第23章

wherefore I send thee also fifty thousand dinars by the slave Salim.'[75] Now when Ala al-Din had made an end of reading the letter，he took possession of the loads and，turning to the Provost，said to him，'O my father-in-law，take the ten thousand dinars，the marriage-settlement of thy daughter Zubaydah，and take also the loads of goods and dispose of them，and thine be the profit； only return me the cost price.' He answered，'Nay，by Allah，I will take nothing； and，as for thy wife's settlement，do thou settle the matter with her.' Then，after the goods had been brought in，they went to Zuhaydah and she said to her sire，'O my father，whose loads be these？' He said，'These belong to thy husband，Ala al-Din： his father hath sent them to him instead of those whereof the wild Arabs spoiled him.Moreover，he hath sent him fifty thousand dinars with a parcel of clothes，a robe of sables，a she mule for riding and a basin and ewer of gold.As for the marriage-settlement that is for thy recking.' Thereupon Ala al-Din rose and，opening the money box，gave her her settlement and the lady's cousin said，'O my uncle，let him divorce to me my wife；' but the old man replied，'This may never be now； for the marriage tie is in his hand.' Thereupon the young man went out，sore afflicted and sadly vexed and，returning home，fell sick，for his heart had received its death blow； so he presently died.But as for Ala al-Din，after receiving his goods he went to the bazar and buying what meats and drinks he needed，made a banquet as usual--against the night，saying to Zubaydah，'See these lying Dervishes； they promised us and broke their promises.' Quoth she，'Thou art the son of a Consul of the merchants，yet was thy hand short of half a dirham； how then should it be with poor Dervishes？' Quoth he，'Almighty Allah hath enabled us to do without them； but if they come to us never again will I open the door to them.' She asked，'Why so，whenas their coming footsteps brought us good luck； and，moreover，they put an hundred dinars under the prayer carpet for us every night？

Perforce must thou open the door to them an they come.' So when day departed with its light and in gloom came night，they lighted the wax candles and he said to her，'Rise，Zubaydah，make us music；' and behold，at this moment some one knocked at the door，and she said，'Go and look who is at the door.' So he went down and opened it and seeing the Dervishes，said，'Oh，fair welcome to the liars！ Come up.' Accordingly they went up with him and he seated them and brought them the tray of food； and they ate and drank and became merry and mirthful，and presently said to him，'O my lord，our hearts have been troubled for thee： what hath passed between thee and thy father-in-law？' He answered，'Allah compensated us beyond and above our desire.' Rejoined they，'By Allah，we were in fear for thee'.--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.

When it was the Two Hundred and and Night，She said，It hath reached me，O auspicious King，that the Dervishes thus addressed Ala al-Din，'By Allah，we were in fear for thee and naught kept us from thee but our lack of cash and coin.' Quoth he，'Speedy relief hath come to me from my Lord； for my father hath sent me fifty thousand dinars and fifty loads of stuffs，each load worth a thousand dinars； besides a riding-mule，a robe of sables，an Abyssinian slave and a basin and ewer of gold.Moreover，I have made my peace with my father-in-law and my wife hath become my lawful wife by my paying her settlement； so laud to Allah for that！' Presently the Caliph rose to do a necessity； whereupon Ja'afar bent him towards Ala al-Din and said，'Look to thy manners，for thou art in the presence of the Commander of the Faithful ' Asked he，'How have I failed in good breeding before the Commander of the Faithful，and which of you is he？' Quoth Ja'afar，'He who went out but now to make water is the Commander of the Faithful，Harun al-Rashid，and I am the Wazir Ja'afar； and this is Masrur the executioner and this other is Abu Nowas Hasan bin Hani..And now，O Ala al-Din，use thy reason and bethink thee how many days' journey it is between Cairo and Baghdad.' He replied，'Five and forty days' journey；'

and Ja'afar rejoined，'Thy baggage was stolen only ten days ago；

so how could the news have reached thy father，and how could he pack thee up other goods and send them to thee five-and-forty days' journey in ten days' time？' Quoth Ala al-Din，'O my lord and whence then came they？' 'From the Commander of the Faithful，'

replied Ja'afar，'of his great affection for thee.' As they were speaking，lo！ the Caliph entered and Ala al-Din rising，kissed the ground before him and said，'Allah keep thee，O Prince of the Faithful，and give thee long life； and may the lieges never lack thy bounty and beneficence！' Replied the Caliph，'O Ala al-Din，let Zubaydah play us an air，by way of house-warming[76] for thy deliverance.' Thereupon she played him on the lute so rare a melody that the very stones shook for glee，and the strings cried out for present ecstasy，'O Loving One！' They spent the night after the merriest fashion，and in the morning the Caliph said to Ala al-Din，'Come to the Divan to-morrow.' He answered，'Hearkening and obedience，O Commander of the Faithful； so Allah will and thou be well and in good case！' On the morrow he took ten trays and，putting on each a costly present，went up with them to the palace； and the Caliph was sitting on the throne when，behold，Ala al-Din appeared at the door of the Divan，repeating these two couplets，'Honour and Glory wait on thee each morn！*Thine enviers' noses in the dust be set！

Ne'er cease thy days to be as white as snow；*Thy foeman's days to be as black as jet！'