When she had made an end of her verse, the Commander of the Faithful said to her, "O damsel, thou art in love." She replied, "Yes;" and he asked, "With whom?" Answered she, "With my lord and sovran of my tenderness, for whom my love is as the love of the earth for rain, or as the desire of the female for the male; and indeed the love of him is mingled with my flesh and my blood and hath entered into the channels of my bones. O Prince of True Believers, whenever I call him to mind my vitals are consumed, for that I have not yet won my wish of him, and but that I fear to die, without seeing him, I had assuredly slain myself." Thereupon quoth he, "Art thou in my presence and durst bespeak me with the like of these words? Forsure I will gar thee forget thy lord." Then he bade take her away; so she was carried to her pavilion and he sent her a concubine, with a casket wherein were three thousand ducats and a collar of gold set with seed-pearls and great unions, and jewels, worth other three thousand, saying to her, "The slave-girl and that which is with her are a gift from me to thee." When she heard this, she cried, "Allah forfend that I be consoled for the love of my lord and my master, though with an earth-full of gold!" And she improvised and recited these couplets,
"By his life I swear, by his life I pray; * For him fire I'd
enter unful dismay!
'Console thee (cry they) with another fere * Thou lovest!' and I,
'By 's life, nay, NAY!'
He's moon whom beauty and grace array; * From whose cheeks and
brow shineth light of day."
Then the Commander of the Faithful summoned her to his presence a fourth time and said, "O Sitt al-Milah, sing." So she recited and sang these couplets,
"The lover's heart by his beloved is oft disheartenèd * And by
the hand of sickness eke his sprite dispiritèd,
One asked, 'What is the taste of love?"[300] and I to him
replied, * 'Love is a sweet at first but oft in fine
unsweetened.'
I am the thrall of Love who keeps the troth of love to
them[301] * But oft they proved themselves 'Urkúb[302] in pact with me they made.
What in their camp remains? They bound their loads and fared
away; * To other feres the veilèd Fairs in curtained litters
sped;
At every station the beloved showed all of Joseph's charms: * The
lover wone with Jacob's woe in every shift of stead."
When she had made an end of her song, she threw the lute from her hand and wept herself a-swoon. So they sprinkled on her musk-mingled rose-water and willow-flower water; and when she came to her senses, Al-Rashid said to her, "O Sitt al-Milah, this is not just dealing in thee. We love thee and thou lovest another." She replied, "O Commander of the Faithful, there is no help for it." Thereupon he was wroth with her and cried, "By the virtue of Hamzah[303] and 'Akíl[304] and Mohammed, Prince of the Apostles, an thou name in my presence one other than I, I will assuredly order strike off thy head!" Then he bade return her to her chamber, whilst she wept and recited these couplets,
'Oh brave!' I'd cry an I my death could view; * My death were
better than these griefs to rue,
Did sabre hew me limb by limb; this were * Naught to affright a
lover leal-true."
Then the Caliph went in to the Lady Zubaydah, complexion-altered with anger, and she noted this in him and said to him, "How cometh it that I see the Commander of the Faithful changed of colour?" He replied, "O daughter of my uncle, I have a beautiful slave-girl, who reciteth verses by rote and telleth various tales, and she hath taken my whole heart; but she loveth other than myself and declareth that she affecteth her former lord; so I have sworn a great oath that, if she come again to my sitting- hall and sing for other than for me, I will assuredly shorten her highest part by a span."[305] Quoth Zubaydah, "Let the Commander of the Faithful favour me by presenting her, so I may look on her and hear her singing." Accordingly he bade fetch her and she came, upon which the Lady Zubaydah withdrew behind the curtain,[306] where the damsel saw her not, and Al-Rashid said to her, "Sing to us." So she took the lute and tuning it, recited these couplets,
"O my lord! since the day when I lost your sight, * My life was
ungladdened, my heart full of teen;
The memory of you kills me every night; * And by all the worlds
is my trace unseen;
All for love of a Fawn who hath snared my sprite * By his love
and his brow as the morning sheen.
Like a left hand parted from brother right * I became by parting
thro' Fortune's spleen.
On the brow of him Beauty deigned indite * 'Blest be Allah, whom
best of Creators I ween!'
And Him I pray, who could disunite * To re-unite us. Then cry
'Ameen!'"[307]
When Al-Rashid heard the end of this, he waxed exceeding wroth and said, "May Allah not reunite you twain in gladness!" Then he summoned the headsman, and when he presented himself, he said to him, "Strike off the head of this accursed slave-girl." So Masrur took her by the hand and led her away; but, when she came to the door, she turned and said to the Caliph, "O Commander of the Faithful, I conjure thee, by thy fathers and forefathers, behead me not until thou give ear to that I shall say!" Then she improvised and recited these couplets,
"Emir of Justice, be to lieges kind * For Justice ever guides thy
generous mind;
And, oh, who blamest love to him inclining! * Are lovers blamed
for lâches undesigned?
By Him who gave thee rule, deign spare my life * For rule on
earth He hath to thee assigned."