tale; after which the King restored the slaves to their owners,
saying, “Let each of you who knoweth his slaves take them; for they are
a gift from me to you.” So they obeyed his bidding and took each what
belonged to him; whilst Abu Sir said to the King, “Allah ease thee, O
King of the age, even as thou hast eased me of these Ghuls, whose
bellies none may fill save Allah[215]!” The King laughed, and said he
spake sooth; then, taking the Grandees of his Realm from the Hammam
returned to his palace; but the barber passed the night in counting out
his gold and laying it up in bags and sealing them; and he had with him
twenty black slaves and a like number of Mamelukes and four slave girls
to serve him. Now when morning morrowed, he opened the Hammam and sent
out a crier to cry, saying, “Whoso entereth the Baths and washeth shall
give that which he can afford and which his generosity requireth him to
give.” Then he seated himself by the pay-chest[216] and customers
flocked in upon him, each putting down that which was easy to him, nor
had eventide evened ere the chest was full of the good gifts of Allah
the Most High. Presently the Queen desired to go to the Hammam, and when
this came to Abu Sir’s knowledge, he divided the day on her account into
two parts, appointing that between dawn and noon to men and that between
midday and sundown to women.[217] As soon as the Queen came, he
stationed a handmaid behind the pay-chest; for he had taught four
slave-girls the service of the Hammam, so that they were become expert
bath-women and tire-women. When the Queen entered, this pleased her and
her breast waxed broad and she laid down a thousand dinars. Thus his
report was noised abroad in the city, and all who entered the bath he
entreated with honour, were they rich or poor; good came in upon him at
every door and he made acquaintance with the royal guards and got him
friends and intimates. The King himself used to come to him one day in
every week, leaving with him a thousand dinars and the other days were
f