or repose during the night. I
went to my chamber, resolving on the following days to open all
the rest of the doors, excepting that of gold.

The next day I opened the fourth door. If what I had seen before
was capable of exciting my surprise, what I now beheld
transported me into perfect ecstacy. I entered a large court
surrounded with buildings of an admirable structure, the
description of which I will omit, to avoid prolixity.

This building had forty doors, all open, and through each of them
was an entrance into a treasury: several of these treasuries
contained as much wealth as the largest kingdoms. The first was
stored with heaps of pearls: and, what is almost incredible, the
number of those stones which are most precious, and as large as
pigeons' eggs, exceeded the number of those of the ordinary size.
In the second treasury, there were diamonds, carbuncles, and
rubies; in the third, emeralds; in the fourth, ingots of gold; in
the fifth, money; in the sixth, ingots of silver; and in the two
following, money. The rest contained amethysts, chrysolites,
topazes, opals, turquoises, and hyacinths, with all the other
stones known to us, without mentioning agate, jasper, cornelian,
and coral, of which there was a store house filled, not only with
branches, but whole trees.

Filled with astonishment and admiration at the view of all these
riches, I exclaimed, "If all the treasures of the kings of the
universe were gathered together in one place, they could not
equal the value of these. How fortunate am I to possess all this
wealth with so many admirable princesses!"

I will not tire you, madam, with a detail of all the other
objects of curiosity and value which I discovered on the
following day. I shall only say, that thirty-nine days afforded
me but just as much time as was necessary to open ninety-nine
doors, and to admire all that presented itself to my view, so
that there was only the hundredth door left, which I was
forbidden to open.

The fortieth day after the departure of those charming princesses
arrived, and had I but retained so much self-command as I ought
to have had, I should have been this day the happiest of all
mankind, whereas now I am the most unfortunate. They were to
return the next day, and the pleasure of seeing them again ought
to have restrained my curiosity: but through my weakness, which I
shall ever repent, I yielded to the temptations of the evil
spirit, who allowed me no rest till I