and followed the lady, exclaiming, "Oh, happy day! Oh, day of good
luck!"

In a short time the lady stopped before a gate and knocked: a
Christian, with a venerable long white beard, opened it, and she put
money into his hand without speaking; but the Christian, who knew what
she wanted, went in, and shortly after brought out a large jar of
excellent wine.

"Take this jar," said the lady to the porter, "and put it into the
basket."

This being done, she desired him to follow her, and walked on; the
porter still exclaiming, "Oh, day of happiness! Oh, day of agreeable
surprise and joy!"

The lady stopped at a fruit shop, where she bought some apples,
apricots, peaches, lemons, citrons, oranges, myrtles, sweet basil,
lilies, jassamine, and some other plants. She told the porter to put
all those things into his basket and follow her. Passing by a
butcher's shop, she ordered five and twenty pounds of his finest meat
to be weighed, which was also put into the porter's basket.

At another shop she bought capers, small cucumbers, parsley, and other
herbs; at another, some pistachios, walnuts, hazelnuts, almonds,
kernels of the pine, and other similar fruits; at a third, she
purchased all sorts of almond patties.

The porter, in putting all these things into his basket, said, "My
good lady, you should have told me that you intended buying so many
things, and I would have provided a camel to carry them, for if you
buy ever so little more, I shall not be able to bear it."

The lady laughed at the fellow's pleasant humor, and ordered him still
to follow her.

She then went to a druggist's, where she furnished herself with all
manner of sweet-scented waters, cloves, musk, pepper, ginger, and a
great piece of ambergris, and several other Indian spices; this quite
filled the porter's basket and she ordered him to follow her. They
walked till they came to a magnificent house, whose front was adorned
with fine columns, and had a gate of ivory. There they stopped, and
the lady knocked softly. Another lady soon came to open the gate, and
all three, after passing through a handsome vestibule, crossed a
spacious court, surrounded by an open gallery which communicated with
many magnificent apartments, all on the same floor. At the end of this
court there was a dais richly furnished, with a couch in the middle,
supported by four columns of ebony, enriched with diamonds and pearls
of an extraordinary size, and covered with red satin