in their eyes but that I was a loyal counsellor to thee and still kept watch over thy wealth and withdrew their hands from thy hoards and treasuries; wherefore they were jealous and envied me and plotted against me and planned to slay me.”  Quoth the king, “The time of retribution is at hand, O my son; but what be thy rede we should do with them in requital of that they did with thee?  And indeed they have striven for thy slaughter and exposed thee to disgrace and smirched mine honour among the kings.”  Then he turned to the Wazirs and said to them, “Woe to you!  What liars ye are!  And is aught of excuse left to you?” Said they, “O king, there remaineth no excuse for us and we are houghed[FN#257] by the deed we would have done to him.  Indeed we planned evil to this youth and it hath reverted upon us, and we plotted mischief against him and it hath overtaken us; yea, we digged for him a pit and we ourselves have fallen into it.”  So the king bade hoist up the Wazirs upon the gibbets and crucify them there, because Allah is just and decreeth that which is due.  Then Azadbakht and his wife and son abode in joyance and gladness, till there came to them the Destroyer of delights and they died all; and extolled be the Living One, who dieth not, to whom be glory and whose mercy be upon us for ever and ever!  Amen.

Ja’afar bin Yahya and Abd al-Malik bin
SALITH the Abbaside[FN#258]

It is told of Ja’afar bin Yahya the Barmecide that he sat down one day to wine and, being minded to be private, sent for his boon-companions, with whom he was most familiar, and charged the chamberlain that he suffer none of the creatures of Almighty Allah to enter, save a man of his cup-mates, by name Abd al-Malik bin Salih, who was behindhand with them.  Then they donned brightly-dyed dresses.[FN#259] for it was their wont, as often as they sat in the wine-seance, to endue raiment of red and yellow and green silk, and they sat down to drink, and the cups went round the lutes thrilled and shrilled.  Now there was a man of the kinsfolk of the Caliph Harun al-Rashid, by name Abd al-Malik bin Salih[FN#260] bin Ali bin Abdallah bin al-Abbas,[FN#261] who was great of gravity and sedateness, piety and propriety, and Al-Rashid used instantly to require that he should company him in converse and carouse and drink with him and had offered him to such end abounding wealth, but he never would.  It fortuned that this Abd al-Malik bin Salih came to the door of Ja’afar bin Yahya, so he might bespeak him of certain requisitions of his, and the chamberlain, doubting not but he was the Abd al-Malik bin Salih aforesaid (whom Ja’afar had permitted him admit and that he should suffer none but him to enter), allowed him to go in to his master.  Accordingly Abd al-Malik went in, garbed in black, with his Rusafiyah[FN#262] on his head.  When Ja’afar saw him, his reason was like to depart for shame and he understood the case, to wit,