They did not stay long for this passionate lover.  She came after evening-prayers, with her confident and two other slaves.  The excess of joy that seized those two lovers, when they saw one another, it is altogether impossible to express.  They sat down together upon the sofa for some time, without being able to speak, they were so much overjoyed; but, when speech returned to them, they soon made up for their silence.  They expressed themselves with so much tenderness, as made the jeweller, the confident, and the two other slaves, weep.  The jeweller, however, restrained his tears to think upon the collation, which he brought.  The lovers ate and drank a little, after which they again sat down on the sofa.  Schemselnihar asked the jeweller if he had a lute, or any other instrument.  The jeweller, who took care to provide all that might please them, brought her a lute, which she took some time to tune, and then played.

While Schemselnihar was thus charming the prince of Persia, and expressing her passion by words composed extempore, a great noise was heard, and immediately the slave whom the jeweller brought with him appeared in a terrible fright, to tell him that some people were breaking up the gate; that he asked who it was, but, instead of an answer, the blows were redoubled.  The jeweller, being alarmed, left Schemselnihar and the prince, to go and inform himself of the truth of this bad news.  There was already got into the court a company of men armed with bayonets and scimitars, who had entered privately, and, having broken up the gate, came straight towards him:  he stood close to a wall for fear of his life, and saw ten of them pass without being perceived by them; and, finding that he could give no help to the prince of Persia and Schemselnihar, he satisfied himself with bewailing them, and fled for refuge to a neighbour’s house, who was not yet gone to bed.  He did not doubt that this unexpected violence was by the caliph’s order, who, he thought, had been informed of his favourite’s meeting with the prince of Persia.  He heard a great noise in his own house, which continued till midnight; and when all was quiet, as he thought, he prayed his neighbour to lend him a scimitar, and, being thus armed, went on till he came to the gate of his own house.  He entered the court full of fear, and perceived a man, who asked him who he was?  He knew by his voice that it was his own slave.  How didst thou do, said he, to avoid being taken by the watch?  Sir, answered the slave, I hid myself in a corner of the court, and I went out as soon as I heard the noise.  But it was not the watch who broke your house; they were highwaymen, who within these few days robbed another in this neighbourhood:  they have doubtless had notice of the rich furniture you brought hither, and had that in their view.