amazement at the story, his mind
intent upon the central tragedy. He said no word of praise or wonder
at our host's self-sacrifice. That he accepted, as a thing of course.
This attitude of his, which I observed, prevented me from uttering the
words of pity and condolence which were on my tongue; and I am glad
those words were never uttered, for they were impertinent, and would
have seemed absurd to Orientals, who have not our sentiment.

So, after the conclusion of the tale, we went to bed.

CHAPTER XVIII

BASTIRMA

The moon began to shine upon the gardens of Damascus, casting pale
shadows, though the daylight had not quite departed, and the sky
behind the trees to westward was still green. We were sitting out on
stools under the walnut trees, beside a stream which made a pleasant
murmur. The air was laden with the scent of unseen roses. Behind us
was a little tavern with a lantern lighted in its entrance arch, a
solitary yellow eye amid the twilight.

We were the centre of a crowd, as usual when Suleyman was with us. His
voice attracted people like a drum, and the matter of his talk had
power to hold them. It was a weighty voice of studied modulations,
which promised wisdom on the brink of laughter. He generally chose
some moral or religious subject for discourse, and illustrated it by
what we call 'nawadir' (rare things) selected from his vast
experience of life. By his own account he had journeyed to the world's
rim, and had associated not alone with men, but also with jinn and
ghouls. On the other hand, he had been to Europe several times, and
knew the streets of Paris and of London. Somehow, one never doubted
any of his stories while he was telling them, the accents of his voice
had such conviction. One was conscious that his tales--even the most
extravagant--were true in some mysterious, intrinsic way. This time he
chose to speak to us of guilt and innocence, of good and evil works,
and their effect on man's salvation. He aired the theory, which roused
approving murmurs in the listening circle, that to have a good
intention was the chief desideratum for every son of Adam on his
journey through the world, no matter though his works might turn out
bad or unsuccessful.

'To lie with good intention is better than to tell the truth with bad
intention,' he declared.

'To lie is the salt of a man; the shame is to him who believes,' put
in Rashid, my servant, who was great at proverbs.

Suleyman paid n