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."

------------------------------------------------------------------------

I should observe to your sublime highness, that the Molists were the
strongest party, and the most arrogant; not content with wearing the
marks of nature, they stuck upon their faces fictitious moles of every
hue and colour, and the most violent partisans appeared as if they were
suffering from some cutaneous disorder. It was also a singular
circumstance, that no Molist was ever known to change sides, whereas,
after bathing, many of the Anti-molists were found most shamefully to
apostatise. Every thing was disastrous, and the country in a state of
anarchy and confusion, when the question was most fortunately settled by
the remark of a little slave about twelve years old, who was regularly
flogged by his master every morning that he got up, upon a suspicion of
Molism, and as regularly every evening by his mistress, on a second
suspicion of Anti-molism. This poor little fellow whispered to another
boy, that moles were blemishes or not, just as people happened to think
them, but, as for his part, he thought nothing about the matter. The
espionage at that time was so strict, that even a whisper was to be
heard at the distance of miles, and this observation was reported; it
certainly was new because it was neutral, when neutrality was not
permitted or thought of; it was buzzed about; the remark was declared
wonderful, it ran like wildfire through the suburbs, it roared through
the city, it shook the very gates of the palace; at last it reached the
holy in divan, who pronounced it to be inspiration from the Deity, and
immediately there was issued a solemn edict, in which it was laid down
as a most positive and important article of Souffrarian faith, that
moles were not scars, and only blemishes when they were considered so to
be. Every one praised the wisdom of this edict; it was read and
subscribed to as an article of faith; towns greeted towns, house
congratulated house, and relations shook hands; what was still stranger
was, husbands and wives were reconciled--and what was even more
delightful, there was now some chance of the beautiful Princess
Babe-bi-bobu no longer remaining unmarried.

This fortunate edict, by which it was clear that those who believed a
mole to be a blemish were quite safe, and