第428页 / 共1116页

Then I looked upon the quince, and inhaled its fragrance which

putteth to shame musk and ambergris, even as the poet hath said :

Quince every taste conjoins; in her are found * Gifts which for

queen of fruits the Quince have crowned Her taste is wine, her

scent the waft of musk; * Pure gold her hue, her shape the Moon's

fair round.

Then I looked upon the pear whose taste surpasseth sherbet and

sugar; and the apricot[FN#294] whose beauty striketh the eye with

admiration, as if she were a polished ruby. Then I went out of

the place and locked the door as it was before. When it was the

morrow I opened the second door; and entering found myself in a

spacious plain set with tall date palms and watered by a running

stream whose banks were shrubbed with bushes of rose and jasmine,

while privet and eglantine, oxe-eye, violet and lily, narcissus,

origane and the winter gilliflower carpeted the borders; and the

breath of the breeze swept over these sweet smelling growths

diffusing their delicious odours right and left, perfuming the

world and filling my soul with delight.