acchem
did nothing to enfeeble it, may be judged from the following illustration.

A poor woman of Zahra possessed a small field contiguous to the gardens
of the caliph. El Hacchem, wishing to erect a pavilion there, directed
that the owner should be requested to dispose of it to him. But the
woman refused every remuneration that was offered her, and declared that
she would never sell the heritage of her ancestry. The king was,
doubtless, not informed of the obstinacy of this woman; but the
superintendent of the palace gardens, a minister worthy of a despotic
sovereign, forcibly seized upon the field, and the pavilion was built.
The poor woman hastened in despair to Cordova, to relate the story of her
misfortune to the Cadi Bechir, and to consult him respecting the course
she should pursue. The cadi thought that the Prince of true Believers
had no more right than any other man to possess himself by violence of
the property of another; and he endeavoured to {79} discover some means
of recalling to his recollection a truth which the best of rulers will
sometimes forget.

One day, as the Moorish sovereign was surrounded by his court in the
beautiful pavilion built on the ground belonging to the poor woman, the
Cadi Bechir presented himself before him, seated on an ass, and carrying
in his hand a large sack. The astonished caliph demanded his errand.
"Prince of the Faithful!" replied Bechir, "I come to ask permission of
thee to fill this sack with the earth upon which thou standest." The
caliph cheerfully consented to this desire, and the cadi filled his sack
with the earth. He then left it standing, and, approaching his
sovereign, entreated him to crown his goodness by aiding him in loading
his ass with its burden. El Hacchem, amused by the request, yielded to
it, and attempted to raise the sack. Scarcely able to move it, he let it
fall again, and, laughing, complained of its enormous weight. "Prince of
Believers!" said Bechir then, with impressive gravity, "this sack, which
thou findest so heavy, contains, nevertheless, but a small portion of the
field thou hast usurped from one of thy subjects; how wilt thou sustain
the weight {80} of this entire field when thou shalt appear in the
presence of the Great Judge charged with this iniquity?" The caliph,
struck with this address, embraced the cadi, thanked him, acknowledged
his fault, and immediately restored to the poor woman the field of which
she had been despo