The
princess immediately consented; and the corpse of the prince,
instead of being deposited in his own burying-place, was laid by
Schemselnihar's side, after it had been carried in procession at
the head of an infinite number of people, of all conditions and
degrees: nay, from that very time, all the inhabitants of Bagdad,
and even strangers, from such parts of the world as honoured the
Mahometan religion, have had a mighty veneration for that tomb,
and paid their devotion at it as often as opportunity would give
them leave.
This, sir, said Scheherazade, who now perceived the day begin to
approach, is what I had to relate to your majesty concerning the
amour of the fair Schemselnihar, mistress to the caliph Haroun
Alraschid, and the worthy Ali Ebn Becar, prince of Persia.
When Dinarzade observed that her sister the sultaness had done
speaking, she thanked her in the most obliging manner for her
entertainment in a history so exceedingly agreeable.
If the sultan will be pleased to let me live till to-morrow, said
Scheherazade, I will also relate that of prince Camaralzaman
[Footnote: This word, in Arabic, signifies the Moon of the Time,
or the Moon of the Age.], which you will find yet more agreeable.
Here she stopped; and the sultan, who could not yet resolve on
her death, permitted her to go on next night in the following
manner.
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