resent on that occasion, there were
two of distinguished talent as poets, the one an Andalusian, the other a
Catalan. Struck with admiration at the sight before him, the Andalusian
began to extemporise some verses, but stopped short in the middle of the
last line, unable to finish them for want of a rhyme; whereupon the
Catalan, who saw his embarrassment, caught the line as it were out of
his mouth, finished it, continued the thought, and completed the poem.
This incident came into my mind when I saw the exquisitely beautiful
Leonisa enter the pasha's tent obscuring not only the rays of the sun,
but the whole firmament with all its stars."

"Gently, gently, friend Ricardo," said Mahmoud; "I am afraid if you
praise your mistress at that rate you will seem to be a heathen rather
than a Christian."

"Well, tell me then," said Ricardo, "what you think of doing in our
business. Whilst you were conducting Leonisa to Halima, a Venetian
renegade who was in the pasha's tent, and who understands Turkish very
well, explained to me all that had passed between them. Above all
things, then, we must try to find some means of preventing Leonisa's
being sent to the Grand Signor."

"The first thing to be done is to have you transferred to my master,"
said Mahmoud, "and then we will consider what next."

The keeper of Hassan's Christian slaves now came up and took Ricardo
away with him. The cadi returned to the city with Hassan, who in a few
days made out the report on Ali's administration, and gave it to him
under seal that he might depart to Constantinople. Ali went away at
once, laying strict injunctions on the cadi to send the captive without
delay to the sultan, along with such a letter as would be serviceable to
himself. The cadi promised all this with a treacherous heart, for it was
inflamed for the fair Christian. Ali went away full of false hopes,
leaving Hassan equally deluded by them. Mahmoud contrived that Ricardo
should pass into the possession of his master; but day after day stole
on, and Ricardo was so racked with longing to see Leonisa, that he could
have no rest. He changed his name to Mario, that his own might not reach
her ears before he saw her, which, indeed, was a very difficult thing,
because the Moors are exceedingly jealous, and conceal the faces of
their women from the eyes of all men; it is true they are not so
scrupulous with regard to Christian slaves, perhaps, because being
slaves they do not regard them