amsada," said he to her. "If all that I
possess is not sufficient to make up for the loss of your treasure,
think that you have one that is inexhaustible in the affection of a
heart which is yours for life."

Having said this, he retired.

As soon as Chamsada was alone she called for her slave. He gave her an
account of the manner in which he had got information of the Prince's
adventures; of the means which Providence had employed in saving him
from the cruelties and snares of his uncle; of the barbarity of the
Infidels; and even of his too great confidence, when, having escaped
being dashed to pieces by the fall, from which no Mussulman before him
was ever saved, he was about again to deliver himself into the power
of the barbarous Balavan. He continued his recital even to the moment
when, drawn up from the well, the young Prince had been seen by the
Egyptian monarch, whose curiosity he had excited.

The Queen then interrupted him.

"Ah!" said she to him, "what answer did you make to the King when he
asked you who this young man was?"

"Alas!" replied the slave, "I told a lie, and I beseech you to pardon
it. I told him that he was the son of your nurse, and that he was
intended for his Majesty's service."

"Wise and faithful friend!" exclaimed Chamsada, her eyes bathed in
tears, and still moved with what she had heard, "what gratitude will
ever repay the service you have rendered to the most tender mother?
Watch over my son. I trust him to your zeal and prudence. Never shall
I forget the obligation I am under for what you have already done for
him, and for what your attachment may still be able to do."

"Queen! the recommendation is unnecessary. I know what I owe to the
posterity of my Sovereigns, and there is no sacrifice I am not ready
to make for your Majesty."

These were not empty promises; the slave was no courtier. Considering
what care and precaution would be necessary to repair the health and
constitution of the young Prince, wasted by sufferings and fatigue, he
made this his only study. A salutary and light diet, the use of the
bath, and moderate exercise, gradually succeeded in renewing his
strength. Nature resumed her empire; his body and mind regained their
energy and every external charm, restored at length to the fairest of
Queens the most beautiful Prince in the world.

A happy similarity of disposition gained him the monarch's heart, who
distinguished this page above all the rest. He soon b