第33章

whereupon he took hold of the hem of her garment and laid it on his head and throwing himself before her，fell to kissing her hands and feet and weeping and crying，'Thy protection！ thy good-will！'Quoth she，'Ho，thou！ Arise and stand up，ere any see thee and slay thee.'So he came forth and springing up kissed her hands and wept and said to her，'O my mistress，I am under thy protection！'；adding，'Have ruth on one who is parted from his people and wife and children，one who hath haste to rejoin them and one who adventureth life and soul for their sake！ Take pity on me and be assured that therefor Paradise will be thy reward；or，an thou wilt not receive me，I beseech thee，by Allah the Great，the Concealer，to conceal my case！'The merchants stared to see him talking with her；and she，hearing his words and beholding his humility，was moved to ruth for him；her heart inclined to him and she knew that he had not ventured himself and come to that place，save for a grave matter.So she said to him；'O my son，be of good cheer and keep thine eyes cool and clear；hearten thy heart and take courage and return to thy hiding-place till the coming night，and Allah shall do as He will.'Then she took leave of him and Hasan crept under the wooden settle as before，whilst the troops lighted flambeaux of wax mixed with aloes-wood and Nadd-perfume and crude ambergris[122] and passed the night in sport and delight till the morning.At daybreak，the boats returned to the shore and the merchants busied themselves with buying and selling and the transport of the goods and gear till nightfall，whilst Hasan lay hidden beneath the settle，weeping-eyed and woeful-hearted，knowing not what was decreed to him in the secret preordainment of Allah.As he was thus，behold，the merchant-woman with whom he had taken refuge came up to him and giving him a habergeon and a helmet，a spear，a sword and a gilded girdle，bade him don them and seat himself on the settle after which she left him，for fear of the troops.So he arose and donned the mail-coat and helmet and clasped the girdle about his middle；then he slung the sword over his shoulder till it hung under his armpit，and taking the spear in his hand，sat down on that settle，whilst his tongue neglected not to name Allah Almighty and call on Him for protection.--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.

When it was the Eight Hundred and Fifth Night； She continued，It hath reached me，O auspicious King，that when Hasan received the weapons which the merchant-woman had given to him，saying，'Sit thee upon the settle and let none wot thy case，'he armed himself and took his seat，whilst his tongue neglected not to name Allah Almighty and to call upon Him for protection.And behold，there appeared cressets and lanthorns and flambeaux and up came the army of women.So he arose and mingling with them，became as one of them.A little before daybreak，they set out，and Hasan with them，and fared on till they came to their camp，where they dispersed each to her tent；and Hasan followed one of them and lo！ it was hers for whose protection he had prayed.When she entered，she threw down her arms and doffed her hauberk and veil.So Hasan did the like and looking at his companion，saw her to be a grizzled old woman blue-eyed and big-nosed，a calamity of calamities，the foulest of all created things，with face pock-marked and eyebrows bald；gap-toothed and chap-fallen，with hair hoary，nose running and mouth slavering；[123] even as saith the like of her the poet；'In her cheek-corners nine calamities * Wone，and when shown；each one Jehannam is：

Hideous the face and favour foulest foul * As cheek of hog；yea；'tis a cesspool phiz.'

And indeed she was like a pied snake or a scald she-wolf.Now when the old woman looked at Hasan，she marvelled and said，'How came this one to these lands and in which of the ships was he and how arrived he hither in safety？' And she fell to questioning him of his case and admiring at his arrival，whereupon he fell at her feet and rubbed his face on them and wept till he fainted；

and，when he recovered himself，he recited these couplets；'When will Time grant we meet，when shall we be * Again united after severance stark？

And I shall win my choicest wish and view？ * Blame end and Love abide without remark？

Were Nile to flow as freely as my tears，*'Twould leave no region but with water-mark：

'Twould overthrow Hijaz and Egypt-land *'Twould deluge Syria and'twould drown Ir k.

This，O my love，is caused by thy disdain，* Be kind and promise meeting fair and fain！'

Then he took the crone's skirt and laid it on his head and fell to weeping and craving her protection.When she saw his ardency and transport and anguish and distress，her heart softened to him and she promised him her safeguard，saying，'Have no fear whatsoever.'Then she questioned him of his case and he told her the manner of his coming thither and all that had befallen him from beginning to end，whereat she marvelled and said，'This that hath betide thee，methinks，never betided any save thyself and except thou hadst been vouchsafed the especial protection of Allah，thou hadst not been saved： but now，O my son，take comfort and be of good courage；thou hast nothing more to fear，for indeed thou hast won thy wish and attained thy desire，if it please the Most High！' Thereat Hasan rejoiced with joy exceeding and she sent to summon the captains of the army to her presence；and it was the last day of the month.So they presented themselves and the old woman said to them，'Go out and proclaim to all the troops that they come forth to-morrow at daybreak and let none tarry behind，for whoso tarryeth shall be slain.'They replied，'We hear and we obey，'and going forth，made proclamation to all the host anent a review next morning，even as she bade them，after which they returned and told her of this；