Pagina 537 de 1116

They named the boy Badr al-Din Hasan and his grandfather, the

Wazir of Bassorah, rejoiced in him and, on the seventh day after

his birth, made entertainments and spread banquets which would

befit the birth of Kings' sons and heirs. Then he took Nur al-Din

and went up with him to the Sultan, and his son-in-law, when he

came before the presence of the King, kissed the ground between

his hands and repeated these verses, for he was ready of speech,

firm of sprite and good in heart as he was goodly in form:-

"The world's best joys long be thy lot, my lord! * And last while

darkness and the dawn o'erlap: O thou who makest, when we greet

thy gifts, * The world to dance and Time his palms to

clap."[FN#384]