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in soul and heart; and upon this I consoled
him and comforted him, saying to him, “Mourn
not for thy wife. God will happily compensate
thee by giving thee one better than she, and
thy life will be long if it be the will of God,
whose name be exalted!” But he wept vio-
lently, and said to me, “O my companion,
how can I marry another after her, or how
can God compensate me by giving me a
better than she, when but one day remaineth
of my life?” So I replied, ““O my brother,
return to thy reason, and do not announce
thine own death; for thou art well, in pros-
perity and health.” But he said to me, “O
my companion, by thy life, to-morrow thou
wilt lose me, and never in thy life wilt thou
see me again.” ‘And how so?” said I. He
answered me, “This day they will, bury my
wife, and they will bury me with her in the
sepulchre; for it is our custom in our country,
when the wife dieth, to bury with her her hus-
band alive; and when the husband dieth, they
bury with him his wife alive; that neither.
of them may enjoy life after the other.” I
therefore said to him, “By Allah, this custom
is exceedingly vile, and none can endure

it!” And while we were thus conversing, lo, —