The Six Hundred and Seventy-sixth 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 Yusuf said, “To everything its own time, and soothly sayeth the old saw, Whoso hurrieth upon a matter ere opportunity consent shall at last repent.  Now when they brought the basin before him and therein stood an ewer of crystal garnished with gold, he looked at it and saw graven thereupon the following couplets,

“I’m a Basin gold beautifies * For the hands of the great and the
     wise: 
Abased[FN#210] for the cleansing of palms, * Washing hands with
     the water of eyes.”

Thereat he considered the ewer and saw inscribed upon it these lines,

“O rare the Ewer’s form whereon must dote * Our hearts and pupils
     of our eyes fain gloat: 
Seems ferly fair to all admiring orbs * You seemly body wi’ the
     slender throat.

And when he had finished washing his hands and had dried them with the napkins he pointed at them and spoke these couplets,

“Groweth my love a-heart and how to hide * When o’er the plains
     of cheek tear-torrents glide? 
I veil what love these sobs and moans betray * With narrowed
     heart I spread my patience wide. 
O Farer to the fountain,[FN#211] flow these eyes * Nor seek from
     other source to be supplied: 
Who loveth, veil of Love his force shall reave, * For tears shall
     tell his secrets unespied: 
I for the love of you am bye-word grown, * My lords, and driven
     to the Desert-side;
While you in heart of me are homes, your home; * And the
     heart-dweller kens what there may bide.

When Prince Yusuf had finished his improvisation and the poetry which he produced, Princess Al-Hayfa bussed him upon the brow, and he seeing this waxed dazed of his wits and right judgment fled him and he fell fainting to the floor for a while of time.  And when he came to himself he pondered how she had entreated him and his Passion would have persuaded him to do with her somewhat but Reason forbade and with her force he overcame himself.  After his improvising Al-Hayfa again saluted him on the front and cried, “Indeed thou hast done well in thy words, O thou with Crescent’s brow!” Presently she came for the table of wine and filling a cup drank it off; then she crowned another goblet and passed it to Yusuf who took it and kissed it while she improvised some couplets as follows,

“Thy seduction of lips ne’er can I forbear * Nor deny
     love-confession for charms so rare: 
O thou aim of my eyes, how my longing stay? * O thou tall of form
     and long wavy hair? 
Thy rose-hued cheek showeth writ new-writ[FN#212] * Dimming wine
     my cups in their rondure bear.”