' Then
said his father, 'O my son, have patience with me, till I send
to her father and demand her hand in marriage, as I did with thy
mother. It may be that God will bring thee to thy desire; and if
her father will not consent, I will shake his kingdom under him
with an army, whose van shall be upon him, whilst the rear is yet
with me.' Then he sent for Aziz and said to him, 'O my son, dost
thou know the way to the Camphor Islands?' 'Yes,' answered he;
and the King said, 'It is my wish that thou accompany my Vizier
thither.' 'I hear and obey, O King of the age,' replied Aziz;
whereupon the King summoned his Vizier and said to him, 'Devise
me some plan, whereby my son's affair may be rightly managed, and
go to the King of the Camphor Islands and demand his daughter in
marriage for Tej el Mulouk.' 'I hear and obey,' answered the
Vizier. Then Taj el Mulouk returned to his dwelling place and his
longing redoubled and impatience and unease were sore upon him;
and when the night darkened upon him, he wept and sighed and
complained and repeated the following verses:
The shadows darken and my tears flow aye without avail, Whilst in
my heart the fires of love rage on and never fail.
Question the nights of me, and they will testify to thee That I
in all their endless hours do nought but weep and wait.
Wakeful for love-longing and grief, I lie and watch the stars All
night, what while upon my cheeks the tears fall down like
hail.
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