When we met, to each other we both did complain Of the manifold
things that we each had to say;
For the lover's complaint of the anguish he feels The tongue of a
messenger cannot convey.
Then she wept and related to him what had befallen her since his departure, and he told her what he had suffered and they thanked God the Most High for their reunion with one another. Two days after his arrival, the Vizier went in to the Sultan and kissing the earth before him, saluted him after the fashion of salutation to kings. The Sultan rejoiced at his return and received him with distinguished favour. Then he desired to hear what had befallen him in his travels; so the Vizier told him all that had passed, and the Sultan said, "Praised be God for that thou hast attained thy desire and returned in safety to thy kinsfolk and family! I must see thy brother's son, so do thou bring him to the Divan tomorrow." Shemseddin replied, "God willing, thy slave shall be present tomorrow." Then he saluted him and returning to his own house, informed his nephew of the King's wish to see him, to which Bedreddin replied, "The slave is obedient to his lord's commands." So next day he accompanied his uncle to the Divan and after saluting the Sultan in the most punctilious and elegant manner, repeated the following verses:
All ranks and classes kiss the earth, in homage to thy state, For
lo I through thee their every wish is crowned with happy
fate.
For thou the fount of honour art for those that hope in thee, And
from thy hand the bounties flow that make there rich and
great.
The Sultan smiled and signed to him to sit down. So he sat down beside the Vizier, and the King enquired his name. Quoth Bedreddin, "The meanest of thy slaves is known as Bedreddin Hassan of Bassora, who prays for thee day and night." The Sultan was pleased at his words and being minded to try him and prove his knowledge and good-breeding, said to him, "Dost thou remember any verses in praise of a mole on the cheek?" "Yes," replied Bedreddin, and repeated the following:
When I think of my loved one, the sighs from my breast Burst up
and the tears to my eyes quickly start.
She's a mole, that resembles, in beauty and hue, The black of the
eye and the core of the heart.
The Sultan liked these verses and said, "Let us have some more. Heaven bless thy sire! May thy tongue never tire!" So he repeated the following:
The mole's black spot upon her cheek they liken to a grain Of
musk; yet wonder not at that, for wonder were in vain.
But rather wonder at her face, wherein all beauty is: There is no
particle of grace that it doth not contain.
The Sultan shook with delight and said to him, "More! God bless thy life!" So he repeated the following:
O thou, the moles upon whose cheek recall Globules of musk upon
cornelian strewed,
Grant me thy favours, be not hard of heart, O thou, my heart's
desire, my spirit's food!
Then said the King, "Thou hast done well, O Hassan, and hast acquitted thyself most excellently. But tell me how many meanings hath the word khal[FN#70] in the Arabic language." "Fifty," replied Hassan, "and some say eight and-fifty." Quoth the King, "Thou art right. Canst thou tell me the points of excellence in beauty?" "Yes," answered Bedreddin, "Brightness of face, purity of skin, shapeliness in the nose, softness in the eyes, sweetness in the mouth, elegance in speech, slenderness of shape and quickness of wit; and the perfection of beauty is in the hair. And indeed Es Shihab el Hijazi has brought them all together in the following doggrel: