parent affection: he promised that I should
hear from him immediately, and in the meanwhile gave me every necessary
information concerning his father's village, leaving it to my own
ingenuity to make out as plausible a story for myself as I might be
able. He then rode away, leaving me with no very agreeable feelings,
on finding myself alone in the world, uncertain of the future, and
suspicious of my present fate.

I made the best of my road to the village; but was extremely puzzled in
what character to introduce myself to the inhabitants. In fact, I looked
like one dropped from the skies; for what could be possibly said for a
man, of good appearance, without a shawl to his waist, or an outer coat
to his back, with a pair of slippers to his feet, and a skull-cap on his
head? After much hesitation I determined to call myself a merchant, who
had been robbed and plundered by the Curds, and then sham a sickness,
which might be a pretext for remaining in the village until I could hear
from the mollah, who would no doubt furnish me with intelligence
which might enable me to determine how long I ought to remain in my
hiding-place.

In this I succeeded perfectly. The good people of the village, whom
Heaven for my good luck had endowed with a considerable share of
dullness, believed my story, and took me in. The only inconvenience I
had to endure was the necessity of swallowing prescriptions of an old
woman, the doctor of the community, who was called to show her skill
upon me.

CHAPTER LXI

The punishment due to Hajji Baba falls upon Nadan, which makes the
former a staunch predestinarian.

I had passed ten long and tedious days in my hiding-place without the
smallest tidings from the mollah Nadan. I was suspicious that his star
was still glancing obliquely at him, and that matters had not gone quite
so well as he had expected. Little communication existed between the
city and the village; and I began to despair of ever again hearing of my
horse, my rich trappings and clothes, when, one evening a peasant,
who had gone to the market-place of Hamadan for the purpose of hiring
himself as a labourer in the fields, and who had returned disappointed,
by his discourse threw some light upon my apprehension.

He said that a great stir had been excited by the arrival of a nasakchi,
who had seized the son of their Aga (the owner of the village), taken
away his horse, and carried him off prisoner to the capital, under the
accus