1877.] life of the 'poet as given in the Kitab-el-Aghdni. G3 
“ My soul stood and plained to me with bitter weeping— 
‘ I have borne tbee now seven years over the three-score and ten’. 
“ I said—‘ and if tliou wilt add but three thou wilt reach the goal of 
thy hope, 
for in but three years more the fourscore will be filled.’ ” 
And when he reached the age of ninety, he said— 
“ Now that I have overpassed my space by twenty 4 years 
I stand with shoulders bared to meet the stroke of Fate.” 
And when he lived to a hundred and ten, he said— 
“ Is there no life left for a man after that he has lived 
a hundred years, and after that yet ten years more ?” 
And when he lived still longer, he said— 
“ Verily I am a-weary of life and its length 
and of hearing men ask—‘ how goes Lebid ?’ 
Men are overborne, but he stands still unconquered, 
by Time, the long, the everlasting dreary length! 
I see the day come upon me and the night, 
and each of them after its passing returns again : 
Each day as it comes is like the day I met before— 
it wanes not—I grow feeble—it but grows in strength.” 
Mohammed ibn el-Hasan ibn Durey d informed me that he had been 
told by Abu Hamid es-Sijistani, who said that he had heard it from el- 
Asma‘i, that ‘Amir ibn Malik Mulafib-el-Asinneh, whose by-name was Abu-1 
Bera’, repaired with a company of the Benu Ja‘far, among whom were Lebid 
son of Rabi‘ah, Malik son of Ja‘far, and ‘Amir son of Malik Lebid’s uncle, 5 
to the Court of en-No‘man. And they found with the King er-Rabi‘ ibn Ziyad 
of ‘Abs, whose mother was Fatimeh daughter of el-Khurshub. Er-Rabi‘ 
was one of en-No‘man’s boon companions, as was also a certain merchant of 
Syria whose name was Zarajun® son of Naufil; the King had dealings with 
him in his trade, and, as he was a man of polished manners and abundance 
of jest and anecdote, delighted to make him merry. Accordingly, whenever 
en-No‘man desired to have a drinking party in private, he would send for 
the Syrian, and en-Nitasi, a physician who was in his service, and er-Rabi 4 
son of Ziyad, and they formed his company. And when the Ja‘faris reach¬ 
ed el-Hireh, they came before en-No‘man to present their petitions ; and 
as often as they went forth from his presence, er-Rabi‘ who remained alone 
with him used to abuse them to him and mention all their bad qualities : 
for the Benu Ja‘far were enemies of the tribe of ‘Abs. 7 And he did not 
cease backbiting them to en-No‘man until he made him ill-disposed towards 
them. And one day when the Ja‘faris came before him, the King treated 
them with harshness, although he had formerly received them with honour 
and seated them near himself ; and they left his presence in wrath. Now 
