Wazir both sought rede of him, and he would point out to them the right and unright, and that which entaileth trouble and no trouble, when they could fend it off and overthrow it or by word or by deed of hand.  Now one day of the many days the King was in a certain of his gardens a-solacing himself with the sights when his heart and stomach became full of pain and he fell ill and his illness grew upon him, nor did he last four days ere he departed to the mercy of Allah Almighty.  As he had no issue, either son or daughter, the country remained without a King for three days, when the Lords of the land for-gathered and agreed upon a decision, all and some, that they would have no King or Sultan save the Wazir and that the man the Bhang-eater should be made Chief Councillor.  So they agreed upon this matter and their words went forth to the Minister who at once took office.  After this he gave general satisfaction and lavished alms on the mean and miserable, also on satisfaction and lavished alms on the mean and miserable, also on the widows and orphans, when his fame was bruited abroad and it dispread far and wide till men entitled him the “Just Wazir” and in such case he governed for a while of time.—­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 enjoyable and delectable!” Quoth she, “And where is this compared with that I would relate to you on the coming night an the Sovran suffer me to survive?” Now when it was the next night and that was

The Four Hundred and Tenth 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 governed for a while of time with all justice of rule so that the caravans spread abroad the name and fame of him throughout every city and all the countries.  Presently there befel him an affair between two women which were sister-wives to one man.[FN#278] Now these had conceived by him in the same month and when the time of their pregnancy had passed, the twain were delivered in the same place at the same hour and the midwife was one and the same.  One brought forth a babe but it was a daughter which incontinently died and the other a man-child who lived.  The women quarrelled and fought about the boy-babe and both of them said, “This is my child;” and there befel between them exceeding contention and excessive hostility.  So they carried their cause before the divines and the Olema and the head men of the place, yet did none of them know how to decide between the twain and not a few of the folk said, “Let each woman take the child to her for a month,”