Note 16 — THE EBONY HORSE.[1]
Richard Francis Burton translation
The Bul. Edit. as usual abridges (vol. i. 534). The Prince lands on the palace-roof where he leaves his horse, and finding no one in the building goes back to the terrace. Suddenly he sees a beautiful girl approaching him with a party of her women, suggesting to him these couplets:—
She came without tryst in the darkest hour, ✿ Like full moon lighting horizon’s night:
Slim-formed, there is not in the world her like ✿ For grace of form or for gifts of sprite:
“Praise him who made her from semen-drop,” ✿ I cried, when her beauty first struck my sight:
I guard her from eyes, seeking refuge with ✿ The Lord of mankind and of morning-light.
The two then made acquaintance and “follows what follows.”