"Sweetly discourses she on Persian string * And Unintelligence
makes understand.
And teaches she that Love's a murtherer, * Who oft the reasoning
Moslem hath unmann'd.
A maid, by Allah, in whose palm a thing * Of painted wood like
mouth can speech command.
With lute she stauncheth flow of Love; and so * Stops flow of
blood the cunning leach's hand."

Then she preluded in fourteen different modes and sang to the
lute an entire piece, so as to confound the gazers and delight
her hearers. After which she recited these two couplets,

"The coming unto thee is blest: * Therein new joys for aye
attend:
Its blisses are continuous * Its blessings never end."

--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her
permitted say.

When it was the Eight Hundred and Fortieth Night,

She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the maiden,
Kut al-Kulub, after singing these songs and sweeping the strings
in presence of the Lady Zubaydah, rose and exhibited tricks of
sleight of hand and legerdemain and all manner pleasing arts,
till the Princess came near to fall in love with her and said to
herself, "Verily, my cousin Al-Rashid is not to blame for loving
her!" Then the damsel kissed ground before Zubaydah and sat
down, whereupon they set food before her. Presently they brought