ine themselves to money only; gold heads of pipes, a silver ewer,
a sable pelisse, shawls, and a variety of other things, were brought
before us. When it came to my turn, I produced the heaviest bag of
tomauns that had yet been given in, which secured to me the applause of
the company.

'Well done! well done! Hajji,' said they all to me; 'he has become a
good Turcoman: we could not have done better ourselves.'

My master in particular was very loud in his praises, and said, 'Hajji,
my son, by my own soul, by the head of my father, I swear that you have
done bravely, and I will give you one of my slaves for a wife, and you
shall live with us--and you shall have a tent of your own, with twenty
sheep, and we'll have a wedding, when I will give an entertainment to
all the encampment.'

These words sunk deep in my mind, and only strengthened my resolution
to escape on the very first opportunity; but in the meanwhile I was very
intent upon the division of the spoil which was about to be made, as
I hoped to be included for a considerable portion of it. To my great
mortification they gave me not a single dinar. In vain I exclaimed, in
vain I entreated; all I could hear was, 'If you say a word more, we will
cut your head off.' So I was obliged to console myself with my original
fifty ducats, whilst my companions were squabbling about their shares.
At length it became a scene of general contention, and would have
finished by bloodshed, if a thought had not struck one of the
combatants, who exclaimed, 'We have got a cadi here; why should we
dispute? He shall decide between us.

So immediately the poor cadi was set in the midst of them, and was made
to legislate upon goods, part of which belonged in fact to himself,
without even getting the percentage due to him as judge.

CHAPTER VII

Hajji Baba evinces a feeling disposition--History of the poet Asker.

We made our retreat by the same road we came, but not with the same
expedition, on account of our prisoners. They sometimes walked and
sometimes rode.

The general appearance of the poet had, from the first moment,
interested me in his misfortunes; and being a smatterer in learning
myself, my vanity, perhaps, was flattered with the idea of becoming the
protector of a man of letters in distress. Without appearing to show
any particular partiality to him, I succeeded in being appointed to keep
watch over him, under the plea that I would compel him to make verses;
and