continued Amarah, and I come to you as a suitor to your daughter, and I am solicitous for your favour; therefore decide on the marriage dower and donation, and demand even what the princes of the universe would fail in giving.
All this passed, and Antar sat still and heard it and observed; and he was convinced his uncle Malik favoured the Zeead family, and he feared that if his uncle should decide on fixing the marriage donation with Amarah, and should confirm it, Ibla would pass out of his hands, and he would have no more to say—in vain he would reproach and revile. Thus roused by the urgency of the moment, he started up, and turning towards Amarah, exclaimed, “thou he goat of a man—thou refuse!—thou villain! Dost thou at such a time as this demand Ibla in marriage?—thou coward, did not I demand her when she was in the midst of twelve thousand warriors, waving their bone-cleaving swords, and thou and thy brother were flying among the rocks and the wilds? I then descended—I exposed my life in her dangers, and liberated her from the man that had captured her; but, now that she is in the tent of her father and mother, thou wouldst demand her! By the faith of an illustrious Arab, thou, dastard, if thou dost not give up thy pretentions to Ibla, I will bring down perdition upon thee, and I will curse thy relations and thy parents, and I will make the hour of thy wedding, an hour of evil tiding to thyself and thy posterity!”
O Antar, said Amroo, Ibla is our daughter, and it is for us to command; no prince or chief is empowered to oblige us to marry her to any one but whom we choose and approve.
At these words the light became dark in his eyes—his hand hurried to his irresistible Dhami—he sprang from the ground on the back of his Abjer, resolved to put Malik and his son Amroo to death, and Rebia and Amarah too, and the whole family of Zeead; and to carry off Ibla, and live with her in the mountains; but he thought of King Zoheir’s kindness, and how he had transferred him from servitude to honour and freedom; so he immediately changed his mind, and thus addressed the Absians:
“When the family of Carad are ungrateful, and the family of Zeead are violent in their acts, then there is no blame or reproach to me, if I protect mine own honour and rights by arms or by stratagem. Is not fire kindled from a Zanad when the stone is rubbed against the Zanad? Enjoyment is ever desired after absence, and approximation is wished for after separation. I have been merciful to those who are not aware of the value of my mercy, and my friendship has not been properly appreciated. But after this forbearance I shall act in another manner, till the towns and deserts shall flow with my blood, and my sword shall complain of fatigue in my hand, and my joints shall murmur at the burthen of my belt. Ye observed me well the day of Tey, and my deeds with my Indian spear; and had my lance a tongue, it would tell ye of the splitting of ribs in the battle. How many challengers called to me on the day of conflict, and hailed me, and I answered each antagonist. O family of Zeead, ye have opposed a noble lion that never flinches from the fight—artless in speech and deeds—with a sword that cleaves heads and arms. Be on thy guard then, O Amroo, on thy guard against him. Let not thine eyelids be weighed down with sleep. But had I not a chief who commands me, liberal in speech, and exalted in power, I would do myself justice with my sword, and soon would I shew the difference between virtue and outrage.”
When Antar had finished, the chiefs admired his eloquence: King Zoheir went up to him, and made him dismount. May God never renounce thy mouth! said he: may no one ever harm thee, O thou protector of the tribes! And then turning towards Malik, Ibla’s father, he said—How is it that you will not marry your daughter to a hero? You engaged her to him when he liberated her from her perilous situation! My lord, my daughter is in my tent, said Malik, you may command her, and marry her to whom you please; I will not oppose your directions, and I will not swerve from your orders. Then said King Zoheir, Ibla can belong to no one but our defender, the brave Antar. So they sat down and ate, and thus they remained till dark, when they went home, each to his tent.