land and a Muezzin and an Imam, who leadeth the True Believers in prayer, and a servant of the House of the Lord of the three Worlds!” “Why wilt thou forbid me to drink thereof in thy house?” “Because ’tis unlawful.” “O elder, Allah hath forbidden only the eating of blood and carrion[320] and hog’s flesh: tell me, are grapes and honey lawful or unlawful?” “They are lawful.” “This is the juice of grapes and the water of honey.” “Leave this thy talk, for thou shalt never drink wine in my house.” “O Shaykh, people eat and drink and enjoy themselves and we are of the number of the folk and Allah is indulgent and merciful.”[321] “This is a thing that may not be.” “Hast thou not heard what the poet saith?” And she recited these couplets:— Cease thou to hear, O Sim’án-son,[322] aught save the say of me; ✿ How bitter ’twas to quit the monks and fly the monast’ry! When, on the Fête of Palms there stood, amid the hallowed fane[323], ✿ A pretty Fawn whose lovely pride garred me sore wrong to dree. May Allah bless the night we spent when he to us was third, ✿ While Moslem, Jew, and Nazarene all sported fain and free. Quoth he, from out whose locks appeared the gleaming of the morn, ✿ “Sweet is the wine and sweet the flowers that joy us comrades three. The garden of the garths of Khuld where roll and rail amain, ✿ Rivulets ’neath the myrtle shade and Bán’s fair branchery; And birds make carol on the boughs and sing in blithest lay, ✿ Yea, this indeed is life, but, ah! how soon it fades away.”