most eloquent, and proffered his petition in verse the most fluent.  The Sultan looked at him (and he habited in his best and with all of beauty blest), and the royal mind was pleased and he enquired saying, “Who art thou, O Youth?” The other replied, “I am the Half-man whom thou sawest and I did the deed whereof thou wottest.”  As soon as the King heard this speech he entreated him with respect and bade him sit in the most honourable stead, and when he was seated the twain conversed together.  The Sultan was astounded at his speech and they continued their discourse till they touched upon sundry disputed questions of learning, when the Youth proved himself as superior to the Sovran as a dinar is to a dirham:  and to whatever niceties of knowledge the monarch asked, the young man returned an allsufficient answer, speaking like a book.  So the Sultan abode confounded at the eloquence of his tongue and the purity of his phrase and the readiness of his replies; and he said in his mind, “This Youth is as worthy to become my daughter’s mate as she is meet to become his helpmate.”  Then he addressed him in these words, “O Youth, my wish is to unite thee with my daughter and after thou hast looked upon her and her mother none will marry her save thyself.”  The other replied, “O King of the Age, I am ready to obey thee, but first I must take counsel of my friends.”  The King rejoined, “No harm in that:  hie thee home and ask their advice.”  The Youth then craved leave to retire and repairing to his Shaykh,—­And Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day and fell silent and ceased to say her permitted say.  Then quoth her sister Dunyazad, “How sweet is thy story, O sister mine, and how enjoyable and delectable!” Quoth she, “And where is this compared with that I would relate to you on the coming night, an the Sovran suffer me to survive?” Now when it was the next night and that was

The Three Hundred and Sixtieth Night,

Dunyazad said to her, “Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short the watching of this our latter night!” She replied, “With love and good will!” It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the Youth then craved leave to retire and, repairing to his Shaykh, informed him of what had passed between himself and the Sultan and said to him, “’Tis also my wish, O my lord, to marry his daughter.”  The Sage replied, “There be no fault herein if it be lawful wedlock:  fare thee forth and ask her in marriage.”  Quoth the Youth, “But I, O my lord, desire to invite the King to visit us;” and quoth the Sage, “Go invite him, O my son, and hearten thy heart.”  The Youth replied, “O my lord, since I first came to thee and thou didst honour me by taking me into thy service, I have known none other home save this narrow cell wherein thou sittest, never stirring from it by night or by