traitress！ What ailed thee to leave the faith of thy fathers and forefathers and the safeguard of the Messiah，on whom is our reliance，and follow after the faith of the Vagrants，[543] to wit，the faith of Al-Islam，the which arose with the sword against the Cross and the Images？'Replied Miriam，'I am not at fault，I went out by night to the church，to visit the Lady Mary and seek a blessing of her，when there fell upon me unawares a band of Moslem robbers，who gagged me and bound me fast and carrying me on board the barque，set sail with me for their own country.However，I beguiled them and talked with them of their religion，till they loosed my bonds；and ere I knew it thy men overtook me and delivered me.And by the virtue of the Messiah and the Faith which is no liar and the Cross and the Crucified thereon，I rejoiced with joy exceeding in my release from them and my bosom broadened and I was glad for my deliverance from the bondage of the Moslems！'Rejoined the King，'Thou liest，O whore！
O *****ress！ By the virtue of that which is revealed of prohibition and permission in the manifest Evangel，[544] I will assuredly do thee die by the foulest of deaths and make thee the vilest of examples！ Did it not suffice thee to do as thou didst the first time and put off thy lies upon us，but thou must return upon us with thy deceitful inventions？'Thereupon the King bade kill her and crucify her over the palace gate；but，at that moment the one-eyed Wazir，who had long been enamoured of the Princess，came in to him and said，'Ho King！ saly her not，but give her to me to wife，and I will watch over her with the utmost warding，nor will I go in unto her，till I have built her a palace of solid stone，exceeding high of foundation，so no thieves may avail to climb up to its terrace-roof；and when I have made an end of building it，I will sacrifice thirty Moslems before the gate thereof，as an expiatory offering to the Messiah for myself and for her.'The King granted his request and bade the priests and monks and patriarchs marry the Princess to him；
so they did his bidding，whereupon he bade set about building a strong and lofty palace，befitting her rank and the workmen fell to work upon it.On this wise it betided the Princess Miriam and her sire and the one-eyed Wazir；but as regards Nur al-Din，when he came back with the petticoat-trousers and mantilla and walking boots and all the attire of Alexandrian women which he had borrowed of the druggist's wife，he'found the air void and the fane afar[545]'；--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
When it was the Eight Hundred and Eighty-sixth Night； She resumed，It hath reached me，O auspicious King，that when Nur al-Din，'found the aire void[546] and the fane afar，'his heart sank within him and he wept floods of tears and recited these verses，[547]'The phantom of Soada came by nigh to wake me towards morning while my companions were sleeping in the desert：
But when we awoke to behold the nightly phantom，I saw the air vacant，and the place of visitation distant.'
Then Nur al-Din walked on along the sea-shore and turned right and left，till he saw folk gathered together on the beach and heard them say，'O Moslems，there remaineth no honour to Alexandria-city，since the Franks enter it and snatch away those who are therein and return to their own land，at their leisure[548] nor pursued of any of the Moslems or fighters for the Faith！'Quoth Nur al-Din to them，'What is to do？'；and quoth they，'O my son，one of the ships of the Franks，full of armed men，came down but now upon the port and carried off a ship which was moored here，with her that was therein，and made unmolested for their own land.'Nur al-Din fell down a-swoon，on hearing these words；and when he recovered they questioned him of his case and he told them all that had befallen him first and last；
whereupon they all took to reviling him and railing at him；saying，'Why couldst thou not bring her up into the town without mantilla and muffler？'And all and each of the folk gave him some grievous word，berating him with sharp speech，and shooting at him some shaft or reproach，albeit one said，'Let him be；that which hath befallen him sufficeth him，'till he again fell down in a fainting-fit.And behold，at this moment，up came the old druggist，who，seeing the folk gathered together，drew near to learn what was the matter and found Nur al-Din lying a-swoon in their midst.So he sat down at his head and arousing him，said to him as soon as he recovered，'O my son，what is this case in which I see thee？'Nur al-Din said，'O uncle，I had brought back in a barque my lost slave-girl from her father's city，suffering patiently all I suffered of perils and hardships；and when I came with her to this port，I made the vessel fast to the shore and leaving her therein，repaired to thy dwelling and took of thy consort what was needful for her，that I might bring her up into the town；but the Franks came and capturing barque and damsel made off unhindered，and returned to their own land.'Now when the Shaykh，the druggist，heard this，the light in his eyes became night and he grieved with sore grieving for Nur al-Din and said to him，'O my son，why didst thou not bring her out of the ship into the city without mantilla？ But speech availeth not at this season；so rise，O my son，and come up with me to the city；
haply Allah will vouchsafe thee a girl fairer than she，who shall console thee for her.Alhamdolillah-praised be Allah-who hath not made thee lose aught by her！ Nay，thou hast gained by her.And bethink thee，O my son，that Union and Disunion are in the hands of the Most High King..'Replied Nur al-Din，'By Allah，O uncle；I can never be consoled for her loss nor will I ever leave seeking her，though on her account I drink the cup of death！'
