She pursued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the young merchant cried, "'By Allah this long while I have gone about in search of something like this!' So I went up to the Shaykh, O Commander of the Faithful, and saluting him said to him, 'O my lord, I need somewhat of thee!' He replied, 'What is thy need?' and I rejoined, ''Tis my desire to be thy guest to-night.' He said, 'With all my heart; but, O my son, with me are many damsels, some whose night is ten dinars, some forty and others more. Choose which thou wilt have.' Quoth I, 'I choose her whose night is ten dinars.' And I weighed out to him three hundred dinars, the price of a month; whereupon he committed me to a page, who carried me to a Hammam within the house and served me with goodly service. When I came out of the Bath he brought me to a chamber and knocked at the door, whereupon out came a handmaid, to whom said he, 'Take thy guest!' She met me with welcome and cordiality, laughing and rejoicing, and brought me into a mighty fine room decorated with gold. I considered her and saw her like the moon on the night of its fulness having in attendance on her two damsels as they were constellations. She made me sit and seating herself by my side, signed to her slave-girls who set before us a tray covered with dishes of various kinds of meats, pullets and quails and sand-grouse and pigeons. So we ate our sufficiency, and never in my life ate I aught more delicious than this food. When we had eaten she bade remove the tray and set on the service of wine and flowers, sweetmeats and fruits; and I abode with her a month in such case. At the end of that time, I repaired to the Bath; then, going to the old man, I said to him, 'O my lord, I want her whose night is twenty dinars.' 'Weigh down the gold,' said he. So I fetched money and weighed out to him six hundred dinars for a month's hire, whereupon he called a page and said to him, 'Take thy lord here.' Accordingly he carried me to the Hammam and thence to the door of a chamber, whereat he knocked and there came out a handmaid, to whom quoth he, 'Take thy guest!' She received me with the goodliest reception and I found in attendance on her four slave-girls, whom she commanded to bring food. So they fetched a tray spread with all manner meats, and I ate. When I had made an end of eating and the tray had been re- moved, she took the lute and sang thereto these couplets, 'O waftings of musk from the Babel-land! * Bear a message from me which my longings have planned: My troth is pledged to that place of yours, * And to friends there 'biding—a noble band; And wherein dwells she whom all lovers love * And would hend, but she cometh to no man's hand.'