certainly alarmed at the proposal. I had been brought up with my
ape; we had hitherto gone through life together in prosperity as well as
in adversity; and to lose him in this barbarous manner was more than I
could bear. I was about to give a flat refusal to the dervish, when I
observed that his countenance, which hitherto had been all smiles and
good humour, had changed to downright furiousness; and fearing that
he would take by force that which I could not protect, I, with all the
reluctance imaginable, consented to the execution of his project. We
then deviated from the road; and having got into a solitary glen, we
gathered together some dry stubble and underwood, made a fire, striking
a light with a flint and steel, which my companion carried about him. He
took my poor ape into his hands, and, without further ceremony, put it
to death. He then dissected it; and having taken from it the liver, and
the skin off its nose, burnt it in the pile we had made; and when all
was over, carefully collected the ashes, which having packed in a corner
of his handkerchief, we proceeded on our journey.

'We reached Ispahan in due time, where I exchanged such parts of my
dress as belonged to the luti for the garb of a dervish, and then we
proceeded to Tehran. Here my master's appearance produced great effect;
for no sooner was it known that he was arrived, than all sorts of people
flocked to consult him. Mothers wanted protection for their children
against the evil eye; wives a spell against the jealousy of their
husbands; warriors talismans to secure them from harm in battle. But the
ladies of the king's seraglio were his principal customers. Their most
urgent demand was some powerful charm to ensure the attention of the
king. The collection of materials for this purpose, which the Dervish
Bideen had made, was very great. He had the hairs of a lynx, the
back-bone of an owl, and bear's grease in various preparations. To one
of the ladies, who, owing to her advanced age, was more pressing than
the others, he sold the liver of my monkey, assuring her, that as
soon as she appeared wearing it about her person, his majesty would
distinguish her from her rivals. To another, who complained that she was
never in favour, and frustrated in all her schemes to attract notice,
he administered a decoction of the monkey's ashes; and to a third, who
wanted a charm to drive away wrinkles, he gave an ointment, which, if
property applied, and provided s