Part 40 (1/2)

She then inforements she had made for our immediate union, in case I was not averse to it, and referred me to a man of the lahom she had secured to act in her behalf, ould make out all the proper papers, and whom she informed me was now in the house ready to officiate I was not prepared for quite so ivebetween heaven and earth; but I did not hesitate to reiterate my protestations of eternal love and devotion, and said nothing to ht

So impatient was she of any delay, that she immediately ordered the old Ayesha to conduct me to the man of the laas in attendance in a small apartment, in a ht another, who, he informed me, would act asnecessary on the part of the man as well as the woe deed, in which he had already inscribed the dower ofof her own property, and demanded from me what additions it was ain thrown back upon ive, repeated what I had before said to Ayesha, namely, that a merchant was uncertain of his wealth, which was dispersed in trade in different parts of the world; but I did not hesitate to settle all that I possessed upon ement were mutual

?That is very liberal,? repliedmore specific As for instance, what do you possess here at Constantinople? You cannot have come thus far, except for important purposes Settle the wealth which you can command upon the spot, be it in cash, merchandise, or houses, and that will suffice for the present?

?Be it so,? said I, putting the best face possible upon the de to calculate within myself what I could coive twenty purses in money and ten in clothes?

Upon this, a coent, for the purpose of infor her consent to theed to the apparent satisfaction of both parties, and our different seals having been affixed to the docu been pronounced by our different vakeels, the e was declared lawful, and I received the compliments of all present

I did not fail to reward the scribes before they were dismissed, and also to send a very liberal donation to be distributed throughout the household ofto old Osnity and consequence of the gravest Turk, into the inmost recesses of my harem

CHAPTER LXIX

Froa, but feels all the inconvenience of supporting a false character

I soon found that I had a very difficult part to perform A Chinese philosopher is said to have re was confined to what takes place between thecould be ht eat for ever; but it is the stoans, and, in fact, the rest of the body, which decide ultimately whether the said operation has been prejudicial or healthful So it is in e If it were confined to what takes place betweenmore simple; but then come the ties of relationshi+p and the interests of families, and they decide much upon its happiness or misery

My fair spouse entertained e with such manifold and intricate stories of her fas-up, of their jealousies and their hatreds, and particularly of their interested motives in their conduct towards her, that she ot into a nest of scorpions She recoreatest circu her brothers of our h ere so far secure in being lawful man and wife, still as oodwill towards us (they being men of wealth, and consequently of influence in the city), we ought to do everything in our power to conciliate them

As a precautionary measure, she had spread a report that she was on the point of being dad merchants, and in a conversation with one of her brothers, had not denied, although she had abstained fro it to be the case She now requested that our ht be proclaiive an entertainment to all her relations, and that no expense should be spared in ht be convinced she had not thrown herself away upon an adventurer, but, in fact, had made an alliance worthy of the her wishes, and I was delighted to have so early an opportunity toa suite of servants, each of whoed the deceased ereater value, and of the newest fashi+on In the same manner I provided myself with a new set of coffee-cups, the saucers of which were fashi+oned in the old, others of enamel, and one or two, for my own particular use, inlaid with precious stones Then, as I had stepped into the emir?s shoes, I determined to slip on his pelisses also He was curious in the luxuries of dress, for his wardrobe consisted of robes and furs of great value, which hisinformed me had existed in his family for many years, and which I did not now blush to adjust to my own shoulders In short, before the day of the entertainreat aga; and I do believe, although born a barber, yet in look, manner, and deportment, no one could have acted a part truer to my new character than I did

But I must not omit to mention, that previously to the feast, I had not failed to visit reatly anxious respecting the result of our h the streets mounted on one of the es that swept the ground, and surrounded by a crowd of well-dressed servants,that I had ever before experienced To see the crowd make way, look up, and lay their hands on their breast as I passed,--to feel and hear the fretting and cha of my horse?s bit as he moved under me, apparently proud of the burden he bore,--to enjoy the luxury of a soft and easy seat, whilst others were on foot; in fine, to revel in those feelings of consequence and consideration which my appearance procured, and not to have been intoxicated, was ly I was completely beside myself But what addedsome of my own needy countrymen in the streets, who had been dad, and who, in their sheepskin caps and thin scanty cotton garaily dressed Osmanlies, and seehest degree the good fortune hich I had been visited Whether or no they recognized me, I know not; but this I recollect, that I turned my head on one side as I passed, and buried my face as well as I could in the coreat turban, and furred pelisse

My visits succeeded better than I could have expected Whatever ht have been the motives of my wife?s brothers, they behaved to me with marked civility, and indeed flattered me into the belief that I had conferred an honour on their fa their sister off their hands Merchants as they were, their conversation turned principally upon trade, and I made my best endeavours to talk up to the character I had assus in coreat was an to question and cross-exadad and Bassorah, the relations of those cities and of Arabia in general with India and China, and to propose joint concerns in their various articles and produce, I immediately reduced eneral ter

Having completed my visits, I felt that one duty was still left, which was, to ood old Ose, and to invite hi entertainment But, shall I own it? soa false part, and so fearful was I of being detected, that I dared not trust even him, taciturn as he naturally ith my secret, and therefore determined for the present to have no communication with him, or, in fact, with any of my countrymen, until I could feel myself so securely fixed indisplaced

[Illustration: Hajji curses Shekerleb and her relations 37jpg]

CHAPTER LXX

His desire to excite envy lays the foundation of his disgrace--He quarrels with his wife

The entertainreatest success, and there was every reason to suppose that I fully succeeded in e whoan to feel secure in avewith ayest attire, and, in short, keeping a house that was the talk and envy of the city ?Tis true that I al indebted tothe previous assurances of the old Ayesha, I soon found that differences of opinion would arise on many other subjects besides the comparative delicacy of cream and cheese tarts ?Excellent man must that old eh life with only one subject of dispute with his wife! For my part, if there happens to be two sides to a question, we are sure to appropriate the promised to myself the enjoyood fortune; I mean, the exhibition of myself in all my splendour beforethe astonishment which I should excite in the old Osman, my former master

Now, that all was safe, as I fully hoped, I could no longer resist the tely dressed myself in athered my whole suite of servants about me, and in the very busiest hour of the day proceeded to the caravanserai, in which, on my first arrival at Constantinople, I had appeared as a vender of pipe-sticks Upon entering the gate, no one see that in ht find a purchaser of their a, whilst my servants spread a beautiful Persian carpet for my seat, and at the same time offered me one of my most costly amber-headed chibouks to smoke He cae ofme I talked to him without reserve for some time, and remarked that he eyed th, unable to restrain hier, he exclaimed, ?By the beard of the blessed Mohammed, you are either Hajji Baba, or you are nobody!?

I laughed with all my heart at his exclamation, and e had mutually explained, very soon related hoas situated, and to what profit I had turned the fifty pieces of gold which he had lent me His philosophic e of fortune as I had anticipated; but my countrye turban and that heavy pelisse was seated Hajji Baba, the once vender of little wares like themselves, and that all that splendour and circumstance of horse, servants, and rich pipes was attendant upon his person, their national feelings were awakened, and they could neither contain their envy nor their malevolence