When she had made an end of her verse, she wept with sore weeping and all who were in the place wept aloud till they were well-nigh dead; nor was there one of them but took leave of his wits and rent his raiment and beat his face, for the goodliness of her singing. Then said Al-Rashid, "This damsel's song verily denoteth that she is a lover departed from her beloved." Quoth her master, "She hath lost father and mother;" but quoth the Caliph, "This is not the weeping of one who hath lost mother and father, but the yearning of one who hath lost him she loveth." And he was delighted with her singing and said to Isaac, "By Allah, never saw I her like!"; and Isaac said, "O my lord, indeed I marvel at her with utterest marvel and am beside myself for delight." Now Al-Rashid with all this stinted not to look upon the house-master and note his charms and the daintiness of his fashion; but he saw on his face a pallor as he would die; so he turned to him and said, "Ho, youth!" and the other said, "Adsum!—at thy service, O my lord." The Caliph asked, "Knowest thou who we are?"; and he answered, "No." Quoth Ja'afar, "Wilt thou that I tell thee the names of each of us?"; and quoth the young man "Yes;" when the Wazir said, "This is the Commander of the Faithful, descendant of the uncle of the Prince of the Apostles," and named to him the others of the company; after which quoth Al-Rashid, "I wish that thou acquaint me with the cause of the paleness of thy face, whether it be acquired or natural from thy birth-tide." Quoth he, "O Prince of True Believers, my case is wondrous and my affair marvellous; were it graven with gravers on the eye-corners it were a warner to whoso will be warned." Said the Caliph, "Tell it to me: haply thy healing may be at my hand." Said the young man, "O Commander of the Faithful, lend me thine ears and give me thy whole mind." And he, "Come; tell it me, for thou makest me long to hear it." So the young man began,—"Know then, O Prince of True Believers, that I am a merchant of the merchants of the sea and come from Oman city, where my sire was a trader and a very wealthy trader having thirty ships trafficking upon the main, whose yearly hire was thirty thousand dinars; and he was a generous man and had taught me writing and all whereof a wight hath need. When his last hour drew near, he called me to him and gave me the customary charge; then Almighty Allah took him and admitted him to His mercy and may He continue the Commander of the Faithful on life! Now my late father had partners trading with his coin and voyaging on the ocean. So one day, as I sat in my house with a company of merchants, a certain of my servants came in to me and said, 'O my lord, there is at the door a man who craveth admittance to thee!' I gave leave and he came in, bearing on his head a something covered. He set it down and uncovered it, and behold it was a box wherein were fruits out of season and