There was of old time in Baghdad a man of condition, who had inherited from his father abounding affluence. He fell in love with a slave girl; so he bought her and she loved him as he loved her; and he did not stop to spend upon her, till all his money was gone and nothing remained of it; whereupon he sought a means of getting his livelihood, but availed not to find any. Now this young man had been used, in the days of his affluence, to frequent the assemblies of those who were versed in the art of singing and had thus attained to the utmost excellence within it. Presently, he took counsel with one of his intimates, who said to him, "Meseems you can find no better profession than to sing, you and your slave girl; for in this way you will get money in plenty and will eat and drink." But he misliked this, he and the damsel, and she said to him, "I have bethought me of a means of relief for you." He asked, "What is it?;" and she answered, "Do you sell me; thus shall we be delivered of this strait, you and I, and I shall be in affluence, for none will buy the like of me save a man of fortune, and with this I will contrive for my return to you." He carried her to the market and the first who saw her was a Háshimí of Bassorah, a man of good breeding, fine taste and generosity, who bought her for fifteen hundred dinars. (the young said man the damsel's owner), "When I had received the price, I repented me and wept, I and the damsel; and I sought to cancel the sale; but the purchaser would not consent. So I took the gold in a bag, knowing not

Ruined Man Of Baghdad And His Slave Girl. 25 where I should go, now my house was desolate of her, and buffeted my face and wept and wailed as I had never done before. Then I entered a mosque and sat shedding tears, till I was stupefied and losing my senses fell asleep, with the bag of money under my head by way of pillow. Presently, before I could beware, a man plucked the bag from under my head and ran off with it at fast speed: whereupon I started up in alarm and affright and would have arisen to run after him; but lo! my feet were bound with a rope and I fell on my face. Then I took to weeping and buffeting myself, saying, 'You have parted with your soul and your wealth is lost!'"—

When it was the Eight Hundred and Ninety seventh night

She pursued, the young man continued, "So I said to myself, 'You have parted with your soul and your wealth is lost.' Then, of the excess of my chagrin, I betook myself to the Tigris and wrapping my face in my gown, cast myself into the stream. The bystanders saw me and cried, 'For sure, this is because of some great trouble that has happened him.' They cast themselves in after me and bringing me ashore, questioned me of my case. I told them what misadventure had befallen me and they condoled with me. Then an old man of them came to me and said, 'You have lost your money, but why go you about to lose your life and become of the people of The Fire? Arise, come with me, that I may see your lodging.' I went with him to my house and he sat with me awhile, till I grew calmer, and becoming tranquil I thanked him and he went away. When he was gone, I was like to kill myself, but bethought me of the Future and the Fire; so I fared forth my house and fled to one of my friends and told him what had befallen me. He wept for pity of me and gave me fifty dinars, saying, 'Take my advice and hie you from Baghdad directly and let this provide you till your heart be diverted from the love of her and you forget her. Your forbears were Secretaries and Scribes and your handwriting is fine and your breeding right good: seek out, then, whom you will of the Intendants and throw yourself on his bounty; thus perhaps Allah shall reunite you with your slave girl.'

I hearkened to his words (and indeed my mind was strengthened and I was something comforted) and resolved to betake myself to Wasit, where I had kinsfolk. So I went down to the riverside, where I saw a ship moored and the sailors embarking goods and goodly stuffs. I asked them to take me with them and carry me to Wasit; but they replied, 'We cannot take you on such wise, for the ship belongs to a Hashimi. However I tempted them with promise of passage money and they said, 'We cannot embark you on this fashion; but, if it must be, doff those fine clothes of yours and don sailor's gear and sit with us as you were one of us.' I went away and buying something of sailors' clothes, put them on; after which I bought me also something of provisions for the voyage; and, returning to the vessel, which was bound for Bassorah, embarked with the crew. But before long I saw my slave girl herself come on board, attended by two waiting women; whereupon what was on me of chagrin subsided and I said in myself, 'Now shall I see her and hear her singing, till we come to Bassorah.'

Soon after, up rode the Hashimi with a party of people, and they embarked aboard the ship, which dropped down the river with them. Presently, the Hashimi brought out food and ate with the damsel, whilst the rest ate amidships. Then he said to her, 'How long this abstinence from singing and permanence in this wailing and weeping? You are not the first that has been parted from a beloved!' Why I knew what she suffered for love of me. Then he hung a curtain before her along the gunwale and calling those who ate apart, sat down with them without the curtain; and I enquired concerning them and behold they were his brethren. He set before them what they needed of wine and dessert, and they did not stop to press the damsel to sing, till she called for the lute and tuning it, intoned these two couplets,

Ruined Man Of Baghdad And His Slave Girl. 27

'The company left with my love by night, Nor forbore to fare with my heart's delight: And raged, since their camels off paced, a fire As of Ghaza wood in the lover's sprite.'

Then weeping overpowered her and she threw down the lute and ceased singing; at which the folk were troubled and I slipped down a swoon. They thought I was possessed and one of them began reciting exorcisms in my ear; nor did they cease to comfort her and beseech her to sing, till she tuned the lute again and chaunted these couplets twain,

'I stood and bewailed who their loads had bound And far yode but still in my heart are found: I drew near the ruins and asked of them And the camp was void and lay waste the ground.'

Then she fell down in a fainting fit and weeping arose amongst the folk; and I also cried out and fainted away. The sailors were startled by me and one of the Hashimi's pages said to them, 'How came you to take this madman on board?' So they said one to other, 'As soon as we come to the next village, we will set him ashore and rid us of him.' When I heard this, I was sore troubled but I heartened and hardened myself, saying in thought, 'Nothing will serve me to deliver myself from their hands, except I make shift to acquaint her with my presence in the ship, so she may prevent my being set ashore.' Then we sailed when we came close by a hamlet and the skipper said, 'Come, let us go ashore.' Therewith they all landed, save myself: and as evening fell I rose and going behind the curtain took the lute and changed its accord, mode by mode, and tuning it after a fashion of my own, that she had learnt of me, returned to my place in the ship;"—

When it was the Eight Hundred and Ninety eighth night

So I accosted" (he said) "a grocer and, taking of him inkcase and paper, sat down to write. He admired my handwriting and seeing my dress stained and soiled, questioned me of my case, to which I replied that I was a stranger and poor. he said, 'Will you abide with me and order the accounts of my shop and I will give you your food and clothing and half a dirham a day for ordering the accompts of my shop?': and i said, "Tis well,' and abode with him and kept his accounts and ordered his income and expenditure for a month, at the end of which he found his income increased and his disbursements diminished; Why he thanked me and made my wage a dirham a day. When the year was out, he proposed to me to marry his daughter and become his partner in the shop. I agreed to this and went in to my wife and applied me to the shop. But I was broken in heart and spirit, and grief was manifest upon me; and the grocer used to drink and invite me thereto, but I refrained for melancholy. I abode in this way two years till, one day, as I sat in the shop, behold, there passed by a parcel of people with meat and drink, and I asked the grocer what was the matter.

Ruined Man Of Baghdad And His Slave Girl. 31 he said, 'This is the day of the pleasure makers, when all the musicians and dancers of the town go forth with the young men of fortune to the banks of the Ubullah river and eat and drink among the trees there.' The spirit prompted me to solace myself with the sight of this thing and I said in my mind, "perhaps among these people I may forgather with her I love.' So I told the grocer that I had a mind to this and he said, 'Up and go with them If you please.' He made me ready meat and drink and I went till I came to the River of Ubullah, when, behold, the folk were going away: I also was about to follow, when I espied the Rais of the bark in which the Hashimi had been with the damsel and he was going along the river. I cried out to him and his company who knew me and took me on board with them and said to me, 'Are you yet alive?'; and they embraced me and questioned me of my case. I told them my tale and they said, 'Indeed, we thought that drunkenness had gotten the better of you and that you had fallen into the water and were drowned.'

Then I asked them of the damsel, and they answered, 'When she came to know of your loss, she rent her raiment and burnt the lute and fell to buffeting herself and lamenting and when we returned with the Hashimi to Bassorah we said to her, 'Leave this weeping and wailing.' she said, 'I will don black and make me a tomb beside the house and abide by that and repent from singing.' We allowed her so to do and in this way she abides to this day. Then they carried me to the Hashimi's house, where I saw the damsel as they had said. When she espied me, she cried out a great cry, methought she had died, and I embraced her with a long embrace. Then said the Hashimi to me, 'Take her;' and I said, "Tis well: but do you free her and according to your promise marry her to me.' Accordingly he did this and gave us costly goods and store of raiment and furniture and five hundred dinars, saying, 'This is the amount of that which I purpose to allow you every month, but on condition that you be my cup companion and that I hear the girl sing when I will.'

Furthermore, he assigned us private quarters and bade transport there all our need; so, when I went to the house, I found it filled full of furniture and stuffs and carried the damsel there. Then I betook me to the grocer and told him all that had happened me, begging to hold me guiltless for divorcing his daughter, without offense on her part; and I paid her dowry and what else behoved me. I abode with the Hashimi in this way two years and became a man of great wealth and was restored to the former estate of prosperity in which I had been at Baghdad, I and the damsel. And indeed Allah the Bountiful put an end to our troubles and loaded us with the gifts of good fortune and caused our patience to result in the attainment of our desire: Why to Him be the praise in this world and the next whereto we are returning." And among the tales men tell is that of