' Then said the King, 'If thou must go
and there is no help for it, take with thee Aziz and the Vizier.'
He agreed to this, and the King took money from his treasuries
and made ready for him merchandise, to the value of a hundred
thousand dinars; and when the night came Taj el Mulouk went to
Aziz's lodging and passed the night there, heart-smitten and
taking no delight in food nor sleep; for melancholy was heavy
upon him and he was agitated with longing for his beloved. So he
besought the Creator to unite him with her and wept and groaned
and complained, repeating the following verses:
Shall union after estrangement betide us, perchance, some day?
Shall I ever make moan of my passion to thee, I wonder, and
say,
'How oft have I called thee to mind, whilst the night in its
trances slept! Thou hast made me waken, whilst all but I in
oblivion lay.
Then he wept sore and Aziz wept with him, for that he remembered
his cousin; and they both ceased not to do thus till the morning,
when Taj el Mulouk rose and went in to his mother in his
travelling dress. She asked him of his case, and he told her what
was to do; so she gave him fifty thousand dinars and bade him
farewell, offering up prayers for his safety and for his union
with his beloved. Then he left her and betaking himself to his
father, asked his leave to depart. The King granted him leave and
presenting him with other fifty thousand dinars, let pitch a tent
for him without the city, in which they abode two days, then set
out on their journey.
Pages:
327
328
329
330
331
332
333
334
335
336
337
338
339
340
341
342
343
344
345
346
347
348
349
350
351