by one of the richest jewellers in town, who had made that offer only to sound me, and try if I was well acquainted with the value of the goods I exposed to sale. He had no sooner received my answer, than he carried the crier to the justiciary judge, and showing him the necklace, Sir, said he, here is a necklace that was stolen from me; and the thief, under the character of a merchant, has had the impudence to offer it to sale, and is at this minute in the bezestein: he is willing to take fifty sherriffs for a necklace that is worth two thousand, which is a plain argument that it is stolen. The judge sent immediately to seize me; and, when I came before him, he asked me if the necklace he had in his hand was not the same that I had exposed to sale in the bezestein: I told him it was. Is it true, said he, that you are willing to deliver it for fifty sherriffs? I answered it was. Well, said he, in a scoffing way, give him the bastinado; he will quickly tell us, with all his fine merchant's clothes, that he is only a downright thief; let him be beat till he confesses. The violence of the blows made me tell a lie: I confessed, though it was not true, that I had stolen the necklace; and presently the judge ordered my hand to be cut off.

This made a great noise in the bezestein; and I was scarcely returned to my house, when my landlord came. My son, said he, you seem to be a young man well educated, and of good sense; how is it possible you could be guilty of such an unworthy action? You gave me an account of your estate yourself, and I do not doubt but the account is just: why did not you ask money of me, and I would have lent it you? However, since the thing has happened, I cannot allow you to lodge longer in my house; you must go and see for other lodgings. I was extremely troubled at this; and entreated the jeweller, with tears in my eyes, to let me stay three days longer in his house; which he granted.

Alas! said I to myself, this misfortune and affront is insufferable; how shall I dare to return to Moussoul? There is nothing I can say to my father will persuade him that I am innocent.

Three hours after this fatal accident, my house was assaulted by the judge's officers, accompanied with my landlord and the merchant that had falsely accused me of having stolen the necklace. I asked them what

brought them there; but, instead of giving me any answer, they bound me, calling me a thousand rogues, and telling me the necklace belonged to the governor of Damascus, who had lost it above three years ago, and whose daughter had not been heard of since that time. Judge you what thoughts rolled in my mind when I heard this news: however, I called all my resolution about me; I will tell, thinks I, I will tell the governor the truth; and so it will lie at his door either to put me to death, or to pardon me.

When I was brought before him, I observed he looked upon me with an eye of compassion, whence I prophesied good things. He ordered me to be untied, and, addressing himself to the jeweller who accused me, and to my landlord, Is this the man, said he, that sold the pearl necklace? They had no sooner answered Yes, than he said, I am sure he did not steal the necklace, and I am much astonished at the injustice that has been done him. These words giving me courage, Sir, said I, 1 do assure you I am in effect very innocent; I am likewise fully persuaded the necklace never did belong to my accuser, whom I never saw, and whose horrible perfidiousness is the cause of my unjust treatment: it is true, I made a confession as if I had stolen it; but this I did contrary to my conscience, through the force of torture, and of another reason that I am ready to tell you, if you will be so good as to hear me. I know enough of it already, replied the governor, to do you one part of the justice that is due to you take from hence, continued he,

take the false accuser; let him undergo the same punishment he caused to be inflicted on this young man, whose innocence is known to me.

The governor's orders were immediately put in execution; the jeweller was punished according to his demerit: then the governor, having ordered all the company to withdraw, said to me, My child, tell me without fear how this necklace fell into your hands; conceal nothing of the matter from me. Then I told him plainly all that had passed, and declared I had chosen rather to pass for a thief, than to reveal that tragical adventure. Good God! said the governor, thy judgments are incomprehensible, and we ought to submit to them without murmuring: I receive with an entire submission the stroke thou hast been pleased to inflict upon me: then, directing his discourse to me, My child, said he, having now heard the cause of your disgrace, for which I am very much concerned, I will give you an account of the disgrace that befell me: know then, that I am the father of those two young ladies you were speaking of but now.

I know that the first lady, who had the impudence to come to your house, was my eldest daughter: I had given her in marriage to one of her own cousins, my own brother's son, at Cairo. Her husband died, and she returned home, corrupted with all manner of wickedness, which she had learned in Egypt. Before I 'took her home, her younger sister, who died in that deplorable manner in your arms, was a very prudent young woman, and had never given me any occasion to complain of her conduct: but, after that, the eldest sister grew very intimate with her, and insensibly made her as wicked as herself.

The day after the death of the youngest, not finding her at table, I asked her eldest sister what had become of her but she, instead of answering, began crying bitterly; whence I formed a fatal presage. I pressed her to inform me of what I asked her. My

father, said she with sobs, I can tell you no more, but that my sister put on her best clothes yesterday, and her fine necklace, and went abroad, and has not been heard of since. I made search for my daughter all over the town, but could learn nothing of her unhappy fate in the mean time, the eldest, who doubtless repented of her jealous fury, declined very much, and bewailed the death of her sister: she denied herself all manner of food, and so put an end to her deplorable days.

Such, continued the governor, such is the state of mankind! such are the unlucky accidents to which they are exposed! However, my child, added he, since we are both of us equally unfortunate, let us unite our sorrow, and not abandon one another: I give you in marriage a third daughter I have still left: she is younger than her sisters, and takes after them in no manner of way in her conduct; besides, she is handsomer than they were, and, I assure you, is of a humour proper to make you happy: you shall have no other house but mine; and, after my death, you and she shall be my universal heirs. Sir, said I, I am ashamed of all your favours, and shall never be able to make a sufficient acknowledgment. That is enough, said he, interrupting me; let us not waste time in idle words: this said, he called for witnesses, ordered the contract of marriage to be drawn, and so I married his daughter without any ceremony.

He was not satisfied with punishing the jeweller that had falsely accused me, but confiscated for my use all his goods, which were very considerable: as for the rest, since you have been called to the governor's house, you have seen what respect they pay to me there. I must tell you farther, that a man, who was sent by my uncles to Egypt on purpose to inquire for me there, passing through this city, found me out, and came last night and delivered me a letter from them. They gave me notice of my father's

death, and invited me to come and take possession of his estate at Moussoul: but, as the alliance and friendship of the governor have fixed me with him, and will not suffer me to remove from him, I have sent back the express, with an order which will secure to me what is my due: now, after what you have heard, I hope you will pardon my incivility, during the course of my illness, in giving you my left instead of my right hand.

This, said the Jewish physician, is the story I heard from the young man of Moussoul. I continued at Damascus as long as the governor lived: after his death, being in the flower of my age, I had a curiosity to travel accordingly, I went over Persia to the Indies, and came at last to settle in this your capital, where I practise physic with reputation and honour.

The sultan of Casgar was pretty well pleased with this last story. I must say, said he to the Jew, the story you have told me is very odd; but I declare freely, that of the little hunch is yet more extraordinary, and much more comical: so you are not to expect that I will give you your life any more than the rest; I will hang you all four. Pray, sir, stay a minute, said the tailor; and then, prostrating himself at the sultan's feet, Since your majesty loves pleasing. stories, I have one to tell you that is very comical. Well, I will hear thee, too, said the sultan; but do not flatter thyself that I will suffer thee to live, unless thou tellest me some adventure that is yet more diverting than that of the hunchbacked man: upon this the tailor, as if he had been sure of his project, spoke very briskly to the following purpose.

THE STORY TOLD BY THE TAILOR.

A citizen of this city did me the honour, two days ago, to invite me to a treat, which he was to give to his friends yesterday morning. Accordingly I went pretty early, and found there twenty persons.