surrounded by all the
splendor and comfort earth could give. At the same time, he was not too
tenderly nurtured, and his mind was early cultivated: for his father
was a wise man who taught him the value of virtue, and provided him
with a teacher who was a famous scholar, and who instructed him in all
that a young man should know. Almansor was about ten years old when the
Franks came over the sea to invade his country and wage war upon his
people.

The father of this boy could not have been very favorably regarded by
the Franks, for one day, as he was about to go to morning prayers, they
came and demanded first his wife as a pledge of his faithful adherence
to the Franks, and when he would not give her up, they seized his son
and carried him off to their camp.

When the young slave had got this far in his story, the sheik hid his
face in his hands, and there arose a murmur of indignation in the
_salon_. "How can the young man there be so indiscreet?" cried the
friends of the sheik, "and tear open the wounds of Ali Banu by such
stories, instead of trying to heal them? How can he recall his anguish,
instead of trying to dissipate it?" The steward, too, was very angry
with the shameless youth, and commanded him to be silent. But the young
slave was very much astonished at all this, and asked the sheik whether
there was any thing in what he had related that had aroused his
displeasure. At this inquiry, the sheik lifted his head, and said:
"Peace, my friends; how can this young man know any thing about my sad
misfortune, when he has not been under this roof three days! might
there not be a case similar to mine in all the cruelties the Franks
committed? May not perhaps this Almansor himself----but proceed, my
young friend!" The young slave bowed, and continued:

The young Almansor was taken to the enemy's camp. On the whole, he was
well treated there, as one of the generals took him into his tent, and
being pleased with the answers of the boy that were interpreted to him,
took care to see that he wanted for nothing in the way of food and
clothes. But the homesickness of the boy made him very unhappy. He wept
for many days; but his tears did not move the hearts of these men to
pity. The camp was broken, and Almansor believed that he was now about
to be returned to his home; but it was not so. The army moved here and
there, waged war with the Mamelukes, and took the young Almansor with
them wherever they went. When h