'As thou wilt，'answered As'ad，'do as thou art disposed，but make haste，for indeed my brother awaiteth me and his whole heart is with me.'The old man took As'ad by the hand and carried him to a narrow lane，smiling in his face and saying，'Glory be to Him who hath delivered thee from the people of this city！'And he ceased not walking till he entered a spacious house，wherein was a saloon and behold，in the middle of it were forty old men，well stricken in years，collected together and forming a single ring as they sat round about a lighted fire，to which they were doing worship and prostrating themselves.[381] When As'ad saw this，he was confounded and the hair of his body stood on end though he knew not what they were；and the Shaykh said to them，'O Elders of the Fire，how blessed is this day！'Then he called aloud，saying，'Hello，Ghazban！'Whereupon there came out to him a tall black slave of frightful aspect，grimvisaged and flat nosed as an ape who，when the old man made a sign to him，bent As'ad's arms behind his back and pinioned them；after which the Shaykh said to him，'Let him down into the vault under the earth and there leave him and say to my slave girl Suchanone，'Torture him night and day and give him a cake of bread to eat morning and evening against the time come of the voyage to the Blue Sea and the Mountain of Fire，whereon we will slaughter him as a sacrifice.''So the black carried him out at another door and，raising a flag in the floor，discovered a flight of twenty steps leading to a chamber[382] under the earth，into which he descended with him and，laying his feet in irons，gave him over to the slave girl and went away. Meanwhile，the old men said to one another，'When the day of the Festival of the Fire cometh，we will sacrifice him on the mountain，as a propitiatory offering whereby we shall pleasure the Fire.'Presently the damsel went down to him and beat him a grievous beating，till streams of blood flowed from his sides and he fainted；after which she set at his head a scone of bread and a cruse of brackish water and went away and left him. In the middle of the night，he revived and found himself bound and beaten and sore with beating： so he wept bitter tears；and recalling his former condition of honour and prosperity，lordship and dominion，and his separation from his sire and his exile from his native land.And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say，When it was the Two Hundred and Twentyeighth Night，She said，It hath reached me，O auspicious King，that when As'ad found himself bound and beaten and sore with beating he recalled his whilome condition of honour and prosperity and dominion and lordship，and he wept and groaned aloud and recited these couplets，'Stand by the ruined stead and ask of us；
Nor deem we dwell there as was state of us：
The World，that parter，hath departed us；
Yet soothes not hatefull hearts the fate of us：
With whips a cursed slave girl scourges us，
And teems her breast with rancorous hate of us：
Allah shall haply deign to unpart our lives，
Chastise our foes，and end this strait of us.'
And when As'ad had spoken his poetry，he put out his hand towards his head and finding there the crust and the cruse full of brackish water he ate a bittock，just enough to keep life in him，and drank a little water，but could get no sleep till morning for the swarms of bugs[383] and lice. As soon as it was day，the slave girl came down to him and changed his clothes，which were drenched with blood and stuck to him，so that his skin came off with the shirt；wherefor he shrieked aloud and cried，'Alas！'and said，'O my God，if this be Thy pleasure，increase it upon me！ O Lord，verily Thou art not unmindful of him that oppresseth me；do Thou then avenge me upon him！'And he groaned and repeated the following verses，'Patient，O Allah！ to Thy destiny I bow，suffice me what Thou deign decree：
Patient to bear Thy will，O Lord of me，
Patient to burn on coals of Ghazatree：
They wrong me，visit me with hurt and harm；
Haply Thy grace from them shall set me free：
Far be's，O Lord，from thee to spare the wronger
O Lord of Destiny my hope's in Thee！'
And what another saith，'Bethink thee not of worldly state，
Leave everything to course of Fate；
For oft a thing that irketh thee
Shall in content eventuate；
And oft what strait is shall expand，
And what expanded is wax strait.
Allah will do what wills His will
So be not thou importunate！
But 'joy the view of coming weal
Shall make forget past bale and bate.'
And when he had ended his verse，the slavegirl came down upon him with blows till he fainted again；and，throwing him a flap of bread and a gugglet of saltish water，went away and left him sad and lonely，bound in chains of iron，with the blood streaming from his sides and far from those he loved. So he wept and called to mind his brother and the honours he erst enjoyed.And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
When it was the Two Hundred and Twentyninth Night，She said，It hath reached me，O auspicious King，that As'ad called to mind his brother and the honours he erst enjoyed；so he wept and groaned and complained and poured forth tears in floods and improvised these couplets，'Easy，O Fate！ how long this wrong，this injury，
Robbing each morn and eve my brotherhood fro' me？
Is't not time now thou deem this length sufficiency
Of woes and，O thou Heart of Rock，show clemency？
My friends thou wrongedst when thou madst each enemy
Mock and exult me for thy wrongs，thy tyranny：
My foeman's heart is solaced by the things he saw
In me，of strangerhood and lonely misery：
Suffice thee not what came upon my head of dole，
Friends lost for evermore，eyes wan and pale of blee？
But must in prison cast so narrow there is naught
Save hand to bite，with bitten hand for company；
And tears that tempest down like goodly gift of cloud，
And longing thirst whose fires weet no satiety.
Regretful yearnings，singulfs and unceasing sighs，
Repine，remembrance and pain's very ecstacy：