Upon this discourse of Mesrour, the favourite Schemselnihar prostrated herself to the ground, as a mark of the submission with which she received the caliph’s order.  When she rose again, she said, Pray tell the commander of the faithful, that I shall always esteem it my glory to execute his majesty’s commands, and that his slave will do her utmost to receive him with all the respect that is due to him.  At the same time she ordered the slave, her confident, to tell the black women appointed for that service to get the palace ready to receive the caliph; and dismissing the chief of the eunuchs, said to him, You see it requires some time to get all things ready, therefore I pray you to take care that his majesty may have a little patience, that, when he arrives, he may not find things out of order.

The chief of the eunuchs and his retinue being gone, Schemselnihar returned to the saloon, extremely concerned at the necessity she was under of sending back the prince of Persia sooner than she thought to have done.  She came up to him again with tears in her eyes, which heightened Ebn Thaher’s fear, who thought it no good omen.  Madam, said the prince to her, I perceive you are come to tell me that we must part; provided there be nothing more to dread, I hope Heaven will give me the patience which is necessary to support your absence.  Alas, my dear heart, my dear soul, replied the tender-hearted Schemselnihar, how happy do I think you, and how unhappy myself, when I compare your lot with my sad destiny!  No doubt, you will suffer by my absence; but that is all, and you may comfort yourself with the hope of seeing me again; but as for me, just Heaven! what a terrible trial am I brought to!  I must not only be deprived of the sight of the only person whom I love, but I must be tormented with the sight of one whom you have made hateful to me.  Will not the arrival of the caliph put me in mind of your departure?  And how can I, when I think of your sweet face, entertain that prince with that joy which he always observed in my eyes whenever he came to see me?  I shall have my mind wavering when I speak to him; and the least complaisance which I show to him, will stab me to the heart like a dagger.  Can I relish his kind words and caresses?  Think, prince, to what torments I shall be exposed when I can see you no more!  Her tears and sighs hindered her to go on, and the prince of Persia would have replied to her; but his own grief, and that of his mistress, made him incapable.

Ebn Thaher, whose chief business was to get out of the palace, was obliged to comfort them, and to exhort them to have patience.  But the trusty slave interrupted them:  Madam, said she to Schemselnihar, you have no time to lose, the eunuchs begin to arrive, and you know the caliph will be here immediately. 0 Heaven, how cruel is this separation! cried the favourite.  Make haste, said she to the confident, carry them both to the gallery which looks into the garden on the one side, and to the Tigris on the other; and when the night grows dark, let them out by the back gate, that they may retire with safety.  Having spoken thus, she tenderly embraced the prince of Persia, without being able to say one word more, and went to meet the caliph in such disorder as cannot well be imagined.