befallen him. Presently, he heard the damsel who was singing repeat these couplets:—
Parting ran up to part from lover-twain ○ Free converse, perfect concord, friendship fain:
The Nights with shifting drifted us apart, ○ Would heaven I wot if we shall meet again:
How bitter after meeting 'tis to part, ○ May lovers ne'er endure so bitter pain!
Death-grip, death-choke, lasts for an hour and ends, ○ But parting-tortures aye in heart remain:
Could we but trace where Parting's house is placed, ○ We would make Parting eke of parting taste!
When Ali son of Bakkar heard the damsel's song, he sobbed one sob and his soul quitted his body. As soon as I saw that he was dead (continued the jeweller), I committed his corpse to the care of the house-master and said to him "Know thou, that I am going to Baghdad, to tell his mother and kinsfolk, that they may come hither and conduct his burial." So I betook myself to Baghdad and, going to my house, changed my clothes; after which I repaired to Ali bin Bakkar's lodging. Now when his servants saw me, they came to me and questioned me of him, and I bade them ask permission for me to go in to his mother. She gave me leave; so I entered and saluting her, said, "Verily Allah ordereth the lives of all creatures by His commandment and when He decreeth aught, there is no escaping its fulfilment; nor can any soul depart but by leave of Allah, according to the Writ which affirmeth the appointed term."[1] She guessed by these words that her son was dead and wept with sore weeping, then she said to me, "Allah upon thee! tell me, is my son dead?" I could not answer her for tears and excess of grief, and when she saw me thus, she was choked with weeping and fell to the ground in a fit. As soon as she came to herself she said to me, "Tell me how it was with my son." I replied, "May Allah abundantly compensate thee for his loss!" and I told her all that had befallen him from beginning to end. She then asked, "Did he give thee any charge?"; and I answered, "Yes," and told her what he had said, adding, "Hasten to perform his funeral." When she heard these words, she swooned away again; and, when she recovered,
- ↑ This is one of the many euphemistic formulæ for such occasions: they usually begin "May thy head live." etc.
