Volume Five-第117章

When it was the Eight Hundred and Seventy-ninth Night； She said，It hath reached me，O auspicious King，that the cause of Miriam the Girdle-girl leaving her father and mother was a wondrous and thereby hangeth a marvellous tale.She was reared with her father and mother in honour and indulgence and learnt rhetoric and penmanship and arithmetic and cavalarice and all manner crafts，such as broidery and sewing and weaving and girdle-making and silk-cord making and damascening gold on silver and silver on gold，brief all the arts both of men and women；till she became the union-pearl of her time and the unique gem of her age and day.Moreover，Allah （to whom belong Might and Majesty！） had endowed her with such beauty and loveliness and elegance and perfection of grace that she excelled therein all the folk of her time，and the Kings of the isles sought her in marriage of her sire，but he refused to give her to wife to any of her suitors，for that he loved her with passing love and could not bear to be parted from her a single hour.Moreover，he had no other daughter than herself，albeit he had many sons，but she was dearer to him than all of them.It fortuned one year that she fell sick of an exceeding sickness and came nigh upon death；werefore she made a vow that，if she recovered from her malady；she would make the pilgrimage to a certain monastery，situate in such an island，which was high in repute among the Franks，who used to make vows to it and look for a blessing therefrom.When Miriam recovered from her sickness，she wished to accomplish her vow anent the monastery and her sire despatched her to the convent in a little ship，with sundry daughters of the city-notables to wait upon her and patrician Knights to protect them all.As they drew near the island，there came out upon them a ship of the ships of the Moslems，champions of The Faith；warring in Allah's way，who boarded the vessel and making prize of all therein，knights and maidens，gifts and monies，sold their booty in the city of Kayrawan.[499] Miriam herself fell into the hands of a Persian merchant，who was born impotent[500]and for whom no woman had ever discovered her nakedness；so he set her to serve him.Presently，he fell ill and sickened well nigh unto death，and the sickness abode with him two months；during which she tended him after the goodliest fashion，till Allah made him whole of his malady，when he recalled her tenderness and loving-kindness to him and the persistent zeal with which she had nurst him and being minded to requite her the good offices she had done him，said to her，'Ask a boon of me？'