" If
he agree to this, as soon as thou art alone with her, discover
thyself to her; and when she knows thee, her madness will cease
from her and she will be made whole in one night. Then do thou
give her to eat and drink, and her father, rejoicing in her
recovery, will marry thee to her and share his kingdom with thee,
according to the condition he hath imposed on himself: and so
peace be on thee.' 'May I never lack thine excellence!' replied
Kemerezzeman, and taking the instruments aforesaid, sallied forth
of the khan and took up his station before King Gha?our's palace,
where he began to cry out, saying, 'I am the scribe, I am the
mathematician, he that knows the Sought and the Seeker, I am he
who makes calculations for marriage contracts, who draws
horoscopes, interprets dreams and traces the magical characters
by which hidden treasures are discovered! Where then is the
seeker?' When the people of the city heard this, they flocked to
him, for it was long since they had seen a scribe or an
astrologer, and stood round him, wondering at his beauty and
grace and perfect symmetry. Presently one of them accosted him
and said, 'God on thee, O fair youth with the eloquent tongue,
cast not thyself into perdition, in thy desire to marry the
princess Budour! Do but look on yonder heads hung up; they are
all those of men who have lost their lives in this same venture.
Pages:
201
202
203
204
205
206
207
208
209
210
211
212
213
214
215
216
217
218
219
220
221
222
223
224
225