And guard thyself，O thou of spear！ whenas she draweth near To tilt with slender quivering shape，likest the nutbrown spear.'
And when Ali bin Bakkar ended his verse，he cried out with a great cry and fell down in a fit. Abu alHasan thought that his soul had fled his body and he ceased not from his swoon till day break，when he came to himself and talked with his friend，who continued to sit with him till the forenoon. Then he left him and repaired to his shop；and hardly had he opened it，when lo！ the damsel came and stood by his side. As soon as he saw her，she made him a sign of salutation which he returned；and she delivered to him the greeting message of her mistress and asked，'How doth Ali bin Bakkar？'Answered he，'O handmaid of good，ask me not of his case nor what he suffereth for excess of lovelonging；he sleepeth not by night neither resteth he by day；wakefulness wasteth him and care hath conquered him and his condition is a consternation to his friend.'Quoth she，'My lady saluteth thee and him，and she hath written him a letter，for indeed she is in worse case than he；and she entrusted the same to me，saying，'Do not return save with the answer；and do thou obey my bidding.'Here now is the letter，so say，wilt thou wend with me to him that we may get his reply？''I hear and obey，'answered Abu alHasan，and locking his shop and taking with him the girl he went，by a way different from that whereby he came，to Ali bin Bakkar's house，where he left her standing at the door and walked in.And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
When it was the One Hundred and Fiftyeighth Night，She said，It hath reached me，O auspicious King，that Abu alHasan went with the girl to the house of Ali son of Bakkar，where he left her standing at the door and walked in to his great joy. And Abu alHasan said to him，'The reason of my coming is that such an one hath sent his handmaid to thee with a letter，containing his greeting to thee and mentioning therein that the cause of his not coming to thee was a matter that hath betided him. The girl standeth even now at the door： shall she have leave to enter？'；and he signed to him that it was Shams alNahar's slavegirl. Ali understood his signal and answered，'Bring her in，'and when he saw her，he shook for joy and signed to her，'How doth thy lord？；Allah grant him health and healing！''He is well，'answered she and pulling out the letter gave it to him. He took it and kissing it，opened and read it；after which he handed it to Abu alHasan，who found these verses written therein，'This messenger shall give my news to thee；
Patience what while my sight thou canst not see：
A lover leav'st in love's insanity，
Whose eyne abide on wake incessantly：
I suffer patiencepangs in woes that none
Of men can medicine；such my destiny！
Keep cool thine eyes；ne'er shall my heart forget，
Nor without dream of thee one day shall be.
Look what befel thy wasted frame，and thence
Argue what I am doomed for love to dree！
'And afterwards[200]： Without fingers[201] I have written to thee，and without tongue I have spoken to thee to resume my case，I have an eye wherefrom sleeplessness departeth not and a heart whence sorrowful thought stirreth not It is with me as though health I had never known nor in sadness ever ceased to wone nor spent an hour in pleasant place but it is as if I
were made up of pine and of the pain of passion and chagrin Sickness unceasingly troubleth and my yearning ever redoubleth desire still groweth and longing in my heart still gloweth I pray Allah to hasten our union and dispel of my mind the confusion And I would fain thou favour me with some words of thine that I may cheer my heart in pain and repine Moreover，I would have thee put on a patience lief，until Allah vouchsafe relief And His peace be with thee.'[202] When Ali bin Bakkar had read this letter he said in weak accents and feeble voice，'With what hand shall I write and with what tongue shall I make moan and lament？ Indeed she addeth sickness to my sickness and draweth death upon my death！'Then he sat up and taking in hand inkcase and paper，wrote the following reply，'In the name of Allah，the Compassionating，the Compassionate！[203] Thy letter hath reached me，O my lady，and hath given ease to a sprite worn out with passion and lovelonging，and hath brought healing to a wounded heart cankered with languishment and sickness；for indeed I am become even as saith the poet，'Straitened bosom；reveries dispread；Slumberless eyelids；body wearied；Patience cut short；disunion longsomest；Reason deranged and heart whose life is fled！'
And know that complaining is unavailing；but it easeth him whom lovelonging disordereth and separation destroyeth and，with repeating，'Union，'I keep myself comforted and how fine is the saying of the poet who said，'Did not in loveplight joys and sorrows meet，How would the message or the writ be sweet？'
When he had made an end of this letter，he handed it to Abu alHasan，saying，'Read it and give it to the damsel.'So he took it and read it and its words stirred his soul and its meaning wounded his vitals. Then he committed it to the girl，and when she took it Ali bin Bakkar said to her，'Salute thy lady for me and acquaint her with my love and longing and how passion is blended with my flesh and my bones；and say to her that in very deed I need a woman who shall snatch me from the sea of destruction and save me from this dilemma；for of a truth Fortune oppresseth me with her vicissitudes；and is there any helper to free me from her turpitudes？'And he wept and the damsel wept for his weeping. Then she took leave of him and went forth and Abu alHasan went out with her and farewelled her. So she ganged her gait and he returned to his shop，which he opened and sat down there，as was his wont；And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.