Scarcely was the sun an hour high, when their anticipations were realised. The shrill blast of a trumpet first resounded through the forest, and immediately afterwards a large body of horse appeared, at the head of which it was easy, from the magnificence of his robes, and the royal ornaments of his turban, flashing in the sun, to recognise the Sultan Mansoor. It must be owned that the hearts of the cottage inmates beat violently at the sight. The hajji now appeared to them to have been a prophet, and each secretly thought how much better it would have been to attend to his premonition. "Here," said they within themselves, "is evil come upon us, and evil too, in some measure, of our own seeking, since, had we attended to the warnings which without doubt were given us by the direction of the Prophet, we might by this time, perhaps, have been beyond pursuit. There is, however, no strength or power but in God, the High, the Great! That must be accomplished which is written; and if we perish, there is this consolation, that we perish together, and no one will be left to lament the death of dear companions." Meanwhile the sultan appeared to be making his dispositions, that no one might escape. His troops spread themselves along the borders of the lake, galloping hither and thither, while their flashing scimetars glittered brightly, and the quick tramp of their horses' hoofs sounded terribly in the ears of the fisherman and his family. At length an officer of the king's household advanced to the brink of the lake, and summoned Muntafu, with his wife and children, to the shore, in order that they might appear before the Sultan Al Mansoor. As disobedience would have been madness, the fisherman hastened to obey the mandate. He first placed his little ones, four in number, in the boat, kissing each as he lifted it in. He then gave his hand to Shemseláb and his wife, while Ismael, with the thoughtless courage of boyhood, leaped boldly on board, and seized an oar, as if impatient to be among the crowd that surrounded the sultan. Muntafu's eyes were somewhat moist, but he restrained his feelings, and with the aid of the hardy, and highly venturous boy, quickly cleared the space dividing him from the sultan. As he drew nearer and nearer, the consciousness of innocence gradually restored his courage, and on stepping ashore he assumed an erect gait, and manly bearing, and advancing towards the prince in a respectful, but firm tone, demanded his majesty's pleasure. The other members of his family, whose confidence now utterly forsook them, threw themselves at Al Mansoor's feet, and implored his clemency and pardon. The great officers of the household immediately closed round them, while the captains of the guard, the black eunuchs of the palace, and the public executioners, took their station with drawn swords, a little in the back-ground, opposite an opening in the circle. As all present were ignorant of what the sultan designed to do to the fisherman, the interest they felt was intense. Some supposed him to have committed some dreadful crime, and that they should presently be witnesses of his punishment; others conjectured that he had lodged some complaint against them-. selves, (particularly the governor of the province, conscious of much extortion and misrule) and that this was the moment of their exposure and disgrace, while others formed other conjectures, without having any ground whereon to build them. At length the sultan put an end to all their disquietude and uncertainty, by ordering his chamberlain to advance, and invest Muntafu with a dress of honour, after which he informed him that he had appointed him governor of the district, with all the towns and hamlets it contained. "And this," said he, "I do, because of thy virtuous and disinterested character; and because thou didst twice hospitably entertain me, and thrice resisted all temptation to speak or believe evil of me. For, know, that I was the derwish who a year ago passed the night in thy cottage, and that it was I who in the guise of a hajji, accosted thee yesterday in the bazaar, and counselled thee to effect thy escape. Hadst thou taken my advice I should have believed that thy conscience condemned thee for crimes not in my power to discover, and thou wouldst have been suffered to remain in the station in which Providence had first placed thee. But now thou hast proved thyself to be both wise and good, and I advance thee accordingly, nor, if thou do well, shall thy exaltation end here." He then ordered a horse richly caparisoned to be brought forward, on which he caused Muntafu to mount, after which his wife and children were placed on mules with sure saddles and magnificent housings, and in this manner were they paraded through the forest and the towns, and the villages, until they arrived at a spacious castle, named Casar El Kebir, which being the property of the sultan, he bestowed on Muntafu, and recommending him to be as wise and moderate in government as he had been in his cottage, he departed towards his capital, leaving with the new governor an aged sheikh, who was to explain to him the precepts, and the laws, and the rules, and the forms. And thus was Muntafu exalted to be Governor of Casar El Kebir. The fisherman finding himself in this high station, lost none of the humility or the other virtues which had distinguished him in his poverty. He conducted himself towards all men with the utmost justice, mildness, and moderation, insomuch that the rich hastened to erect themselves dwellings in the neighbourhood of his castle, and the poor followed them, and many markets, and bazaars, and shops, and warehouses were also built there, so that, in a year or two, the place became a town. The sheikh whom Mansoor had left to be the councillor of the new governor, instead of being envious of his prosperity, and a maligner of his virtues, despatched from time to time trusty messengers to the palace, faithfully describing the wisdom of his rule, and the happy fruits of it, which already appeared in the face of the whole country, where every man seemed to feel additionally secure of his possessions, and in consequence waxed more zealous in his loyalty to the sultan. But the happiness of this world is frail at the best. While : Muntafu was thus sedulously employed in promoting the welfare of all around him, his own peace of mind suffered from a domestic wound his daughter, Shemselâb, who was unto him as a wezeer, skilful in interpreting the law, and conversant with the traditions and sayings of the Prophet, appeared to be smitten by an incurable disease, in which she languished for a while, and then took to her bed, and awaited patiently the angel of death. Nevertheless it seemed to her father that she understood the cause of her own complaint, but refused to reveal it, though he entreated her with tears to do so, being confident that it would be in his power to discover and apply a remedy. While matters were in this state, a learned hakim arrived from Egypt, who understood the secret virtues of plants and minerals, and could subdue the violence of most diseases that afflict the children of Adam. Muntafu brought him to his daughter; and he looked at her, and knew at once that her disease was in the mind. Therefore, taking her father apart, he said to him: "Know, that your daughter's malady is not one that can be cured by medicine. She is in love. You have therefore only to obtain for her as a husband the object of her affections, and all will be well." "It is impossible," answered Muntafu, "since she has never conversed with any man she could love." "Bethink you," answered the hakim. "I do bethink me," said the governor, "and affirm as a truth for which I can vouch, that from her infancy she has held conversation with no man save myself, the aged sheikh my councillor, and the sultan." Still," replied the hakim, "I am confident as to her malady. I have travelled through Egypt and Roum, and Persia, and India, so that my experience in those matters is great, and I cannot be mistaken." your "Nevertheless, in this instance," answered the governor, science is at fault. Other secret cause of grief my daughter may have, and would that I could discover it! but love it cannot be, or we should, ere this, have found some traces of its existence." "Nay," replied the stranger, "there is perhaps no one among the hakims but myself who could have detected the truth; but for the correctness of my opinion I will answer with my head. Question her earnestly, and she will confess." "I have questioned her," answered the father, mournfully. "But not," replied the hakim, "with the vehemence which extorts the truth. Tell her, your life is bound up with hers, that you will die with her, leaving your children fatherless, and your wife a widow. Then take your seat by her bedside, and make a vow to the Prophet, that you will never more taste of food unless she reveal to you her secret. This will succeed; and if not, it is better that she should die than live. With your permission, I will conceal myself in the chamber, and witness the fulfilment of my prediction, My profession binds me to secrecy. Follow my advice, and to-morrow your daughter will be well." Muntafu, ready to adopt any plan which promised to save the life of his child, undertook to follow the directions of the hakim, who was, as he desired, concealed in the apartment-large and airy, and commanding over the town a distant prospect of the sea. Muntafu took his station by the bedside of his daughter, while two of her younger sisters remained also with her, the one at the bed's-head, the other by her side. He then spoke exactly as the hakim had commanded him, and covering his face with both hands, to conceal his tears, uttered the solemn vow to the Prophet. At this, Shemselâb, who loved her father with the deepest possible filial love, was grievously shaken, and exclaimed: "Oh! my father, you have wrung from me a secret which I designed to carry with me to the grave. It is a proof of my weakness, and of the little value of that boasted wisdom which I have learned from books. And now, that I may release you from your vow, and that your days may be many and prosperous, learn that my foolish heart has ventured to raise its affections to the sultan. With your wonted goodness therefore forgive me, and let me die in peace." Saying this, she covered her face with the linen of the bed, and her whole frame trembled, as though her last moment had arrived. Upon this the hakim, whose presence had for the moment been forgotten, approached the bed, and throwing aside the large plain pelisse in which he had been enveloped, discovered himself to be the sultan, and said: "Be of good cheer, Shemselâb. It is rarely that love and wisdom such as yours are to be found, I make you, from this moment, my sultana, and your father my wezeer, and the chief of my emirs. Quit, therefore, this bed of grief, and deck yourself for the nuptials which shall this day be celebrated." Shemselâb's complaint now passed away like a cloud. She entered the bath, and adorned herself with the richest dresses and jewels, and became the queen of Al Mansoor, who did unto her father as he had promised, and they lived together in happiness for many years, and their names are still mentioned among the Muslems, as patterns of affection and fidelity. SUNSET. Friendship's Offering. I LOVE, at summer day's decline, And thus, O thus, it seems to me, J. A. G. Literature, Reviews, &c. The Fortress, an Historical Tale of the Fifteenth Century, from Records of the Channel Islands. 3 vols.-Amongst the numerous romances to which history has been made tributary in these our modern days, since the great unknown so successfully enchanted that sober lady, we have often wondered that the at once, curious, and romantic character of these isles should not have come into play; and we will say rather the more so, because we recollect some oneand-forty years since, a young literary soldier was then and there an enthusiast in all their beauties, and a great admirer of the beauties of the recent court of France, who were wont on every sabbath summer eve to disport on the slopes of the La Corderée, as raised from the prairie, which terminated on the west at the Chapelle de Ste Marie des pas, while the band of the 49th Regt. poured forth delicious music in their ears. Numerous verses of this enthusiast's are recorded in Stead's Jersey Gazette of that day, along with those of the learned Dean Ogle and Dr. Dupre, now, all perhaps buried in the oblivion under the "broad sheets" of the present time. Stead was, at the same time printing a history in continuation of that of Tulle. Since then, years of war elapsed, and it is but recently that we have heard the story of Jersey or these islands mentioned. The late Major Parkins an amateur artist of great taste, was induced, though, we believe, an Octogenarian at the time (1823,-4,) to visit Jersey, and took some excellent drawings, but died during their execution. Since then, Mr. Inglis and some others of less value have appeared on the subject. The islands have become populous by economical English, but still they are little known-not improbably, like many other of our home tours-because they are so near to us! The present author, therefore, deserves our thanks, for having in the fashionable mode brought to our full recollection, for the first time, these beautiful as well as important outworks of the British dominions. His three volumes, in the usual cabinet size, will in all probability do more than all the more serious attempts,-Captain Grose's into the bargain,—to bring into notice, at least, the largest and most approximate to France, the Island of Jersey. Guernsey has been long known, commercially, as a great depôt for that trade publicly carried on by English merchants on the confines of Spain and Portugal, and denominated there the Contrabandista. Alderney, the smallest of the three, is locally of importance from its pure air, excellent for convalescents, and abroad, chiefly for its small race of cows exported for the peculiar delicacy of their milk. Sark, Herm, and Jethou, though all useful in war, are in peace, of importance chiefly to rabbit-shooters, when their romantic but dangerous shores can be safely gained. All these, as the author correctly tells us, are now included in the nomenclature of" The Channel Islands." In a neat introduction of some three-and-twenty pages, we are informed on their ancient history, of Julius Cæsar who, passing through |