said: "I will pay the most profound
attention to this inexhaustible treasure; and to preserve it from
breaking I will exert every faculty of my soul." Upon saying this he
received the bowl, with which he returned on the wings of rapture, and
for some days enjoyed his good fortune better than might be expected.
The necessaries and comforts of life were provided for his family, his
creditors were paid, alms distributed to the poor, the brittle bowl of
plenty was guarded with discretion, and everything around him was
arranged for the reception of his friends, who assembled in such crowds
that his cottage overflowed. The faggot-maker, who was one of those
choice elevated spirits whose money never rusts in their possession,
finding his habitation inadequate for the entertainment of his guests,
built another, more spacious and magnificent, to which he invited the
whole city, and placed the magic bowl in the middle of the grand saloon,
and every time he made a dip pulled out whatever was wished for. Though
the views of his visitors were various, contentment was visibly
inscribed on every forehead: the hungry were filled with the bread of
plenty; the aqueducts overflowed with the wine of Shiraz; the effeminate
were satiated with musky odours, and the thirst of avarice was quenched
by the bowl of abundance. The wondering spectators exclaimed: "This is
no bowl, but a boundless ocean of mystery! It is not what it appears to
be, a piece of furniture, but an inexhaustible magazine of treasure!"

After the faggot-maker had thus paraded his good fortune and circulated
the wine-cup with very great rapidity, he stood up and began to dance,
and, to show his dexterity in the art, placed the brittle bowl on his
left shoulder, which every time he turned round he struck with his hand,
crying: "O soul-exhilarating goblet, thou art the origin of my ease and
affluence--the spring of my pomp and equipage--the engineer who has
lifted me from the dust of indigence to the towering battlements of
glory! Thou art the nimble berid [running foot-man] of my winged wishes,
and the regulator of all my actions! To thee am I indebted for all the
splendour that surrounds me! Thou art the source of my currency, and art
the author of our present festival!"

With these and similar foolish tales he entertained his company, as the
genius of nonsense dictated, making the most ridiculous grimaces,
rolling his eyes like a fakir in a fit of devotion, and capering lik