n the deepest grief. After I had talked with him
some time on the uselessness of so much sorrow, he told me that it was
an established law that the living husband should be buried with the
deceased wife, and that within an hour he must submit. I shuddered at
the dreadful custom. In a short time the woman was attired in her most
costly dress and jewels, and placed in an open coffin. The procession
then began, the husband following the corpse. They ascended to the top
of an exceedingly high mountain, and a great stone was removed, which
covered the mouth of a deep pit. The corpse was let down, and the
husband, having taken leave of his friends, was put into another open
coffin, with a pot of water and seven small loaves, and he was let down.
The stone was replaced and they all returned. The horror of this was
still fresh upon my mind, when my wife fell sick and died. The King and
the whole Court, out of respect to me, instantly prepared to assist at a
similar ceremony with me. I restrained the feeling of despair until we
arrived at the top of the mountain, when I fell at the feet of the King
and begged him to spare my life. All I said was ineffectual, and after
my wife was let down, I also was put into the deep pit, everyone being
totally indifferent to my cries and lamentations. I made the cave echo
with my vain complaints. I lived some days on the bread and water which
had been put into my coffin, but this supply was at length exhausted. I
then wandered to a remote part of this frightful cave and lay down to
prepare for death. I was thus wishing only for a speedy termination of
my misery, when I heard something walking and panting. I started up,
upon which the thing panted still more, and then ran away. I pursued it,
and sometimes it seemed to stop, but on my approach continued to go on
before me. I pursued it, until at last I saw a glimmering light like a
star. This redoubled my eagerness, until at last I discovered a hole
large enough to allow my escape. I crept through the aperture, and found
myself on the seashore, and discovered that the creature was a sea
monster which had been accustomed to enter at that hole to feed upon the
dead bodies. Having eaten some shellfish, I returned to the cave, where
I collected all the jewels I could find in the dark. These I carried to
the seashore, and tied them up very neatly into bales with the cords
that let down the coffins. I laid them on the beach, waiting till some
ship shoul