d some armed
attendants, took from his chest some gold and valuable jewels, and set
off on his journey, following the windings of the river. The road
appeared pleasant to him, and no danger or misfortune occurred to
annoy him; the weather was fine, and he feasted his eyes upon the
various features of the country, which were most beautiful and
enchanting, travelling cheerfully onward. He began to forget his old
sorrows and grievances, and to enjoy an unusual degree of happiness,
as he left behind him the vision of the ugly old woman; for she never
visited him again from the time he quitted his home.

At length he arrived with his suite on a high eminence, from which he
beheld a most beautiful expanse of country, and in the distance the
most charming scenery, from morning till night. In a corner of the
valley a single hill towered up to the sky; farther on rose a chain of
mountains; but the little hill was formed at the summit into two
peaks. A cloud floated over their tops, one of which shot up more
lofty than the other, and the sun cast a brilliant light upon them.
But it was remarkable, that the nearer one approached the hill, the
higher it appeared, and more majestic. At its base lay a very fruitful
plain, and on the other side stood at little city.

Jalaladdeen inquired the name of the city, and was told that it was
Semaenum.

"What!" said he, "Semaenum? How did it acquire this extraordinary
name?"

The people laughed at his simplicity, and inquired whether or not he
had heard of the great flood from which only one man and his wife, and
three sons with their wives also, escaped.

"These eight persons," added they, "on their descent from the
mountain, took up their abode here, and laid the foundation of the
city."

After this Jalaladdeen heard that the castle in which the wonder-stone
was concealed lay on the other side of the hill; but still no one knew
anything of the stone, nor had the inhabitants a satisfactory idea of
the castle. But he was informed that so many extraordinary and
gigantic masses of stone were standing in the various clefts of the
mount, that their appearance was certainly that of a castle, and that
the lofty crowning point in the distance resembled a tower.

"However," added the relaters, "yonder spot is not accessible, nor has
it ever been heard of, within the memory of man, that any one ever
dreamt of attempting its ascent. Everybody dreads the road on that
side of the hill, as it has