erchants
followed his example in making me rich presents; the magistrates also
sent me tokens of their approbation; and the grand vizier sent me a
diamond of the first water, with a line written by his own hand, 'To the
man who has saved Constantinople.' Excuse me, gentlemen, for the vanity
I seem to show in mentioning these circumstances. You desired to hear my
history, and I cannot, therefore, omit the principal circumstance of my
life. In the course of four-and-twenty hours I found myself raised, by
the munificent gratitude of the inhabitants of this city, to a state of
affluence far beyond what I had ever dreamed of attaining.

"I now took a house suited to my circumstances, and bought a few slaves.
As I was carrying my slaves home, I was met by a Jew, who stopped me,
saying, in his language, 'My lord, I see, has been purchasing slaves; I
could clothe them cheaply.' There was something mysterious in the manner
of this Jew, and I did not like his countenance; but I considered that I
ought not to be governed by caprice in my dealings, and that, if this man
could really clothe my slaves more cheaply than another, I ought not to
neglect his offer merely because I took a dislike to the cut of his
beard, the turn of his eye, or the tone of his voice. I, therefore, bade
the Jew follow me home, saying that I would consider of his proposal.

"When we came to talk over the matter, I was surprised to find him so
reasonable in his demands. On one point, indeed, he appeared unwilling
to comply. I required not only to see the clothes I was offered, but
also to know how they came into his possession. On this subject he
equivocated; I, therefore, suspected there must be something wrong. I
reflected what it could be, and judged that the goods had been stolen, or
that they had been the apparel of persons who had died of some contagious
distemper. The Jew showed me a chest, from which he said I might choose
whatever suited me best. I observed that, as he was going to unlock the
chest, he stuffed his nose with some aromatic herbs. He told me that he
did so to prevent his smelling the musk with which the chest was
perfumed; musk, he said, had an extraordinary effect upon his nerves. I
begged to have some of the herbs which he used himself, declaring that
musk was likewise offensive to me.

"The Jew, either struck by his own conscience or observing my suspicions,
turned as pale as death. He pretended he had not the right k