all the Emirs and Captains and Officers of state came up to her and wished her joy of the kingship, kissing the earth before her and calling down blessings upon her.  And she accosted them with smiling face and clad them in robes of honour, augmenting the fiefs of the high officials and giving largesse to the levies; wherefore all the people loved her and offered up prayers for the long endurance of her reign, doubting not but that she was a man.  And she ceased not sitting all day in the hall of audience, bidding and forbidding; dispensing justice, releasing prisoners and remitting the customs-dues, till nightfall, when she withdrew to the apartment prepared for her.  Here she found Hayat al-Nufus seated, so she sat down by her side and, clapping her on the back, coaxed and caressed her and kissed her between the eyes, and fell to versifying in these couplets,

“What secret kept I these my tears have told, *
     And my waste body must my love unfold: 
Though hid my pine, my plight on parting day *
     To every envious eye my secret sold: 
O ye who broke up camp, you’ve left behind *
     My spirit wearied and my heart a-cold: 
In my hearts core ye dwell, and now these eyne *
     Roll blood-drops with the tears they whilome rolled: 
The absent will I ransom with my soul; *
     All can my yearning for their sight behold: 
I have an eye whose babe,[FN#314] for love of thee, *
     Rejected sleep nor hath its tears controlled. 
The foeman bids me patient bear his loss, *
     Ne’er may mine ears accept the ruth he doled! 
I tricks their deme of me, and won my wish *
     Of Kamar al-Zaman’s joys manifold: 
He joins all perfect gifts like none before, *
     Boasted such might and main no King of old: 
Seeing his gifts, Bin Za’idah’s[FN#315] largesse *
     Forget we, and Mu’awiyah mildest-soul’d:[FN#316]
Were verse not feeble and o’er short the time *
     I had in laud of him used all of rhyme.”

Then Queen Budur stood up and wiped away her tears and, making the lesser ablution,[FN#317] applied her to pray:  nor did she give over praying till drowsiness overcame the Lady Hayat al-Nufus and she slept, whereupon the Lady Budur came and lay by her till the morning.  At daybreak, she arose and prayed the dawn-prayer; and presently seated herself on the royal throne and passed the day in ordering and counter ordering and giving laws and administering justice.  This is how it fared with her; but as regards King Armanus he went in to his daughter and asked her how she did; so she told him all that had befallen her and repeated to him the verses which Queen Budur had recited, adding, “O my father, never saw I one more abounding in sound sense and modesty than my husband, save that he cloth nothing but weep and sigh.”  He answered, “O my daughter, have patience with him yet this third night, and if he go not in unto thee and do away thy maidenhead, we shall know how to proceed with him and oust him from the throne and banish him the country.”  And on this wise he agreed with his daughter what course he would take.—­And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.