without much being said between us during some time.

_Dervish Bideen_, for that was his name, at length began to question
me very closely about my former life, and hearing in what my
accomplishments consisted, seemed to be well pleased. He then descanted
upon the advantages attending the life of a dervish, proved them to be
superior to the low pursuits of a luti, and at length persuaded me to
embrace his profession. He said, that if I would look upon him as my
master, he would teach me all he knew, and _that_, he assured me, was no
small portion of knowledge, inasmuch as he was esteemed the most perfect
dervish in Persia. He began to talk of magic and astrology, and gave
me various receipts for making spells and charms, to serve on every
occasion in life; by the sale of which alone I should be able to make
my fortune. The tail of a hare, placed under the pillow of a child, he
assured me, produces sleep; and its blood, given to a horse, makes him
fleet and long-winded. The eye and the knuckle-bones of a wolf, attached
to a boy's person, give him courage; and its fat, rubbed on a woman,
will convert her husband's love into indifference: its gall, used in
the same manner, produces fruitfulness. But the article which bore the
greatest price in the seraglios was the _kus keftar_, the dried skin
of a female hyena; which, if worn about the person, conciliated the
affection of all to the wearer. He discoursed long upon these and
such-like subjects, until he gradually excited so much interest in
my heart, by thus placing my fortune apparently in full view, that at
length he ventured to make a proposal, which he easily judged would be
disagreeable.

'"Sefer," said he to me, "you know not the treasure you possess in that
ape,--I do not mean as he stands now alive, but dead. If he were dead, I
could extract such ingredients from him to make charms, which would sell
for their weight in gold in the harem of the Shah. You must know, that
the liver of an ape, and only of that particular species which you
possess, is sure to bring back the love of a desired object to the
person who may possess it. Then the skin of its nose, if worn round
the neck, is a decisive preventive against poison; and the ashes of the
animal itself, after it has been burnt over a slow tire, will, if taken
internally, give all the qualities of the ape, cunning, adroitness,
and the powers of imitation." He then proposed that we should kill the
beast.

'I was