NOUREDDIN AND THE BEAUTIFUL PERSIAN, gil

med Zinebi, his cousin. As soon as Noureddin, son of the late
vizier Khacan, and the bearer of this letter, shall have delivered
it, and you have read its contents, at that very instant strip
yourself of the royal mantle, put it upon his shoulders, and
resign to him your crown. Herein fail not. Farewell.”

The caliph folded up and sealed the letter, without informing
Noureddin of itscontents. “Take it,” said he; “‘ go and embark
without delay ; the vessel will be off very soon, as it departs every
day about this hour; you may sleep after you are on board.”
Noureddin took the letter and immediately departed. Here
it Is necessary to remark that the caliph, previous to his carry-
ing the fish to the saloon, had ordered the grand vizier to repair
to the palace, and bring back with him a dress, and four of his
servants, and to wait on the other side of the pavilion till he
should strike one of the windows with his hands. The grand
vizier had acquitted himself of this commission, and he, Mesrour,
and the four servants were waiting at the place appointed for
the signal.

Scheikh Ibrahim, who had now become very drunk, began to
quarrel with the fisherman, as he deemed him, and at last,
getting furious, he snatched up one of the porcelain dishes that
was upon the table, and threw it at the caliph’s head. The caliph
found no great difficulty in avoiding a dish thrown by a drunken
man; it struck the wall, and broke into a thousand pieces.
Scheikh Ibrahim, more angry than before from having missed his
aim, took the candle which was upon the table, and went down
the back stairs to find a cane.

The caliph profited by this interval ; and, striking one of the
windows, the grand vizier, Mesrour, and the four servants were
with him in an instant. The servants had very soon taken off
the fisherman’s dress, and put on that they had brought. They
had not, however, quite finished, and were still employed about
the caliph, who was seated on the throne which he had in the
saloon, when Scheikh Ibrahim re-entered the room with a large
cane in his hand, with which he promised himself to give the
pretended fisherman a good beating. Instead of finding the
object of his wrath, he could perceive only his clothes lying in
the middle of the saloon, while he beheld the caliph seated
9m his throne, with the grap4 vizier and Mesrour at his side