He answered, When I reached the top of the wall, I beheld ten damsels, like moons, who made a sign with their hands, as though they would say, Come to us.  And it seemed to me that beneath me was a sea (or great river) of water; whereupon I desired to cast myself down, as our companions did:  but I beheld them dead; so I withheld myself from them, and recited some words of the Book of God, (whose name be exalted!) whereupon God averted from me the influence of those damsels’ artifice, and they departed from me; therefore I cast not myself down, and God repelled from me the effect of their artifice and enchantment.  There is no doubt that this is an enchantment and an artifice which the people of this city contrived in order to repel from it every one who should desire to look down upon it, and wish to obtain access to it; and these our companions are laid dead.

He then walked along the wall till he came to the two towers of brass, when he saw that they had two gates of gold, without locks upon them, or any sign of the means of opening them.  Therefore the sheykh paused as long as God willed, and looking attentively, he saw in the middle of one of the gates a figure of a horseman of brass, having one hand extended, as though he were pointing with it, and on it was an inscription, which the sheykh read, and lo, it contained these words:—­Turn the pin that is in the middle of the front of the horseman’s body twelve times, and then the gate will open.  So he examined the horseman, and in the middle of the front of his body was a pin, strong, firm, well fixed; and he turned it twelve times; whereupon the gate opened immediately, with a noise like thunder; and the sheykh ’Abd-Es-Samad entered.  He was a learned man, acquainted with all languages and characters.  And he walked on until he entered a long passage, whence he descended some steps, and he found a place with handsome wooden benches, on which were people dead, and over their heads were elegant shields, and keen swords, and strung bows, and notched arrows.  And behind the [next] gate were a bar of iron, and barricades of wood, and locks of delicate fabric, and strong apparatus.  Upon this, the sheykh said within himself, Perhaps the keys are with these people.  Then he looked, and lo, there was a sheykh who appeared to be the oldest of them, and he was upon a high wooden bench among the dead men.  So the sheykh ’Abd-Es-Samad said, May not the keys of the city be with this sheykh?  Perhaps he was the gate-keeper of the city, and these were under his authority.  He therefore drew near to him, and lifted up his garments, and lo, the keys were hung to his waist.  At the sight of them, the sheykh ’Abd-Es-Samad rejoiced exceedingly; his reason almost fled from him in consequence of his joy:  and he took the keys, approached the gate, opened the locks, and pulled the gate and the barricades and other apparatus which opened, and the gate also opened, with a noise like thunder, by reason of its greatness and terribleness, and the enormousness