l.

'If dead, the carcass will be given to the dogs,' rejoined the captain;
'that is the practice.'

'Bostenay will be hung,' said the sentinel.

'And his niece, too,' answered the captain.

'Hem!' said the sentinel. 'Hassan Subah loves a black eye.'

'I hope a true Moslem will not touch a Jewess,' exclaimed an indignant
black eunuch.

'They approach. What a dust!' said the captain of the gate.

'I see Hassan Subah!' said the sentinel.

'So do I,' said the eunuch, 'I know his black horse.'

'I wonder how many dirhems old Bostenay is worth,' said the captain.

'Immense!' said the sentinel.

'No plunder, I suppose?' said the eunuch.

'We shall see,' said the captain; 'at any rate, I owe a thousand to old
Shelomi. We need not pay now, you know.'

'Certainly not,' said the black eunuch. 'The rebels.'

A body of horsemen dashed forward. Their leader in advance reined in his
fiery charger beneath the walls.

'In the name of the Prophet, who is that?' exclaimed the captain of the
gate, a little confused.

'I never saw him before,' said the sentinel, 'although he is in the
Seljuk dress. 'Tis some one from Bagdad, I guess.'

A trumpet sounded.

'Who keeps the gate?' called out the warrior.

'I am the captain of the gate,' answered our friend.

'Open it, then, to the King of Israel.'

'To whom?' enquired the astonished captain.

'To King David. The Lord hath delivered Hassan Subah and his host into
our hands, and of all the proud Seljuks none remaineth. Open thy gates,
I say, and lose no time. I am Jabaster, a lieutenant of the Lord; this
scimitar is my commission. Open thy gates, and thou and thy people shall
have that mercy which they have never shown; but if thou delayest one
instant, thus saith the King our master, "I will burst open your portal,
and smite, and utterly destroy all that you have, and spare them not;
but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel
and ass."'

'Call forth the venerable Lord Bostenay,' said the captain of the gate,
with chattering teeth. 'He will intercede for us.'

'And the gentle Lady Miriam,' said the sentinel. 'She is ever
charitable.'

'I will head the procession,' said the black eunuch; 'I am accustomed to
women.'

The procession of Mollahs shuffled back to their college with profane
precipitation; the sun set, and the astounded Muezzin stood with their
mouths open, and quite forgot to announce the power of their Deity,
and the validi