48 nie Prince Beder and

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unworthy of his’ With that she threw off her veil and showed King
Beder, who came near her with Abdallah, incomparable beauty.
But King Beder was little charmed. ‘It is not enough,’ said he
within himself, ‘to be beautiful ; one’s actions ought to correspond.’
Whilst King Beder was making these reflections, with his
eyes fixed on Queen ‘Labe, the old man turned towards him, and
taking him by the arm, presented him to her majesty. ‘Here
he is, madam,’ said he,‘and I beg of your majesty once more to
remember he is my nephew, and to-let him come and see me some-
times” The queen promised he should; and to give a further
mark of her gratitude, she caused a bag of a thousand pieces of
gold to be given him. He excused himself at first from receiving
them, but she insisted absolutely upon it, and he could not refuse
her. She had caused a horse to be brought (as richly harnessed
as her own) for the King of Persia. a
When King Beder was mounted,: he would have taken his
place behind the queen, but she would not suffer him, and made
him ride on her left hand. She looked at Abdallah, and after
having made him an inclination with her head, she set forward
on her march. - é a
Instead of observing a satisfaction in the people’s faces at the
sight of their sovereign, King Beder took notice that they looked
at her with contempt, and even cursed her. ‘The sorceress,’ said
some, ‘has got a’ new subject to exercise ‘her wickedness upon:
will Heaven never deliver the world from her tyranny?’ ‘Poor
stranger!’ cried out others, ‘thou art much. deceived if thou -
thinkest thine happiness will last long. It is only to render thy
fall most terrible that thou art raised so high. This talk gave
King Beder to understand that Abdallah had told him nothing
but, the truth of Queen Labe: but.as it now depended no longer
on himself to escape the mischief, he committed himself to divine
Providence and: the will of. Heaven respecting his: fate.