MUSTEAZEM THE MISER. 251

‘Then,’ said Oulagon, ‘thou shalt have that to eat
which above all things thy heart loveth.’ And the
Tartar ordered a large golden platter, filled with
jewels and precious stones, to he brought and set
before the captive.

‘Knowest thou these treasures, caliph?’ asked he
with an affectation of carelessness.

“Yes, answered Musteazem sharply, ‘I know
them, for they are mine own.’

* And dost thou dearly love thy treasures?’ asked
Oulagon.

‘Yes,’ replied Musteazem, simply and frankly.

‘Well, then,’ said Oulagon, ‘ since thou lovest thy
treasures so well, take of these jewels as many as
thou wilt, and appease thy hunger.’

‘They are not food to eat,’ replied Musteazem,
shaking his head with an air of great dejection.

‘Ah, caliph,’ said Oulagon with bitter scorn, ‘ thou
mayest now see thy great fault; for if thou hadst
given part of thy treasures, which thou lovest so
dearly, to subsidise soldiers for thy defence, thou
mightest have held out against me. But that
which thou didst prize most highly has failed thee in
the hour of need.’

And Oulagon withdrew with the Templar and the
English knight; and soon after this interview
Musteazem drew his last breath. But whether he
perished of hunger, or of indignant despair, or by
the violence of his conquerors, is not clearly ascer-
tained. In the midst of the tumult and disorder
which followed the sack of Bagdad, and the extinc-
tion of the caliphate, chroniclers neglected to record