his
purse was at the service of all who needed to share it. His life was a
perpetual act of benevolence, and the blessings showered upon him by
all were returned bountifully upon him by the hand of God.

But people wondered, and said, "Is not this the man who was called
Rabbi Jochonan the Miser? What hath made the change?"

And it became a saying in Cairo. When it came to the ears of the
Rabbi, he called his friends together, and he avowed his former love
of gold, and the danger to which it had exposed him, relating all
which has been above told, in the hall of the new palace that he built
by the side of the river, on the left hand, as thou goest down the
course of the great stream. And wise men, who were scribes, wrote it
down from his mouth for the benefit of mankind, that they might profit
thereby. And a venerable man, with a beard of snow, who had read it in
these books, and at whose feet I sat that I might learn the wisdom of
the old time, told it to me. And I write it in the tongue of England,
the merry and the free, on the tenth day of the month Nisan, in the
year, according to the lesser computation, five hundred ninety and
seven, that thou mayest learn good thereof. If not, the fault be upon
thee.

[Illustration]

Jussuf, the Merchant of Balsora.

[Illustration]

Many hundred years ago, when the renowned Caliph Haroun al Raschid
ruled in Bagdad, there lived in the town of Balsora a merchant of good
repute, who was called Jussuf. He had received a considerable property
by inheritance from his father; and his paternal house, which was
esteemed as the most splendid palace of the town, was situated on one
of the finest spots. He was obliged to keep a great number both of
male and female slaves, as well for the management of his household
affairs, as also to assist him in his commercial pursuits, for his
business was very extensive. The largest warehouse in the bazaar of
the city belonged to him, and it was always filled with the most
precious goods, which he caused to be collected from the remotest
parts of the globe--either in ships or on the backs of his camels.
There you might see all the rarest and choicest gifts of nature,
together with the finest and richest productions of art; the most
costly tissues and stuffs, the most valuable vessels and implements of
silver and gold; elegant jewellery and trinkets, adorned skilfully
with sparkling stones of considerable value, heaped up one on another.