adjudge other ten thousand dirhams to thy daughter, for that she made known to me the truth of the case; and I ask thy leave to marry her to him." Rejoined the old man, "O Emir, thou hast my consent." So Khálid praised Allah and thanked Him and improved the occasion by preaching a goodly sermon and a prayerful;—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
When it was the Two Hundred and Ninety-ninth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Khálid praised Allah and thanked Him and improved the occasion by preaching a goodly sermon and a prayerful; after which he said to the young man, "I give thee to wife the damsel, such an one here present, with her own permission and her father's consent; and her wedding settlement shall be this money, to wit, ten thousand dirhams." "I accept this marriage at thy hands," replied the youth; and Khálid bade them carry the money on brass trays in procession to the young man's house, whilst the people dispersed, fully satisfied. "And surely (quoth he who tells the tale[1]) never saw I a rarer day than this, for that it began with tears and annoy; and it ended with smiles and joy." And in contrast of this story is this piteous tale of
JA'AFAR THE BARMECIDE AND THE BEAN SELLER.
When Harun al-Rashid crucified Ja'afar the Barmecide[2] he commended that all who wept or made moan for him should also be crucified; so the folk abstained from that. Now it chanced that a wild Arab, who dwelt in a distant word, used every year to bring to the
- ↑ Abú Sa'íd Abd al-Malik bin Kurayb, surnamed Al-Asma'i from his grandfather, flor. A.H. 122-306 (=739-830) and wrote amongst a host of compositions the well-known Romance of Antar. See in D'Herbelot the right royal-directions given to him by Harun al-Rashid.
- ↑ There are many accounts of his death, but it is generally held that he was first beheaded. The story in the text is also variously told and the Persian "Nigáristán" adds some unpleasant comments upon the House of Abbas. The Persians, for reasons which will be explained in the terminal-Essay, show the greatest sympathy with the Barmecides; and abominate the Abbasides even more than the latter detested the Ommiades.
