private messenger to me, begging me to take
them to Abyssinia, but the king, my master,
took me apart before I left him, and said
that one of the perfections of Mina must
be a handsome dowry. How shall I get rid
of these poor people?

Meanwhile the merchant Zara, reduced to
poverty and flying from his creditors, had
departed from Cairo, mingling with the humble
followers of a great caravan bound for
Damascus. For his own part he walked on foot,
but he had three or four little asses to carry
his wife, his daughter, and what property he
had been able to save. As he looked back
from the summit of a sandy hill, whence the
minarets of Cairo could be distinguished for
the last time, rising against the yellow sky
where the sun had set, he wept bitterly, and
in a moment of anger began almost to
reproach his daughter, because she had not
accepted the wonderful offers made her. But
Martha wisely said: " If she had left us this
misfortune would nevertheless have happened,
and without her neither you nor I should
have been able to bear it." So they continued
their journey cheerfully, and Mina made the
night hours pleasant by singing in a sweet
voice, to which other sweet voices in the air
overhead seemed to answer.

They travelled many days, and had more
than half concluded their journey; when, about
the hour of sunset a great tumult was heard
at the head of the caravan, and men and
beasts began to fly wildly in various
directions. The Arabs of the desert were
attacking the merchants for the sake of plunder;
and, whilst some resisted and others
surrendered, many sought safety in flight. Zara
with his wife and daughter entered a defile
of the mountains, and proceeded until the
sound of shouting and firing died away in the
distance. Then they halted under the shadow
of a rock, and determined to wait until morning.
They passed the night undisturbed; and,
when the sun rose over the yellow desert,
found themselves quite alone at the foot of a
range of mountains. They dared not
venture over the broad expanse of sand, but
followed a valley at the extremity of which
were some trees. It happened that Mina
rode first. She knew not why; but, since the
day had dawned, all her fears had vanished.
It seemed to her that this was not the first
time she had been in that country. The hills
were familiar to her, and the trees towards
which she was advancing drooped in an
accustomed way. At length she uttered a loud
cry, and her father and mother hastening up,
found her gazing at a youth, dressed in poor
garments, and apparently weakened by fatigue
or sickness, sitting under the shade of a
mimosa. Her heart told her that this was to
be the lord of her destiny, but she did not at
once learn that she was in the presence of
Michail.

Strange things had happened in Abyssinia
since the departure of Sahel. The king had
taken another vizier, a young man with old
ideas, and marvellous splendour at once
surrounded the throne. It was discovered that
the greatest happiness of the people consisted
in giving all they possessed to their rulers,
and a prodigious number of new taxes were
at once laid on. The king had five hundred
dishes on his table in a single day, so that he
never spoke of the absent Sahel except by the
irreverent name of jackass. It was clear
indeed, that the worthy old man knew
nothing of finance. Feasting and jollity were
the order of the day, but alas for the
instability of human affairs! Men never
know when they are well-governed; and
some ambitious wretch persuaded some
spiteful people that Sahel was not such a fool
after all. For his part, he expressed his
opinion in a very brutal manner; for, one fine
morning, he attacked the king's palace, and
drove him with his son, who was too much
occupied with thoughts of Mina to know how
matters were going on, into exile. The king
and the prince escaped on board a vessel from
Massowa, and landed at an Arabian port,
whence they travelled, and after many
dangers arrived at the valley where the
merchant Zara and his family had found them.
By this time, the king had become quite a
philosopher. " My son," said he, " the human
race is not worthy that the wise should
reign over them. Here are green trees and
pleasant waters. Let us abandon the cares
of government, and pass the remainder of
our days in retirement."

The good old man forgot that he was near
the end of his life, whilst Michail was only
just on the threshold. He was surprised,
therefore, when the young prince answered:
"I care not to reign over ungrateful men,
and, perhaps, my wisdom is not sufficient.
But I cannot rest in this valley unless I have
Mina with me." So it was agreed that as
soon as he had recovered his strength, he
should go to Cairo and seek for his beloved.
"At the same time," quoth the late king,
benevolently, " you may find that foolish old
man, Sahel. Say nothing to him about the
deplorable results of his policy, which I felt
after his departure, except to tell him that I
forgive all."

Michail led the merchant Zara and his
family to the hermitage which his father had
chosen in a very pleasant part of the valley,
and the remainder of that day was spent by
the wanderers in exchanging their stories.
Whilst the old people spoke, however, Mina
and Michail sat near together, performing the
ceremony of betrothment with their eyes.

Here the narrative visibly draws to a close,
although oriental legends rarely leave their
personages after they have fallen from wealth
to poverty without restoring them at least to
their former position. But it seems to have
been thought that perfect goodness and
perfect beauty may be sufficiently happy together
without wealth. The blessings of the spirit