rough the
blessing attendant upon thee, O Viceroy of the Prince of the Faithful."

After this they departed, and they continued their journey until they
arrived at a palace; whereupon the sheikh said: "Advance with us to this
palace, which presenteth a lesson to him who will be admonished." So the
Emeer Moosa advanced thither, together with the Sheikh Abd-Es-Samad and
his chief companions, till they came to its entrance. And they found it
open, and having lofty angles, and steps, among which were two wide
steps of coloured marbles, the like of which hath not been seen: the
ceilings and walls were decorated with gold and silver and minerals, and
over the entrance was a slab, whereon was an inscription in ancient
Greek; and the Sheikh Abd-Es-Samad said: "Shall I read it, O Emeer?" The
emeer answered; "Advance and read." So he read it; and, lo, it was
poetry; and it was this:

Here was a people whom, after their works, thou shalt see wept over for
their lost dominion;
And in this palace is the last information respecting lords collected in
the dust.

Death hath destroyed them and disunited them, and in the dust they have
lost what they amassed;
As though they had only put down their loads to rest a while: quickly
have they departed!

And the Emeer Moosa wept and said: "There is no deity but God, the
Living, the Enduring without failure!"

Then they attentively viewed the palace; and, lo, it was devoid of
inhabitants, destitute of household and occupants: its courts were
desolate, and its apartments were deserted; and in the midst of it was a
chamber covered with a lofty dome, rising high into the air, around
which were four hundred tombs.

And the Emeer Moosa drew near to the dome-crowned chamber, and, lo, it
had eight doors of sandalwood, with nails of gold, ornamented with stars
of silver set with various jewels, and he beheld in it a long tomb, of
terrible appearance, whereon was a tablet of iron of China; and the
Sheikh Abd-Es-Samad drew near to it, and read its inscription; and, lo,
on it was written:

Shouldst thou think upon me after the length of my age, and the
vicissitudes of days and circumstances,
I am the son of Sheddad, who held dominion over mankind and each tract of
the whole earth.
All the stubborn troops became abject unto me, and Esh-Sham from Misr
unto Adnan.
In glory I reigned, abasing their kings, the people of the earth fearing
my dominion;