‘SHE ENVIOUS MAN. 85

cost him his life, and yet he could neither see nor perceive
anything. He soon after, however, heard a voice say, “ Do you
know anything of this man to whom we have been so service.
able?” when some other voices answered, “ No.” The first then
replied, “I will inform you. This man, with the most charitable
and benevolent intentions in the world, left the town where he
lived, and came to fix himself in this place, with the hopes of
being able to cure one of his neighbours of the envy and hatred
he had conceived against him. He soon became so universally
esteemed that the envious man could not endure it, and deter~
mined, therefore, to put an end to his existence. This design he
would have executed had it not been for the assistance we af-
forded this good man, whose reputation is so great that the
sultan, who resides in the neighbouring town, was coming to
visit him to-morrow, in order to recommend the princess, his
daughter, to his prayers.”

Another voice then asked what occasion the princess had for
the prayers of the dervise, to which the first answered, “ Are you
ignorant, then, that she is possessed by the power of the genius
Maimoun, the son of Dimdim, who has fallen in love with her ?
But I know how this good dervise can cure her. The thing is
by no means difficult, as I will inform you. In his monastery
there is a black cat, which has a white spot at the end of her
tail, about the size of a small piece of money. Let him only
pull out seven hairs from this white spot and burn them, and
then with the smoke perfume the head of the princess. From
that moment she will be so thoroughly cured, and free from
Maimoun, the son of Dimdim, that he will never again be able to
come near her.”

The chief of the dervises did not lose a single syllable of this
conversation between the fairies and genii, who from this time
remained silent the whole night. The next morning, as soon
as the day began to break, and different objects became dis-
cernible, the dervise perceived, as the wall was decayed in
many places, a hole, by which he could get out without any
difficulty.

The other dervises, who were seeking after him, were delighted
at his appearance. He related to them, in a few words, the
cunning wickedness of the guest he had entertained the day
before, and then retired to his cell It was not long before the