At the head of a handful of his guards he sallied forth,
put the rebels to flight, and crushed the insurrection in the bud.
When quiet was again restored, he sought the astrologer, who still
remained shut up in his hermitage, chewing the bitter cud of
resentment.
Aben Habuz approached him with a conciliatory tone. "O wise son of
Abu Ayub," said he, "well didst thou predict dangers to me from this
captive beauty: tell me then, thou who art so quick at foreseeing
peril, what I should do to avert it."
"Put from thee the infidel damsel who is the cause."
"Sooner would I part with my kingdom," cried Aben Habuz.
"Thou art in danger of losing both," replied the astrologer.
"Be not harsh and angry, O most profound of philosophers; consider
the double distress of a monarch and a lover, and devise some means of
protecting me from the evils by which I am menaced. I care not for
grandeur, I care not for power, I languish only for repose; would that
I had some quiet retreat where I might take refuge from the world, and
all its cares, and pomps, and troubles, and devote the remainder of my
days to tranquillity and love."
The astrologer regarded him for a moment, from under his bushy
eyebrows.
"And what wouldst thou give, if I could provide thee such a
retreat?"
"Thou shouldst name thy own reward, and whatever it might be, if
within the scope of my power, as my soul liveth, it should be thine.
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