le company, and particularly to the caliph. The presence of the
slaves, armed with their scimitars, did not prevent him from saying in
a whisper to the vizier, "As long as I can remember, I never heard
anything to compare with this history of the calender, though I have
been all my life in the habit of hearing similar narratives."

He had no sooner finished than the second calender began, and
addressing himself to Zobeide, spoke as follows:

THE HISTORY OF THE SECOND CALENDER

Madam, to obey your commands, and to show you by what strange accident
I became blind of the right eye, I must give you the account of my
life. I was yet a youth when the sultan, my father (for you must know
I am a prince by birth), perceived that I was endowed with good
natural ability, and spared nothing proper for improving it. No sooner
was I able to read and write than I learned the Koran from beginning
to end by heart, all the traditions collected from the mouth of our
prophet, and the works of poets. I applied myself to geography,
chronology, and to speak the Arabian language in its purity; not
forgetting in the meantime all such exercises as were proper for a
prince to understand. But one thing which I was fond of, and succeeded
in, was penmanship. In this I surpassed all the celebrated scribes of
our kingdom.

The fame of my learning reached the Emperor of Hindustan, who sent an
embassy with rich presents to my father and invited me to his court. I
returned with the ambassador.

We had been about a month on our journey when we saw in the distance
an immense cloud of dust, and soon after we discovered fifty fierce
horsemen, sons of the desert, well armed.

Not being able to repel force by force, we told them we were the
ambassadors of the sultan of India; but the sons of the desert
insolently answered, "Why do you wish us to respect the sultan, your
master? We are not his subjects, nor even within his realm." They
attacked us on all sides.

I defended myself as long as I could, but finding that I was wounded,
and that the ambassador and all our attendants were overthrown, I took
advantage of the remaining strength of my horse, and escaped. My horse
was wounded and suddenly fell dead under me. Alone, wounded, and a
stranger, I bound up my own wound and walked on the rest of the day,
and arrived at the foot of a mountain, where I perceived, as the sun
set, a cave; I went in, and stayed there that night, after I had
eaten some frui