' So he returned
with him to the palace, in great concern by reason of the
summons, and going in to the Khalif, kissed the earth before him.
Then said he, 'Peace be on thee, O Commander of the Faithful
and Protector of the people of the Faith!' And offered up a
prayer for the endurance of his glory and prosperity, for the
accomplishment of his desires and the continuance of his bounty
and the cessation of evil and punishment, ordering his speech as
best he might and ending by repeating the following verses:
Still may thy threshold as a place of adoration[FN#149] Be sought
and on men's brows its dust bespeak prostration,
That so in every land be made this proclamation, "Thou, thou art
Abraham and this his very station."[FN#150]
The Khalif smiled in his face and returned his salute, looking on
him with the eye of favour. Then he bade him draw near and sit
down before him and said to him, 'O Mohammed Ali, I wish thee to
tell me what befell thee last night, for it was rare and passing
strange.' 'Pardon, O Commander of the Faithful!' replied the
youth. 'Give me the handkerchief of immunity, that my trouble may
be appeased and my heart set at rest.' Quoth the Khalif, 'Thou
art safe from fear and trouble.
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