‘“Oh no, my princess,” I said to her, “do not be uneasy about that. Rely on my word, and let no fear prevent your sharing the pleasure I take in seeing you.”

‘Saying these words, I called the fakir and presented him to Zelica. She received him very graciously to please me, and after many mutual compliments we all three sat down to table with Calé-Cairi. My comrade was a man thirty years of age; he was very intelligent; he soon made known to the ladies by his rallies and witticisms that he was not averse to pleasure, or rather that he dis­honoured his habit. As soon as we had eaten of all the dishes which were served to us, wine was brought; the slaves poured it out to us in agate cups. The fakir did not long leave his empty; he had it replenished perpetually, so that by dint of drinking he was soon in a pretty state. He was not very respectful by nature, so that the wine augmented his boldness and made him lose the little restraint he had preserved till then. He was not content with shocking the modesty of the ladies by bold speeches; he threw his arms abruptly round the neck of the Princess of Persia, and insolently snatched a kiss.

‘Zelica was indignant at the boldness of the fakir, and her anger lent her strength to snatch herself from his insolent clutches. “Stop, wretch!” she said, “and do not abuse the kindness shown you in suffering you to be here. You deserve to be punished by the slaves in this house, but the consideration which I have for your friend restrains me.” Thus saying, she took her veil, covered her face, and left my apartment. I ran after her, asking pardon for what had passed; I tried in vain to appease her, she was too irritated. “You now see,” she said, “whether you were wrong in wishing this fakir to join us; it was not without reason that I opposed it. I shall not put my foot here again whilst he is here.” At these words she retired, say what I would to stop her.

‘I returned to my friend in my apartment. “Ah, what have you done?” I said to him; “to show such want of respect to the favourite of Firouz­shah! By your indiscreet behaviour you have incurred her hatred, and perhaps she will never forgive me for having let her be seen by you.”

‘“Don’t be afraid, Hassan,” he replied, “you don’t know women well if you think she is really angry; be persuaded rather that at heart she is really delighted; there is not a lady whom such outbursts displease; the anger she gave vent to is feigned. Do you know why she appeared annoyed at my boldness? It is because your eyes were witness to it. If I had been alone with her, I am sure I should have found her more human.”

‘At this speech, which sufficiently indicated that he was intoxicated, I ceased reproaching him. I hoped that the following day he would better listen to reason, and that he would recognise his fault. I ordered one of my slaves to conduct him to his apartment, and I remained in mine, where my reflections on what had passed did not permit me to rest quietly. The following day the fakir had, indeed, adopted another tone; he showed me how mortified he was at having caused me so much annoyance, and as a punishment for his indiscretion he had resolved to retire from Can­dahar. He spoke to me in a way that touched me. I wrote immediately to the princess that our fakir repented of his audacity, and very humbly begged her and me to forgive it on account of the wine which had been the cause of it.

‘As I finished writing, Schapour arrived; he told me that his mistress was still very irritated; I entrusted my letter to him. He returned, and came back some hours after with an answer. Zelica informed me that she was willing to excuse the insolence of the fakir since he assured her that he repented, but on condition that he did not remain longer in my house, and that he left Can­dahar in twenty-four hours. I showed the note to my friend, who told me before Schapour that his sentiments were in conformity with those of the lady; that he would not dare appear before her after the bold action he had had the misfortune to commit, and that he proposed leaving Candahar that very hour. The eunuch immediately returned to the palace, and went to inform Zelica of the disposition in which he had left the fakir.

‘I was enchanted to see calm succeed the storm which had alarmed me. I will admit, however, I was sorry to lose my friend, and I kept him that day. “Wait,” I said, “you shall depart to-morrow I wish to rejoice with you another day; perhaps we shall never see each other again. Ah! since we must separate, let us delay at least the sad moment of our separation.”

‘To better celebrate our farewell I ordered a big supper; when it was ready, we sat down to table. We had already tasted several dishes, when we saw Schapour enter, bearing a gold dish in which was a curry.

‘“Lord Hassan,” he said to me, “I bring you a dish which has just been served at the king’s supper. His majesty found it so delicious that he had it taken to his favourite, who sends it to you.”

‘We ate this dish, and it seemed indeed excellent. The fakir during the meal could not tire of praising my good fortune, and he said to me twenty times: “Oh, young man, what a charming fate is yours!”

‘We passed the night in drinking, and as soon as it was day my friend said to me: “Now we must part.” Then I went to fetch a purse full of sequins which Schapour had brought me the day before from his mistress, and, giving it to the fakir:

‘“Take my purse,” I said, “it may be of use to you.” He thanked me; we embraced each other. He left, and after his departure I remained some time feeling sad. “Oh, too imprudent friend,” I said, “it is you who are the cause of our separation; you should have been contented with seeing Zelica and enjoying so beautiful a sight.”

‘As I had need of repose, I threw myself upon a sofa and fell asleep. At the end of several hours I was awoke by a great noise which was heard in my house. I rose to see the cause of it, and I perceived with much alarm that it was a troop of soldiers of Firouzshah’s guard.

‘“Follow us,” said the officer who was at their head. “We have orders to conduct you to the palace.”

‘“What crime have I committed?” I replied. “Of what am I accused?”

‘“We do not know,” replied the officer; “we only have orders to conduct you to the king, we do not know the reason. But I will tell you, to reassure you, that if you are innocent you have nothing to fear. You have to do with a just prince who does not lightly accuse persons of having committed faults; there must be convincing proofs for him to pronounce a fatal sentence. It is true that he punishes the guilty with rigour; if you are among them, I pity you.”

‘I was obliged to follow the officer. On the way to the seraglio I said to myself: “Firouzshah has probably discovered the understanding that I have with Zelica; but how has he learnt it?” When we were in the courtyard of the palace I saw four beams erected; I well knew that that con­cerned me, and that this kind of death was the least punishment I had to expect from Firouzshah. I raised my eyes to heaven and prayed that the Princess of Persia at least might be saved.

‘We entered the seraglio; the officer who con­ducted me led me into the king’s apartment. The prince was there with his grand vizir only and the fakir whom I had thought to be already far from Candahar. As soon as I saw this treacherous friend I knew all his perfidy.

‘“It is you, then,” said Firouzshah, “who have secret interviews with my favourite! Oh! rogue. you must be very bold to dare to trifle with me. Speak, and reply precisely to what I have to ask you. When you arrived at Candahar were you not told that I punished criminals severely?’

‘I replied in the affirmative.

‘“Well,” he replied, “since you were warned, why have you committed the greatest of all crimes?”

‘“Sire,” I said to him, “may your majesty’s days endure through all the centuries; but you know that love makes bold the dove; a man possessed by a violent passion fears nothing. I am ready to serve as a victim to your just anger, and torture me as you will, I shall not complain of your rigour if you pardon your favourite slave. Alas! she lived tranquilly in your seraglio before my arrival, and content to make a great king happy, she began to forget an unhappy lover, whom she thought never to see again. She became aware that I was in this town; her first fire became re-kindled; it is I who have snatched her from your love; it is therefore I alone whom you ought to punish.”

‘Whilst I was speaking thus, Zelica, whom they had gone to fetch by order of the king, entered, followed by Schapour and Calé-Cairi; and having heard my last words, she ran to throw herself at the feet of Firouzshah.