So saying, he fell upon her and beat her with a staff of almond-wood, till she cried out, “[Help], O Muslims!” and he redoubled the beating upon her, till the folk heard her cries and coming to her, [found] Aboulhusn beating her and saying to her, “O old woman of ill-omen, am I not the Commander of the Faithful?  Thou hast enchanted me!” When the folk heard his words, they said, “This man raveth,” and doubted not of his madness.  So they came in upon him and seizing him, pinioned him and carried him to the hospital.  Quoth the superintendant, “What aileth this youth?” And they said, “This is a madman.”  “By Allah,” cried Aboulhusn, “they lie against me!  I am no madman, but the Commander of the Faithful.”  And the superintendant answered him, saying, “None lieth but thou, O unluckiest of madmen!”

Then he stripped him of his clothes and clapping on his neck a heavy chain, bound him to a high lattice and fell to drubbing him two bouts a day and two anights; and on this wise he abode the space of ten days.  Then his mother came to him and said, “O my son, O Aboulhusn, return to thy reason, for this is the Devil’s doing.”  Quoth he, “Thou sayst sooth, O my mother, and bear thou witness of me that I repent [and forswear] that talk and turn from my madness.  So do thou deliver me, for I am nigh upon death.”  So his mother went out to the superintendant and procured his release and he returned to his own house.

Now this was at the beginning of the month, and when it was the end thereof, Aboulhusn longed to drink wine and returning to his former usance, furnished his saloon and made ready food and let bring wine; then, going forth to the bridge, he sat there, expecting one whom he should carouse withal, as of his wont.  As he sat thus, behold, up came the Khalif [and Mesrour] to him; but Aboulhusn saluted them not and said to them, “No welcome and no greeting to the perverters![FN#31] Ye are no other than devils.”  However, the Khalif accosted him and said to him, “O my brother, did I not say to thee that I would return to thee?” Quoth Aboulhusn, “I have no need of thee; and as the byword says in verse: 

’Twere fitter and better my loves that I leave, For, if the eye
     see not, the heart will not grieve.

And indeed, O my brother, the night thou camest to me and we caroused together, I and thou, it was as if the Devil came to me and troubled me that night.”  “And who is he, the Devil?” asked the Khalif.  “He is none other than thou,” answered Aboulhusn; whereat the Khalif smiled and sitting down by him, coaxed him and spoke him fair, saying, “O my brother, when I went out from thee, I forgot [to shut] the door [and left it] open, and belike Satan came in to thee.”  Quoth Aboulhusn, “Ask me not of that which hath betided me.  What possessed thee to leave the door open, so that the Devil came in to me and there befell me with him this and that?” And he related to him all that had befallen him, from first to last, aud there is no advantage in the repetition of it; what while the Khalif laughed and hid his laughter.