tion for fifty days, and brought us safe to the port of a city,
well peopled, and of great trade, where we cast anchor.

Our vessel was instantly surrounded with multitudes of boats full of
people. Among the rest, some officers of the sultan came on board,
and said "Our master rejoices in your safe arrival, and he beseeches
each of you to write a few lines upon this roll. The prime vizier,
who, besides possessing great abilities for the management of public
affairs, could write in the highest perfection, died a few days since,
and the sultan has made a solemn vow not to give the place to any one
who cannot write equally well. No one in the empire has been judged
worthy to supply the vizier's place."

Those of the merchants who thought they could write well enough to
aspire to this high dignity wrote one after another what they thought
fit. After they had done, I advanced, and took the roll, but all the
people cried out that I would tear it or throw it into the sea, till
they saw how properly I held the roll, and made a sign that I would
write in my turn. Their apprehensions then changed into wonder.
However, as they had never seen an ape that could write, and could not
be persuaded that I was more ingenious than others of my kind, they
wished to take the roll out of my hand; but the captain took my part
once more.

"Let him alone," said he; "allow him to write."

Perceiving that no one opposed my design, I took the pen, and wrote
six sorts of hands used among the Arabians, and each specimen
contained an extemporary distich or quatrain (a stanza of four lines)
in praise of the sultan. When I had done, the officers took the roll,
and carried it to the sultan.

The sultan took little notice of any of the writings except mine,
which pleased him so much that he said to the officers, "Take the
finest horse in my stable, with the richest trappings, and a robe of
the most sumptuous brocade to put on the person who wrote the six
hands, and bring him hither."

At this command the officers could not forbear laughing. The sultan
was incensed at their rudeness, and would have punished them, had they
not explained.

"Sir," said they, "we humbly beg your majesty's pardon. These hands
were not written by a man, but by an ape."

"What do you say?" exclaimed the sultan. "Those admirable characters,
are they not written by the hands of a man?"

"No, sir," replied the officers; "we assure your majesty that it was
an ape, who wr