me, I
set fire to the tower, and consumed in it the mutes, negresses, and
serpents which have rendered me so much good service; nor should I have
been less kind to Morakanabad, had he not prevented me by deserting at
last to my brother. As for Bababalouk, who had the folly to return to
Samarah, and all the good brotherhood to provide husbands for thy wives,
I undoubtedly would have put them to the torture, could I but have
allowed them the time; being however in a hurry, I only hung him after
having caught him in a snare with thy wives, whilst them I buried alive
by the help of my negresses, who thus spent their last moments greatly
to their satisfaction. With respect to Dilara, who ever stood high in my
favor, she hath evinced the greatness of her mind by fixing herself near
in the service of one of the Magi, and I think will soon be our own."

Vathek, too much cast down to express the indignation excited by such a
discourse, ordered the Afrit to remove Carathis from his presence, and
continued immersed in thought, which his companion durst not disturb.

Carathis, however, eagerly entered the dome of Soliman, and without
regarding in the least the groans of the Prophet, undauntedly removed
the covers of the vases, and violently seized on the talismans. Then,
with a voice more loud than had hitherto been heard within these
mansions, she compelled the Dives to disclose to her the most secret
treasures, the most profound stores, which the Afrit himself had not
seen; she passed by rapid descents known only to Eblis and his most
favored potentates, and thus penetrated the very entrails of the earth,
where breathes the Sansar, or icy wind of death. Nothing appalled her
dauntless soul; she perceived however in all the inmates, who bore their
hands on their hearts, a little singularity, not much to her taste. As
she was emerging from one of the abysses, Eblis stood forth to her view;
but notwithstanding he displayed the full effulgence of his infernal
majesty, she preserved her countenance unaltered, and even paid her
compliments with considerable firmness.

This superb Monarch thus answered:--"Princess, whose knowledge and whose
crimes have merited a conspicuous rank in my empire, thou dost well to
employ the leisure that remains; for the flames and torments which are
ready to seize on thy heart will not fail to provide thee with full
employment." He said this, and was lost in the curtains of his
tabernacle.

Carathis pau