the
bird, have been led to the brink of the stream, and have thrown
himself in, and been carried away by the waves? Scarcely did the
possibility of this idea arise, when two messengers were dispatched to
each side of the river to make fresh search, from its junction with
the Euphrates above Balsora to the spot where it flows into the
Arabian Sea, to ascertain if the corpse of Haschem had been washed
ashore. But these messengers also returned to the anxious father, and
had not found what they sought. Now the father and his friend gave up
Haschem for lost; Naima's manly spirit was broken; grief for his lost
son shortened his life; he soon became old: all joy had by this time
fled from his mind; and his sorrow was only a little alleviated when
his faithful friend Saad sat by him in the evening, talked with him of
his son, relating the virtues by which he had been distinguished, and
told him how it had been his darling wish that this excellent young
man should marry his daughter Zoraine.

CHAPTER II.

THE SYMPATHIZING RULER.

In a few days the Caliph Haroun al Raschid went, as he was accustomed,
in disguise, with his Grand Vizier Giafar, and Mesrour his
Chamberlain, through the streets of Bagdad, to see with his own eyes
and to hear with his own ears how justice and order were maintained by
his servants, and whether his people were happy and prosperous. He
had, as usual, chosen the last hour of the evening for this walk,
because he thought that at this time he could look deeper into men's
joys and pleasures, as they had then ended their daily toils, and were
seeking comfort and repose in the bosom of their family. In his
progress he came to a street distinguished by peculiar silence and
quiet. As he approached a house, before the door of which two men were
standing whispering, Haroun al Raschid addressed them with these
words:

"Why do you whisper, as if you were concerting a crime? is not this
street lonely enough, that you cannot hold your discourse aloud? Can
you tell me why this street is so quiet, as though every inhabitant
were dead?"

"I can easily tell you, my lord," answered one of the whisperers:
"here, in the next house, lives the unfortunate Naima, and, as usual
at this hour, his friend Saad sits with him to console him. Now, all
the inhabitants of this street respect this man, and wish not to
remind him, by any outburst of joy, that happier men than himself live
in his neighbourhood."

Before the