THE LOVERS OF BASSORAH.
The Caliph Harun al-Rashid was sleepless one night; so he sent
for Al-Asma'i and Husayn al-Khalí'a[FN#151] and said to them,
"Tell me a story you twain and do thou begin, O Husayn." He
said, "'Tis well, O Commander of the Faithful;" and thus
began: Some years ago, I dropped down stream to Bassorah, to
present to Mohammed bin Sulayman al-Rabí'í[FN#152] a Kasidah
or elegy I had composed in his praise; and he accepted it and
bade me abide with him. One day, I went out to
Al-Mirbad,[FN#153] by way of Al-Muháliyah;[FN#154] and, being
oppressed by the excessive heat, went up to a great door, to
ask for drink, when I was suddenly aware of a damsel, as she
were a branch swaying, with eyes languishing, eye brows arched
and finely pencilled and smooth cheeks rounded clad in a shift
the colour of a pomegranate flower, and a mantilla of
Sana'á[FN#155] work; but the perfect whiteness of her body
overcame the redness of her shift, through which glittered two
breasts like twin granadoes and a waist, as it were a roll of
fine Coptic linen, with creases like scrolls of pure white
paper stuffed with musk [FN#156] Moreover, O Prince of True
Believers, round her neck was slung an amulet of red gold that
fell down between her breasts, and on the plain of her
forehead were browlocks like jet.[FN#157] Her eyebrows joined
and her eyes were like lakes; she had an aquiline nose and
thereunder shell like lips showing teeth like pearls.
Pleasantness prevailed in every part of her; but she seemed
dejected, disturbed, distracted and in the vestibule came and
went, walking upon the hearts of her lovers, whilst her
legs[FN#158] made mute the voices of their ankle rings; and
indeed she was as saith the poet,
"Each portion of her charms we see * Seems of the whole a
simile"
I was overawed by her, O Commander of the Faithful, and drew
near her to greet her, and behold, the house and vestibule and
highways breathed fragrant with musk. So I saluted her and she
returned my salaam with a voice dejected and heart depressed
and with the ardour of passion consumed. Then said I to her,
"O my lady, I am an old man and a stranger and sore troubled
by thirst. Wilt thou order me a draught of water, and win
reward in heaven?" She cried, "Away, O Shaykh, from me! I am
distracted from all thought of meat and drink."--And Shahrazad
perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
When it was the Six Hundred and Ninety-fourth Night,
She pursued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the
damsel said, "O Shaykh, I am distracted from all thought of
meat and drink." Quoth I (continued Husayn), "By what ailment,
O my lady?" and quoth she, "I love one who dealeth not justly
by me and I desire one who of me will none. Wherefore I am
afflicted with the wakefulness of those who wake star gazing."
I asked, "O my lady, is there on the wide expanse of earth one
to whom thou hast a mind and who to thee hath no mind?"
Answered she, "Yes; and this for the perfection of beauty and
loveliness and goodliness wherewith he is endowed." "And why
standeth thou in this porch?" enquired I. "This is his road,"
replied she, "and the hour of his passing by." I said, "O my
lady, have ye ever foregathered and had such commerce and
converse as might cause this passion?" At this she heaved a
deep sigh; the tears rained down her cheeks, as they were dew
falling upon roses, and she versified with these couplets,
"We were like willow boughs in garden shining * And scented
joys in happiest life combining;
Whenas one bough from other self would rend * And oh! thou
seest this for that repining!"
Quoth I, "O maid, and what betideth thee of thy love for this
man?"; and quoth she, "I see the sun upon the walls of his
folk and I think the sun is he; or haply I catch sight of him
unexpectedly and am confounded and the blood and the life fly
my body and I abide in unreasoning plight a week or e'en a
se'nnight." Said I, "Excuse me, for I also have suffered that
which is upon thee of love longing and distraction of soul and
wasting of frame and loss of strength; and I see in thee
pallor of complexion and emaciation, such as testify of the
fever fits of desire. But how shouldst thou be unsmitten of
passion and thou a sojourner in the land of Bassorah?" Said
she, "By Allah, before I fell in love of this youth, I was
perfect in beauty and loveliness and amorous grace which
ravished all the Princes of Bassorah, till he fell in love
with me." I asked, "O maid, and who parted you?"; and she
answered, "The vicissitudes of fortune, but the manner of our
separation was strange; and 'twas on this wise. One New Year's
day I had invited the damsels of Bassorah and amongst them a
girl belonging to Siran, who had bought her out of Oman for
four score thousand dirhams. She loved me and loved me to
madness and when she entered she threw herself upon me and
well nigh tore me in pieces with bites and pinches.[FN#159]
Then we withdrew apart, to drink wine at our ease, till our
meat was ready[FN#160] and our delight was complete, and she
toyed with me and I with her, and now I was upon her and now
she was upon me. Presently, the fumes of the wine moved her to
strike her hand on the inkle of my petticoat trousers, whereby
it became loosed, unknown of either of us, and my trousers
fell down in our play. At this moment he came in unobserved
and, seeing me thus, was wroth at the sight and made off, as
the Arab filly hearing the tinkle of her bridle."--And
Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her
permitted say.
When it was the Six Hundred and Ninety-fifth Night,
She resumed, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the
maiden said to Husayn al-Khali'a, "When my lover saw me
playing, as I described to thee, with Siran's girl, he went
forth in anger. And 'tis now, O Shaykh, three years ago, and
since then I have never ceased to excuse myself to him and
coax him and crave his indulgence, but he will neither cast a
look at me from the corner of his eye, nor write me a word nor
speak to me by messenger nor hear from me aught." Quoth I,
"Harkye maid, is he an Arab or an Ajam?"; and quoth she, "Out
on thee! He is of the Princes of Bassorah." "Is he old or
young?" asked I; and she looked at me laughingly and answered,
"Thou art certainly a simpleton! He is like the moon on the
night of its full, smooth checked and beardless, nor is there
any defect in him except his aversion to me." Then I put the
question, "What is his name?" and she replied, "What wilt thou
do with him?" I rejoined, "I will do my best to come at him,
that I may bring about reunion between you." Said she, "I will
tell thee on condition that thou carry him a note;" and I said
"I have no objection to that." Then quoth she, "His name is
Zamrah bin al-Mughayrah, hight Abú al-Sakhá,[FN#161] and his
palace is in the Mirbad." Therewith she called to those within
for inkcase and paper and tucking up[FN#162] her sleeves,
showed two wrists like broad rings of silver. She then wrote
after the Basmalah as follows, "My lord, the omission of
blessings[FN#163] at the head of this my letter shows mine
insufficiency, and know that had my prayer been answered, thou
hadst never left me; for how often have I prayed that thou
shouldest not leave me, and yet thou didst leave me! Were it
not that distress with me exceedeth the bounds of restraint,
that which thy servant hath forced herself to do in writing
this writ were an aidance to her, despite her despair of thee,
because of her knowledge of thee that thou wilt fail to
answer. Do thou fulfil her desire, my lord, of a sight of thee
from the porch, as thou passest in the street, wherewith thou
wilt quicken the dead soul in her. Or, far better for her
still than this, do thou write her a letter with thine own
hand (Allah endow it with all excellence!), and appoint it in
requital of the intimacy that was between us in the nights of
time past, whereof thou must preserve the memory. My lord, was
I not to thee a lover sick with passion? An thou answer my
prayer, I will give to thee thanks and to Allah praise; and so
The Peace!"[FN#164] Then she gave me the letter and I went
away. Next morning I repaired to the door of the Viceroy
Mohammed bin Sulayman, where I found an assembly of the
notables of Bassorah, and amongst them a youth who adorned the
gathering and surpassed in beauty and brightness all who were
there; and indeed the Emir Mohammed set him above himself. I
asked who he was and behold, it was Zamrah himself: so I said
in my mind, "Verily, there hath befallen yonder unhappy one
that which hath befallen her[FN#165]!" Then I betook myself to
the Mirbad and stood waiting at the door of his house, till he
came riding up in state, when I accosted him and invoking more
than usual blessings on him, handed him the missive. When he
read it and understood it he said to me, "O Shaykh, we have
taken other in her stead. Say me, wilt thou see the
substitute?" I answered, "Yes." Whereupon he called out a
woman's name, and there came forth a damsel who shamed the two
greater lights; swelling breasted, walking the gait of one who
hasteneth without fear, to whom he gave the note, saying, "Do
thou answer it." When she read it, she turned pale at the
contents and said to me, " O old man, crave pardon of Allah
for this that thou hast brought." So I went out, O Commander
of the Faithful, dragging my feet and returning to her asked
leave to enter. When she saw me, she asked, "What is behind
thee?"; and I answered, "Evil and despair." Quoth she, "Have
thou no concern of him. Where are Allah and His
power?"[FN#166] Then she ordered me five hundred dinars and I
took them and went away. Some days after I passed by the place
and saw there horsemen and footmen. So I went in and lo! these
were the companions of Zamrah, who were begging her to return
to him; but she said, "No, by Allah, I will not look him in
the face!" And she prostrated herself in gratitude to Allah
and exultation over Zamrah's defeat. Then I drew near her, and
she pulled out to me a letter, wherein was written, after the
Bismillah, "My lady, but for my forbearance towards thee
(whose life Allah lengthen!) I would relate somewhat of what
betided from thee and set out my excuse, in that thou
transgressedst against me, whenas thou west manifestly a
sinner against thyself and myself in breach of vows and lack
of constancy and preference of another over us; for, by Allah,
on whom we call for help against that which was of thy free
will, thou didst transgress against the love of me; and so The
Peace!" Then she showed me the presents and rarities he had
sent her, which were of the value of thirty thousand dinars. I
saw her again after this, and Zamrah had married her. Quoth
Al-Rashid, "Had not Zamrah been beforehand with us, I should
certainly have had to do with her myself."[FN#167] And men
tell the tale of
