elima (here the good old man's
voice trembled), and may God in his mercy forgive both thee and me for the
neglect which has made this parting necessary. I shall know that I am
forgiven if, before I go down into the tomb, my son return a wise and
sober man; not unmindful that we gave him life, and forgetting that, until
now, we have given him little else."

Selima laid her seventh child in its cradle of carved wood, and drew Halil
to her bosom; and Fadlallah knew that she loved him still, because she
kissed his face, regardless of the blood and dirt that stained it. She
then washed him and dressed him, and gave him a purse of gold, and handed
him over to his father; who had resolved to send him off by the caravan
that started that very afternoon. Halil, surprised and made happy by
unwonted caresses, was yet delighted at the idea of beginning an
adventurous life; and went away, manfully stifling his sobs, and
endeavoring to assume the grave deportment of a merchant. Selima shed a
few tears, and then, attracted by a crow and a chuckle from the cradle,
began to tickle the infant's soft double chin, and went on with her
interrupted lesson, "Baba, Baba!"

Halil started on his journey, and having passed through the Valley of
Robbers, the Valley of Lions, and the Valley of Devils--this is the way in
which Orientals localize the supposed dangers of traveling--arrived at the
good city of Bassora; where his uncle received him well, and promised to
send him as supercargo on board the next vessel he dispatched to the
Indian seas. What time was spent by the caravan upon the road, the
narrative does not state. Traveling is slow work in the East; but almost
immediately on his arrival in Bassora, Halil was engaged in a love
adventure. If traveling is slow, the approaches of manhood are rapid. The
youth's curiosity was excited by the extraordinary care taken to conceal
his cousin Miriam from his sight; and having introduced himself into her
garden, beheld, and, struck by her wonderful beauty, loved her. With an
Oriental fondness, he confessed the truth to his uncle, who listened with
anger and dismay, and told him that Miriam was betrothed to the Sultan.
Halil perceived the danger of indulging his passion, and promised to
suppress it; but while he played a prudent part, Miriam's curiosity was
also excited, and she, too, beheld and loved her cousin. Bolts and bars
can not keep two such affections asunder. They met and plighted their
trot