She then took the stuff, and departed, confounded by his handsomeness and loveliness and elegant form; and she proceeded until she went in to the lady Dunyà, when she said to her, O my mistress, I have brought thee some beautiful stuff.—Shew it me, said the lady. And she replied, O my mistress, here it is: turn it over, and behold it. And when the lady Dunyà saw it, she said to her, O my nurse, verily this is beautiful stuff; I have not seen such in our city!—O my mistress, replied the old woman, the seller of it surpasseth it in beauty. It seemeth as though Riḍwán had opened the gates of Paradise and neglected them, and so the merchant who selleth this stuff had come forth from it. I wish he were with thee; for he is a temptation to every one who beholdeth him. He hath come to our city with these stuffs for the sake of amusement.—At these words of the old woman the lady Dunyà laughed, and said, Allah afflict thee, thou ill-omened old woman! Thou hast spoken nonsense, and art become insane.—She then added, Give me the stuff that I may examine it closely. So the old woman handed it to her, and she looked at it again, and saw that it was but little, and that its price was great; and she wondered at its beauty; for she had never in her life seen anything like it. The old woman then said to her, O my mistress, if thou didst behold its owner, thou wouldst know that he is the handsomest person on the face of the earth. And the lady Dunyà said to her, Didst thou ask him if he had any want to be performed, that he might acquaint us with it, and thou mightest accomplish it for him? The old woman, shaking her head, replied, Allah preserve thy sagacity! By Allah, he hath a want. And is any person without one?—Go to him, then, said the lady Dunyà, and salute him, and say to him, I have been honoured by thine arrival in our city, and whatever want thou hast, we will perform it for thee on the head and the eye.
The old woman, therefore, returned immediately to Táj-el-Mulook, and when he saw her, his heart leaped with joy, and he rose to her, standing upon his feet, and, taking her hand, seated her by his side. So when she had sat and rested herself, she informed him of that which the lady Dunyà had said. On hearing this, he was filled with the utmost joy; his bosom expanded, and he said within himself, I have accomplished my wish! He then said to the old woman, Perhaps thou wilt convey to her a letter from me, and bring me back the answer. She replied, I hear and obey. And when he heard her reply, he said to 'Azeez, Give me an inkhorn and paper, and a pen of brass. And 'Azeez having given him these things, he wrote the following verses:—
I write to thee a letter, O object of my petition, expressive of the torment that I suffer from separation; And first, I make known to thee the ardour of my heart; and secondly, my desire and eager longing; And thirdly, the expiring of my life and patience; and fourthly, that all the violence of my love remaineth; And fifthly, I ask, When shall I behold thee? and sixthly, When shall be the day of our union?
He then added beneath, This letter is from the captive of desire, incarcerated in the prison of longing expectation, to whom there can be no liberation but by enjoying an interview, even were it with the phantom of the object of his hope; for he is enduring a painful torment from the separation of his beloved.—Then his tears flowed, and he wrote these two verses:—
I write unto thee with my tears flowing, and the drops from my eyes descending incessantly; But I am not despairing of the favour of my Lord: perhaps some day our union may take place.
He then folded the letter, and sealed it, and gave it to the old woman, saying, Convey it to the lady Dunyà. She replied, I hear and obey. And he gave her a thousand pieces of gold, and said, Receive this as a present from me. So the old woman took it and departed, praying for him.
She stopped not until she went in to the lady Dunyà, who, when she beheld her, said to her, O my nurse, what hath he demanded that we should do for him?—O my mistress, she answered, he hath sent with me a letter, and I know not its contents. And she handed the letter to her. So the lady Dunyà took it and read it, and understood its meaning, and exclaimed, Whence is he, and to what doth he aspire, that this merchant openeth a correspondence with me? Then slapping her face, she said, Were it not for my fear of God (whose name be exalted!) I would crucify him upon his shop. So the old woman said to her, What is in this letter, that it hath disturbed thy heart? Doth it contain a complaint of oppression, or a demand for the price of the stuff?—Wo to thee! she answered: it containeth not that, nor anything but love and affection; and all this is through thee. Or, if not, how should this devil presume to employ these words?—O my mistress, replied the old woman, thou art residing in thy lofty palace, and no one can obtain access to thee; not even the flying bird. Allah preserve thee from blame and censure! Thou hast nothing to fear from the barking of dogs. Be not angry with me for my bringing thee this letter when I knew not its contents: but it is my opinion that thou shouldst return him an answer, and threaten him in it with slaughter, and forbid him from employing these vain words; for he will abstain, and not do so again.—The lady Dunyà said, I fear to write to him, lest he covet me more. But the old woman replied, When he heareth the threatening, and promise of punishment, he will desist from his present conduct. So she said, Bring me an inkhorn and paper, and a pen of brass. And when they had brought them to her, she wrote these verses:—
O pretender to love and affliction and sleeplessness, and feelings of rapturous passion, and anxiety! Dost thou seek for a meeting, O deceived, from a moon? Doth any attain from a moon his wish? I advise thine abstaining from thy desire: forbear then; for thou art exposed to peril. If thou again make use of these words, I will visit thee with a punishment of the utmost severity. By Him who created mankind of clotted blood,[60] and who gave light to the sun and the moon! If thou repeat the proposal thou hast made, I will assuredly crucify thee on the trunk of a tree.
