said the Princess. "I know there are
things of which men think little, but on which the superior power of
the magician depends. It appears to me that if we could get out of
this place, we should be safe."

They went farther, and came to a spot where many trees had been
uprooted by a hurricane. One of these lay overturned, with its crown
resting on the lattice, and its boughs and branches hanging far over
the other side. At this sight the young man rejoiced: he climbed
quickly up the trunk, pulled the Princess after him, and led her with
great care and tenderness into the crown of the tree. They then
clambered over the spiked top of the wicket, and let themselves down
on the other side by the overhanging branches. They did not quite
reach to the ground, but near enough for them to leap down: when they
let go their hands, they fell softly to the earth. They quickly jumped
up, and proceeded as rapidly as the strength of the Princess and the
unknown way would allow them through the thickets, underwood, and
plains studded with prickly plants, towards the distant mountains.

After the two fugitives had continued their flight for several
successive hours without looking back on the scene of their
imprisonment, the Princess felt her strength exhausted, and could go
no farther; she begged her companion to repose for a short time.
Haschem sought a place free from bushes, and clad with moss and long
grass. They seated themselves there, and Haschem entreated her to
relate her history. She was soon ready, and commenced thus:

"My early history is very simple and unimportant. I am called Handa,
the only daughter of the Sultan of the island Selandia. My mother was
brought from beyond Arabia and Mount Caucasus over the wide-stretching
sea, and was sold to him as a slave. Soon attracted by her excessive
beauty and pleasing manners, he raised her to the dignity of his
principal wife. My earliest youth was spent in pleasing sports under
my mother's eyes. She died before I had passed the age of childhood,
as the change from the mild climate of her land to the heat of my
father's shortened her days. After the loss of my mother, which did
not much affect me, as I was too young to feel it, I enjoyed many
happy days. My father loved me as his greatest treasure, and was wise
enough to confide me to a careful nurse. Every evening I passed
several hours with him, as soon as he was released from the cares of
government, and one whole day in eac