she has raised. Where are they who enjoy quietly the
happiness which they hold of her, and whose day is always clear and
serene?"

The sultan, moved with compassion to see him in such a condition, prayed
him to relate the cause of his excessive grief. "Alas! my lord," replied
the young man, "how is it possible but I should grieve, and my eyes be
inexhaustible fountains of tears?" At these words, lifting up his robe,
he showed the sultan that he was a man only from the head to the girdle,
and that the other half of his body was black marble.

The sultan was much surprised when he saw the deplorable condition of
the young man. "That which you show me," said he, "while it fills me
with horror, excites my curiosity, so that I am impatient to hear your
history, which, no doubt, must be extraordinary, and I am persuaded that
the lake and the fish make some part of it; therefore I conjure you to
relate it. You will find some comfort in so doing, since it is certain
that the unfortunate find relief in making known their distress." "I
will not refuse your request," replied the young man, "though I cannot
comply without renewing my grief. But I give you notice beforehand, to
prepare your ears, your mind, and even your eyes, for things which
surpass all that the imagination can conceive."

THE HISTORY OF THE YOUNG KING OF THE BLACK ISLES

"You must know, my lord," said the wretched prisoner, "that my father,
named Mahmoud, was monarch of this country. This is the kingdom of the
Black Isles, which takes its name from the four small neighbouring
mountains; for those mountains were formerly isles, and the capital
where the king, my father, resided was situated on the spot now occupied
by the lake you have seen. The sequel of my history will inform you of
the reason for those changes.

"The king, my father, died when he was seventy years of age; I had no
sooner succeeded him than I married, and the lady I chose to share the
royal dignity with me was my cousin. I had so much reason to be
satisfied with her affection, and, on my part, loved her with so much
tenderness, that nothing could surpass the harmony of our union. This
lasted five years, at the end of which time I perceived the queen ceased
to delight in my attentions.

"One day, after dinner, while she was at the bath, I found myself
inclined to repose, and lay down upon a sofa. Two of her ladies, who
were then in my chamber, came and sat down, one at my head and