the Princess Nouronnihar wis 65

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three taken leave together of the sultan, they should all return -
together. The next morning by break of day, after they had
embraced and wished each other good success, they mounted their
horses, and each took a different road.

Prince Houssain, the eldest brother, who had heard wonders
of the extent, strength, riches, and splendour of the kingdom of
Bisnagar, bent his course towards the Indian coast; and, after
three months travelling with different caravans, sometimes over
deserts and barren mountains, and: sometimes through populous
and fertile countries, he arrived at Bisnagar, the capital of the .
‘kingdom of that name and the residence of its king. He lodged
at a khan appointed for foreign merchants; and having learnt that
there were four principal quarters where merchants of all sorts
kept their shops, in the midst of which stood the castle, or rather
the king’s palace, as the centre of the city, surrounded by three
courts, and. each gate two leagues distant from the other, he went
to one of these quarters-the next day.

Prince Houssain could not see this quarter without admiration.
It was large, and divided into several streets, all vaulted and shaded
from the sun, and yet very light. The shops were all of the same
size and proportion; and all that dealt in the same sort of mer-
chandise, as well as the craftsmen, lived in one street.

‘The multitude of shops stocked with the finest linens from i
several parts of India, some painted in the brightest: colours, with
men, landscapes, trees, and’ flowers ; silks and brocades from Persia,
China, and other places ; oreekiin from Japan and China, foot |
carpets of all sizes,—all this surprised him so much that he knew not
how to believe his own eyes; but when he came to the shops of the
goldsmiths and jewellers (for those tw6 trades were exercised by the
same merchants), he was dazzled by the lustre of the pearls, diamonds,
tubies, emeralds, and. other precious stones exposed for sale. But if -
he was amazed at seeing so many riches in one place, he was much

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