t me to prove it to you, to-day, by the relation of my brother's
adventure. My father was Cadi of Acara. He had three children; I was
the eldest, my brother and sister being much younger than myself. When
I was twenty years old, a brother of my father took me under his
protection; he made me heir to his property, on condition that I
should remain with him until his death. He however had reached an old
age, so that before two years I returned to my native land, having
known nothing, before, of the misfortune which had meanwhile fallen
upon my family, and how Allah had turned it to advantage."

[Illustration]

FATIMA'S DELIVERANCE.

My brother Mustapha and my sister Fatima were almost of the same age;
the former was at most but two years older. They loved each other
fervently, and did in concert, all that could lighten, for our
suffering father, the burden of his old age. On Fatima's seventeenth
birthday, my brother prepared a festival. He invited all her
companions, and set before them a choice banquet in the gardens of
our father, and, towards evening, proposed to them to take a little
sail upon the sea, in a boat which he had hired, and adorned in grand
style. Fatima and her companions agreed with joy, for the evening was
fine, and the city, particularly when viewed by evening from the sea,
promised a magnificent prospect. The girls, however, were so well
pleased upon the bark, that they continually entreated my brother to
go farther out upon the sea. Mustapha, however, yielded reluctantly,
because a Corsair had been seen, for several days back, in that
vicinity.

Not far from the city, a promontory projected into the sea; thither
the maidens were anxious to go, in order to see the sun sink into the
water. Having rowed thither, they beheld a boat occupied by armed men.
Anticipating no good, my brother commanded the oarsmen to turn the
vessel, and make for land. His apprehensions seemed, indeed, to be
confirmed, for the boat quickly approached that of my brother, and
getting ahead of it, (for it had more rowers,) ran between it and the
land. The young girls, moreover, when they knew the danger to which
they were exposed, sprang up with cries and lamentations: in vain
Mustapha sought to quiet them, in vain enjoined upon them to be still,
lest their running to and fro should upset the vessel. It was of no
avail; and when, in consequence of the proximity of the other boat,
all ran upon the further side, it was