" And she repeated to her the verses he had
made; whereupon Kuzia Fekan wept and said, "By Allah, I rebuked
not him for his words of ill-will or dislike to him, but because
I feared the malice of enemies for him. Indeed, my passion for
him is double that he feels for me; words fail to set out my
yearning for him; and were it not for the extravagances of his
tongue and the wanderings of his wit, my father had not cut off
his favours from him nor decreed unto him exclusion and
prohibition. However, man's fortune is nought but change, and
patience in every case is most becoming; peradventure He who
ordained our severance will vouchsafe us reunion!" And she
repeated the following:
O son of mine uncle, the like of thine anguish I suffer, the like
of thy passion I feel;
Yet hide I from men what I suffer for longing, And shouldst thou
not also thy passion conceal?
When his mother heard this, she thanked her and blessed her: then
she left her and returning to her son, told him what his mistress
had said; whereupon his desire for her increased. But he took
heart, being eased of his despair, and the turmoil of his spirits
was quelled. And he said, "By Allah, I desire none but her!" And
he repeated the following verses:
Give over thy chiding; I'll hearken no whit to the flouts of my
foes: Indeed I've discovered my secret that nought should
have made me disclose;
And she, whose enjoyment I hoped for, alack! is far distant from
me; Mine eyes watch the hours of the dark, whilst she passes
the night in repose.
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