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Updated: May 10, 2025
"But we're going to do The Caliph's Wedding out of the Arabian Nights." "Let's drop the Eastern touch," I said, getting up from the table. "It's sure to be overdone. Give them a page of Cervantes instead. Jonah can be Don Quixote. You'll make a priceless Dorothea in boy's clothes, with your hair down your back. Jilly can be Wait a minute." I stepped to the shelf and picked out the old quarto.
This was the usual effect of the caliph's powder, the sleep lasting longer or shorter, in proportion to the dose.
What the waiting-woman promised in jest, Dame Fortune has seriously bestowed on this Malvolio, and his political cross-garterings not only find favor with the Radical Olivia, but are admired by the Sir Tobys of the European world. Indeed, Fortune has conceits as quaint as those of Haroun al-Raschid. The beggar, from profound sleep, awoke in the Caliph's bed.
"Then," said he, "in the evening, you must be at the mosque built by the caliph's lady on the bank of the Tigris, and wait there till somebody comes to conduct you." To this I agreed; and after passing the day in great impatience, went in the evening to the prayer that is said an hour and a half after sun-set in the mosque, and remained there after all the people had departed.
'Now, said Oulagon to his Tartars, 'seeing that we have in our hands six score of the caliph's chief counsellors and most wealthy subjects, I cannot doubt that the remainder are very common sort of people, and not likely to offer much resistance. My plans have been laid with such secrecy and caution, that nothing is suspected. I have only to appear before Bagdad, and take possession.
The caliph's letter was as follows: 'Greeting in the name of the Sovereign Guide of the Right Way, to the potent and happy Sultan, from Abdallah Haroun Alraschid, whom God hath set in the place of honour, after his ancestors of happy memory: 'We received your letter with joy, and send you this from the council of our port, the garden of superior wits.
"You have not erred in your judgment on that head," said the eunuch; "she is the favourite of Zobeide the caliph's wife, who is the more affectionately attached to her from having brought her up from her infancy, and intrusts her with all her affairs. Having a wish to marry, she has declared to her mistress that she has fixed her affections upon you, and has desired her consent.
She left him quite another person from what he was before; his eyes appeared brighter, and his countenance more gay, which satisfied the jeweller that the good slave came to tell him something favourable to his amour. The jeweller having taken his place again near the prince, said to him smiling, "I see, prince, you have business of importance at the caliph's palace."
When Ja'afar arrived and saw the crushing and crowding of the lieges, he asked, "What means all this gathering?" so they told him what was doing in the matter of Nur al-Din; whereupon he hastened to go to the Sultan and saluting him, acquainted him with the cause why he came and the Caliph's resolve, in case of any foul play having befallen the youth, to put to death whoso should have brought it about.
Then he lifted up his head, and the tears ran down his cheeks, and he said, "Who is able to do this without the divine assistance?" Ali bade Said make good use of the Caliph's advice and dismissed him. Said, as he marched toward the army, lost his way, which turned out very unfortunate for the Christians, for by that means he fell in with the prefect of Amman with five thousand men.
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