The party continued their carousal, and, when the wine took effect upon them, the mistress of the house arose, and waited upon them; and afterwards, taking the hand of the cateress, said, Arise, O my sister, that we may fulfil our debt. She replied, Good. The portress then rose, and, after she had cleared the middle of the saloon, placed the mendicants at the further end, beyond the doors; after which, the ladies called to the porter, saying, How slight is thy friendship! thou art not a stranger, but one of the family. So the porter arose, and girded himself, and said, What would ye?--to which one of the ladies answered, Stand where thou art:--and presently the cateress said to him, Assist me:--and he saw two black bitches, with chains attached to their necks, and drew them to the middle of the saloon; whereupon the mistress of the house arose from her place, and tucked up her sleeve above her wrist, and, taking a whip, said to the porter, Bring to me one of them. Accordingly, he dragged one forward by the chain. The bitch whined, and shook her head at the lady; but the latter fell to beating her upon the head, notwithstanding her howling, until her arms were tired, when she threw the whip from her hand, and pressed the bitch to her bosom, and wiped away her tears, and kissed her head; after which she said to the porter, Take her back, and bring the other;--and he brought her, and she did to her as she had done to the first. At the sight of this, the mind of the Khaleefeh was troubled, and his heart was contracted, and he winked to Jaạfar that he should ask her the reason; but he replied by a sign, Speak not. [Illustration] The mistress of the house then looked towards the portress, and said to her, Arise to perform what thou hast to do. She replied, Good:--and the mistress of the house seated herself upon a couch of alabaster, overlaid with gold and silver, and said to the portress and the cateress, Now perform your parts. The portress then seated herself upon a couch by her; and the cateress, having entered a closet, brought out from it a bag of satin with green fringes, and, placing herself before the lady of the house, shook it, and took out from it a lute; and she tuned its strings, and sang to it these verses:-- Restore to my eyelids the sleep which hath been ravished; and inform me of my reason, whither it hath fled. I discovered, when I took up my abode with love, that slumber had become an enemy to my eyes. They said, We saw thee to be one of the upright; what, then, hath seduced thee? I answered, Seek the cause from his glance. Verily I excuse him for the shedding of my blood, admitting that I urged him to the deed by vexation. He cast his sun-like image upon the mirror of my mind, and its reflection kindled a flame in my vitals.[III_34]