A damsel 'twas the tirer's art had decked with snares and sleight.[FN#414] * And robed in rays as though the sun from her had borrowed light: She came before us wondrous clad in chemisette of green, * As veiled by its leafy screen pomegranate hides from sight: And when he said "How callest thou the manner of thy dress?" * She answered us in pleasant way with double meaning dight; "We call this garment creve-coeur; and rightly is it hight, * For many a heart wi' this we broke [FN#415] and conquered many a sprite!" Then they displayed her in the seventh dress, coloured between safflower [FN#416] and saffron, even as one of the poets saith:— In vest of saffron pale and safflower red * Musk'd, sandal'd ambergris'd, she came to front: "Rise!" cried her youth, "go forth and show thyself!" * "Sit!" said her hips, "we cannot bear the brunt!" And when I craved a bout, her Beauty said * "Do, do!" and said her pretty shame, "Don't, don't!" Thus they displayed the bride in all her seven toilettes before Hasan al-Basri, wholly neglecting the Gobbo who sat moping alone; and, when she opened her eyes [FN#417] she said, "O Allah make this man my goodman and deliver me from the evil of this hunchbacked groom." As soon as they had made an end of this part of the ceremony they dismissed the wedding guests who went forth, women, children and all, and none remained save Hasan and the Hunchback, whilst the tirewomen led the bride into an inner room to change her garb and gear and get her ready for the bridegroom. Thereupon Quasimodo came up to Badr al-Din Hasan and said, "O my lord, thou hast cheered us this night with thy good company and overwhelmed us with thy kindness and courtesy; but now why not get thee up and go?" "Bismallah," he answered, "In Allah's name so be it!" and rising, he went forth by the door, where the Ifrit met him and said, "Stay in thy stead, O Badr al-Din, and when the Hunchback goes out to the closet of ease go in without losing time and seat thyself in the alcove; and when the bride comes say to her, "'Tis I am thy husband, for the King devised this trick only fearing for thee the evil eye, and he whom thou sawest is but a Syce, a groom, one of our stablemen.' Then walk boldly up to her and unveil her face; for jealousy hath taken us of this matter." While Hasan was still talking with the Ifrit behold, the groom fared forth from the hall and entering the closet of ease sat down on the stool. Hardly had he done this when the Ifrit came out of the tank, [FN#418] wherein the water was, in semblance of a mouse and squeaked out "Zeek!" Quoth the Hunchback, "What ails thee?"; and the mouse grew and grew till it became a coal-black cat and caterwauled "Meeao! Meeao!"[FN#419] Then it grew still more and more till it became a dog and barked out "Owh! Owh!" When the bridegroom saw this he was frightened and exclaimed "Out with thee, O unlucky one!" [FN#420] But the dog grew and swelled till it