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her want?” “O our lord the Sultan,” replied the Vizier, “verily women are little of wit; and most like this woman cometh to complain to thee of her husband or one of her folk,” The Sultan was not content with the Vizier’s reply, but bade him, an she came again to the Divan, bring her before him forthright;[1] whereupon the Vizier laid his hand on his head and answered, “Hearkening and obedience, O our lord the Sultan.”
Meanwhile,[2] Alaeddin’s mother, albeit she was grown exceeding weary and dejected, yet made light of all weariness, for her son’s sake, and continued, as of her wont, to go every court-day and stand in the Divan before the Sultan.[3] Accordingly, one day of the days, she went to the Divan, as of her wont, and stood before the Sultan; and when he saw her, he called his Vizier and said to him, “Yonder is the woman of whom I bespoke thee yesterday; bring her now before me, so I may see what her suit is
- ↑ Here the copyist, by the mistaken addition of fe (so), transfers the “forthright” to the Vizier’s action of submission to the Sultan’s order.
- ↑ Night DXLVII.
- ↑ I have arranged this passage a little, to make it read intelligibly. In the original it runs thus, “Alaeddin’s mother, whenas she took a wont and became every Divan-day going and standing in the Divan before the Sultan, withal that she was dejected, wearying exceedingly, but for Alaeddin’s sake, her son, she used to make light of all weariness.”
