of its apparatus.  Upon this, the sheykh exclaimed, God is most great!—­and the people made the same exclamation with him, rejoicing at the event.  The Emeer Moosa also rejoiced at the safety of the sheykh ’Abd-Es-Samad, and at the opening of the gate of the city; the people thanked the sheykh for that which he had done, and all the troops hastened to enter the gate.  But the Emeer Moosa cried out to them, saying to them, O people, if all of us enter, we shall not be secure from some accident that may happen.  Half shall enter, and half shall remain behind.

The Emeer Moosa then entered the gate, and with him half of the people, who bore their weapons of war.  And the party saw their companions lying dead:  so they buried them.  They saw also the gate-keepers and servants and chamberlains and lieutenants lying upon beds of silk, all of them dead.  And they entered the market of the city, and beheld a great market, with lofty buildings, none of which projected beyond another:  the shops were open, and the scales hung up, and the utensils of brass ranged in order, and the khans were full of all kinds of goods.  And they saw the merchants dead in their shops:  their skins were dried, and their bones were carious, and they had become examples to him who would be admonished.  They saw likewise four markets of particular shops filled with wealth.  And they left this place, and passed on to the silk-market, in which were silks and brocades interwoven with red gold and white silver upon various colours, and the owners were dead, lying upon skins, and appearing almost as though they would speak.  Leaving these, they went on to the market of jewels and pearls and jacinths; and they left it, and passed on to the market of the money-changers, whom they found dead, with varieties of silks beneath them, and their shops were filled with gold and silver.  These they left, and they proceeded to the market of the perfumers; and lo, their shops were filled with varieties of perfumes, and bags of musk, and ambergris, and aloes-wood, and nedd, and camphor, and other things; and the owners were all dead, not having with them any food.  And when they went forth from the market of the perfumers, they found near unto it a palace, decorated, and strongly constructed; and they entered it, and found banners unfurled, and drawn swords, and strung bows, and shields hung up by chains of gold and silver, and helmets gilded with red gold.  And in the passages of that palace were benches of ivory, ornamented with plates of brilliant gold, and with silk, on which were men whose skins had dried upon the bones:  the ignorant would imagine them to be sleeping; but, from the want of food, they had died, and tasted mortality.  Upon this, the Emeer Moosa paused, extolling the perfection of God (whose name be exalted!) and his holiness, and contemplating the beauty of that palace.