On our behalf he will bestow a look of indulgence
He will furnish troops, gold, and silver:
Unless this course be pursued, there is no other remedy.
Kirmān (Carmania) is a province of Persia (the ancient Gedrasia), having to the north Khurasan, to the east Afghanistān and Bilūchistān, to the south the Persian Gulf, to the west Fars and Luristān. Carmanicus Sinus: the Gulf of Ormuz. Kirmān is the plural of kirm, a worm, and the province where silkworms were originally bred. It is celebrated for the cultivation of the white rose, from which `itr-i-gul (attar of roses) is distilled; and also for a peculiar breed of sheep, called dumbadār, small, short-legged, with a long bushy tail.
Page [9]. “Directed their course towards the desert,” i.e. of Kirmān.—The text has this quatrain:
Behold to what misery misfortune has thrown me!
Owing to breach of good faith, she has cast me into a sea of troubles;
For adverse Fortune has devised an evil design against me,
Inasmuch as she has separated friends from each other.
Page [9]. “A hundred thousand lives such as mine are not in value equal to a single hair of the King’s head.”—In less extravagant terms does a distressed damsel in another romance express herself: “Of a truth, noble man, you have displayed your compassionate nature; but I cannot consent to save my body at the cost of yours: for who ought to save a common stone by the sacrifice of a gem?”—Vetāla Panchavinsati, or Twenty-five Tales of a Demon.