“Nay, dearest lady, weep not!” he entreated. “By Allah, thou shalt neither walk nor go alone. I will conduct thee thither; but it may be necessary that we wait till morning, since the way is lonely and the haunt of jinn. See here, before us is my mother’s house. Deign to go in and rest awhile, and take refreshment, while I feed the donkey. I will make inquiries. If it is possible to go tonight, I swear to take thee. If not, thou canst rest here until the dawn.”

They had stopped before a doorway in a narrow alley. He went a little way into the gloom and whispered:

“O my mother!”

“Is it thou, Selîm?” came back the answer.

“O my mother, come at once! I have a lady, a great lady in disguise. She has run mad through grief in these bad times, and wants to go out to the cemetery. Receive her in thy house a minute, feed her, talk to calm her; while I discover if the way is safe.”

“The cemetery! Go not thither. Best come in and sleep.”