第27章

Then he wept，whilst the Princesses wept for his weeping，and they were moved to compassion and jealousy for him.So they fell to comforting him and exhorting him to patience and offering up prayers for his reunion with his wife；whilst his sister said to him，'O my brother，be of good cheer and keep thine eyes cool and clear and be patient；so shalt thou win thy will；for whoso hath patience and waiteth，that he seeketh attaineth.Patience holdeth the keys of relief and indeed the poet saith；'Let destiny with slackened rein its course appointed fare！ And lie thou down to sleep by night，with heart devoid of care；

For'twixt the closing of an eye and th' opening thereof，God hath it in His power to change a case from foul to fair.'[104]

So hearten thy heart and brace up thy resolve，for the son of ten years dieth not in the ninth.[105]Weeping and grief and mourning gender sickness and disease；wherefore do thou abide with us till thou be rested，and I will devise some device for thy winning to thy wife and children，Inshallah--so it please Allah the Most High！' And he wept sore and recited these verses；'An I be healed of disease in frame，* I'm unhealed of illness in heart and sprite：

There is no healing disease of love，* Save lover and loved one to re-unite.'

Then he sat down beside her and she proceeded to talk with him and comfort him and question him of the cause and the manner of his wife's departure.So he told her and she said，'By Allah，O my brother，I was minded to bid thee burn the feather-dress，but Satan made me forget it.' She ceased not to converse with him and caress him and company with him other ten days，whilst sleep visited him not and he delighted not in food；and when the case was longsome upon him and unrest waxed in him，he versified with these couplets；'A beloved familiar o'erreigns my heart * And Allah's ruling reigns evermore：

She hath all the Arab's united charms * This gazelle who feeds on my bosom's core.

Though my skill and patience for love of her fail，* I weep whilst I wot that'tis vain to deplore.

The dearling hath twice seven years，as though * She were moon of five nights and of five plus four.'[106]

When the youngest Princess saw him thus distracted for love and longing for passion and the fever-heat of desire，she went in to her sisterhood weeping-eyed and woeful-hearted，and shedding copious tears threw herself upon them，kissed their feet and besought them to devise some device for bringing Hasan to the Islands of Wak and effecting his reunion with his wife and wees.

She ceased not to conjure them to further her brother in the accomplishment of his desire and to weep before them，till she made them weep and they said to her，'Hearten thy heart： we will do our best endeavour to bring about his reunion with his family；Inshallah！'And he abode with them a whole year，during which his eyes never could retain their tears.Now the sisterhood had an uncle，brother-german to their sire and his name was Abd al-Kaddās，or Slave of the Most Holy；and he loved the eldest with exceeding love and was wont to visit her once a year and do all she desired.They had told him of Hasan's adventure with the Magian and how he had been able to slay him；whereat he rejoiced and gave the eldest Princess a pouch[107] which contained certain perfumes，saying，'O daughter of my brother，an thou be in concern for aught，or if aught irk thee，or thou stand in any need，cast of these perfumes upon fire naming my name and I will be with thee forthright and will do thy desire.'This speech was spoken on the first of Moharram[108]；and the eldest Princess said to one of the sisterhood，'Lo，the year is wholly past and my uncle is not come.Rise，bring me the fire-sticks and the box of perfumes.'So the damsel arose rejoicing and，fetching what she sought，laid it before her sister，who opened the box and taking thence a little of the perfume，cast it into the fire naming her unde's name；nor was it burnt out ere appeared a dust-cloud at the farther end of the Wady；and presently lifting；it discovered a Shaykh riding on an elephant，which moved at a swift and easy pace，and trumpeted under the rider.As soon as he came within sight of the Princesses，he began making signs to them with his hands and feet；nor was it long ere he reached the castle and，alighting from the elephant，came in to them；whereupon they embraced him and kissed his hands and saluted him with the salam.Then he sat down，whilst the girls talked with him and questioned him of his absence.Quoth he，'I was sitting but now with my wife，your aunt，when I smelt the perfumes and hastened to you on this elephant.What wouldst thou，O daughter of my brother？' Quoth she，'O uncle，indeed we longed for thee；as the year is past and'tis not thy wont to be absent from us more than a twelvemonth.'Answered he，'I was busy，but I

purposed to come to you to-morrow.'Wherefore they thanked him and blessed him and sat talking with him.--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.