with gems and loaded them upon the beasts.  Presently he entered to the Sultan with his string of ten camels and, causing them to kneel in the court-yard of the Divan, cried to him, “Come down, O King of the Age, and take the dowry of thy daughter.”  So the Sultan turned towards him and, looking at the ten camels, exclaimed, “By Allah, this youth is Jinn-mad; yet will I go down to see him.”  Accordingly he descended the staircase to the place where the camels had been made to kneel, and when the sacks had been unloaded and as the King came amongst them, the bags were opened and were found full of jewels greater and more glorious than the one was with him.  Hereupon the Sultan was perplext and his wits were bewildered, and he cried to the Wazir, “Walla-hi!  I think that all the Kings of the Earth in its length and its breadth have not one single gem the like of these:  but say me how shall I act, O Wazir?” The Minister replied, “Give him the girl.”—­And Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day and fell silent and ceased saying her permitted say.  Then quoth her sister Dunyazad, “How sweet and tasteful is thy tale, O sister mine, and how enjoyable and delectable!” Quoth she, “And where is this compared with that I should relate to you on the coming night, an the King suffer me to survive?” Now when it was the next night and that was

The Four Hundred and Seventy-ninth Night

Dunyazad said to her, “Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short the watching of this our latter night!” She replied, “With love and good will!” It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the Wazir said to the King, “Give him the girl.”  Hereupon the marriage-tie was tied and the bridegroom was led in to the bride, and either rejoiced mightily in his mate,[FN#410] and was increased their joy and destroyed was all annoy.  Now Abu Niyyah was a favourite of Fortune, so the Sultan appointed him the government during three days of every week, and he continued ruling after that fashion for a while of time.  But one day of the days, as he was sitting in his pleasaunce, suddenly the man Abu Niyyatayn passed before him leaning on a palm-stick, and crying, “O ye beneficent, O ye folk of good!” When Abu Niyyah beheld him he said to his Chamberlain, “Hither with yonder man;” and as soon as he was brought he bade them lead him to the Hammam and dress him in a new habit.  They did his bidding and set the beggar before his whilome comrade who said to him, “Dost thou know me?” “No, O my lord,” said the other; and he, “I am thy companion of old whom thou wouldst have left to die in the well; but I, by Allah, never changed my intent, and all that I own in this world I will give unto thee half thereof.”  And they sat in converse for a while of time, until at last the Double-minded one, “Whence camest thou by