t they are so irascible, that if perchance
their word is doubted, and they are called liars, they will fight on
such an occasion till they die?'

'That is also said of them,' answered the doctor; 'but the case has not
happened to me yet; however, I must warn you of one thing, which is,
that if they happen to admire anything you possess, you must not say
to them, as you would to one of us, "It is a present to you, it is your
property," lest they should take you at your word and keep it, which
you know would be inconvenient, and not what you intended; but you must
endeavour as much as possible to speak what you think, for that is what
they like.'

'But then, if such is the case,' said I, 'do not you think that the
Frank doctor will find me out with a lie in my mouth; pretending to be
sick when I am well; asking medicine from him for myself, when I want it
for another?'

'No, no,' said the Mirza; 'you are to be sick, really sick, you know,
and then it will be no lie. Go, Hajji, my friend,' said he, putting his
arm round my neck: 'go, eat your cucumbers immediately, and let me have
the pill by this evening.' And then coaxing me, and preventing me from
making any further objections to his unexpected request, he gently
pushed me out of the room, and I left him, scarcely knowing whether to
laugh or to cry at the new posture which my affairs had taken. To sicken
without any stipulated reward was what I could not consent to do, so
I retraced my steps, with a determination of making a bargain with my
patron; but, when I got to the room, he was no longer there, having
apparently retreated into his harem; and, therefore, I was obliged to
proceed on my errand.

[Illustration: 'I pretended to receive a violent twitch.' 13.jpg]

CHAPTER XX

He succeeds in deceiving two of the faculty, getting a pill from one,
and a piece of gold from the other.

I inquired my way to the ambassador's house, and actually set off
with the intention of putting the doctor's wishes into execution, and
getting, if possible, a writhing disorder on the road; but, upon
more mature reflection, I recollected that a stomach-ache was not a
marketable commodity which might be purchased at a moment's notice; for
although lettuce and cucumber might disagree with an old grand vizier,
yet it was a hundred to one but they would find an easy digestion in
a young person like me. However, I determined to obtain the pill
by stratagem, if I could not procure