The prince's letter reached the cadi. The latter gave all his efforts to the good
administration of the country, and, according to the words of the prince, he
avoided every negligence.
But one night while he was on watch near the fortifications of the King's palace,
Satan came to him and slid into his heart a temptation. The cadi thought in his
heart: "The King's daughter is of a marvellous beauty; her name, Djouher-Mani-
kam, is charming; and her face is lovely. Since it is thus, I must marry this
daughter of the King." The cadi called the man who was guarding the gate,
exclaiming:
"Ho! Guardian of the gate! Open unto me."
The guardian of the gate demanded, "Who is there?"
The cadi replied, "It is I, the cadi."
So the guardian promptly opened the gate, and the cadi entered within the
fortification, then went up into the palace and found the princess there saying her
evening prayers. He hid behind the lamp in a corner which was dark. When her
prayer was finished, the Princess Djouher- Manikam cast her eyes in that
direction and saw there was someone standing there in the shadow, so three
times again she said the "verse of the Throne"; but she saw that the vision had
not yet vanished from her eyes.
Then the princess said in her heart: "What in the world is that? Is it a ghost? Is it
a demon? Is it a djinn? If it were, it would have necessarily disappeared when I
recited the 'verse of the Throne.'"
The cadi heard these words and said: "O Princess Djouher-Manikam, it is
I, the cadi."
"What are you doing here?" asked the princess. He answered, "I wish to marry
you."
The Princess Djouher-Manikam said: "O cadi! Why do you act so to me? Have
you then no fear of God the most high and worthy of all praise? Do you not
blush before the face of my ancestor the prophet Mahomet, the envoy of God?
May the peace and blessings of God be upon him! As for me, I am the servant of
the Lord and I belong to the religion of the envoy of God. I fear to marry now.