attain to it, I was present when you drew your arrow, and foresaw it would not go beyond Prince Houssain's. I took it in the air, and gave it the necessary motion to strike against the rocks near which you found it. It is in your power to avail yourself of the favorable opportunity which it presents to make you happy.' As the fairy, Pari Banou, pronounced these last words with a different tone, and looked at the same time tenderly on Prince Ahmed, with downcast eyes and a modest blush on her cheeks, it was not difficult for the prince to comprehend what happiness she meant. He presently considered that the Princess Nouronnihar could never be his, and that the fairy, Pari Banou, excelled her infinitely in beauty, attractions, agreeableness, transcendent wit, and as far as he could conjecture by the magnificence of the palace where she resided, in immense riches. He blessed the moment that he thought of seeking after his arrow a second time, and yielding to his inclination, which drew him towards the new object which had fired his heart, 'Madam,' replied he, 'should I, all my life, have had the happiness of being your slave, and the admirer of the many charms which ravish my soul, I should think myself the happiest of men. Pardon me the boldness which inspires me to ask you this favor, and do not refuse to admit into your court a prince who is entirely devoted to you.'

"Prince,' answered the fairy, 'as I have been a long time my own mistress, and have no dependence on my parents' consent, it is not as a slave I would admit you into my court, but as master of my person, and all that belongs to me, by pledging your faith to me and taking me to be your wife. I hope you will not take it amiss that I anticipate you in making this proposal. I am, as I said, mistress of my will; and must add, that the same customs

are not observed among fairies as among other ladies, in whom it would not have been decent to have made such advances: but it is what we do; we suppose we confer obligation by it.'

"Prince Ahmed made no answer to this discourse, but was so penetrated with gratitude, that he thought he could not express it better than by coming to kiss the hem of her garment, which she would not give him time to do, but presented her hand, which he kissed a thousand times, and kept fast locked in his. 'Well, Prince Ahmed,' said she, will you not pledge your faith to me, as I do mine to you?' — 'Yes, madam,' replied the prince, in an ecstasy of joy, 'what can I do better, and with greater pleasure? Yes, my sultaness, my queen, I will give it you with my heart, without the least reserve.' 'Then,' answered the fairy, 'you are my husband, and I am your wife. Our marriages are contracted with no other ceremonies, and yet are more firm and indissoluble than those among men, with all their formalities. But, as I suppose,' pursued she,' that you have eaten nothing to-day, a slight repast shall be served up for you while preparations are making for our nuptial-feast this evening, and then I will show you the apartments of my palace, and you shall judge if this hall is the smallest part of it.'

"Some of the fairy's women who came into the hall with them, and guessed her intention, went immediately out, and returned presently with some excellent meats and wines.

"When the prince had eaten and drank as much as he cared for, the fairy, Pari Banou, carried him through all the apartments, where he saw diamonds, rubies, emeralds, and all sorts of fine jewels, intermixed with pearls, agate, jasper, porphyry, and all kinds of the most precious mar

bles; not to mention the richness of the furniture, which was inestimable; the whole disposed with such profusion, that the prince, instead of ever having seen any thing like it, acknowledged that there could not be any thing in the world that could come up to it.

"Prince,' said the fairy, if you admire my palace so much, which is indeed very beautiful, what would you say to the palaces of the chief of our Genii, which are made much more beautiful, spacious, and magnificent? I could also charm you with my garden; but we will leave that till another time. Night draws near, and it will be time to go to supper.'

"The next hall which the fairy led the prince into, and where the cloth was laid for the feast, was the only apartment the prince had not seen, and it was not in the least inferior to the others. At his entrance into it he admired the infinite number of wax candles, perfumed with amber, the multitude of which, instead of being confused, were placed with so just a symmetry, as formed an agreeable and pleasant sight. A large beaufet was set out with all sorts of gold plate, so finely wrought, that the workmanship was much more valuable than the weight of the gold. Several choruses of beautiful women, richly dressed, and whose voices were ravishing, began a concert, accompanied with all kinds of the most harmonious instruments he had ever heard. When they were set down to table, the fairy, Pari Banou, took care to help Prince Ahmed to the most delicious meats, which she named as she invited him to eat of them, and which the prince had never heard of, but found so exquisite and nice, that he commended them in the highest terms, saying, that the entertainment which she gave him far surpassed those among men. found also the same excellence in the wines, which neither

He

he nor the fairy tasted till the dessert was served up, which consisted of the choicest sweetmeats and fruits.

"After the dessert, the Fairy, Pari Banou, and Prince Ahmed, rose from the table, which was immediately carried away, and sat on a sofa, at their ease, with cushions of fine silk, curiously embroidered with all sorts of large flowers, laid at their backs. Presently after, a great number of genii and fairies danced before them to the door of the chamber where the nuptial bed was made, and when they came there, they divided themselves into two rows, to let them pass, and after that retired, leaving them to go to bed.

"The nuptial feast was continued the next day; or rather, the days following the celebration were a continual feast, which the fairy, Pari Banou, who could do it with the utmost ease, knew how to diversify, by new dishes, new meats, new concerts, new dances, new shows, and new diversions; which were all so extraordinary, that Prince Ahmed, if he had lived a thousand years among men could not have imagined.

"The fairy's intention was not only to give the prince essential proofs of the sincerity of her love, ànd the violence of her passion, by so many ways; but to let him see, that as he had no pretensions at his father's court, he could meet with nothing comparable to the happiness he enjoyed with her, independent of her beauty and her charms, and to attach him entirely to herself, that he might never leave her. In this scheme she succeeded so well, that Prince Ahmed's passion was not in the least diminished by possession; but increased so much, that, if he had been so inclined, it was not in his power to forbear loving her."

This is a pretty satisfaction to the imagination, and good

only can come of it. They are under a great mistake who think that romances and pictures of perfection do harm. They may produce mounting impatience and partial neglect of duties here and there, but in the sum total they give a distaste to the sordid, elevate our anger above trifles, incline us to assist intellectual advancement of all sorts, and keep a region of solitude and sweetness for us, in which the mind may retreat and recreate itself, so as to return with hope and gracefulness to its labors. Imagination is the breathing room of the heart. The whole world of possibility is thrown open to it, and the air mixes with that of heaven.

Ulysses did not the less yearn to go back to the wife of his bosom, because a goddess had lain there. Affectionate habit is a luxury long drawn out; and constancy, made sweet by desert, is a sort of essence of immortality distilled.

To conclude the remarks on our story: Prince Ahmed, to be sure, had every reason to be faithful; but we feel it was because a sweet, sincere, and intelligent woman loved him, rather than a wonder-working fairy. She is a Cleopatra in what is pleasing, but she is also as unlike her as possible in what is the reverse; being very different as she says, from her brother Schaibar, who was resentful and violent. Such is the fairy of the East, the sweetest of all fairies, and fit kinswoman, by humanity, to the only creature we like better, which is the Flying Woman of our friend Peter Wilkins. With the former, we could live for ever, if disengaged and immortal; but with the latter, somehow, like Ulysses, we would rather die.

There remains one more supernatural being, the Arabian fairy, who lives in a well; for so she has been distinguished from her more elegant sister of the palace.