Beauty! May he come in awhile to 'joy
Thy charms? For Love and I part nevermore!"
Then the lady took the cup and drank it off to her sisters'
health, and they ceased not drinking (the porter being in the midst of
them) and dancing and laughing and reciting verses and singing ballads
and ritornellos. All this time the porter was carrying on with them,
kissing, toying, biting, handling, groping, fingering whilst one
thrust a dainty morsel in his mouth and another slapped him, and
this cuffed his cheeks, and that threw sweet flowers at him. And he
was in the very paradise of pleasure, as though he were sitting in the
seventh sphere among the houris of Heaven. And they ceased not to be
after this fashion till night began to fall. Thereupon said they to
the porter, "Bismillah, O our master, up and on with those sorry old
shoes of thine and turn thy face and show us the breadth of thy
shoulders!" Said he: "By Allah, to part with my soul would be easier
for me than departing from you. Come, let us join night to day, and
tomorrow morning we will each wend our own way." "My life on you,"
said the procuratrix, "suffer him to tarry with us, that we may
laugh at him.
Pages:
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106