When she had made an end of her verse, the Commander of the Faithful said to her, “O damsel, thou art in love.” She replied, “Yes;” and he asked, “With whom?” Answered she, “With my lord and sovran of my tenderness, for whom my love is as the love of the earth for rain, or as the desire of the female for the male; and indeed the love of him is mingled with my flesh and my blood and hath entered into the channels of my bones. O Prince of True Believers, whenever I call him to mind my vitals are consumed, for that I have not yet won my wish of him, and but that I fear to die, without seeing him, I had assuredly slain myself.” Thereupon quoth he, “Art thou in my presence and durst bespeak me with the like of these words? Forsure I will gar thee forget thy lord.” Then he bade take her away; so she was carried to her pavilion and he sent her a concubine, with a casket wherein were three thousand ducats and a collar of gold set with seed-pearls and great unions, and jewels, worth other three thousand, saying to her, “The slave-girl and that which is with her are a gift from me to thee.” When she heard this, she cried, “Allah forfend that I be consoled for the love of my lord and my master, though with an earth-full of gold!” And she improvised and recited these couplets:— By his life I swear, by his life I pray; ✿ For him fire I’d enter unful dismay! “Console thee (cry they) with another fere ✿ Thou lovest!” and I, “By’s life, nay, NAY!” He’s moon whom beauty and grace array; ✿ From whose cheeks and brow shineth light of day. Then the Commander of the Faithful summoned her to his presence a fourth time and said, “O Sitt al-Milah, sing.” So she recited and sang these couplets:— The lover’s heart by his beloved is oft disheartenèd ✿ And by the hand of sickness eke his sprite dispiritèd, One asked, “What is the taste of love?”[300] and I to him replied, ✿ “Love is a sweet at first but oft in fine unsweetenèd.” I am the thrall of Love who keeps the troth of love to them[301] ✿ But oft they proved themselves ’Urkúb[302] in pact with me they made. What in their camp remains? They bound their loads and fared away; ✿ To other feres the veilèd Fairs in curtained litters sped; At every station the beloved showed all of Joseph’s charms: ✿ The lover woned with Jacob’s woe in every shift of stead.