SIDI NOUMAN. 385

obliged to beg for subsistence, I shall supply you with a pen-
sion during your life of four drachms of silver daily.”

At these words Baba Abdalla threw himself prostrate at the
throne of the caliph ; and as he rose, he made his acknowledg-
ments with a wish for every kind of happiness and prosperity.

The Caliph Haroun Alraschid next spoke to the young man
whom he had seen treat his mare so ill, and asked him his
name, when the young man said he was called Sidi Nouman,
and at once proceeded with his history :—

WB wees

THE HISTORY OF SIDI NOUMAN.

3/Y birth is not of sufficient importance to deserve the at-
tention of your majesty. With regard to property,
my ancestors, by their good management, left me as
much as I could desire, to live in a creditable way,
without ambition, but entirely independent..-

With these advantages, the only thing I could want, in order
to render my happiness complete, was to meet with an amiable
wife.

As the custom is, that our marriages should take place with-
out seeing or knowing the woman we are to espouse, your
majesty must be aware that a husband has no right to complain
if he finds the wife not so handsome as he might wish.

The first time I saw my wife without her veil after she had
been brought to me with the usual ceremonies, I rejoiced to find
that I had not been deceived in the account which had been
given me of her beauty: she suited my taste, and I was pleased
with her.

The day after our marriage, we had a dinner of several dishes.
I began with some rice, which I took in the common way with
aspoon. My wife, on the contrary, instead of making use of a
spoon as everybody does, drew from a case which she had in
her pocket a sort of bodkin, with which she began to take some
rice, and carried it to her mouth by single grains.

Surprised at this manner of eating, ‘“ Aminé,” said I, for that
was her name, “is this the way you eat rice? Do you do this
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