XXXII. The Letter of Love Written by P’hatman to Avt’handil

XXXII

THE LETTER OF LOVE WRITTEN BY P’HATMAN TO AVT’HANDIL

1063"O sun, since it pleased God to create thee a sun, thus a joy and not a desirer of woes to them removed from thee, a burner of those near united, a consumer of them with fire, thy glance seems sweet to the planets, a thing to be boasted of.

1064"They that gaze on thee become enamoured of thee; for thy sake piteously they faint. Thou art the rose I marvel why nightingales quiver not on thee. Thy beauty withers the flowers, and mine too are fading. If the sunbeams reach me not timely I am quite scorched.

1065"God is my witness that I fear to tell you this, but, luckless, what can I do for myself? I am quite parted from patience; the heart cannot constantly endure the piercing of the black lashes! If by any means thou canst help me, then help, lest I lose my wits.

1066"Till an answer to this letter reaches me, till I know if thou wilt slay me or reassure me--till then shall I endure life, however much my heart pains me. Oh for the time when life or death will be decided for me!"

1067Dame P’hatman wrote and sent the letter to the knight. The knight read it as if it were from a sister or kinswoman; he said: "She knows not my heart. Who is she who courts the lover of her whose I am? The beloved I have--how can I compare her (beauty) to this one's?"

1068Said he: "What hath the raven to do with the

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rose, or what have they in common? But upon it the nightingale has not yet sweetly sung. Every unfitting deed is brief, and then it is fruitless. What says she? What nonsense she talks! What a letter she has written!"

1069This kind of thought he thought in his heart. Then said he to himself: "Save thee I have no helper. For the sake of that for which I am a wanderer, since I wish to seek her (Nestan) I will do everything by which I can find her; what else should my heart heed!

1070"This woman sits here seeing many men, a keeper of open house and a friend to travellers coming hither from all parts. I will consent, she will tell me all; however much the fire burns me with its flames, perchance she will be of some use to me; I shall know how to pay my debt to her."

1071He said: "When a woman loves anyone, becomes intimate with him and gives him her heart, shame and dishonour she weighs not, being wholly accursed; whatever she knows she declares, she tells every secret. It is better for me, I will consent; perchance I shall somewhere find out the hidden thing."

1072Again he said: "None can do aught if his planet favour him not; so what I want I have not, what I have I want not. The world is a kind of twilight, so here all is dusky. Whatever is in the pitcher, the same flows forth."