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Then she gave the missive to the old woman, saying, "O my nurse, do thou admonish this puppy lest I be forced to cut off his head and sin on his account." Replied the old woman, "By Allah, O my lady, I will not leave him a side to turn on!" Then she returned to the youth and, when salams had been exchanged, she gave him the letter.
Advancing to the gate, Mad Said accosted a warder, known by his long wand of office, and sent our salams to the Amir, saying that we came from Aden, and requested the honor of audience. Whilst he sped upon his errand, we sat at the foot of a round bastion, and were scrutinised, derided, and catechized by the curious of both sexes, especially by that conventionally termed the fair.
The portly peltry of a goat; its horns embattling its effigy head; its mouth the nozzle; and its long beard flowed to its jet-black hoofs. With many ceremonial salams, the attendants bore it along, placing it at one end of the convivial mats, full in front of Borabolla; where seated upon its haunches it made one of the party.
So they went in to her and saluted her, and she returned their salams with the goodliest language and after the pleasantest fashion; whereupon they clad her in royal apparel and, clasping a collar of jewels about her neck, carried her to the bath and served her there.
And what she wrote were these couplets, "By Allah, O thou house, if my beloved a morn go by, * And greet with signs and signals lover e'er is wont to fly, I pray thee give him our salams in pure and fragrant guise, * For he indeed may never know where we this eve shall lie.
Then he sent for me, and when they set me before him and salams had been exchanged, he gave me a cordial welcome and wishing me long life bade me tell him my tale. So I related to him all that I had seen and all that had befallen me from first to last, whereat he marvelled and said to me, "By Allah, O my son, thou hast indeed been miraculously preserved!
Moreover he gave him a hauberk and target and a book and said to him, "Return to thy tribe and expound unto them Al-Islam." So Gharib left him, rejoicing in his new Faith, and fared till he found his companions, who met him with salams, saying, "What made thee tarry thus?" Whereupon he related to them that which had befallen him and expounded to them Al-Islam, and they all islamised.
We soon made acquaintance, as far as an exchange of salams. I regret, however, to say that there was some scandal about my charming neighbour; and that more than once she was detected making signals to distant persons with her hands. At 6 A.M. we descend to breakfast, which usually consists of sour grain cakes and roast mutton at this hour a fine trial of health and cleanly living.
Say, that fixed them, and they all made salams to dad, and bowed all over themselves, and the justice of the peace prayed to Allah, and the interpreter said we could go, but to be careful about touching a Turkish woman or a dog, particularly a dog, as the Turks were very sensitive on the dog question.
On my desiring to see the Rajah, I was conducted through a long dreary passage, with the walls, to all appearance, covered with grease and filth, at the end of which is a large court-yard, which has a very different appearance, the Rajah's apartments being all round; at the end were six Peons waiting to conduct me to his highness, with silver staves, about eleven feet long, with a device of Mahomet on the top; on my introduction to the Rajah's apartment, he was sitting cross-legged with his hooker; at my entrance he arose and made three salams in token of respect to the British nation.
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