第95章 (95)

And hadst thou，O Masrār，my case descried，* Ne'er hadst thou borne my shame and ignomy.

And eke Hubāb in iron chains is laid * By Miscreant who unknows God's Unity.

The creed of Jewry I renounce and home，* The Moslem's Faith accepting faithfully Eastwards[362] I prostrate self in fairest guise * Holding the only True Belief that be：

Masrār！ forget not love between us twain * And keep our vows and troth with goodly gree：

I've changed my faith for sake of thee，and I * For stress of love will cleave to secrecy：

So haste to us，an us in heart thou bear，* As noble spirit，nor as laggard fare.'

After this she wrote a letter to Masrur，describing to him all that the Jew had done with her from first to last and enclosed the verses aforesaid.Then she folded the scroll and gave it to her maid Hubub，saying，'Keep this in thy pocket，till we send it to Masrur.'Upon these doings lo and behold！ in came the Jew and seeing them joyous，said to them，'How cometh it that I find you merry？ Say me，hath a letter reached you from your bosom friend Masrur？'Replied Zayn al-Mawasif，'We have no helper against thee save Allah，extolled and exalted be He！ He will deliver us from thy tyranny，and except thou restore us to our birth-place and homestead，we will complain of thee tomorrow to the Governor of this town and to the Kazi.'Quoth he，'Who struck off the shackles from your legs？ But needs must I let make for each of you fetters ten pounds in weight and go round about the city with you.'Replied Hubub，'All that thou purposest against us thou shall fall into thyself，so it please Allah the Most High，by token that thou hast exiled us from our homes，and to-morrow we shall stand，we and thou，before the Governor of the city.'They nighted on this wise and next morning the Jew rose up in haste and went out to order new shackles，whereupon Zayn al-Mawasif arose and repaired with her women to the court-house，where she found the four Kazis and saluted them.They all returned her salutation and the Kazi of Kazis said to those about him，'Verily this damsel is lovely as the Venus-star[363] and all who see her love her and bow before her beauty and loveliness.'Then he despatched four sergeants，who were Sharifs，[364] saying；'Bring ye the criminal after abjectest fashion.'So，when the Jew returned with the shackles and found none in the house，he was confounded；but，as he abode in perplexity，suddenly up came the officers and laying hold of him beat him with a sore beating and dragged him face downwards before the Kazi.When the judge saw him，he cried out in his face and said to him，'Woe to thee，O

foe of God，is it come to such a pass with thee that thou doest the deed thou hast done and bringest these women far from their country and stealest their monies and wouldst make them Jews？ How durst thou seek to make miscreants of Moslems？'Answered the Jew；'O my lord this woman is my wife.'Now when the Kazis heard this；they all cried out，saying，'Throw this hound on the ground and come down on his face with your sandals and beat him with sore blows，for his offence is unpardonable.'So they pulled off his silken gear and clad him in his wife's raiment of hair-cloth；after which they threw him down and plucked out his beard and belaboured him about the face with sandals.Then they sat him on an ass，face to crupper，arsi-versy，and making him take its tail in his hand，paraded him round about the city，ringing the bell before him in every street；after which they brought him back to the judges in sorriest plight；and the four Kazis with one voice condemned him to have his feet and hands cut off and lastly to be crucified.When the accursed heard this sentence his sense forsook him and he was confounded and said，'O my lords the Kazis，what would ye of me？'They replied，'Say thou，'This damsel is not my wife and the monies are her monies，and I have transgressed against her and brought her far from her country.''

So he confessed to this and the Kazis recorded his confession in legal form and taking the money from him，gave it to Zayn al-Mawasif，together with the document.Then she went away and all who saw her were confounded at her beauty and loveliness；whilst each of the Kazis looked for her committing herself to him.But，when she came to her lodging，she made ready all matters she needed and waited till night.Then she took what was light of load and weighty of worth，and setting out with her maids under cover of the murks three days with their nights fared on without stopping.Thus it was with her；but as regards the Kazis they ordered the Jew to prison.--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.

When it was the Eight Hundred and Sixtieth Night； She said，It hath reached me，O auspicious King，that the Kazis ordered the Jew to prison and on the morrow they looked for Zayn al-Mawasif coming to them，they and their assessors；but she presented herself not to any of them.Then said the Chief Kazi；'I wish to-day to make an excursion without the town on business there.'So he mounted his she-mule and taking his page with him；went winding about the streets of the town，searching its length and width for Zayn al-Mawasif，but never finding her.On this errand he came upon the other three Kazis，going about on the same，each deeming himself the only one to whom she had given tryst.He asked them whither they were riding and why they were going about the streets；when they told him their business；whereby he saw that their plight was as his plight and their quest as his quest.So they all four rode throughout the city；seeking her，but could hit on no trace of her and returned to their houses，sick for love，and lay down on the bed of langour.