THE STORY TOLD BY THE TAILOR.

A citizen of this city did me the honour, two days ago, to invite me to a treat, which he was to give to his friends yesterday morning.  Accordingly, I went pretty early, and found twenty persons waiting.

The master of the house was gone out upon some business, but in a very little time came home, and brought with him a young man, a stranger, well dressed, and very handsome, but lame.  When he came in, we all rose, and, out of respect to the master of the house, invited the young gentleman to sit down with us upon the sofa.  He was going to sit down; but all on a sudden, spying a barber in our company, he flew backwards, and made towards the door.  The master of the house being surprised, stopped him:  Where are you going? said he; I brought you along with me to do me the honour of being my guest, and you are no sooner got into my house than you run away again.  Sir, said the young man, for God’s sake do not stop me, let me go; I cannot, without horror, look upon that abominable barber; though he was born in a country where all the natives are whites, he resembles an Ethiopian; and when all is come to all, his soul is yet blacker, and yet more horrible than his face.

We were, continued the tailor, surprised to hear the young man speak so, and began to have a very bad opinion of the barber, without knowing what ground the young man had for what he said.  Nay, we protested we would not suffer any one to remain in our company who bore so horrid a character.  The master of the house entreated the stranger to tell us what reason he had for hating the barber.  Gentlemen, said the young man, you must know that this cursed barber is the cause of my being lame, and of the most cruel accident that any one can imagine:  for this reason, I have made an oath to avoid every place where he dwells.  It was for this reason that I left Bagdad, where he then was, and travelled so far to settle in this city, in the heart of Great Tartary, a place where I flattered myself I should never see him; and now, after all, contrary to my expectations, I find him here.  This obliges me, gentlemen, against my will, to deprive myself of the honour of being merry with you.  This very day I take leave of your town, and will go, if possible, to hide me from him.  This said, he would have left us, but the master entreated him to stop, and tell the cause of his aversion to the barber, who all this while looked down, and said nothing.  We joined with the master of the house in requesting him to stay; and at last the young man, yielding to our instances, sat down upon the sofa; and, after turning his back to the barber, that he might not see him, gave us the following account.