The caliph was introduced at night with the sound of instruments upon which our women played, and the collation was immediately served up.  He took his mistress by the hand, and made her sit down with him on the sofa; which she did with such regret, that she expired some few minutes after.  In short, she was hardly sat down, when she fell backwards; which the caliph believed to be only a swoon, and so we all thought; but when we endeavoured to bring her to herself, we found she was quite gone, which you may imagine not a little afflicted us.

The caliph did her the honour to weep over her, not being able to refrain from tears, and, before he left the room, ordered all the musical instruments to be broken, which was immediately executed.  For my part, I staid with her corpse all night, and next morning bathed it with my tears, and dressed it for the funeral.  The caliph had her interred soon after in a magnificent tomb he had erected for her in her lifetime, in a place she had desired to be buried in.  Now, since you tell me, said she, the prince of Persia’s body is to be brought to Bagdad, I will use my best endeavours that he shall be interred in the same tomb, which may be at least some satisfaction to two such faithful lovers.

The jeweller was somewhat surprised at this resolution of the confident’s, and said, Certainly you do not consider that this enterprise is in a manner impossible, for the caliph will never suffer it.  Do not you be concerned at that, replied she; for you will undoubtedly be of another opinion after I have told you that the caliph has given liberty to all her slaves in general, with a considerable pension to each for their subsistence; and as to me in particular, has honoured me with the charge of my mistress’s tomb, and allotted me an annual income for my maintenance.  Moreover, you must think that the caliph, who was not ignorant of the amour betweeen Schemselnihar and the prince, as I have already told you, will not be a whit concerned if now, after her death, he be buried with her.  To all this the jeweller had not a word to say, yet earnestly entreated the confident to conduct him to her mistress’s tomb, that he might say his prayers over her.  When he came in sight of it, he was not a little surprised to find a vast number of people of both sexes, who were come thither from all parts of Bagdad.  As he could not come near the tomb, he said his prayers at a distance; and then going to the confident, who waited hard by, he said to her, I am altogether of a contrary opinion to what I was just now; for now I am so far from thinking that what you proposed cannot be put in execution, that you and I need only tell abroad what we know of the amour of this unfortunate couple, and how the prince died much about the same time with his mistress, and is now bringing up to be buried; the people will bring the thing about, and not suffer that two such faithful lovers should be separated when dead, whom nothing could divide in affection whilst they lived.