Nay，the Infidels tortured him night and day.We knew not this；but，after we had tarried in Constantinople for some time，having sold our goods and bought others in their stead，we determined on and made ready for a return to our native land.We spent that night conversing about our journey and when day broke，we saw figured upon the wall a human form and as we drew nigh it，behold，it moved and said，'O Moslems，is there amongst you one who is minded to woo the favour of the Lord of the three Worlds？'[414] 'How so？'asked we；and the figure answered，'Know that Allah hath made me speak to you，to the intent that your faith be fortified，and that your belief embolden you and that you may go forth of the country of the Infidels and repair to the Moslem host；for with them wones the Sword of the Com passionate One，of our Age the Champion，King Sharrkan，by whom He shall conquer Constantinople town and destroy the sect of the Nazarene.And when ye shall have journeyed three days，you will find an hermitage known as the Hermitage of the ascetic Matruhina[415] and containing a cell；visit it with pure intent and contrive to arrive there by force of will，for therein is a Religious from the Holy City，Jerusalem，by name Abdullah，and he is one of the devoutest of mankind，endowed with the power of working saintly miracles[416] such as dispel doubts and obscurity.Certain of the monks seized him by fraud and shut him up in a souterrain where he hath lain a long time.By his deliverance you will please the Lord of Faithful Men，for such release is better than fighting for the Faith.''Now when the ancient dame and those with her had agreed upon such words，she said，'As soon as that which I impart shall reach the ears of King Sharrkan，say him further，'Hearing this from that image we knew that the holy man'--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
When it was the Ninety-fourth Night，She said，It hath reached me，O auspicious King，that when the old woman，Zat al-Dawahi，and those with her had agreed upon such words，she said，'Now as soon as that which I impart shall reach the ears of King Sharrkan say him further，'Hearing these words from that image we knew that the holy man was indeed of the chiefest devotees and Allah's servants of purest qualities；so we made three days'march till we came in sight of that hermitage，and then we went up to it and passed the day in buying and selling，as is the wont of merchants.As soon as day had departed our sight and night was come to darken light，we repaired to the cell wherein was the dungeon，and we heard the holy man，after chanting some verses of the Koran，repeat the following couplets，'My heart disheartened is，my breast is strait，And sinks my soul in sea of bale and bate Unless escape be near I soon shall die；And Death were better than this doleful strait：
O Lightning an thou light my home and folk，An their still brighter charms thy shine abate，Say，what my path to meet them，being barred By wars，and barricado'd succour's gate？'
'When once ye have brought me into the Moslem camp，and I mix with them you shall see，'the old woman continued，'how I will make shift to beguile them and slay them all，even to the last man.'The Nazarenes hearing whet she said，kissed her hands and set her in the chest，after they had beaten her with a grievous beating in obedience to her commands，for they saw it was incumbent on them to do her bidding in this；then they all made for the Moslem host as hath erst been said.Such was the case with the damned hag，Zat al-Dawahi and her companions；but as regards the Mohammeden army，they indeed，after Allah had given them victory over their enemies and they had plundered everything in the ships of money and hoards，all sat down to converse with one another and Zau al-Makan said to his brother Sharrkan，'Verily，Allah hath granted us to prevail because of our just dealing and discipline and concord amongst ourselves；wherefore continue，O Sharrkan，to obey my commandment，in submission to Allah （be He exalted and extolled！），for I mean to slay ten Kings in blood revenge for my sire，to cut the throat of fifty thousand Greeks and to enter Constantinople.'Replied Sharrkan，'My life be thy ransom against death！Needs must I follow out the Holy War，though I wone many a year in their country.But I have，O my brother，in Damascus a daughter，named Kuzia Fakan，whom I love heartily for she is one of the marvels of the time and she will soon be of age.'Said Zau al-Makan，'And I also have left my wife with child and near her time，nor do I know what Allah will vouchsafe me by her.But promise me，O my brother，that if Allah bless me with a son，thou wilt grant me thy daughter for wife to him，and make covenant with me and pledge me thy faith thereon.'
'With love and good will，replied Sharrkan；and，stretching out his hand to his brother，he said，If she bring thee a son，I will give him my daughter Kuzia Fakan，to wife.'At this Zau al-Makan rejoiced，and they fell to congratulating each other on the victory over the enemy.And the Wazir Dandan also congratulated the two brothers and said to them，'Know，O ye Kings，that Allah hath given us the victory，for that we have devoted our lives to Him （be He exalted and ex tolled！）；and we have left our homes and households；and it is my counsel that we follow up the foe and press upon him and harass him，so haply Allah shall enable us to win our wishes，and we shall destroy our enemies，branch and root.If it please you，do ye go down in these ships and sail over the sea，whilst we fare forward by land and bear the brunt of battle and the thrust of fight.'And the Minister Dandan ceased not to urge them to combat and repeated his words who said，'To slay my foes is chiefest bliss I wist，And on the courser's back be borne a list；Comes promising tryst a messenger from friend Full oft，when comes the friend withouten tryst.'
And these words of another，'War for my mother （an I live） I'll take；Spear for my brother；scymitar for sire With every shag haired brave who meets his death Smiling，till won from Doom his dear desire！'
