Vis and Ramin

284 |
CHAPTER
XLVIII
THE FIRST LETTER OF VIS TO RAMIN
A LETTER was written from the sorrow- stricken Vis to the
merry and light-hearted Ramin. Instead of paper was
used Chinese vellum, 1 for ink T'humbut'hian 2 (Tibetan)
3
musk, an Egyptian reed, rosewater from Nisibrand, inkhorns
4 of Saman 5
aloe, 6 the scribe himself a
7
Kadj-like
word-finder. His words were mingled with sugar and pearls.
The parchment l was white and glittering like Vis's face,
the ink black and fragrant like her hair, the pen straight
like her form, and now resembling it in exceeding thinness ;
the scribe like an enchanter, 8 for the word in his mouth
was sweet as sugar.
9 He indited the praise of Ramin, and
thus wrote on behalf of Vis :
"This letter from the dried-up cedar 10 to the verdant,
gaily grown-up cypress j
11
from the darkened and waned
moon to the shining moon, the beautifier of the heavens ;
from the devastated and scorched vineyard to the newlyplanted
Paradise-like garden ; from the empty and worthless
oyster-shell to the unopened pearl-shell ; from the sun set
in sadness to the sun newly risen in the east ; from the
faded and fallen leaf to the freshly blooming red rose ;
285 the dried-up 12 sea to the pearly |
1 Chinuri, 151, 285 ; petraticoni.
2 T'hobit'h, 26 ; T'humbut'huri, 223, 341.
4 Satserelni, 266.
6 Alva, 78, 450. E., 77, etc.
5
from
sea of Homain; 13 from the
3
Eguipturi calami.
337, samindorulit of the fields.
7
Kadj, 245.
8 Grdzneuli.
9 Keba sheaskha. Keba, 71, 116, 132, 145, E., Introduction to
English translation, p. xii.
10 Nadzvir also pine, 289.
ll Cuiparozi, 313.
12 Damshrali. 13 Omain, 253.
252