Then he rose at once and going to the Divan, related
the matter to the Sultan and begged his leave to travel eastward
to the city of Bassora and enquire for his nephew. Moreover,
he besought him for letters-patent, authorizing him to take
Bedreddin, wherever he should find him. And he wept before the
King, who took pity on him and wrote him royal letters-patent to
his deputies in all his provinces; whereat the Vizier rejoiced
and called down blessings on him. Then taking leave of him, he
returned to his house, where he equipped himself and his daughter
and grandson for the journey, and set out and travelled till he
came to the city of Damascus and found it rich in trees and
waters, even as says the poet:
I mind me a night and a day spent in Damascus town, (Time swore
'twould ne'er again their like to man outmete).
We lay in its languorous glades, where the careless calm of the
night And the morn, with its smiling eyes and its
twy-coloured tresses, meet.
The dew to its branches clings like a glittering chain of pearl,
Whose jewels the zephyr smites and scatters beneath his
feet.
The birds on the branches chant from the open book of the lake;
The breezes write on the scroll and the clouds mark the
points, as they fleet.
The Vizier alighted without the city and pitched his tents in an
open space called the Plain of Pebbles, saying to his servants,
"We will rest here two days.
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