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Seest not we want for joy four things all told * The harp and

lute, the flute and flageolet; And be they companied with scents

four fold * Rose, myrtle, anemone and violet Nor please all eight

an four thou wouldst withhold * Good wine and youth and gold and

pretty pet.

You be three and want a fourth who shall be a person of good

sense and prudence; smart witted, and one apt to keep careful

counsel." His words pleased and amused them much; and they

laughed at him and said, "And who is to assure us of that? We are

maidens and we fear to entrust our secret where it may not be

kept, for we have read in a certain chronicle the lines of one

Ibn al-Sumam:-

Hold fast thy secret and to none unfold * Lost is a secret when

that secret's told An fail thy breast thy secret to conceal * How

canst thou hope another's breast shall hold?

And Abu Nowas[FN#153] said well on the same subject:-

Who trusteth secret to another's hand * Upon his brow deserveth

burn of brand!"