This great queen would have been the more affectionately received by the queen her mother, had she not, upon first sight of her, guessed the occasion of her coming. Daughter, said she, I plainly perceive you are not come hither to visit me; you come only to inquire after the king your son; and I can only tell you such news of him as will augment both your grief and mine. I must confess, I no sooner saw him arrive in our territories, than I greatly rejoiced: yet, when I came to understand he had come away without your knowledge, I began to partake with you in the concern you must needs have at it. Then she related to her with what zeal king Saleh went to demand the princess Giahaure in marriage for king Beder, and what happened upon it, till such time as her son disappeared. I have sent diligently after him, added she; and the king my son, who is just gone to govern the kingdom of Samarcand, has done all that lay in his power on his part. All our endeavours have hitherto proved unsuccessful; but we hope nevertheless to see him again, perhaps when we least expect it. Comfortless queen Gulnare was not satisfied with this hope: she looked upon the king her dear son as lost; and she lamented him grievously, laying all the blame upon the king his uncle. The queen her mother made her to consider the necessity there was of her not yielding too much to her grief. The king your brother, said she, ought not, it is true, to have talked to you so inconsiderately about that marriage, nor ever have consented to carry away the king your son without your privacy: yet, since it is not certain that the king of Persia is absolutely lost, you ought to neglect nothing to preserve his kingdom for him. Lose then no more time; but return to your capital: your presence there will be necessary; and it will not be hard for you to preserve the public peace, by causing it to be published that the king of Persia was gone to visit his grandmother. This reason was sufficient to oblige queen Gulnare to submit to it. She took leave of the queen her mother, and was got back to the palace of her capital of Persia before she had been missed. She despatched immediately persons to recall the officers she had sent after the king, and to tell them she knew where his majesty was, and that they should soon see him again. She also caused the same report to be spread throughout the city, and governed, in concert with the prime minister and council, with the same tranquillity as if the king had been present.