at him without fear; but knowing who he was, he waited for him with the fairy, and received him without the least

concern.

"Schaibar, as he came forwards, looked at the prince with an eye that would have chilled his soul in his body, and asked Pari Banou, when he first accosted her, 'who that man was?' To which she replied, 'He is my husband, brother; his name is Ahmed; he is son to the Sultan of the Indies. The reason why I did not invite you to my wedding was, I was unwilling to divert you from the expedition you were engaged in, and from which I heard, with pleasure, you returned victorious; on his account I have taken the liberty now to call for you.'

"At these words, Schaibar, looking on Prince Ahmed with a favorable eye, which however diminished neither his fierceness nor savage look, said, 'Is there any thing, sister, wherein I can serve him?""

We must have one more extract on this part of our subject from the same delightful work. The King of the Genii, in the beautiful story of Zeyn Alasnam (which ends with a piece of dramatic surprise equally unexpected and satisfactory), is a good genius, and yet but a grim sort of personage. Our extract includes a boatman very awkward to sit with, an enchanted island, and a very princely Jinn.

Zeyn, Prince of Balsora, is in search of a ninth statue, which is necessary to complete a number bequeathed to him by his father. Agreeably to a direction found by him among the statues, he seeks an old servant of his father's, at Cairo, of the name of Morabec; and the latter undertakes to forward his wishes, but advertises him there is great peril in the adventure. The prince determines to proceed, and Morabec directs his servants to make ready for a journey.

"Then the prince and he performed the ablution of washing, and the prayer enjoined, which is called farz ; and that done they set out. By the way they took notice of abundance of strange and wonderful things, and travelled many days; at the end whereof, being come to a delightful spot, they alighted from their horses. Then Morabec said to all the servants that attended upon them, 'Do you all stay in this place, and take care of our equipage till we return.' Then he said to Zeyn, 'Now, sir, let us go on by ourselves. We are near the dreadful place where the ninth statue is kept; you will stand in need of all your courage.'

They soon came to a lake: Morabec sat down on the brink of it, saying to the Prince: 'We must cross this sea.' 'How can we cross it,' said Zeyn, 'when we have no boat?' 'You will see one in a moment,' replied Morabec; 'the enchanted boat of the King of the Genii will come for us. But do not forget what I am going to say to you; you must observe a profound silence; do not speak to the boatman, though his figure seem ever so strange to you; whatsoever extraordinary circumstances you may observe, say nothing; for I tell you beforehand, that if you utter the least word when we are embarked the boat will sink down.' 'I shall take care to hold my peace,' said the prince; 'you need only tell me what to do, and I will strictly observe it.'

"While they were talking, he espied on a sudden a boat in the lake, and it was made of red sandal-wood. It had a mast of fine amber, and a blue satin flag: there was only one boatman in it, whose head was like an elephant's, and his body like a tiger's. When the boat was come up to the prince and Morabec, the monstrous boatman took them up one after the other with his trunk, and put them

into his boat, and carried them over the lake in a moment. He then again took them up with his trunk, set them on shore, and immediately vanished with his boat.

"Now we may talk,' said Morabec: 'the island we are on belongs to the King of the Genii; there are no more such in the world. Look round you, prince; can there be a more delightful place? It is certainly a lovely representation of the charming place God has appointed for the faithful observers of our law. Behold the fields, adorned with all sorts of flowers and odoriferous plants; admire these beautiful trees, whose delicious fruit makes the branches bend down to the ground; enjoy the pleasure of these harmonious songs, formed in the air by a thousand birds of as many various sorts, unknown in other countries!' Zeyn could not sufficiently admire those with which he was surrounded, and still found something new as he advanced farther into the island.

"At length they came to a palace made of fine emeralds, encompassed with a ditch, on the banks whereof, at certain distances, were planted such tall trees, that they' shaded the whole palace.

"Before the gate, which was of massy gold, was a bridge, made of one single shell of a fish, though it was at least six fathoms long, and three in breadth. At the head of the bridge stood a company of Genii, of a prodigious height, who guarded the entrance into the castle with great clubs of China steel.

"Let us go no farther,' said Morabec; 'these Genii will knock us down; and, in order to prevent their coming to us, we must perform a magical ceremony.' He then drew out of a purse he had under his garment four long slips of yellow taffety; one he put about his middle, and laid the other on his back, giving the other two to the prince,

who did the like. Then Morabec laid on the ground two large table-cloths, on the edges whereof he scattered some precious stones, musk, and amber. Then he sat down on one of these cloths, and Zeyn on the other; and Morabec said to the prince, 'I shall now, sir, conjure the King of the Genii, who lives in the palace that is before us: may he come in a peaceable mood to us! I confess I am not without apprehension about the reception he may give us. If our coming into the island is displeasing to him, he will appear in the shape of a dreadful monster; but if he approve of your design, he will show himself in the shape of a handsome man. As soon as he appears before us, you must rise and salute him, without going off your cloth; for you would certainly perish, should you stir off it. You must say to him, "Sovereign Lord of the Genii, my father, who was your servant, has been taken away by the angel of death; I wish your majesty may protect me as you always did my father." If the King of the Genii,' added Morabec, ‘ask you what favor you desire of him, you must answer, "Sir, I most humbly beg of you to give me the ninth statue."

"Morabec having thus instructed Zeyn, began his conjurations. Immediately their eyes were dazzled with a long flash of lightning, which was followed by a clap of thunder. The whole island was covered with a thick darkness; a furious storm of wind blew, a dreadful cry was heard, the island felt a shock, and there was such an earthquake as that which Asrayel is to cause on the day of judgment. Zeyn was startled, and began to look upon that noise as a very ill omen; when Morabec, who knew better than he what to think of it, began to smile, and said, 'Take courage, my prince, all goes well.' In short, that very moment the King of the Genii appeared in the shape of a

handsome man, yet there was something of a sternness in his air."

The king promises to comply with the prince's request, but upon one condition--that he shall bring him a damsel of fifteen: a virgin beautiful and perfectly chaste; and that her conductor shall behave himself on the road with perfect propriety towards her, both in deed and thought. "Zeyn," says the story, "took the rash oath that was required of him; " but naturally asks, how he is to be sure of the lady? The Genius gives him a looking-glass on which she is to breathe, and which will be sullied or unsullied accordingly. The consequences among the ladies are such as Western romancers have told in a similar way; but at length success crowns the prince's endeavors, and he conducts the Genius's damsel to the enchanted island, not without falling in love, and being tempted to break his word and carry her away to Balsora. The king is pleased with his self-denial, and tells him that on his return home he will find the statue. He goes, and on the pedestal where it was to have stood, finds the lady! The behavior of the lady is in very good taste, and completes the charm of the discovery.

"Prince,' said the young maid, 'you are surprised to to see me here: you expected to have found something more precious than me, and I question not but that you now repent having taken so much trouble: you expected a better reward.'

"Madam,' answered Zeyn, ‘Heaven is my witness that I more than once was like to have broken my word with the King of the Genii, to keep you to myself. Whatsoever be the value of a diamond statue, is it worthy the satisfaction of enjoying you? I love you above all the diamonds and wealth in the world.'"