r name is Selima, a
name of good augury."

The friends of Fadlallah laughed, as did the young men who followed in
their wake, and urged him to go and see this peerless beauty, if it were
only for a joke. Accordingly, he told the woman to lead the way. But she
said he must mount his mule, for they had to go some distance into the
country. He mounted and, with a single servant, went forth from the
gates--the woman preceding--and rode until he reached a village in the
mountains. Here, in a poor little house, he found Selima; clothed in the
very commonest style, engaged in making divan cushions. She was a
marvelously beautiful girl, and the heart of the merchant at once began to
yearn toward her: yet he endeavored to restrain himself, and said, "This
beautiful thing is not for me." But the woman cried out, "Selima, wilt
thou consent to love this old man?" The girl gazed in his face a while,
and then, folding her hands across her bosom, said, "Yes; for there is
goodness in his countenance." Fadlallah wept with joy; and, returning to
the city, announced his approaching marriage to his friends. According to
custom, they expressed civil surprise to his face; but, when his back was
turned, they whispered that he was an old fool, and had been the dupe of a
she-adventurer.

The marriage took place with ceremonies of royal magnificence; and Selima,
who passed unmoved from extreme poverty to abundant riches, seemed to
merit the position of the greatest lady in Beyrout. Never was woman more
prudent than she. No one ever knew her previous history, nor that of her
mother. Some said that a life of misery, perhaps of shame, was before
them, when this unexpected marriage took place. Selima's gratitude to
Fadlallah was unbounded; and out of gratitude grew love. The merchant
daily offered up thanks for the bright diamond which had come to shine in
his house.

In due time a child was born; a boy lovely as his mother; and they named
him Halil. With what joy he was received, what festivities announced the
glad intelligence to the town, may easily be imagined. Selima and
Fadlallah resolved to devote themselves to his education, and determined
that he should be the most accomplished youth of Bar-er-Sham. But a long
succession of children followed, each more beautiful than the former--some
boys, some girls; and every new-comer was received with additional delight
and still grander ceremonies; so that the people began to say, "Is this a
race of