the name of the island; and the blacks presented me to their king. I approached the throne on which he was seated, and saluted him in the manner adopted towards sovereigns in India, namely, by prostrating myself at his feet and kissing the earth. The prince made me rise; and receiving me with an affable air, he seated me by his side. He first asked me my name; I replied that I was called Sindbad, surnamed the Sailor, from having made several voyages; and ended, that I was a citizen of Bagdad, 'How then,' said the monarch, came you into my dominions, and from whence have you arrived?'

"I concealed nothing from the king, but related to him all you have heard me tell; he was so pleased with it that he ordered the history of my adventures to be written in letters of gold, that it might be preserved amongst the archives of his kingdom. The raft was then produced, and the bales were opened in his presence. He admired the aloe wood and ambergris, but, above all, the rubies and emeralds, as he had none in his treasury equal to them in value.

"Perceiving that he examined my valuables with pleasure, and that he looked repeatedly at the rarest of them, I prostrated myself before him, and took the liberty of saying, 'O king, not only am I your servant, but the cargo of my raft also is at your disposal, if your majesty will do me the honour of accepting it.' The king smiled, and replied that he did not desire to possess anything which belonged to me; that as God had given me these things, I ought not to be deprived of them; that instead of diminishing my riches, he should add to them; and that when I left his dominions I should carry with me proofs of his liberality. I could only reply to this by praying for his prosperity and by praising his generosity.

"He ordered one of his officers to attend me, and placed some of his own servants at my disposal. The officers faithfully fulfilled the charge with which they were entrusted, and

conveyed all the bales to the place appointed for my lodging. I went every day at certain hours to pay my court to the king, and employed the rest of my time in seeing the city and whatever was most worthy of my attention.

"The Island of Serendid is situated exactly under the equinoctial line, so that the days and nights are of equal length. It is eighty parasangs long, and as many in breadth. The principal town is situated at the extremity of a beautiful valley, formed by a mountain which is in the middle of the island, and which is by far the highest in the world: it is discernible at sea at a distance of three days' sail. Rubies and many sorts of minerals are found there, and most of the rocks are formed of emery, which is a sort of metallic rock used for cutting precious stones.

"All kinds of rare and curious plants and trees, particularly the cedar and cocoa-tree, grow here in great abundance, and there are pearl fisheries on the coast, at the mouths of the rivers; some of the valleys also contain diamonds. I made a devotional journey up the mountain, to the spot where Adam was placed on his banishment from Paradise; and I had the curiosity to ascend to the summit.

"When I came back to the city I entreated the king to grant me permission to return to my native country, and he acceded to my request in the most obliging and honourable manner. He commanded me to receive a rich present from his treasury; and when I went to take my leave, he placed in my hands another gift, still more considerable than the first, and at the same time gave me a letter for the Commander of the Believers, our sovereign lord, saying, 'I request you to deliver for me this letter and this present to the Caliph Haroun Alraschid, and to assure him of my friendship.' I took the present and the letter with the greatest respect, and promised his majesty that I would most punctually execute the orders with which he was pleased to honour me. Before I embarked, the king sent for the captain and the merchants

with whom I was to sail, and charged them to pay me all possible attention.

"The letter of the King of Serendid was written on the skin of a certain animal, highly prized in that country on account of its rareness. It is of a yellowish colour.

"The present comprised, firstly, a vase made of one single ruby, pierced and worked into a cup of half a foot in height and an inch thick, filled with fine round pearls, all weighing half a drachm each; secondly, the skin of a serpent, which had scales as large as an ordinary coin, and which possessed the peculiar virtue of preserving those who lay on it from all disease; thirdly, fifty thousand drachms of the most exquisite aloe wood, together with thirty pieces of camphor as large as pistachio-nuts.

"The ship set sail, and, after a long but fortunate voyage, we landed at Balsora, from whence I returned to Bagdad. The first thing I did after my arrival was to execute the commission I had been intrusted with. I took the letter of the King of Serendid, and presented myself at the gate of the Commander of the Faithful, followed by some of my family, who carried the presents which had been committed to my care. I mentioned the reason of my appearance there, and was immediately conducted to the throne of the caliph. I prostrated myself at his feet, explained my errand, and gave him the letter and the present. When he read the contents, he inquired of me whether it was true that the King of Serendid was as rich and powerful as he reported himself to be in his letter.

"I prostrated myself a second time, and when I arose, replied, Commander of the Faithful, I can assure your majesty that the King of Serendid does not exaggerate his riches and grandeur: I have seen his wealth and magnificence. The splendour of his palace cannot fail to excite admiration. When this prince wishes to appear in public, a throne is prepared for him on the back of an elephant; on this he sits,

and proceeds between two rows, composed of his ministers, favourites, and others belonging to the court. Before him, on the same elephant, sits an officer with a golden lance in his hand, and behind the throne another stands with a pillar of gold, on the top of which is placed an emerald about half a foot long and an inch thick. The king is preceded by a guard of a thousand men habited in silk and gold stuffs, and mounted on elephants richly caparisoned.

"While the king is on his march, the officer who sits before him on the elephant proclaims from time to time with a loud voice: "This is the great monarch, the powerful and tremendous Sultan of the Indies, whose palace is covered with a hundred thousand rubies, and who possesses twenty thousand diamond crowns. This is the crowned monarch, greater than ever was Solima, or the great Mihragè."

"After he has pronounced these words, the officer who stands behind the throne cries, in his turn : "This monarch, who is so great and powerful, must die, must die, must die!" The first officer then resumes: 66 Glory be to Him who lives and dies not."

"The King of Serendid is so just that there are no judges in his capital, nor in any other part of his dominions; his people do not want them. They know and observe with exactness the true principles of justice, and never deviate from their duty; therefore tribunals and magistrates would be useless among them.'

"The caliph was satisfied with my discourse, and said: The wisdom of this king appears in his letter; and after what you have told me, I must confess that such wisdom is worthy of such subjects, and such subjects worthy of their ruler.' With these words he dismissed me with a rich present."

CHAPTER XXIII.

THE SEVENTH AND LAST VOYAGE OF SINDBAD THE SAILOR.

"ON my return from my sixth voyage, I absolutely relinquished all thoughts of ever venturing again on the seas. I was past the prime of life, and at an age which required rest; and besides this I had sworn never more to expose myself to the perils I had so often experienced. I prepared therefore to enjoy my life in quiet and repose.

"One day when I was regaling a number of friends, one of my servants came to tell me that an officer of the caliph wanted to speak to me. I left the table, and went to him. The caliph,' said he, has ordered me to acquaint you that he wishes to see you.' I followed the officer to the palace, and he presented me to the prince, whom I saluted by prostrating myself at his feet. Sindbad,' said the caliph, I want you to do me a service. You must go once more to the King of Serendid with my answer and presents; it is but right that I should make him a proper return for the civility he has shown me.'

"This order of the caliph's was a thunderbolt to me. Commander of the Faithful,' replied I, 'I am ready to execute anything with which your majesty may desire to entrust me; but I humbly entreat you to consider, that I am worn down with the unspeakable fatigues I have undergone. I have even made a vow never to leave Bagdad.'' I then took occasion to relate the long history of my adventures, which he had the patience to listen to attentively. When I had done speaking, the caliph said, 'I confess that these are extraordinary adventures; nevertheless they must not prevent your making the voyage I propose, for my sake: it is only to the Island of Serendid. Execute the commission I entrust you