98 THE FOURTH VOYAGE OF

I continued to enjoy a high rank with the
King and his attendants, and the great men of
the country and the lords of the state, until I sat
one day with the King, in the utmost happiness
and honour; and while I was sitting, the King
said to me, ‘“‘ Know, O thou, that thou hast become
magnified and honoured among us, and hast be-
come one of us, and we cannot part with thee,
nor can we suffer thee to depart from our city;
and I desire of thee that thou obey me in an affair,
and reject not that which I shall say.” So I
said to him, ‘“ And what dost thou desire of me,
O King? For I will not reject that which thou
shalt say, since thou hast shown favour and kind-
ness and beneficence to me, and (praise be to
God!) I have become one of thy servants.”
_ And he answered, “I desire to marry thee among
us to a beautiful, lovely, elegant wife, possessed
of wealth and loveliness, and thou shalt become
a dweller with us, and I will lodge thee by me in
my palace: therefore oppose me not, nor reject
what I say.” And when I heard the words of the
King, I was abashed at him, and was silent, return-
ing him no answer, by reason of the exceeding
bashfulness with which I regarded him. So he said,
‘Wherefore dost thou not reply to me, O my son ?”
And I answered him, ‘‘O my master, it is thine to