to all I could say, I at length broke his leg with staff.  The queen took much delight in these my mad tricks, and commanded the carcass of this sheep to be given me, and I never eat meat with more relish or better appetite.  Three days afterwards I killed an ass that used to bring water to the palace, because he would not say these words and be a Mahometan.  One day I handled a Jew so very roughly, that I had near killed him.  On another occasion I threw many stones at a person who called me a Christian clog, but he threw them back at me with such vengeance, that he hurt me sore, on which I returned to my prison, of which I barricadoed the door with stones, and lay there for two days, in great pain, without meat or drink, so that the queen and others thought me dead, but the door was opened by command of the queen.  Those Arabian dogs used to deride me, giving me stones in place of bread, and pieces of white marble, pretending that they were lumps of sugar, and others gave me bunches of grapes all full of sand.  That they might not think I counterfeited madness, I used to eat the grapes sand and all.

When it was rumoured abroad that I had lived two days and nights without meat or drink, some began to believe that I was a holy madman, while others supposed me to be stark mad; wherefore they consulted to send for certain men who dwell in the mountain, who lead a contemplative life, and are esteemed holy as we do hermits.  When they came to give their judgment concerning me, and were debating among themselves for upwards of an hour on my case, I pissed in my hands, and threw the water in their faces, on which they agreed I was no saint, but a mere madman.  The queen saw all this from her window, and laughed heartily at it among her maids, saying, “By the head of Mahomet this is a good man.”  Next morning I happened to find the man asleep who had so sore hurt me with stones, and taking him by the hair of his head with both hands, I so punched him in the stomach, and on the face with my knees, that I left him all bloody and half dead.  The queen happening to see me, she called out, “Kill the beast, Kill the dog.”  Upon which he ran away and came no more nigh me.

When the president of the city heard that the queen took so much delight in my mad frolics, he gave orders that I might go at liberty about the palace, only wearing my shackles, and that I should be immured every night in another prison in the lower part of the palace.  After I had remained in this manner for twenty days, the queen took it into her head to carry me along with her a hunting; but on my return, I feigned myself sick from fatigue, and continued in my cell for eight days, the queen sending every day to inquire how I was.  After this I took an opportunity to tell the queen that I had vowed to God and Mahomet to visit a certain holy person at Aden, and begged her permission to perform my vow.  She consented to this, and immediately gave orders that a camel and 25 gold seraphins