'What ails the Beauty she returneth not? *
Is't Beauty's irk or grudging to my lot?
I sickened and my friends all came to call; *
What stayed thee calling with the friendly knot?
Hadst thou been sick, I had come running fast *
To thee, nor threats had kept me from the spot:
Mid them I miss thee, and I lie alone; *
Sweetheart, to lose thy love sad loss I wot!'
His words were heard by a damsel in the other company who hastened towards him, and when her people followed her, she fought them off. Then the youth caught sight of her and sprang up and ran towards her, whilst the people of his party ran after him and laid hold of him. However he haled and freed himself from them, and she in like manner loosed herself; and, when they were free, each ran to other and meeting between the two parties, embraced and fell dead upon the ground."—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
When it was the Four Hundred ante Eleventh Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that "the young man and the maid met between the two parties and embraced and both fell dead upon the ground; whereat came there out an old man from one of the tents and stood over them exclaiming, 'Verily, we are Allah's and unto Him we are returning!' Then weeping sore he said, 'Allah have ruth on you both! by the Almighty, though you were not united in your lives, I will at least unite you after your deaths.' And he bade lay them out: so they washed them and shrouded them in one shroud and dug for them one grave and prayed one prayer over them both and buried them in one tomb; nor was there man or woman in the two parties but I saw weeping over them and buffeting their faces. Then I questioned the Shaykh of them, and he said, 'She was my daughter and he my brother's son; and love brought them to the pass thou seest.' I exclaimed, 'Allah amend thee! but why didst thou not marry them to each other?' Quoth he, 'I feared shame[FN#197] and dishonour; and now I am fallen into both.' " And they tell a tale of
THE MAD LOVER.
Quoth Abu 'l-Abbαs al-Mubarrad,[FN#198] "I set out one day with a company to Al-Bαrid on an occasion and, coming to the monastery of Hirakl,[FN#199] we alighted in its shade. Presently a man came out to us and said, 'There are madmen in the monastery,[FN#200] and amongst them one who speaketh wisdom; if ye saw him, ye would marvel at his speech.' So we arose all and went into the monastery' where we saw a man seated on a skin mat in one of the cells, with bare head and eyes intently fixed upon the wall. We saluted him, and he returned our salaam, without looking at us, and one said to us, 'Repeat some verses to him; for, when he heareth verse, he speaketh.' So I repeated these two couplets,
'O best of race to whom gave Hawwa[FN#201] boon of birth, *
Except for thee the world were neither sweet nor fair!
Thou'rt he, whose face, by Allah shown to man, *
Doth ward off death, decay and hoary hair.'
When he heard from me this praise of the Apostle he turned towards us and repeated these lines,
'Well Allah wotteth I am sorely plagued: *
Nor can I show my pain to human sight.
Two souls have I, one soul is here contained, *
While other woneth in another site.
Meseems the absent soul's like present soul, *
And that she suffers what to me is dight.'
Then he asked us. 'Have I said well or said ill? And we answered, 'Thou hast said the clean contrary of ill, well and right well.' Then he put out his hand to a stone, that was by him and took it up; whereupon thinking he would throw it at us we fled from him; but he fell to beating upon his breast therewith violent blows and said to us, 'Fear not, but draw near and hear somewhat from me and receive it from me.' So we came back, and he repeated these couplets,