ed
What I would fain have hid from view.
My heart could evermore repress
The woe that tell-tale tears confess."

Charisi is at his best when he gives the rein to his humor. Sparks fly;
he stops at no caustic witticism, recoils from no satire; he is malice
itself, and puts no restraint upon his levity. The "Flea Song" is a
typical illustration of his impish mood:

"You ruthless flea, who desecrate my couch,
And draw my blood to sate your appetite,
You know not rest, on Sabbath day or feast--
Your feast it is when you can pinch and bite.

My friends expound the law: to kill a flea
Upon the Sabbath day a sin they call;
But I prefer that other law which says,
Be sure a murd'rer's malice to forestall."

That Charisi was a boon companion is evident from the following drinking
song:

"Here under leafy bowers,
Where coolest shades descend,
Crowned with a wreath of flowers,
Here will we drink, my friend.

Who drinks of wine, he learns
That noble spirits' strength
But steady increase earns,
As years stretch out in length.

A thousand earthly years
Are hours in God's sight,
A year in heav'n appears
A minute in its flight.

I would this lot were mine:
To live by heav'nly count,
And drink and drink old wine
At youth's eternal fount."

Charisi and his Arabic models found many imitators among Spanish Jews.
Solomon ibn Sakbel wrote Hebrew Makamat which may be regarded as an
attempt at a satire in the form of a romance. The hero, Asher ben
Yehuda, a veritable Don Juan, passes through most remarkable
adventures.[51] The introductory Makama, describing life with his
mistress in the solitude of a forest, is delicious. Tired of his
monotonous life, he joins a company of convivial fellows, who pass their
time in carousal. While with them, he receives an enigmatic love letter
signed by an unknown woman, and he sets out to find her. On his
wanderings, oppressed by love's doubts, he chances into a harem, and is
threatened with death by its master. It turns out that the pasha is a
beautiful woman, the slave of his mysterious lady-love, and she promises
him speedy fulfilment of his wishes. Finally, close to the attainment of
his end, he discovers that his beauty is a myth, the whole a practical
joke perpetrated by his merry companions. So Asher ben Yehuda in quest
of his mistress is led from ad