truth, he had reached the time when he felt
the stream of life flow more gently through
his veins, and he wished to see a new spring
burst forth before the other was dried up.
In all countries, exceptions set aside, men
grieve at the threatened extinction of their
line; but in the East, children are longed for,
as if there were no other immortality but
continued life in a succession of generations.

At length Zara's desires were accomplished,
and, as he was a good man, respectful of all
things, even of what people of another faith
respected, there was a peculiar blessing on
the birth of his child. Spirits were overheard
(by whom the legend sayeth not) to meet over
the cradle in which Zara's daughter—for it
was a daughter—was placed in the first hour
of its life, and to greet one another with
strange expressions.

"Ginnee of the Christians," said one voice,
"we unite with you to bestow all qualities
and good fortune on this young thing, whom
we name our sister. Let us divide the work."

"Ginnee of the Muslims, it is agreed,"
replied another voice; " begin your gifts."

Then several Muslim spirits began, one
after the other, to say, " Let her form be
graceful as a wand, let her countenance
resemble the countenance of one of the
daughters of Paradise, let her eyes be sweeter
than the morning, let pearls avoid comparison
with her teeth, let her lips be such as to draw
angels down from near the throne of the
All-powerful, to find new delight in a kiss—
blessings on our sister!"

And so they proceeded until they had
exhausted the blessings which woman, child of
the earth, most prizes.

But afterwards the Ginnee of the Christians
began to speak in their turn, and said, " Let
her be wise, let her be modest, let her be
pure, let her heart never suffer from sorrows
that come from the outward world—blessings
on our sister!"

Then the spirits all bent forward until
their heads touched, and remained like a
canopy hanging over the cradle of the child.

The merchant Zara had sat down by its
side, unaware of these invisible spectators,
and was saying, with the pride of a worldly
man,—

"I have six ships upon the sea, and six
caravans coming to me across the desert, and
my shop is full, and my warehouses overflow,
and my coffers are replenished, and there
shall be no maiden in Cairo whose happiness
shall be as great as thine; princes will ask her
hand in marriage on account of her dowry,
but I will not grant her save to one who shall
be perfect in virtue and in science."

When the spirits heard these words, they
remembered that they had forgotten the gift
of good fortune, but as the merchant boasted
of his wealth, and even, to some extent, spoke
of what he intended should be, rather than
what was—for he had only a share in each
ship and in each caravan—they smiled satirically
at each other and flew away on various
errands of good and evil.

Martha was as proud of the pride of Zara
as of the child itself. That was the beginning
of a happy time. Those who noticed how
unruffled was the life of this family, how the
days seemed not long enough to savour the
delights which Mina had brought with her
into the world shook their heads, and said,
"There is woe in store for those who forestal
the rewards of heaven." Men are, indeed,
ever disposed to believe that excessive joy is
a sin which brings the punishment of
misfortune, and interpret the varying chances of
unstable life as providential compensations.
If it be so, we have no right to complain, for
prosperity is never pure, and we seem to take
care to deserve adversity by pride and
overweening confidence.

Martha was wise, but not perfect: when
she saw the extreme beauty of her child,
which increased every day, it was natural, but
not admirable, that she should begin to
despise the children of others, and to boast that
Mina's hair was blacker and more silky, that
her brow was purer, that her eyes were
brighter, that her smile was sweeter, than
the hair, the brow, the eyes, the smile of
any other daughter in the world, including,
of course, the daughters of Zadlallah and Han
Hanna and Bedreldeen, and all the other
merchants (Christian and Muslim) in Cairo—
even Ayshee, the princess, child of Zatmeh
Hanem, the favourite slave of the Sultan, was
but the foil of Mina. She was so little
cautious in expressing her opinion, that all wives
who were mothers began to hate her, and to
predict suffering to her. No one knew how
the truth got abroad, but in the harim and
the public baths, when the women met
together, they spoke of Mina as the sister of
the spirits, and said, scornfully, that she was
made so lovely only as a punishment to her
parent, and that when she reached the perfect
age she would be taken away to the dwelling
for which she was fit. " Too beautiful for
this world," is often a sneer on the lips of
envy.

We might linger long and pleasantly on the
various stages by which Mina advanced,
amidst smiles and prosperity, towards ripe
maidenhood; but it is sufficient to say that
all the promises and blessings of the spirits
that visited her cradle were fulfilled. Her
loveliness was only surpassed by her excellence,
and if her parents were not perfect in
joy it was because they sometimes felt
themselves not on a level with their daughter.
They instinctively missed in her the natural
errors of humanity, and were uneasy in her
presence occasionally, for she seemed with
them, but not of them. Her father, not
wanting in sagacity, would frequently speculate
on her anomalous position, and his imperfect
philosophy led him to believe that her
virtue was almost out of place, a superfluous
element in her existence. She was moderate,