ades, Miltiades,
Themistocles, Lysippus, and Demosthenes! for the sake of your shades,
O Solon, O Lycurgus, O Pythagoras, and a time is coming in which I
will prove it! It is thy memory, Athene, which inspires me to heap up
treasures for the future! Thou, O holy Goddess of Liberty, hath
whispered in my ear that thou canst make use of the lowly as well as
of the mighty to promote thy cause!" Here the merchant leaped to his
feet in his enthusiasm, and, extending his hand towards the Circassian
exclaimed, "Kasi Mollah, you groan beneath the yoke just as much as we
do; let us join hands against our oppressors, and let us gradually
melt the hearts of their leaders by the strongest of fires, by the
fire of the eyes of the Greek and Circassian maidens, and we shall
catch them in a flowery net!"

Kasi Mollah did not clasp the hand of the enthusiastic Greek; and,
without turning towards him, replied, coldly, "I do not grudge you the
drink which I put before you, worthy merchant, but I perceive that it
has begun to mount into your head, or else you would not talk such
rubbish as selling free people to your enemies from motives of
freedom. Nor do you say well in saying that we are under the yoke, for
that is not true. Nobody has ever made the Circassian do homage, nor
would any try to conquer us for the sake of the eyes of our poor
damsels. Say no more about my children. I will not give them up. If
any one comes to visit me, I'll send him about his business; if any
one tries to deceive me, I'll cudgel him; and if any one tries to rob
me, I'll slay him. And tell that to the merchants of Erzeroum also.
And now say no more about it."

At these words the face of the merchant grew very long indeed. In his
spite he began pulling at the stem of his chibook with such force that
his face was furrowed right down the middle, and his eyebrows ascended
to the middle of his forehead. From time to time he kept on wagging
his head, and his scarlet, mortar-shaped fez along with it, and burned
the tips of his fingers by absently poking the red-hot bowl of his
pipe. But his indignation did not go beyond a shaking of the head, and
there he wisely let the matter rest.

"Very well, Kasi Mollah. You are an honest fellow. We shall see--we
shall see."

The sun was now setting, and from among the hills the bells of the
home-returning cattle resounded across the level plain which extended
in front of the rocky heights of Himri. Fifteen head of snow-whi