The mercy of the Most High be upon her， for she kept her secret and revealed not what she suffered， and but for her， thou hadst never won to me！ But there is one thing I desire of thee." "What is it？" said I. "It is，" answered she， "that thou bring me to her grave， that I may visit her in the tomb wherein she is and write some verses thereon." "To-morrow，" replied I， "if it be the will of God." Then I lay with her that night， and she ceased not， from time to time， to say， "Would thou hadst told me of thy cousin，before her death！" And I said to her， "What is the meaning of the two words she taught me？" But she made me no answer. As soon as it was day， she rose and taking a purse of dinars， said to me，"Come， show me her tomb， that I may visit it and grave some verses thereon and build a dome over it and commend her to the mercy of God and bestow these dinars in alms for her soul." "I hear and obey，" replied I and went on before her， whilst she followed me， giving alms by the way and saying to all to whom she gave， "This is an alms for the soul of Azizeh， who kept her counsel， till she drank the cup of death， and discovered not the secret of her passion." And she stinted not thus to give alms and say， "For Azizeh"s soul，" till the purse was empty and we came to the burial-place. When she saw the tomb， she wept and threw herself upon it； then pulling out a graver of steel and a light mallet， she graved the following verses， in fine characters， upon the stone at the head of the tomb：
I passed by a ruined tomb， in the midst of a garden-way， Upon whose letterless stone seven blood-red anemones lay.
"Who sleeps in this unmarked grave？" I said； and the earth， "Bend low； For a lover lies here and waits for the Resurrection Day."
"God help thee， O victim of love，" I cried， "and bring thee to dwell In the highest of all the heavens of Paradise， I pray！
How wretched are lovers all， even in the sepulchre， When their very graves are covered with ruin and decay！
Lo， if I might， I would plant thee a garden round about And with my streaming tears the thirst of its flowers allay！"
Then she returned to the garden， weeping， and I with her， and she said to me， "By Allah， thou shalt never leave me！" "I hear and obey，" answered I. Then I devoted myself wholly to her and paid her frequent visits， and she was good and generous to me. As often as I passed the night with her， she would make much of me and ask me of the two words my cousin told my mother， and I would repeat them to her.
I abode thus a whole year， till， what with eating and drinking and dalliance and wearing change of rich raiment， I waxed stout and fat， so that I lost all thought of sorrow and anxiety and forgot my cousin Azizeh. At the end of this time， I went one day to the bath， where I refreshed myself and put on a rich suit of clothes， scented with various perfumes； then， coming out I drank a cup of wine and smelt the fragrance of my new clothes， whereupon my breast dilated， for I knew not the perfidy of fortune nor the calamities of events. When the hour of evening-prayer came， I thought to repair to my mistress； but being heated with wine， I knew not where I went， so that， on the way， my drunkenness turned me into a by-street called En Nekib，where， as I was going along， I met an old woman with a lighted flambeau in one hand and a folded letter in the other； and she was weeping and repeating the following verses：
O welcome， bearer of glad news， thrice welcome to my sight； How sweet and solaceful to me thy tidings of delight！
Thou that the loved one"s greeting bringst unto my longing soul，God"s peace， what while the zephyr blows， dwell with thee day and night！
When she saw me， she said to me， "O my son， canst thou read？" And I， of my officiousness， answered， "Yes， O old aunt." "Then， take this letter，" rejoined she， "and read it to me." So I took the letter， and unfolding it， read it to her. Now it contained the greetings of an absent man to his friends； and when she heard its purport， she rejoiced and was glad and called down blessings on me， saying， "May God dispel thine anxiety， as thou hast dispelled mine！" Then she took the letter and walked on. Meanwhile， I was seized with a pressing need and squatted down on my heels to make water. When I had finished， I stood up and cleansed myself with pebbles， then shaking down my clothes， was about to go my way，when the old woman came up to me again and bending down to kiss my hand， said， "O my lord， God give thee joy of thy youth！ I entreat thee to go with me to yonder door， for I told them what thou readest to me of the letter， and they believe me not： so come with me two steps and read them the letter from behind the door and accept my devout prayers." "What is the history of this letter？" asked I； and she answered， "O my son， it is from my son，who hath been absent from us these ten years. He set out with merchandise and tarried long in foreign parts， till we lost hope of him， supposing him to be dead. Now comes this letter from him，and he has a sister， who weeps for him day and night； so I said to her， "He is in good health and case." But she will not believe and says， "Thou must needs bring me one who will read the letter in my presence， that my heart may be set at rest and my mind eased." Thou knowest， O my son， that those who love are prone to imagine evil： so do me the favour to go with me and read the letter， standing without the door， whilst I call his sister to listen behind the curtain， so shalt thou dispel our anxiety and fulfil our need. Quoth the Prophet （whom God bless and preserve），"He who eases an afflicted one of one of the troubles of this world， God will ease him of a hundred troubles；" and according to another tradition， "Whoso relieves his brother of one of the troubles of this world， God will relieve him of two-and-seventy troubles of the Day of Resurrection." And I have betaken myself to thee； so do not disappoint me." "I hear and obey，" replied I.
