The Arabian Nights [244]
Before the jeweller returned her any answer he made her sit down, and then said to her, "Is not this letter from Schemselnihar, and is it not directed to the prince of Persia?" The slave, who expected no such question, blushed. "The question embarrasses you," continued he; "but I assure you I do not put it rashly: I could have given you the letter in the street, but I wished you to follow me, on purpose that I might come to some explanation with you. Is it just, tell me, to impute a misfortune to persons who have no ways contributed towards it? Yet this you have done, in telling the prince of Persia that it was I who advised Ebn Thaher to leave Bagdad for his own safety. I do not intend to waste time in justifying myself; it is enough that the prince of Persia is fully persuaded of my innocence; I will only tell you, that instead of contributing to Ebn Thaher's departure, I have been extremely afflicted at it, not so much from my friendship to him, as out of compassion for the condition in which he left the prince of Persia, whose correspondence with Schemselnihar he has discovered to me. As soon as I knew certainly that Ebn Thaher was gone from Bagdad, I went and presented myself to the prince, in whose house you found me, to inform him of this event, and to offer to undertake the service in which he had been employed; and provided you put the same confidence in me, that you did in Ebn Thaher, it will be your own fault if you do not make my assistance of use to you. Inform your mistress of what I have told you, and assure her, that though I should die for engaging in so dangerous an intrigue, I should not repent of having sacrificed myself for two lovers so worthy of one another."
The confidant, after having heard the jeweller with great satisfaction, begged him to pardon the ill opinion she had conceived of him, for the zeal she had for her mistress's interest. "I am beyond measure glad," she added, "that Schemselnihar and the prince have found in you a person so fit to supply Ebn Thaher's place I will not fail to convince my mistress of the good-will you bear her."
After the confidant had testified to the jeweller her joy to see him so well disposed to serve Schemselnihar and the prince of Persia, the jeweller took the letter out of his bosom, and restored it to her, saying, "Go, carry it quickly to the prince, and return this way that I may see his reply. Forget not to give him an account of our conversation."
The confidant took the letter and carried it to the prince, who answered it immediately. She returned to the jeweller's house to shew him the answer, which was in these words:
The Prince of Persia's Answer to Schemselnihar.
"Your precious letter has had a great effect upon me, but not so great as I could have wished. You endeavour to comfort me for the loss of Ebn Thaher; alas! however sensible I am of this, it is but the least of my troubles. You know these troubles, and you know also that your presence alone can cure me. When will the time come that I shall enjoy it without fear of a separation? How distant does it seem to me! or shall we flatter ourselves that we may ever see it? You command me to preserve myself; I will obey you, since I have renounced my own will to follow only yours. Adieu."
After the jeweller had read this letter, he returned it to the confidant, who said, as she was going away, "I will desire my mistress to put the same confidence in you that she did in Ebn Thaher. You shall hear of me to-morrow." Accordingly, next day she returned with a pleasant countenance. "Your very looks," said he to her, "inform me that you have brought Schemselnihar to