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Presently the ambassadors entered the hall, and were struck with awe at the magnificence displayed, and the power of the Sultan before whom they stood. Within the letter was an enclosure, the ground of which was also sky-blue like the first, but the characters were of silver: it was likewise written in Greek, and contained a list of the presents which the Lord of Constantinah sent to the Khalif.
The cup went round till it came to Er Reshid, who refused it, and the mock Khalif said to Jaafer, 'What ails thy friend that he drinks not? 'O our lord, replied the Vizier, 'this long while he hath drunk no wine. Quoth the mock Khalif, 'I have drink other than this, a kind of apple-wine, that will suit him. So he let bring apple-sherbet and said to Haroun, 'Drink thou of this, as often as it comes to thy turn. Then they continued to drink and make merry, till the wine rose to their heads and mastered their wits; and Haroun said to Jaafer, 'O Jaafer, by Allah, we have no such vessels as these.
I have brought this affliction on myself. Presently I heard the Khalif say to my mistress, 'Harkye, what is in those chests of thine ? 'Clothes for the Lady Zubeideh, answered she; and he said, 'Open them to me. When I heard this, I gave myself up for lost and said, 'By Allah, this is the last of my worldly days! and began to repeat the profession of the Faith.
Now there was among the troops a spy, who had been hired to kill the Khalif; so he took the ball and smiting it with the mall, drove it straight at the Khalif's face; but Aslan interposed and catching it in mid-volley, drove it back at him who smote it, so that it struck him between the shoulders and he fell to the ground.
'I hear and obey, replied Mesrour and accoutring Abou Nuwas, as the Khalif had bidden him, carried him round to all the lodgings of the harem, in number as the days of the year; but he made all the girls laugh with his buffooneries and each gave him something, so that he returned with a pocketful of money.
Instead of the drunken and gluttonous wassail orgies of their northern neighbours, the feasts of the Saracens were marked by sobriety. Wine was prohibited.... In the tenth century, the Khalif Hakem II. had made beautiful Andalusia the paradise of the world.
Mahomet called himself Khalif, and ruled for ten years at Mecca, where he died and was buried. Mahometans go on pilgrimage to Mecca, and always turn their faces thither when they pray at sunrise or sunset, throwing water over themselves, or sand if they cannot get water. The Khalifs who came after Mahomet, went on conquering.
He continued to fill his new office till, one day, as he sat in the Divan, according to his wont, an Amir came up with a sword and shield in his hand and said, 'O Commander of the Faithful, mayst thou outlive the Chief of the Sixty, for he is this day dead; whereupon the Khalif ordered Alaeddin a dress of honour and made him Chief of the Sixty, in place of the dead man, who had neither wife nor child.
Now I have long sought her and my heart is taken up with love of her, for she is passing fair; so do thou sell her to me. 'O Commander of the Faithful, replied Jaafer, 'I will not sell her. 'Then give her to me, rejoined the Khalif. 'Nor will I give her, answered Jaafer.
Know that I am Ishac ben Ibrahim el Mausili, and by Allah, I bear myself haughtily to the Khalif, when he seeks me. Quoth the latter's companion to him, "This is what I feared and warned thee against." So they took him by the hand and put him out; and I took the lute and sang over again the songs of my fashion that the damsel had sung.
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