THE adorners of the brides of tra­dition, and ornamenters of the retired in the chambers of record, having dressed the charmer of this wonderful narrative in the purple of truth, have thus intro­duced her into the apartment of narra­tion.

In the city of Oojein there was a young merchant, named Yezzeez, the goblet of whose condition was filled with the wine of opulence, and the measure of his situation overflowing with the liquor of abundance. Of worldly goods he had an ample share, and had acquired his full proportion of earthly blessings. The chamber of his hope was illumed by the lamp of success, and the sense of his for­tune perfumed with the essence of enjoy­ment. The skirt of his heart, like the fountain of the sun, no muddiness of trouble had ever reached; and the mir­ror of his soul, like the clear orb of the moon, had never yet experienced the damp of misfortune. Heaven had spread the carpet of his fortunes in the happy mansion of security; and time, to enrich his warehouses, had reduced wealth to beggary. There was not a delicacy in the varied expanse of earth, but what appeared on the board of his wishes, nor a planet in the azure vault of heaven that did not accord with his desires. His days were constantly passed in music and feasting, and he uninterruptedly reclined on the pillows of enjoyment, accompa­nied by the damsels of mirth. The flowers of his inclinations received fresh­ness in the garden of delight, and the bud of his heart, from the wavings of the gale of success, smiled with superiority at the groves of paradise.

One day, having adorned the apartments of mirth, and prepared the assembly of festivity, he with some of his companions quaffed dawn-like tinged wine in chrystal cups transparent as water, and fancying the enamelled goblet of the skies and the golden cup of the sun over­flowing with the liquor of his desires, he was enlivened even to rapture with the cheering draughts of freedom from care.

At such an instant, when the season of jollity was warm, a stranger appeared, and sitting down on a corner of the car­pet, cast a look of sadness on the assem­bly, and scattered moist pearls from the casket of his eyelids on the skirts of his cheeks. All at once, from his cold sighs, the mirrors of the festive became obscured by the damp of melancholy, and a groan issued from the breasts of the company. Yezzeez, loosing from his hands the reins of constraint, enquired the situation of the stranger; who, though repeatedly questioned, made no answer; which adding to the surprize of Yezzeez, plunged him into the whirl­pool of impatience. Fixing the hand of importunity on the skirt of the young man, he entreated him to disclose the secret of his heart, which had caused such distress and melancholy in his appearance. When the stranger perceived the unrea­sonable curiosity of Yezzeez beyond all bounds, remediless, he opened his lips in reply, and said,

“Though thy request is as a gem which should not be taken from the mine of speech, and I am convinced, can do thee no good, yet, as thy importunity on this head has exceeded the bounds of reason, I have no alter­native but to give thee a summary of my unfortunate adventures.

“Know then, that formerly my wealth and possessions were so great, that the ability of the most subtle and profound arithmeticians would have been confounded and perplexed in the calculation. On a certain time, according to the custom of merchants, having prepared a valuable assortment of goods, with an eye to profit, I departed for the city of Kinnouje, and resigned the footstep of endeavour to the path of travel. Several capital merchants, who esteemed my being chief of the cafila as an honour to themselves, accompanied me on the journey. At about four days distance from Kinnouje, having accidentally separated from the caravan, I strayed into a wilderness, where the scent of population greeted not the perception of expectation; and as before me appeared only a frightful desart, the chain of the hope of existence became nearly broken. In every path, that with much distress and alarm I explored from morning to the close of evening, I found no resting place; while at every instant horror-exciting sounds striking my ear, caused my gall to dissolve like water, and every now and then perceiving strange fan­toms, my heart trembled like the leaf of the sunnobir from apprehension.