Then  I  said  to  him,  ^^  Charming  is  this  ordiuned
meeting  with  thee  to -my  glad  heart." — ^And  he  began
to  be  diverse  in  his  stories,  and  to  mix  the  laughable
with  the  mournful;  until  the  first  of  the  morning
dawned,  and  the  caller  of  "  Blessing  "  made  his  cry.—
Whereupon  he  made  ready  to  respond  to  the  caller,  and
then  turned  to  bid  me  fsirewell. — But  I  checked  him  from
departure  and  said,  "Hospitality  is  three  days." — But
he  adjured  God,  and  restricted  himself  by  a  vow ;  then
he  sought  the  outlet,  and  indited  as  he  lingered :

Visit  him  thou  lovest  in  each  month  only  a  day,  and  exceed  not
that  upon  him ;

For  the  beholding  of  the  new  moon  is  but  one  day  in  the  month,
and  afterward  eyes  look  not  on  it

Said  Al  HS,rith,  son  of  HammS,m :  Then  I  took  leave
of  him  with  a  heart  bleeding  of  its  wound,  and  wished
that  my  night  had  been  tardy  of  its  mom.
18


194  SIXTBENTE  ASSEMBLY.
