of singing-girls, was amazed and made the girls eat.  Then he sat and the singers also seated themselves, whilst the black slaves and the white slaves and the eunuchs and pages and boys stood, and of the slave-girls some sat and some stood.  The damsels sang and warbled all varieties of melodies and the place rang with the sweetness of the songs, whilst the pipes cried out and the lutes with them wailed, till it seemed to Abu al-Hasan that he was in Paradise and his heart was heartened and his breast broadened.  So he sported and joyance grew on him and he bestowed robes of honour on the damsels and gave and bestowed, challenging this girl and kissing that and toying with a third, plying one with wine and morselling another with meat, till nightfall.  All this while the Commander of the Faithful was diverting himself with watching him and laughing, and when night fell he bade one of the slave-girls drop a piece of Bhang in the cup and give it to Abu al-Hasan to drink.  So she did his bidding and gave him the cup, which no sooner had he drunk than his head forewent his feet.[FN#45] Therewith the Caliph came forth from behind the curtain, laughing, and calling to the attendant who had brought Abu al-Hasan to the palace, said to him, “Carry[FN#46] this man to his own place.”  So Masrur took him up and carrying him to his own house, set him down in the saloon.  Then he went forth from him, and shutting the saloon-door upon him, returned to the Caliph, who slept till the morrow.  As for Abu al-Hasan, he gave not over slumbering till Almighty Allah brought on the morning, when he recovered from the drug and awoke, crying out and saying, “Ho, Tuffahah!  Ho, Rahat al-Kulub!  Ho, Miskah!  Ho, Tohfah!"[FN#47] and he ceased not calling upon the palace handmaids till his mother heard him summoning strange damsels, and rising, came to him and said, “Allah’s name encompass thee!  Up with thee, O my son, O Abu al-Hasan!  Thou dreamest.”  So he opened his eyes and finding an old woman at his head, raised his eyes and said to her, “Who art thou?” Quoth she, “I am thy mother;” and quoth he, “Thou liest!  I am the Commander of the Faithful, the Viceregent of Allah.”  Whereupon his mother shrieked aloud and said to him, “Heaven preserve thy reason!  Be silent, O my son, and cause not the loss of our lives and the wasting of thy wealth, which will assuredly befal us if any hear this talk and carry it to the Caliph.”  So he rose from his sleep, and finding himself in his own saloon and his mother by him, had doubts of his wit, and said to her, “By Allah, O my mother, I saw myself in a dream in a palace, with slave-girls and Mamelukes about me and in attendance upon me, and I sat upon the throne of the Caliphate and ruled.  By Allah, O my mother, this is what I saw, and in very sooth it was no dream!” then he bethought himself awhile and said, “Assuredly,[FN#48] I am Abu al-Hasan al-Khali’a, and this that I saw was only a dream when I was made Caliph and bade