ave no safe buckler of defence,
None to protect it from their conquering arms."

Thus spoke the sire prophetic to his son,
And both were moved to tears. Again the king
Resumed his warning voice: "Nauder, I charge thee
Place not thy trust upon a world like this,
Where nothing fixed remains. The caravan
Goes to another city, one to-day,
The next, to-morrow, each observes its turn
And time appointed--mine has come at last,
And I must travel on the destined road."

At the period Minuchihr uttered this exhortation, he was entirely free
from indisposition, but he shortly afterwards closed his eyes in death.

NAUDER

Upon the demise of Minuchihr, Nauder ascended the throne, and commenced
his reign in the most promising manner; but before two months had
passed, he neglected the counsels of his father, and betrayed the
despotic character of his heart. To such an extreme did he carry his
oppression, that to escape from his violence, the people were induced to
solicit other princes to come and take possession of the empire. The
courtiers labored under the greatest embarrassment, their monarch being
solely occupied in extorting money from his subjects, and amassing
wealth for his own coffers. Nauder was not long in perceiving the
dissatisfaction that universally prevailed, and, anticipating, not only
an immediate revolt, but an invading army, solicited, according to his
father's advice, the assistance of Sam, then at Mazinderan. The
complaints of the people, however, reached Sam before the arrival of the
messenger, and when he received the letter, he was greatly distressed on
account of the extreme severity exercised by the new king. The champion,
in consequence, proceeded forthwith from Mazinderan to Persia, and when
he entered the capital, he was joyously welcomed, and at once entreated
by the people to take the sovereignty upon himself. It was said of
Nauder:

The gloom of tyranny has hid
The light his father's counsel gave;
The hope of life is lost amid
The desolation of the grave.
The world is withering in his thrall,
Exhausted by his iron sway;
Do thou ascend the throne, and all
Will cheerfully thy will obey.

But Sam said, "No; I should then be ungrateful to Minuchihr, a traitor,
and deservedly offensive in the eyes of God. Nauder is the king, and I
am bound to do him service, although he has deplorably departed from the
advice of his father." He then soothed the a