and thus they abode a long whilewith rancour in their hearts，till it fell out that the Khalif invested Abdallah with the government of Armenia and sent him thither. Soon after he had established himself in his seat of governmentthere came to him one of the people of Iraka man of excellent parts and good breedingwho had lost his wealth and wasted his substanceand his estate was come to nought；so he forged a letter to Abdallah in Yehya's name and set out therewith for Armenia. When he came to the governor's gatehe gave the letter to one of the chamberlainswho carried it to his master. Abdallah read it and considering it attentivelyknew it to be forged；so he sent for the manwho presented himself before him and called down blessings upon him and praised him and those of his court. Quoth Abdallah to him'What moved thee to weary thyself thus and bring me a forged letter？ But be of good heart；for we will not disappoint thy travail.'God prolong the life of our lord the Vizier！'replied the other. 'If my coming irk theecast not about for a pretext to repel mefor God's earth is wide and the Divine Provider liveth. Indeedthe letter I bring thee from Yehya ben Khalid is true and no forgery.'Quoth Abdallah'I will write a letter to my agent at Baghdad and bid him enquire concerning the letter. If it be trueas thou sayestI will bestow on thee the government of one of my cities；orif thou prefer a presentI will give thee two hundred thousand dirhems，besides horses and camels of price and a robe of honour. Butif the letter prove a forgeryI will have thee beaten with two hundred blows of a stick and thy beard shaven.'
Accordinglyhe bade confine him in a privy chamber and furnish him therein with all he neededtill his case should be made manifest. Then he despatched a letter to his agent at Baghdadto the following purport： 'There is come to me a man with a letter purporting to be from Yehya ben Khalid. Now I have my doubts of this letter： so delay thou notbut go thyself and learn the truth of the case and let me have an answer in all speed.'When the letter reached the agenthe mounted at once and betook himself to the house of Yehya ben Khalidwhom he found sitting with his officers and boon-companions. So he gave him the letter and he read it and said to the agent'Come back to me to-morrow，against I write thee an answer.'
When the agent had gone awayYehya turned to his companions and said'What doth he deserve who forgeth a letter in my name and carrieth it to my enemy？'They all answeredsaying this and thateach proposing some kind of punishment；but Yehya said'Ye err in that ye say and this your counsel is of the meanness and baseness of your spirits. Ye all know the close favour of Abdallah with the Khalif and what is between him and us of despite and enmity；and now God the Most High hath made this man an intermediaryto effect a reconciliation between usand hath appointed him to quench the fire of hate in our heartswhich hath been growing this score years；and by his means our differences shall be accorded. Wherefore it behoves me to requite him by confirming his expectation and amending his estate；so I will write him a letter to Abdallahto the intent that he may use him with increase of honour and liberality.'
When his companions heard what he saidthey called down blessings on him and marvelled at his generosity and the greatness of his magnanimity. Then he called for paper and ink and wrote Abdallah a letter in his own handto the following effect： 'In the name of Godthe Compassionatethe Merciful！ Thy letter hath reached me（may God give thee long life！）and I have read it and rejoice in thy health and well-being. It was thy thought that yonder worthy man had forged a letter in my name and that he was not the bearer of any message from me；but the case is not sofor the letter I myself wroteand it was no forgery；
and I hopeof thy courtesy and benevolence and the nobility of thy naturethat thou wilt fulfil this generous and excellent man of his hope and wish and use him with the honour he deserves and bring him to his desire and make him the special object of thy favour and munificence. Whatever thou dost with himit is to me that thou dost itand I am beholden to thee accordingly.'Then he superscribed the letter and sealing itdelivered it to the agentwho despatched it to Abdallah.
When the latter read ithe was charmed with its contents and sending for the mansaid to him'Now will I give thee which thou wilt of the two things I promised thee.'The gift were more acceptable to me than aught else，'replied the man；whereupon Abdallah ordered him two hundred thousand dirhems and ten Arab horsesfive with housings of silk and other five with richly ornamented saddles of statebesides twenty chests of clothes and ten mounted white slaves and a proportionate quantity of jewels of price. Moreoverhe bestowed on him a dress of honour and sent him to Baghdad in great state. When he came thitherhe repaired to Yehya's housebefore he went to his own folkand sought an audience of him. So the chamberlain went in to Yehya and said to him'O my lordthere is one at our door who craves speech of thee；and he is a man of apparent wealth and consideration，comely of aspect and attended by many servants.'Yehya bade admit him；so he entered and kissed the ground before him. 'Who art thou？'asked Yehya；and he answered'O my lordI am one who was dead from the tyranny of fortune；but thou didst raise me again from the grave of calamities and preferredst me to the paradise of [my] desires. I am he who forged a letter in thy name and carried it to Abdallah ben Malek el Khuzai.'How hath he dealt with thee，'asked Yehya'and what did he give thee？'Quoth the man'He hath made me rich and overwhelmed me with presents and favoursthanks to thee and thy great generosity and magnanimity and to thine exceeding goodness and abounding munificence and thine all-embracing liberality. And nowbeholdI have brought all that he gave meand it is at thy door；for it is thine to commandand the decision is in thy hand.'Thou hast done me better service than I thee，'rejoined Yehya；'and I owe thee thanks without stint and abundant largessefor that thou hast changed the enmity that was between me and yonder man of worship into love and friendship. Wherefore I will give thee the like of what Abdallah gave thee.'Then he ordered him money and horses and apparelsuch as Abdallah had given him；and thus that man's fortune was restored to him by the munificence of these two generous men.
