Give him thy hand and he will take thee up into the ship，and do thou wait there till I come to thee.But'ware and have a care lest sleep overtake thee this night，or thou wilt repent whenas repentance shall avail thee naught.'Then the Princess farewelled him and going forth from Nur al-Din，aroused from sleep her women and the rest of the damsels，with whom she betook herself to the church door and knocked；whereupon the ancient dame opened to her and she went forth and found the knights and varlets standing without.They brought her a dapple she-mule and she mounted： whereupon they raised over her head a canopy[535] with curtains of silk，and the knights took hold of the mule's halter.Then the guards[536] encompassed her about，drawn brand in hand，and fared on with her，followed by her，till they brought her to the palace of the King her father.Meanwhile，Nur al-Din abode concealed behind the curtain，under cover of which Miriam and he had passed the night，till it was broad day，when the main door was opened and the church became full of people.Then he mingled with the folk and accosted the old Prioress，the guardian[537]of the shrine，who said to him，'Where didst thou lie last night？'Said he，'In the town as thou badest me.'Quoth she，'O my son，thou hast done the right thing；for，hadst thou nighted in the Church，she had slain thee on the foulest wise.'And quoth he，'Praised be Allah who hath delivered me from the evil of this night！'Then he busied himself with the service of the church and ceased not busying till day departed and night with darkness starkened when he arose and opened the offertory-chest and took thence of jewels whatso was light of weight and weighty of worth.
Then he tarried till the first watch of the night was past，when he made his way to the postern of the tunnel and opening it，went forth，calling on Allah for protection，and ceased not faring on until，after finding and opening the door，he came to the sea.
Here he discovered the vessel moored to the shore near the gate；
and her skipper，a tall old man of comely aspect with a long beard，standing in the waist，his ten men being ranged before him.Nur al-Din gave him his hand，as Miriam had bidden him，and the captain took it and pulling him on board of the ship cried out to his crew，saying，'Cast off the moorings and put out to sea with us，ere day break.'Said one of the ten，'O my lord the Captain，how shall we put out now，when the King hath notified us that to-morrow he will embark in this ship and go round about the sea，being fearful for his daughter Miriam from the Moslem thieves？'But the Rais cried out at them saying，'Woe to you，O accursed；Dare ye gainsay me and bandy words with me？'So saying the old captain bared his blade and with it dealt the sailor who had spoken a thrust in the throat，that the steel came out gleaming from his nape；and quoth another of the sailors，'What hath our comrade done of crime，that thou shouldst cut his throat？'Thereupon the captain clapped hand to sword and smote the speaker's head，nor did he leave smiting the rest of the sailors till he had slain them all，one after other，and cast the ten bodies ashore.Then he turned to Nur al-Din and cried out at him with a terrible great cry，that made him tremble，saying，'Go down and pull up the mooring-satke.'Nur al-Din feared lest he should strike him also with the sword；so he sprang up and leapt ashore and pulling up the stake jumped aboard again，swiftlier than the dazzling leven.The captain ceased not to bid him do this and do that and tack and wear hither and thither and look at the stars，and Nur al-Din did all that he bade him，with heart a-quaking for affright；whilst he himself spread the sails，and the ship fared with the twain into the dashing sea，swollen with clashing billows.--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
When it was the Eight Hundred and Eighty-fourth Night； She continued，It hath reached me，O auspicious King，that when the old skipper had made sail he drave the ship，aided by Nur al-Din，into the dashing sea before a favouring gale.Meanwhile；Nur al-Din held on to the tackle immersed in deep thought，and drowned in the sea of solicitude，knowing not what was hidden for him in the future；and whenever he looked at the captain，his heart quaked and he knew not whither the Rais went with him.He abode thus，preoccupied with care and doubt，till it was high day，when he looked at the skipper and saw him take hold of his long beard and pull at it，whereupon it came off in his hand and Nur al-Din，examining it，saw that it was but a false beard glued on.So he straitly considered that same Rais，and behold，it was the Princess Miriam，his mistress and the dearling of his heart；who had contrived to waylay the captain and slay him and skinned off his beard，which she had stuck on to her own face.At this Nur al-Din was transported for you，and his breast broadened and he marvelled at her prowess and the stoutness of her heart and said to her，'Welcome，O my hope and my desire and the end of mine every wish！'Then love and gladness agitated him and he made sure of winning to his hopes and his expectancy；wherefore he broke out into song and chanted these couplets；'To all who unknown my love for the May * From whom Fate disjoins me O say，I pray；'Ask my kith and kin of my love that aye * Ensweetens my verses to lovely lay：
For the loss of the tribesmen my life o'er sway！'
Their names when named heal all malady；* Cure and chase from heart every pain I dree：
And my longings for love reach so high degree * That my Sprite is maddened each morn I see；And am grown of the crowd to be saw and say.
No blame in them will I e'er espy： * No！ nor aught of solace sans them descry：
Your love hath shot me with pine，and I * Bear in heart a flame that shall never die；But fire my liver with fiery ray.
All folk my sickness for marvel score * That in darkest night I wake evermore What ails them to torture this heart forlore * And deem right for loving my blood t' outpour：
And yet--how justly unjust are they！
Would I wot who'twas could obtain of you * To wrong a youth who's so fain of you：
