The slave brought me the wretch you see here, who came, and after saluting me, said, “Sir, you look as if you were not well.”  I told him I was just recovered from a fit of sickness.  “May God,” resumed he, “deliver you from all mischance; may his grace always go along with you.”  “I hope he will grant your wish, for which I am obliged to you.”  “Since you are recovering from a fit of sickness,” he continued, “I pray God preserve your health; but now let me know what I am to do; I have brought my razors and my lancets, do you desire to be shaved or to be bled?” I replied, “I am just recovered from a fit of sickness, and you may readily judge I only want to be shaved:  come, do not lose time in prattling; for I am in haste, and have an appointment precisely at noon.”

The barber spent much time in opening his case, and preparing his razors Instead of putting water into the basin, he took a very handsome astrolabe out of his case, and went very gravely out of my room to the middle of the court to take the height of the sun:  he returned with the same grave pace, and entering my room, said, “Sir, you will be pleased to know this day is Friday the 18th of the moon Suffir, in the year 653, from the retreat of our great prophet from Mecca to Medina, and in the year 7320 of the epocha of the great Iskender with two horns; and that the conjunction of Mars and Mercury signifies you cannot choose a better time than this very day and hour for being shaved.  But, on the other hand, the same conjunction is a bad presage to you.  I learn from it, that this day you run a great risk, not indeed of losing your life, but of an inconvenience which will attend you while you live.  You are obliged to me for the advice I now give you, to avoid this accident; I shall be sorry if it befall you.”

You may guess, gentlemen, how vexed I was at having fallen into the hands of such a prattling, impertinent fellow; what an unseasonable adventure was it for a lover preparing for an interview with his mistress!  I was quite irritated.  “I care not,” said I, in anger, “for your advice and predictions; I did not call you to consult your astrology; you came hither to shave me; shave me, or begone.”  “I will call another barber, sir,” replied he, with a coolness that put me out of all patience; “what reason have you to be angry with me?  You do not know, that all of my profession are not like me; and that if you made it your business to search, you would not find such another.  You only sent for a barber; but here, in my person, you have the best barber in Bagdad, an experienced physician, a profound chemist, an infallible astrologer, a finished grammarian, a complete orator, a subtle logician, a mathematician perfectly well versed in geometry, arithmetic, astronomy, and all the refinements of algebra; an historian fully master of the histories of all the kingdoms of the universe.  Besides, I understand all parts of philosophy.  I have all our sacred traditions by heart.  I am a poet,