circumstances, and having added blessings on
him, by whom our sister shall be made happy,
flew away.

Next day Michail went and threw himself
at his father's feet, and begged to be allowed
to depart in search of the perfect Mina. But
the old king having much dabbled in the
affairs of this world, and seen how vicious
men were—having in fact been from time to
time, once a week or so, compelled to hang a
fellow-creature—had lost much more than he
would have been willing to admit of the
poetical illusions of youth, and replied in a
tone that something savoured of impiety:
"My son shall not depart on this wild-goose
chase. There may be spirits; but I do not
believe that they have sisters worth marrying."
Upon this Michail began to weep;
and so his father took a middle course,
and said; " My vizier, Sahel, is a wise man,
and has served me faithfully for thirty years,
so that he almost thinks that he is the Sultan
and not I. It will enable him to rest from
his fatigues, and be extremely beneficial to
his health, if we send him to Egypt in search
of this Mina." There was a wicked lustre
in the old king's eyes as he expressed this
opinion, but Michail did not observe it, and
replied: " Let him depart immediately."

The vizier, Sahel, had just completed an
elaborate plan for reforming the finances of
his master's dominions, and had made the
grand discovery that in order to keep a full
treasury it is necessary not so much to lay
on new taxes as to restrict expenditure—an
idea, the perfect beauty of which the old
king did not perceive. Some of the courtiers,
indeed, had begun to talk of dotage, or
treachery. As for Sahel, he grumbled at the
duty imposed on him, but being very loyal,
kissed his master's hand, hinted that on his
return he intended to show that there need
not be more than ten dishes placed at a time
on the royal table, and departed. He
traversed the desert, and descended the Nile,
studying men, manners, government, and
laws as he proceeded, and making such good
use of his time, and such an inexorable
application of logic, that he framed a still more
wonderful theory than before, convincing
himself that town and country folk had not
been created only for the benefit of sultans.
He was so charmed with the progress of his
ideas, that he felt disposed to return from
Dongola to communicate them to his master,
but reflecting that there was no particular
hurry, and that the world might go on a few
months longer, according to old principles,
continued his journey, and at length, as we
have seen, reached his destination.

When the merchant Zara and his wife
heard this story, both were rejoiced in
different degrees. Martha, who was naturally
prudent, and reflected somewhat of her
daughter's qualities, simply drew aside her
veil a little, and allowed the old vizier to see
that she smiled benevolently at him; but
Zara, who had scarcely been able to contain
himself during this narrative, no sooner
heard the last words, than he took off his
turban, and flung it up into the air with such
violence, that it reached the topmost bough
of the sycamore under which he was sitting,
and caught there, and could not be got down
by any means, so that the birds built their
nests therein. When the confusion had a
little subsided, and Zara's shaven head had
been wrapped in a corner of his cloak, Mina
spoke, saying: " This is a wonderful story,
but wherefore should I leave my parents and
travel to distant countries to please the fancy
of a youth who cannot find a wife to satisfy
him except in his dreams? " The vizier,
Sahel, instantly made a speech, which had a
beginning, a middle, and an end, and
contained fifteen apposite citations from the
poets: but all in vain. Then he addressed
the parents, and proved to them that they
had absolute power over their daughter.
"Thy words are words of wisdom," said the
merchant. " Mina, thou must become the
wife of this prince."

Wonderful to relate, Mina the perfect, in
the gentlest and tenderest manner possible,
announced her intention to disobey. Zara
tried to fly into a passion, but failed, especially
as the wise Sahel observed: " Nothing
should be done in a hurry. Let her have
time to reflect." That evening, when she
was alone with her mother, Mina, with some
blushes and a few tears—under which new
aspect she looked more beautiful than ever—
confessed that she too had a story to relate,
the chief incident of which was a dream.
The spirits had appeared to her likewise and
had led her, in vision, out into the desert
where in a lonely valley she had beheld a
youth poorly clad, but of great beauty and
nobleness of demeanour, who had called her
by her name, whilst many voices cried to her:
"This is thy husband." It was evident, therefore,
she argued, that the Mina of prince
Michail was quite another Mina. Her
mother objected that a poor man out in the
desert was not a very suitable match, and
the conclusion was: " Let us wait awhile."

Sahel seemed in no hurry to return to his
country. He had never seen a capital like
Cairo before, and busied himself so intently
in studying its economy, that month after
month passed away, and he did not insist on
any definite answer from Mina or her father.
One day, however, he heard a rumour in the
market-place and the bazaars. The great
merchant Zara was ruined. His ships had
been destroyed by the anger of the ocean,
and his caravans overwhelmed by the sands
of the desert. A wealthy creditor, armed
with the powers of government, was even
seeking him to put him in prison, and he had
disappeared with his family. This is a sad
case, said Sahel to himself. My eloquent
persuasions were just beginning to produce
their effect. Of course they will now send a