The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-12-08

shall we act? And he answered: O
king of the age, no one will become &C.
quainted with the mans secret except his
wife. So the king and the wezeer entered
into the sitting-room, and the king s
daughter came behind the curtain and
they took council with her as to how they
should learn the state of the case of the
merchant Maaroof. And then the king
urged upon his daughter to incline unto
her husband and to use nearness and re-
moteness of speech, and induce him to
confess, and then to make them acquainted
with the case. And the king said: Ii he
be an lmpostor, l will surely Stay him in
the most unfortunate manner. And she
said: 0 my father, | know how to ex-
anime him.
And after nightfall Maaroof came in to
her as was his custom. So she rose to him
and took him with her hand beneath his
armpit and beguiled him with excessive
guile, as women know how. And when
she saw he inclined to her entirely she
affection for thee hath taken up its abode in
my heart and | shall love thee forever. But
acquaint me with the truth for / fear thy
case will be exposed to my father before
we contrive a strategem to avoid it. Ac-
quaint me with the truth, and if thou
hast imposed before 1 will contrive plan
for thy escape, if it be the will of God.
And he said: 0 my mistress, know
that l am not merchant, and / have
neither merchandise nor burning plague.
But in my country [ was only cobbler,
and have a wife whose name is Fatimeh
EI-Orrah, and such and such things hap
pened to me with her. And he ac-
qnainted her with the story from begin
ming TO end.
And she said: Now my father is pur-
posing mischief to thee, on account Of thy
5f,aYN cfr1r-o hfff hnrT Qrf my Ms
band, and thou shouldst then be a source
of disgrace to me. Moreover, if my father
slew thee, he would probably desire me to
marry another, and to this | will not con-
sent, though l die refusing. But arise
now. Put on the dress of a memlook, and
take these fifty thousand pieces of gold Of
nv wealth Then mount horse and
Journey to country where the rule of my
father doth not reach. There thou canst
trade as a merchant, and thou canst send
me letter by private hand, that | may
know where thou art, and will send thee
all that | can procure. Thus thy wealth
will become abundant and If my father
should die, l will send for thee, and if thou
or 1 die, departing by the mercy OF God
(whose name be eXalted), the day OF reSur-
rection will unite US.
So he said: O my mistress, l throw
myself upon your generosity; and he
embraced her and went forth. And when
morning arrived her father came with the
wezeer to the sittlng-room, and she came
behind the curtain, and her father said !:
o nv daughter, what sayest thou? And
she said: May God blacken the face of thy
wezeer. for he desired to blacken my face
in the eyes of my husband. And she told
them that news had come in the night that
the caravan of the merchant Maaroof had
been set upon by the Arabs and its coming
had been delayed and that ten memlooks
had brought the news, such as for beauty
and spIendor her father bad not in his
kingdom, and her husband had repaired
with the memlooks To bring back the mer-
chandise, with which, if it were the will of
God, he would soon come. And she pro-
ceeded to blame the wezeer for his evil
counsel, saying: 1t is all the fault OF thy
wezeer, who speaketh against my bus
band. And the king proceeded to APP
pease her mind and to threaten the wezeer,
and the stratagem deceived him.
But. as to the merchant Maaroof. he
mounted a courser and proceeded over the
desert tract in a state of dire perpiexlty,
mourning and reciting verses in his Attic