e to understand, in a secret manner, that his
disgrace was only temporary; and that, by way of softening it, he had
been presented with the horse which he then rode.

'This tale was believed by every one, and he was received at his
father's house with great honours; but most unfortunately, the next day,
when about mounting his horse to show himself in the city, a nasakchi
passed the gate of the house, having just arrived from Tehran. He
stopped, and looked at the animal very earnestly; inspected the bridle
and gold-pommelled saddle, and then cried out, _La Allah il Allah!_
there is but one God! He inquired of the bystanders to whom the horse
belonged, and was informed that it was the property of the mollah Nadan.

'"The Mollah Nadan!" exclaimed he in a great rage: "whose dog is he?
That horse is the property of my master, the chief executioner; and
whoever says it is not is a liar, whoever he may be, mollah or no
mollah!"

'At this interval appeared the delinquent himself, who, upon seeing what
was going on, endeavoured to hide himself from the observation of the
nasakchi; for it so happened that he was one of the officers who had
paraded him through the capital on the day of his disgrace.

'Wearing the garments and turbaned cap of the deceased chief priest,
the dangers of his situation immediately stared him in the face, and
he would have decamped on the spot, had he not been recognized by the
nasakchi, who as soon as he saw him cried out, "Seize him, take his
soul, that is he--the very man. Well done, my happy stars! By the head
of Ali, by the beard of the Prophet, that is the bankrupt rogue who
killed the chief priest and stole my master's horse."

'By this time the nasakchi had dismounted, and, with the assistance of
his own attendant, and of the bystanders (who soon discovered that he
was acting under authority), he secured the mollah, who, in his defence,
made oath upon oath that he was neither thief nor murderer, and that he
was ready to swear his innocence upon the Koran.'

The barber related very faithfully the whole conversation which took
place between Nadan and the nasakchi, the result of which was that
the latter took the former with him to Tehran, notwithstanding all the
interest made in his favour by the mollah's father and friends.

Never was breast torn by so many contending feelings as mine, upon
hearing the fate that had befallen my companion, as related to me by the
barber. In the first place,