第70章

When it was the Three Hundred and Seventh Night，She said，It hath reached me，O auspicious King，that the agent of Abdullah，son of Malik al-Khuza'i，on receipt of the letter at Baghdad，mounted at once and repaired to the house of Yahya bin Khalid，whom he found sitting with his officers and boon-companions.After the usual salute he gave him the letter and Yahya read it and said to the agent，'Come back to me tomorrow for my written answer.'Now when the agent had gone away，Yahya turned to his companions and said，'What doth he deserve who forgeth a letter in my name and carrieth it to my foe？'They answered all and each，saying this and that，and every one proposing some kind of punishment； but Yahya said，'Ye err in that ye say and this your counsel is of the baseness of your spirits and the meanness of your minds.Ye all know the close favour of Abdullah with the Caliph and ye weet of what is between him and us of anger and enmity； and now Almighty Allah hath made this man the means of reconciliation between us； and hath fitted him for such purpose and hath appointed him to quench the fire of ire in our hearts，which hath been growing these twenty years；

and by his means our differences shall be adjusted.Wherefore it behoveth me to requite such man by verifying his assertion and amending his estate； so I will write him a letter to Abdullah son of Malik，praying that he may use him with increase of honour and continue to him his liberality.'Now when his companions heard what he said，they called down blessings on him and marvelled at his generosity and the greatness of his magnanimity.Then he called for paper and ink and wrote Abdullah a letter in his own hand，to the following effect：'In the name of Allah，the Compassionating'the Compassionate！ Of a truth thy letter hath reached me （Allah give thee long life！） and I am glad to hear of thy safety and am pleased to be assured of thine immunity and prosperity.It was thy thought that a certain worthy man had forged a letter in my name and that he was not the bearer of any message from the same； but the case is not so，for the letter I myself wrote，and it was no forgery； and I hope，of thy courtesy and consideration and the nobility of thy nature，that thou wilt gratify this generous and excellent man of his hope and wish，and honour him with the honour he deserveth and bring him to his desire and make him the special-object of thy favour and munificence.Whatso thou dost with him，it is to me that thou dost the kindness，and I am thankful to thee accordingly.'Then he superscribed the letter and after sealing it，delivered it to the agent，who despatched it to Abdullah.Now when the Governor read it，he was charmed with its contents，and sending for the man，said to him，'Whichever of the two promised boons is the more acceptable to thee that will I give thee.'The man replied，'The money gift were more acceptable to me than aught else，'

whereupon Abdullah ordered him two hundred thousand dirhams and ten Arab horses，five with housings of silk and other five with richly ornamented saddles，used in state processions； besides twenty chests of clothes and ten mounted white slaves and a proportionate quantity of jewels of price.Moreover，he bestowed on him a dress of honour and sent him to Baghdad in great splendour.So when he came thither，he repaired to the door of Yahya's house，before he went to his own folk，and craved permission to enter and have audience.The Chamberlain went in to Yahya and said to him，'O my lord，there is one at the door who craveth speech of thee； and he is a man of apparent wealth，courteous in manner，comely of aspect and attended by many servants.'Then Yahya bade admit him； and，when he entered and kissed the ground before him，Yahya asked him，'Who art thou？'He answered，'Hear me，O my lord，I am he who was done dead by the tyranny of fortune，but thou didst raise me to life again from the grave of calamities and exalt me to the paradise of my desires.I am the man who forged a letter in thy name and carried it to Abdullah bin Malik al-Khuza'i.'Yahya asked，'How hath he dealt with thee and what did he give thee？'； and the man answered，'He hath given me，thanks to thy hand and thy great liberality and benevolence and to thy comprehensive kindness and lofty magnanimity and thine all-embracing generosity，that which hath made me a wealthy man and he hath distinguished me with his gifts and favours.And now I have brought all that he gave me and here it is at thy door； for it is thine to decide and the command is in thy hand.'Rejoined Yahya，'Thou hast done me better service than I did thee and I owe thee a heavy debt of gratitude and every gift the white hand[251] can give，for that thou hast changed into love and amity the hate and enmity that were between me and a man whom I respect and esteem.Wherefore I will give thee the like of what Abdullah bin Malik gave thee.'Then he ordered him money and horses and chests of apparel，such as Abdullah had given him； and thus that man's fortune was restored to him by the munificence of these two generous ones.And folk also relate the tale of the

CALIPH AL-MAAMUN AND THE STRANGE SCHOLAR.

It is said of Al-Maamun that，among the Caliphs of the house of Abbas，there was none more accomplished in all branches of knowledge than he.Now on two days in each week，he was wont to preside at conferences of the learned，when the lawyers and theologians disputed in his presence，each sitting in his several-rank and room.One day as he sat thus，there came into the assembly a stranger，clad in ragged white clothes，who took seat in an obscure place behind the doctors of the law.Then the assembly began to speak and debate difficult questions，it being the custom that the various propositions should be submitted to each in turn，and that whoso bethought him of some subtle addition or rare conceit，should make mention of it.So the question went round till it came to the strange man，who spake in his turn and made a goodlier answer than any of the doctors'

replies； and the Caliph approved his speech.----And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.