upon a tree (_l_) (8) _which_ grew near an old
wall out of a heap of rubbish. The Sultan said (6) he should like to
know what the two owls were saying to one another, _and asked the_
(_m_) _Vizier to_ listen to their discourse and give him an account of
it. The Vizier, (_n_) (31) pretending to be very attentive to the
owls, approached the tree. He (_o_) returned to the Sultan and said
that (6) he had heard part of their conversation, but did not wish to
tell him what it was. (_p_) (5) _He_, not (_q_) (31) being satisfied
with this answer, forced him to repeat everything the owls had said
(20) _exactly_. (_r_) (44) (5) (6) _He_ told (5) _him_ that the owls
were arranging a treaty of marriage between their children, and that
one of them, after agreeing to settle five hundred villages upon the
female owl, had prayed (6) that God would grant a long life to Sultan
Mahmoud, because as long as he reigned over them they would never want
ruined villages. The story says (_s_) _that_ (_t_) (5) _he_ was
touched with the fable, (30) and (_s_) _that_ he (_a_) (39) from that
time forward _consulted_ (15) _the good of his people_, and that he
rebuilt the towns and villages (_v_) _which_ had been destroyed."

(_a_) "abroad ... at home." (_b_) "ruin." (_c_) "desolation."
(_d_) "half unpeopled." (_e_) "The Vizier of &c." (_f_) "We are
not informed" is emphatic, and therefore should be inverted,
"whether he was, &c., we are not informed." (_g_) "but he" will
be omitted when "the Vizier" is made the subject of "pretended."
(_h_) "Pretended" once meant "claimed," "professed." Write
"professed." (_i_) "a certain dervish." (_j_) Introduce a new
subject that you may substitute "Vizier" for "he," thus: "so that
not a bird could open its mouth, but the Vizier knew &c." (_k_)
"As he was, one evening, &c." (_l_) Note that the tree is
represented as growing out of _ruins_. This is in accordance with
the story of the mischief Mahmoud had done. (_m_) Omit this.
(_n_) "Suspense" is out of place in a simple narrative like this;
the sentence therefore ends with "owls." (_o_) "Upon his return."
(_p_) "The Sultan" (_q_) "would not be satisfied." (_r_) "You
must know then, &c." (_s_) Omit. (_t_) "so touched ... that."
(_u_) end with "people." (_v_) Addison here uses "_which_"
probably because of the preceding "that." We have to choose
between sound and clearness.