marriage-banquet and invited all the city-folk to feast for a
whole month and he wrote a royal rescript and bade proclaim with
full publicity that, according to the commands of the King's
majesty, the wedding-feast should continue for a month, and that
no citizen, be he rich or be he poor, should light fire or trim
lamp in his own domicile during the wedding of the Princess; but
that all must eat of the royal entertainment until the expiry of
the fete. So they slaughtered beeves and stabbed camels in the
throat and the kitcheners and carpet-spreaders were commanded to
prepare the stables, and the officers of the household were
ordered to receive the guests by night and by day. Now one night
King Mohammed of Cairo said to his Minister, "O Wazir, do thou
come with me in changed costume and let us thread the streets and
inspect and espy the folk: haply some of the citizens have
neglected to appear at the marriage-feast." He replied, "To hear
is to obey." So the twain after exchanging habits for the gear of
Persian Darwayshes went down to the city and there took place




The Night-Adventure of Sultan Mohammed of Cairo.[FN#130]



The Sultan and the Wazir threaded the broadways of the city and
they noted the houses and stood for an hour or so in each and
every greater thoroughfare, till they came to a lane, a
cul-de-sac wherethrough none could pass, and behold, they hit
upon a house containing a company of folk. Now these were