is impossible to describe the ecstasies or the gratitude of Hamet at
this unexpected deliverance; I will not, therefore, attempt to repeat
what he said to his benefactors; I will only add that he was that day
set free, and Francisco embarked him on board a ship which was going to
one of the Grecian islands, took leave of him with the greatest
tenderness, and forced him to accept a purse of gold to pay his
expenses. Nor was it without the greatest regret that Hamet parted from
his young friend, whose disinterested kindness had thus procured his
freedom; he embraced him with an agony of tenderness, wept over him at
parting, and prayed for every blessing upon his head.

"About six months after this transaction a sudden fire burst forth in
the house of this generous merchant. It was early in the morning, when
sleep is the most profound, and none of the family perceived it till
almost the whole building was involved in flames. The frightened
servants had just time to waken the merchant and hurry him down stairs,
and the instant he was down, the staircase itself gave way and sunk with
a horrid crash into the midst of the fire.

"But if Francisco congratulated himself for an instant upon his escape,
it was only to resign himself immediately after to the most deep
despair, when he found, upon inquiry, that his son, who slept in an
upper apartment, had been neglected in the general tumult, and was yet
amidst the flames. No words can describe the father's agony; he would
have rushed headlong into the fire, but was restrained by his servants;
he then raved in an agony of grief, and offered half his fortune to the
intrepid man who would risk his life to save his child. As Francisco was
known to be immensely rich, several ladders were in an instant raised,
and several daring spirits, incited by the vast reward, attempted the
adventure. The violence of the flames, however, which burst forth at
every window, together with the ruins that fell on every side, drove
them all back; and the unfortunate youth, who now appeared upon the
battlements, stretching out his arms and imploring aid, seemed to be
destined to certain destruction.

"The unhappy father now lost all perception, and sunk down in a state of
insensibility, when, in this dreadful moment of general suspense and
agony, a man rushed through the opening crowd, mounted the tallest of
the ladders with an intrepidity that showed he was resolved to succeed
or perish, and instantly