'They fared and with faring fled rest from me * And my parted
heart no repose can see:
Have ruth on a wight with a heart weighed by woes * Seest not how
their door is without a key?'
Then indeed I repented, O Commander of the Faithful, over that I had done and regretted what had befallen me and what had proceeded from me of ill-deeds, and quoth I to the woman who had addressed me, 'Allah upon thee, O my mistress, say me hast thou of their traces any tidings?' "—And Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day and fell silent, and ceased saying her permitted say. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad, "How sweet and tasteful is thy tale, O sister mine, and how enjoyable and delectable!" Quoth she, "And where is this compared with that I would relate to you on the coming night an the Sovran suffer me to survive?" Now when it was the next night and that was
The Six Hundred and Forty-eighth Night,
Dunyazad said to her, "Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short the watching of this our latter night." She replied, "With love and good will!" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that Manjab, speaking to the woman, said, "O my lady, say me, dost thou know of their traces any tidings, and hast thou come upon any manifest news?" Said she, "This thing was to befal thee of old, O thou poor fellow, even as quoth the poet in the following couplets,
'My tears flow fast, my heart knows no rest * And melts my soul
and cares aye molest:
Would Heaven mine eyeballs their form beheld * And flies my life,
and ah! who shall arrest?
'Tis wondrous the while shows my form to sight, * Fire burns my
vitals with flamey crest!
Indeed for parting I've wept, and yet * No friend I find to mine
aid addrest:
Ho thou the Moon in a moment gone * From sight, wilt thou rise to
a glance so blest?
An thou be 'stranged of estrangement who * Of men shall save me?
Would God I wist!
Fate hath won the race in departing me * And who with Fate can
avail contest?'"
"Then, O Commander of the Faithful, my longings grew and I poured fast tears in torrents and I was like to choke with my sobs, so I arose to walk about the city highways and I clung from wall to wall for what befel me of despight and affright at the disappearance of them,[147] and as I wandered about I repeated these verses,
'To man I'm humbled when my friends lost I * And missed the way
of right where hardships lie:
Sorrow and sickness long have been my lot * To bear, when need
was strong to justify:
Say me, shall any with their presence cheer— * Pity my soul?
Then bless my friend who's nigh!
I kiss your footprints for the love of you, * I greet your envoy
e'en albeit he lie.'
After this, O Prince of True Believers, I remained immersed in cark and care and anxious thought, and as ever I wandered about behold, a man met me and said, ''Tis now three days since they marched away and none wotteth where they have alighted.'[148] So I returned once more to the mansion-door and I sat beside it to take my rest when my glance was raised and fell upon the lintel and I saw attached to it a folded paper which I hent in hand and found written therein these lines,