ess Babe-bi-bobu remained unmarried. This great question
was at last very properly referred to the mufti; these sages handled it,
and turned it, and twisted it, added to it, multiplied it, subtracted
from it, and divided it, debated it fasting, debated it on a full
stomach, nodded over it, dreamt on it, slept on it, woke up with it,
analysed it, criticised it, and wrote forty-eight folio volumes, of
which twenty-four were advocates of, and twenty-four opponents to, the
question; the only conclusion which they could come to at last was, that
_moles_ were _moles_: and the beautiful Princess Babe-bi-bobu remained
unmarried.

The question was then taken up by the dervishes and fakirs of the
country in a religious point of view; they split into two parties, tried
the question by a dispute under a banyan tree, which lasted eighteen
months, and still not half of the holy men had given their sentiments
upon the question; tired of talking, they proceeded to blows, and then
to anathematisation and excommunication of each other; lastly, they had
recourse to impalement to convince each other; more than a thousand
perished on each side: and still the beautiful Princess Babe-bi-bobu
remained unmarried.

The colleges and schools of the kingdom took up the question, and argued
it metaphysically, and after having irrecoverably lost, between the two
sides, twenty-two millions of threads of arguments, the question was as
fresh as ever, and the beautiful Princess Babe-bi-bobu remained
unmarried.

But this was not all; for at last the whole nation joined in the
quarrel, splitting into violent and angry factions, which divided town
against town, inhabitants against inhabitants, house against house,
family against family, husband against wife, father against son, brother
against sister; and in some cases, where he had doubts on both sides, a
man against himself. The whole nation flew to arms, distinguishing
themselves as Molists and Anti-Molists; four hundred insurrections, and
four civil wars, were the consequence; and what was a worse consequence,
the beautiful Princess Babe-bi-bobu remained unmarried. Your sublime
highness must allow that it was a very nice question----

"What is your opinion, Mustapha?" demanded the pacha.

"Is your slave to speak? Then I would say, that it was absurd to make
such a mountain of a mole-hill."

"Very true, Mustapha. This princess will never be married; so proceed,
good Menouni."

* *