Tarikh-i Salatin-i Afaghina 5.1

5.1

There was a man in Samana who gained his livelihood by trading. He was called away from home on business, and entrusted the care of his house to a trustworthy individual, between whose habitation and his own there was only a wall. This neighbour, therefore, used frequently to go into the merchant's house, and assist and advise in all its concerns, and see that matters went on smoothly during the owner's absence. Whenever he went there, he saw a young man frequently entering. He fancied at first that the young man must be some connexion of the owner of the dwelling; but he afterwards reflected that if he were, the house would not have been given into his own charge. He therefore determined to find out all about the youth. He then made a hole in the partition wall, and from time to time looked through it into the next house. One night he saw the young man, dressed in white and scented with perfume, enter the merchant's dwelling, place a handsome carpet near the merchant's wife, and spread out upon it sweetmeats, wine, and pan; after partaking of which, shortly afterwards, they lay down together and indulged in improper familiarities. The woman had a child, which slept in another room, and when it cried she gave it some milk, and then returned to her lover; but as the child persisted in worrying her with its cries, the woman went and squeezed its throat so that it died, and slept the sleep which knows no waking. After which she again sought the youth's embraces.