The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, vol 2 | Page 9

shall return
to thy hand! And he turns face aside and he sidles away, * While I
stand like a dog disappointed, unmanned, Oh, the sorry lot his who hath
yellow-boys none, * Though his genius and virtues shine bright as the
sun!

O my master," continued the Steward, "this lavish outlay and these
magnificent gifts waste away wealth." When Nur al-Din Ali heard
these words he looked at his servant and cried, "Of all thou hast spoken
I will not heed one single word, for I have heard the saying of the poet
who saith,
'An my palm be full of wealth and my wealth I ne'er bestow, * A palsy
take my hand and my foot ne'er rise again! Show my niggard who by
niggardise e'er rose to high degree, * Or the generous gifts generally
hath slain.'"
And he pursued, "Know, O Steward, it is my desire that so long as thou
hast money enough for my breakfast, thou trouble me not with taking
thought about my supper." Thereupon the Steward asked, "Must it be
so?"; and he answered, "It must." So the honest man went his way and
Nur al-Din Ali devoted himself to extravagance; and, if any of his
cup-companions chanced to say, "This is a pretty thing;" he would
reply, "'Tis a gift to thee!"; or if another said, "O my lord, such a house
is handsome;" he would answer, "Take it: it is thine!" After this
reckless fashion he continued to live for a whole year, giving his
friends a banquet in the morning and a banquet in the evening and a
banquet at midnight, till one day, as the company was sitting together,
the damsel Anis al-Jalis repeated these lines,
"Thou deemedst well of Time when days went well, * And feardest not
what ills might deal thee Fate: Thy nights so fair and restful cozened
thee, * For peaceful nights bring woes of heavy weight."
When she had ended her verse behold, somebody knocked at the door.
So Nur al-Din rose to open it and one of his boon- companions
followed him without being perceived. At the door he found his
Steward and asked him, "What is the matter?"; and he answered, "O my
lord, what I dreaded for thee hath come to pass!" "How so?" "Know
that there remains not a dirham's worth, less or more in my hands. Here
are my Daftars and account books showing both income and outlay and
the registers of thine original property." When Nur al-Din heard these
words he bowed his head and said, "There is no Majesty and there is no
Might save in Allah!" When the man who had followed him privily to
spy on him heard the Steward's words, he returned to his friends and
warned them saying, "Look ye well to what ye do: Nur al-Din is
penniless;" and, as the young host came back to his guests, vexation

showed itself in his face. Thereupon one of the intimates rose; and,
looking at the entertainer, said to him, "O my lord, may be thou wilt
give me leave to retire?" "And why so early retirement this day?";
asked he and the other answered him, "My wife is in childbirth and I
may not be absent from her: indeed I must return and see how she
does." So he gave him leave, whereupon another rose and said, "O my
lord Nur al-Din, I wish now to go to my brother's for he circumciseth
his son to- day."[FN#26] In short each and every asked permission to
retire on some pretence or other, till all the ten were gone leaving Nur
al-Din alone. Then he called his slave-girl and said to her, "O Anis
al-Jalis, hast thou seen what case is mine?" And he related to her what
the Steward had told him. Then quoth she, "O my lord, for many nights
I had it in my mind to speak with thee of this matter, but I heard thee
repeating,
'When the World heaps favours on thee, pass on * Thy favours to
friends ere her hand she stay: Largesse never let her when fain she
comes, * Nor niggardise kept her from turning away!'
When I heard these verses I held my peace and cared not to exchange a
word with thee." "O Anis al-Jalis," said Nur al-Din, "thou knowest that
I have not wasted my wealth save on my friends, especially these ten
who have now left me a pauper, and I think they will not abandon and
desert me without relief." "By Allah," replied she, "they will not profit
thee with aught of aid." Said he, "I will rise at once and go to them and
knock at their doors; it may be I shall get from them somewhat
wherewith I may