The Scented Garden

48 External Religion betrayeth man to Fate. V THE DEBAUCH Wine is red, and so are thy lips ; what wonder then if El Qahar is doubly intoxicated ? Thy mouth brims over with laughter at the antics of thy lover, so that in thy mirth thy podex also brims over.1 Then the guests cry shame ; and fall down with laughing, until the feast is disordered and be- comes a debauch, so that the decorous are embar- rassed. So drunk am I, however, that I shameless- ly demand thy love before them all. Them the of- ficers rush in and lead us before the Qazi.2 But while I am punished, thou, the author of my offence, art bidden to sup. Go not, O sweet Ha- bib ! that ass-calibred Jew3 is as unsuited to thy tender podex as the elephant to the nightin- gale. By Allah, I say, go not ! ’twere shame, when thou returnest, that thou shouldest seem to thine El Qahar like Hatim Tai’s4 tunic to that Allah- forgotten hunchback5 Ali Bukhti.6 1. To break wind is the worst breach of good taste possible to a Musalman. Witness the famous story translated by Burton. 2. Qazi — magistrate. 3. It is exceedingly doubtful whether an actual Jew would be permitted to hold office, even if con- verted to Islam. The term is probably simple abuse. Ass-membered (khar-nafsar, [Persian text]) is, with most Persian writers, a compliment. El Haji had certainly never heard the English rime “ A