withdrawn the light of his countenance from
the animals, and there is no colour in them."
And Demski told me that the bone was found
in the ice; and that also whole animals were
found therein, with the hair and flesh on them;
and that amongst them were the bones of the
elephant, and even entire elephants, which are
animals that I have seen in the land of the
Mogul, where the inhabitants (may Allah
instruct them!) worship cows. And I said,
"Oh Demski! how came these animals in the
ice? for they are animals that inhabit hot
countries, and could not live in this cold place,
which causeth the blood to stand still, and
maketh the fingers like those of dead men."
And he said, "Thy question is that of a man
of understanding; and verily there was a
learned man here, whom the Czar (whom God
preserve!) sent to us, a man of the nation of
Franks, who examined these bones, and looked
at the creatures as they lay in the ice, and
said to me and to others, that this land had
once been warmer and fit for such creatures,
and that these frozen rivers and seas had once
flowed like the great rivers and the ocean
which thou hast seen." And I said, "Oh
Demski! this is but foolishness; and God
will confound these Feringees, who pry into
the origin of things. For these are works of
Eblis and of the Jân, and these creatures are
shut up here by enchantment, even as Gog
and Magog were shut up by Iskander, in the
mountains near the Caspian Sea. And Gog
and Magog are always digging through the
mountain to get out; but cannot, by reason of
the strong enchantment wherewith they are
enchanted; nor shall they, because they
cannot say, 'Inshallah!' which means 'God
willing.' But one day there shall be a boy
amongst them, called 'Inshallah;' and one of
them shall say to him, 'Inshallah, I will dig
through the rock;' and straightway they shall
dig through the rock, and overspread the
world, and Dejjal shall come forth to lead
them. And who knows but these creatures
are shut up here by like enchantment, and
will one day come forth?"

And Demski and Petrovna, and Alexandrovitch,
their son, allowed that I had spoken
wisely, and praised me much; so that when
supper came I was elated, and eat of the dried
meat and of fish, and of stewed pears, which I
had never before tasted (may Allah confound
them!); and drank of the brandy until I
shouted and sang, as one should not shout and
sing who has travelled to Mecca—(may God
establish it and maintain it!) And, behold,
when I lay down on the stone to sleep, I was
much pleased that I had spoken so wisely
about Eblis and the Jân, and Gog and Magog,
and Iskander; for it beseemeth a schereef to
instruct the ignorant, and one who hath wisdom
to impart it to one who hath not. So I slept.

But about the middle of the night I felt a
heavy hand upon my breast, and I awoke;
and, lo! when one of the evil ones stood by
me, even a Jin, having the face of a bull, and
a hand like the foot of an elephant, and his
hand was upon my breast. And he said, "Oh
Hamet, arise and go with me!" And I
answered, "Oh Bull Face! whither?" And
he said, "Unto the shores of the Frozen Sea,
and to the palace of Eblis, and to the abode of
the enchanted creatures of whom thou spakest
before supper."

Then said I, "Now are the words of the
poet accomplished, for he said:—

"'Speak no evil of the Jân, for they are always about
            thee,
And one of them shall carry thy words to the rest
            in the palace of Eblis.'"

And the Bull Face grinned. And I arose,
and went with him out of the house; and he
took me by the hand, and we ran swiftly, like
the Mahry, on which the Tonarick rides forth
to plunder. And when I saw that he meddled
not with Demski, nor with Petrovna, his wife,
neither with any of the people of Berezow, I
said, "See, now! what it is to worship the
pictures of created things; for the Jân regard
these people as brothers." And the Bull Face
snorted. And by this time we had come to
the shores of the Frozen Sea; but the ice was
not all of equal strength, nor was the sea
covered by it; but great shapes of ice sailed
down it, which were of a blue colour, by
reason of the moon. And the Jin would have
carried me over; but when he essayed it, I was
too heavy for him; so that he said, "Of a
truth, this wretch must have some holy thing
about him, that I cannot lift him." And I
remembered with joy that I had on my heart
a piece of cloth wherewith I had touched the
Holy Stone at Mecca, and I repeated the
verses:

"Keep holy things about thee, and gird thee with
sacred spells: that thy wickedness may be forgiven
for the sake of that thou wearest."

And the Jin struck the ice with a stone,
and made it crack; and, lo! I heard it cracking
and splitting all across the sea, until the
sound thereof was louder than that of
thunder. And the Jân who were in the
palace of Eblis heard it; and straightway
three of them, having the faces of hawks and
the claws of eagles, came flying to us. And
the Bull Face said: "Oh Hook Noses!
Eblis sent me to bring this wretch to him,
but he is too heavy for me, by reason of some
holy thing which he hath about him. Help
me to carry him." And they took me in their
arms, and flew. And when I felt the swiftness
of our motion through the air, and
reflected that the evil ones might let me fall
on the ice, or into the cold sea, I resolved to
entreat them courteously; and I said to one
of the Hook Noses who bore up my right
shoulder, "Wherefore, oh my aga! doth my
lord Eblis abide in this desolate place with
creatures forsaken of God?" And he said:
"Not choice, but necessity, brought us hither,
thou abandoned one; for Eblis was once lord