valiantly, and the natural
advantages of the place prevented him from drawing near enough to it.
So he signified to the inhabitants that he would make peace with them
and depart from their town, and desired them, in earnest of their
pacific intentions, to send him a number of white doves. The besieged
fell in with his proposal, and collecting together all the white doves
in the town they could lay they hands upon, sent them to Ali. He
immediately withdrew his siege artillery, with which he had already
wrought no small mischief, but at night, when every one was asleep, he
fastened fiery matches by long wires to the feet of the doves, and
then set them free. The natural instincts of the doves made them fly
back to their old homes, the familiar roofs where their nests were,
and in a moment the whole town was in flames, the doves themselves
carrying the combustible material from roof to roof and perishing
themselves among the falling houses.

Ali wept sore as he told to Eminah the story of the doves of Kilsura;
yes, Ali was certainly a sensitive soul!

The beautiful woman had everything that eye could covet or heart
desire. In her apartments were mirrors as high as the ceiling,
masterpieces of Venetian crystal, and the floor was covered with
Persian carpets embroidered with flowers. Blossoming flowers and
singing birds were in all her windows, and a hundred waiting-women
were at her beck and call. From morn to eve Joy and Pleasure were her
attendants, and each day presented her with a fresh delight, a fresh
surprise.

Thirty rooms, opening one into another, each more magnificent than the
last, were hers, and hers alone. The eye that feasted on one splendid
object quickly forgot it in the contemplation of a still more splendid
marvel, and by the time it had taken them all in was eager to begin
again at the beginning.

But there was one thing which did not please Eminah. When one had got
to the end of all the thirty rooms, it was plain that they did not end
there, for then came a round brass door; and this door was always
closed against her--never was she able to go through it. Now this door
led into that huge tower with the red cast-iron roof, which could be
seen such a distance off.

The inquisitive woman very much wanted to know what was inside this
door through which she was never suffered to go, though Ali himself
used it frequently, always closing it most carefully behind him, and
wearing the key of it fastened