rectly into the city, an infinity of
heads were flying off without knowing who caused this disorder. After
this great execution, the ambassador and his train made themselves
visible, and declared to the people in the public square that there
was no other method of avoiding certain death but to submit to the
government of Keiramour, which they did without reluctance. This
poniard," continued Damake, "has been long kept in the treasury of the
Princes of that country. By little and little, however, its value was
forgotten, and the remembrance of its uncommon property totally lost;
and when your Majesty desired an explanation of the talismans, I found
that this was at Balsora in the possession of a poor Jew, a broker,
who sells upon the bridge of that city all the old iron and useless
weapons that are cast away. It was not difficult to procure the
possession of it, therefore it was no merit in me to give my Sovereign
Lord a talisman which would be absolutely useless to me, whilst the
destiny of monarchs may unfortunately render such precautions
necessary to them."

Nourgehan made a thousand exclamations upon the boundless ocean of her
liberality, and said to her,

"Sovereign of my heart, reflect upon what you have said to me:
consider that if these talismans, valuable in themselves, but mean in
comparison with you, have excited my wish to possess them, how much
greater must my desire be to wed the giver! All the sages,
Seidel-Beckir himself, never composed a talisman so wonderful as you
are. Yesterday you knew not a single word of the history of the
talisman, to-day you are perfectly instructed in it. This poniard was
not four and twenty hours since at Balsora, yet notwithstanding the
great distance we are from that city, you have presented it to me this
moment. Are you the daughter of Seidel-Beckir, or are you an
enchantress yourself?"

Damake blushed at this discourse, and Nourgehan again pressing her to
speak, she replied,

"Nothing is impossible when one desires to please him whom one loves.
But I will explain at once all that puzzles my Sultan. Not long after
my birth, my mother was seated at the foot of a palm-tree, enjoying
with me the coolness of the morning, without any other thought than
that of returning by her tender kisses my innocent caresses, when in a
moment she perceived herself surrounded by a numerous Court who
attended a Queen, beautiful, majestic, magnificently dressed, and who
had herself also an