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broidered with gold and jewels. About her middle she wore a girdle set with various kinds of precious stones, and she advanced with a graceful and coquettish gait, till she came to the couch that stood at the upper end of the chamber and seated herself thereon. When Ali ben Bekkar saw her, he repeated the following couplets:
Yes, this is she indeed, the source of all my ill, For whom with long desire I languish at Love’s will.
Near her, I feel my soul on fire and bones worn waste For yearning after her that doth my heart fulfil.
Then said he to Aboulhusn, ‘Thou hadst dealt more kindly with me to have forewarned me of these things; that I might have prepared my mind and taken patience to support what hath befallen me;’ and he wept and groaned and complained. ‘O my brother,’ replied Aboulhusn, ‘I meant thee nought but good; but I feared to tell thee of this, lest such transport should overcome thee as might hinder thee from foregathering with her and intervene between thee and her: but take courage and be of good heart, for she is well disposed to thee and inclineth to favour thee.’ ‘What is the lady’s name?’ asked Ali ben Bekkar. ‘She is called Shemsennehar,’ answered Aboulhusn ‘she is one of the favourites of the Commander of the Faithful Haroun er Reshid and this is the palace of the Khalifate.’ Then Shemsennehar sat gazing upon Ali ben Bekkar’s charms and he upon hers, till each was engrossed with love of the other. Presently, she commanded the damsels to sit; so they sat down, each in her place, on a couch before one of the windows, and she bade them sing; whereupon one of them took a lute and sang the following verses:
Twice be the message to my love made known, And take the answer from his lips alone.
To thee, O monarch of the fair, I come And stand, of this my case to make my moan.
