They tare off a strip of his skirt and binding his eyes therewith，led him to the rug of blood and were about to smite his neck，when behold，an ancient dame came up to the King at that very moment and said，'O my lord，thou didst vow to bestow upon each and every church five Moslem captives，to held us in the service thereof，so Allah would restore thee thy daughter the Princess Miriam；and now she is restored to thee，so do thou fulfil thy vow.'The King replied，'O my mother，by the virtue of the Messiah and the Veritable Faith，there remaineth to me of the prisoners but this one captive，whom they are about to put to death： so take him with thee to help in the service of the church，till there come to me more prisoners of the Moslems，when I will send thee other four.Hadst thou come earlier，before they hewed off the heads of these，I had given thee as many as thou wouldest have.'The old woman thanked the King for his boon and wished him continuance of life，glory and prosperity.Then without loss of time she went up to Nur al-Din，whom she raised from the rug of blood；and，looking narrowly at him saw a comely youth and a dainty，with a delicate skin and a face like the moon at her full；whereupon she carried him to the church and said to him，'O my son，doff these clothes which are upon thee，for they are fit only for the service of the Sultan.'[515] So saying the ancient dame brought him a gown and hood of black wool and a broad girdle，[516] in which she clad and cowled him；and；after binding on his belt，bade him do the service of the church.
Accordingly，he served the church seven days，at the end of which time behold，the old woman came up to him and said，'O Moslem；don thy silken dress and take these ten dirhams and go out forthright and divert thyself abroad this day，and tarry not here a single moment，lest thou lose thy life.'Quoth he，'What is to do，O my mother？'；and quoth she，'Know，O my son，that the King's daughter，the Princess Miriam the Girdle-girl，hath a mind to visit the church this day，to seek a blessing by pilgrimage and to make oblation thereto，a douceur[517] of thank-offering for her deliverance from the land of the Moslems and in fulfilment of the vows she vowed to the Messiah，so he would save her.With her are four hundred damsels，not one of whom but is perfect in beauty and loveliness and all of them are daughters of Wazirs and Emirs and Grandees： they will be here during this very hour and if their eyes fall on thee in this church，they will hew thee in pieces with swords.'Thereupon Nur al-Din took the ten dirhams from the ancient dame，and donning his own dress，went out to the bazar and walked about the city and took his pleasure therein，till he knew its highways and gates，--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
When it was the Eight Hundred and Eighty-second Night； She resumed，It hath reached me，O auspicious King，that Nur al-Din，after donning his own dress and taking the ten dirhams from the ancient dame，fared forth to the market streets and wandered about a while till he knew every quarter of the city；after which he returned to the church[518] and saw the Princess Miriam the Girdle-girl，daughter of the King of France come up to the fane，attended by four hundred damsels；high-bosomed maids like moons，amongst whom was the daughter of the one-eyed Wazir and those of the Emirs and Lords of the realm；
and she walked in their midst as she were moon among stars.When his eyes fell upon her Nur al-Din could not contain himself，but cried out from the core of his heart，'O Miriam！ O Miriam！'When the damsels heard his outcry they ran at him with swords shining bright like flashes of leven-light and would have slain him forthright.But the Princess turned and looking on him，knew him with fullest knowledge，and said to her maidens，'Leave this youth；doubtless he is mad，for the signs of madness be manifest on his face.'When Nur al-Din heard this，he uncovered his head and rolled his eyes and made signs with his hands and twisted his legs，foaming the while at the mouth.Quoth the Princess，'Said I not that the poor youth was mad？ Bring him to me and stand off from him，that I may hear what he saith；for I know the speech of the Arabs and will look into his case and see if his madness admit of cure or not.'So they laid hold of him and brought him to her；after which they withdrew to a distance and she said to him，'Hast thou come hither on my account and ventured thy life for my sake and feignest thyself mad？'He replied，'O my lady；hast thou not heard the saying of the poet？，[519]'Quoth they，'Thou'rt surely raving mad for her thou lov'st；' and I，'There is no pleasantness in life but for the mad，'reply.
Compare my madness with herself for whom I rave；if she Accord therewith，then blame me not for that which I aby.''
Miriam replied，'By Allah，O Nur al-Din，indeed thou hast sinned against thyself，for I warned thee of this before it befell thee：
yet wouldst thou not hearken to me，but followest thine own lust：
albeit that whereof I gave thee to know I learnt not by means of inspiration nor physiognomy[520] nor dreams，but by eye-witness and very sight；for I saw the one-eyed Wazir and knew that he was not come to Alexandria but in quest of me.'Said he；'O my lady Miriam，we seek refuge with Allah from the error of the intelligent！'[521] Then his affliction redoubled on him and he recited this saying，[522]'Pass o'er my fault，for'tis the wise man's wont Of other's sins to take no harsh account；
And as all crimes have made my breast their site；So thine all shapes of mercy should unite.
Who from above would mercy seek to know；Should first be merciful to those below.'
