第53章
companions.Presently he saw the Caliph and Ja'afar whispering together and said to them，'What is the matter，fair sirs？' Quoth Ja'afar，'O my lord，all is well，[194] save that this my comrade，who （as is not unknown to thee） is of the merchant company and hath visited all the great cities and countries of the world and hath consorted with kings and men of highest consideration，saith to me： 'Verily，that which our lord the Caliph hath done this night is beyond measure extravagant，never saw I any do the like doings in any country； for he hath rent such and such dresses，each worth a thousand dinars and this is surely excessive unthriftiness.'' Replied the second Caliph，'Ho thou，the money is my money and the stuff my stuff，and this is by way of largesse to my suite and servants； for each suit that is rent belongeth to one of my cup-companions here present，and I assign to them with each suit of clothes the sum of five hundred dinars.' The Wazir Ja'afar replied，'Well is whatso thou doest，O our lord，' and recited these two couplets，'Virtue in hand of thee hath built a house，* And to mankind thou dost thy wealth expose：
If an the virtues ever close their doors，* That hand would be a key the lock to unclose.'
Now when the young man heard these verses recited by the Minister Ja'afar，he ordered him to be gifted with a thousand dinars and a dress of honour.Then the cup went round among them and the wine was sweet to them； but，after a while quoth the Caliph to Ja'afar，'Ask him of the marks on his sides，that we may see what he will say by way of reply.' Answered Ja'afar，'Softly，O my lord，be not hasty and soothe thy mind，for patience is more becoming.' Rejoined the Caliph，'By the life of my head and by the revered tomb of Al Abbas，[195] except thou ask him，I will assuredly stop thy breath！' With this the young man turned towards the Minister and said to him，'What aileth thee and thy friend to be whispering together？ Tell me what is the matter with you.' 'It is nothing save good，' replied Ja'afar； but the mock Caliph rejoined，'I conjure thee，by Allah，tell me what aileth you and hide from me nothing of your case.' Answered the Wazir 'O my lord，verily this one here saw on thy sides the marks of beating with whips and palm-fronds and marvelled thereat with exceeding marvel，saying，'How came the Caliph to be beaten？'；
and he would fain know the cause of this.' Now when the youth heard this，he smiled and said，'Know ye that my story is wondrous and my case marvellous； were it graven with needles on the eye corners，it would serve as a warner to whoso would be warned.' And he sighed and repeated these couplets，'Strange is my story，passing prodigy；*By Love I swear，my ways wax strait on me！
An ye desire to hear me，listen，and*Let all in this assembly silent be.
Heed ye my words which are of meaning deep，* Nor lies my speech；
'tis truest verity.
I'm slain[196] by longing and by ardent love；*My slayer's the pearl of fair virginity.
She hath a jet black eye like Hindi blade，* And bowed eyebrows shoot her archery My heart assures me our Imam is here，* This age's Caliph，old nobility：
Your second，Ja'afar highs，is his Wazir；*A Sahib，[197]
Sahib-son of high degree：
The third is called Masrur who wields the sword：*Now，if in words of mine some truth you see I have won every wish by this event*Which fills my heart with joy and gladdest greet'
When they heard these words Ja'afar swore to him an ambiguous oath that they were not those he named，whereupon he laughed and said： 'Know，O my lords，that I am not the Commander of the Faithful and that I do but style myself thus，to win my will of the sons of the city.My true name is Mohammed Ali，son of Ali the Jeweller，and my father was one of the notables of Baghdad，who left me great store of gold and silver and pearls and coral and rubies and chrysolites and other jewels，besides messuages and lands，Hammam-baths and brickeries，orchards and flower-gardens.Now as I sat in my shop one day surrounded by my eunuchs and dependents，behold，there came up a young lady，mounted on a she-mule and attended by three damsels like moons.Riding up to my shop she alighted and seated herself by my side and said 'Art thou Mohammed the Jeweller？' Replied I，'Even so！ I am he，thy Mameluke，thy chattel.' She asked，'Hast thou a necklace of jewels fit for me？' and I answered，'O my lady，I will show thee what I have； and lay all before thee and，if any please thee，it will be of thy slave's good luck； if they please thee not，of his ill fortune.' Now I had by me an hundred necklaces and showed them all to her； but none of them pleased her and she said，'I want a better than those I have seen.' I had a small necklace which my father had bought at an hundred thousand dinars and whose like was not to be found with any of the great kings； so I said to her，'O my lady，I have yet one necklace of fine stones fit for bezels，the like of which none possesseth，great or small.Said she，Show it to me，' so I showed it to her，and she said，'This is what I wanted and what I have wished for all my life；' adding，'What is its price？' Quoth I，'It cost my father an hundred thousand dinars；' and she said，'I will give thee five thousand dinars to thy profit.' I answered，'O my lady，the necklace and its owner are at thy service and I cannot gainsay thee.' But she rejoined，'Needs must thou have the profit，and I am still most grateful to thee.' Then she rose without stay or delay； and，mounting the mule in haste，said to me，'O my lord，in Allah's name，favour us with thy company to receive the money；
for this thy day with us is white as milk.'[198] So I shut the shop and accompanied her，in all security，till we came to a house，on which were manifest the signs of wealth and rank； for its door was wrought with gold and silver and ultramarine，and thereon were written these two couplets，'Hole，thou mansion！ woe ne'er enter thee；*Nor be thine owner e'er misused of Fate Excellent mansion to all guests art thou，* When other mansions to the guest are strait.'