第51章 KEMEREZZEMAN AND BUDOUR.(13)

And he sighed and wept and groaned aloud from a wounded heart，whilst the tears streamed from his eyes.Then turning to his father，with submission and despondency，he said to him，By Allah，O my father，I cannot endure to be parted from her even for an hour.'The King smote hand upon hand and exclaimed，There is no power and no virtue but in God，the Most High，the Sublime！There is no device can profit us in this affair！'Then he took his son by the hand and carried him to the palace，where Kemerezzeman lay down on the bed of languor and the King sat at his head，weeping and mourning over him and leaving him not night or day，till at last the Vizier came in to him and said，O King of the age and the time，how long wilt thou remain shut up with thy son and deny thyself to thy troops？Verily，the order of thy realm is like to be deranged，by reason of thine absence from thy grandees and officers of state.It behoves the man of understanding，if he have various wounds in his body，to apply him （first） to heal the most dangerous；so it is my counsel to thee that thou transport the prince to the pavilion overlooking the sea and shut thyself up with him there，setting apart Monday and Thursday in every week for state receptions and the transaction of public business.On these days let thine Amirs and Viziers and Chamberlains and deputies and captains and grandees and the rest of the troops and subjects have access to thee and submit their affairs to thee，and do thou their needs and judge between them and give and take with them and command and forbid.The rest of the week thou shalt pass with thy son Kemerezzeman，and thus do till God vouchsafe you both relief.

Think not，O King，that thou art exempt from the shifts of fortune and the strokes of calamity；for the wise man is still on his guard，as well saith the poet：

Thou madest fair thy thought of Fate，whenas the days were fair，And fearedst not the unknown ills that they to thee might bring.

The nights were fair and calm to thee；thou wast deceived by them，For in the peace of night is born full many a troublous thing.

O all ye children of mankind，to whom the Fates are kind，Let caution ever have a part in all your reckoning.'

The King was struck with the Viziers words and deemed his counsel wise and timely，fearing lest the order of the state be deranged；so he rose at once and bade carry his son to the pavilion in question，which was built （upon a rock） midmost the water and was approached by a causeway，twenty cubits wide.It had windows on all sides，overlooking the sea；its floor was of variegated marble and its roof was painted in the richest colours and decorated with gold and lapis-lazuli.They furnished it for Kemerezzeman with embroidered rugs and carpets of the richest silk and hung the walls with choice brocades and curtains bespangled with jewels.In the midst they set him a couch of juniper-wood，inlaid with pearls and jewels，and he sat down thereon，like a man that had been sick twenty years；for the excess of his concern and passion for the young lady had wasted his charms and emaciated his body，and he could neither eat nor drink nor sleep.His father seated himself at his head，mourning sore for him，and every Monday and Thursday he gave his Viziers and Amirs and grandees and officers and the rest of his subjects leave to come in to him in the pavilion.So they entered and did their several service and abode with him till the end of the day，when they went their ways and he returned to his son，whom he left not night nor day；and on this wise did he many days and nights.

To return to the Princess Budour.When the two Afrits carried her back to her palace and laid her on her bed，she slept on till daybreak，when she awoke and sitting up，looked right and left，but saw not the youth who had lain in her bosom.At this，her heart was troubled，her reason fled and she gave a great cry，whereupon all her damsels and nurses and serving-women awoke and came in to her；and the chief of them said to her，What ails thee，O my lady？O wretched old woman，'answered the princess，where is my beloved，the handsome youth that lay last night in my bosom？Tell me where he is gone.'When the old woman heard this，the light in her eyes became darkness and she was sore in fear of her mischief and said to her，O my lady Budour，what unseemly words are these？Out on thee，pestilent crone that thou art！'cried the princess.'Where is my beloved，the goodly youth with the shining face and the slender shape，the black eyes and the joined eyebrows，who lay with me last night from dusk until near daybreak？By Allah，O my lady，'replied the old woman，I have seen no young man nor any other；but I conjure thee，leave this unseemly jesting，lest we be all undone.