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Legend Of Prince Ahmed Al Kamel; Or, The Pilgrim Of LovePart II
Part II
When the raven heard that it was a matter of vast moment, in which the
stars took interest, he changed his tone and manner, and listened with
profound attention to the story of the prince. When it was concluded, he
replied, "Touching this princess, I can give thee no information of myself,
for my flight is not among gardens, or around ladies` bowers; but hie thee to
Cordova, seek the palm-tree of the great Abderahman, which stands in the court
of the principal mosque: at the foot of it thou wilt find a great traveller
who has visited all countries and courts, and been a favorite with queens and
princesses. He will give thee tidings of the object of thy search."
"Many thanks for this precious information," said the prince. "Farewell,
most venerable conjurer."
"Farewell, pilgrim of love," said the raven, dryly, and again fell to
pondering on the diagram.
The prince sallied forth from Seville, sought his fellow-traveller the
owl, who was still dozing in the hollow tree, and set off for Cordova.
He approached it along hanging gardens, and orange and citron groves,
overlooking the fair valley of the Guadalquivir. When arrived at its gates the
owl flew up to a dark hole in the wall, and the prince proceeded in quest of
the palm-tree planted in days of yore by the great Abderahman. It stood in the
midst of the great court of the mosque, towering from amidst orange and
cypress trees. Dervises and Faquirs were seated in groups under the cloisters
of the court, and many of the faithful were performing their ablutions at the
fountains before entering the mosque.
At the foot of the palm-tree was a crowd listening to the words of one
who appeared to be talking with great volubility. "This," said the prince to
himself," must be the great traveller who is to give me tidings of the unknown
princess." He mingled in the crowd, but was astonished to perceive that they
were all listening to a parrot, who with his bright green coat, pragmatical
eye, and consequential top-knot, had the air of a bird on excellent terms with
himself.
"How is this," said the prince to one of the bystanders, "that so many
grave persons can be delighted with the garrulity of a chattering bird?"
"You know not whom you speak of," said the other; "this parrot is a
descendant of the famous parrot of Persia, renowned for his story-telling
talent. He has all the learning of the East at the tip of his tongue, and can
quote poetry as fast as he can talk. He has visited various foreign courts,
where he has been considered an oracle of erudition. He has been a universal
favorite also with the fair sex, who have a vast admiration for erudite
parrots that can quote poetry."
"Enough," said the prince, "I will have some private talk with this
distinguished traveller."
He sought a private interview, and expounded the nature of his errand. He
had scarcely mentioned it when the parrot burst into a fit of dry rickety
laughter that absolutely brought tears in his eyes. "Excuse my merriment,"
said he, "but the mere mention of love always sets me laughing."
The prince was shocked at this ill-timed mirth. "Is not love," said he,
"the great mystery of nature, the secret principle of life, the universal bond
of sympathy?"
"A fig`s end!" cried the parrot, interrupting him; "prithee where hast
thou learned this sentimental jargon? trust me, love is quite out of vogue;
one never hears of it in the company of wits and people of refinement."
The prince sighed as he recalled the different language of his friend the
dove. But this parrot, thought he, has lived about the court, he affects the
wit and the fine gentleman, he knows nothing of the thing called love.
Unwilling to provoke any more ridicule of the sentiment which filled his
heart, he now directed his inquiries to the immediate purport of his visit.
"Tell me," said he, "most accomplished parrot, thou who hast every where
been admitted to the most secret bowers of beauty, hast thou in the course of
thy travels met with the original of this portrait?"
The parrot took the picture in his claw, turned his head from side to
side, and examined it curiously with either eye. "Upon my honor," said he, "a
very pretty face; very pretty: but then one sees so many pretty women in one`s
travels that one can hardly - but hold - bless me! now I look at it again -
sure enough this is the princess Aldegonda: how could I forget one that is so
prodigious a favorite with me!"
"The princess Aldegonda!" echoed the prince; "and where is she to be
found?"
[See Toledo]
"Softly, softly," said the parrot, "easier to be found than gained. She
is the only daughter of the Christian king who reigns at Toledo, and is shut
up from the world until her seventeenth birth-day, on account of some
prediction of those meddlesome fellows the astrologers. You`ll not get a sight
of her; no mortal man can see her. I was admitted to her presence to entertain
her, and I assure you, on the word of a parrot, who has seen the world, I have
conversed with much sillier princesses in my time."
"A word in confidence, my dear parrot," said the prince; "I am heir to a
kingdom, and shall one day sit upon a throne. I see that you are a bird of
parts, and understand the world. Help me to gain possession of this princess,
and I will advance you to some distinguished place about court."
"With all my heart," said the parrot; "but let it be a sinecure if
possible, for we wits have a great dislike to labor."
Arrangements were promptly made; the prince sallied forth from Cordova
through the same gate by which he had entered; called the owl down from the
hole in the wall, introduced him to his new travelling companion as a brother
savant, and away they set off on their journey.
They travelled much more slowly than accorded with the impatience of the
prince, but the parrot was accustomed to high life, and did not like to be
disturbed early in the morning. The owl, on the other hand, was for sleeping
at mid-day, and lost a great deal of time by his long siestas. His antiquarian
taste also was in the way; for he insisted on pausing and inspecting every
ruin, and had long legendary tales to tell about every old tower and castle in
the country. The prince had supposed that he and the parrot, being both birds
of learning, would delight in each other`s society, but never had he been more
mistaken. They were eternally bickering. The one was a wit, the other a
philosopher. The parrot quoted poetry, was critical on new readings and
eloquent on small points of erudition; the owl treated all such knowledge as
trifling, and relished nothing but metaphysics. Then the parrot would sing
songs and repeat bon mots and crack jokes upon his solemn neighbor, and laugh
outrageously at his own wit; all which proceedings the owl considered as a
grievous invasion of his dignity, and would scowl and sulk and swell, and be
silent for a whole day together.
The prince heeded not the wranglings of his companions, being wrapped up
in the dreams of his own fancy and the contemplation of the portrait of the
beautiful princess. In this way they journeyed through the stern passes of the
Sierra Morena, across the sunburnt plains of La Mancha and Castile, and along
the banks of the "Golden Tagus," which winds its wizard mazes over one half of
Spain and Portugal. At length they came in sight of a strong city with walls
and towers built on a rocky promontory, round the foot of which the Tagusi
circled with brawling violence.
"Behold," exclaimed the owl", the ancient and renowned city of Toledo; a
city famous for its antiquities. Behold those venerable domes and towers,
hoary with time and clothed with legendary grandeur, in which so many of my
ancestors have meditated."
"Pish!" cried the parrot, interrupting his solemn antiquarian rapture,
"what have we to do with antiquities, and legends, and your ancestry? Behold
what is more to the purpose-behold the abode of youth and beauty-behold at
length, O prince, the abode of your long-sought princess."
The prince looked in the direction indicated by the parrot, and beheld,
in a delightful meadow on the banks of the Tagus, a stately palace rising
from amidst the bowers of a delicious garden. It was just such a place as
had been described by the dove as the residence of the original of the
picture. He gazed at it with a throbbing heart. "Perhaps at this moment,"
thought he, "the beautiful princess is sporting beneath those shady bowers,
or pacing with delicate step those stately terraces, or reposing beneath those
lofty roofs!" As he looked more narrowly he perceived that the walls of the
garden were of great height, so as to defy access, while numbers of armed
guards patrolled around them.
The prince turned to the parrot. "O most accomplished of birds," said he,
"thou hast the gift of human speech. Hie thee to yon garden; seek the idol of
my soul, and tell her that Prince Ahmed, a pilgrim of love, and guided by the
stars, has arrived in quest of her on the flowery banks of the Tagus."
The parrot, proud of his embassy, flew away to the garden, mounted above
its lofty walls, and after soaring for a time over the lawns and groves,
alighted on the balcony of a pavilion that overhung the river. Here, looking
in at the casement, he beheld the princess reclining on a couch, with her eyes
fixed on a paper, while tears gently stole after each other down her pallid
cheek.
Pluming his wings for a moment, adjusting his bright green coat, and
elevating his top-knot, the parrot perched himself beside her with a gallant
air: then assuming a tenderness of tone, "Dry thy tears, most beautiful of
princesses," said he, "I come to bring solace to thy heart."
The princess was startled on hearing a voice, but turning and seeing
nothing but a little green-coated bird bobbing and bowing before her; "Alas!
what solace canst thou yield," said she, "seeing thou art but a parrot?
The parrot was nettled at the question. "I have consoled many beautiful
ladies in my time," said he; "but let that pass. At present I come ambassador
from a royal prince. Know that Ahmed, the prince of Granada, has arrived in
quest of thee, and is encamped even now on the flowery banks of the Tagus."
The eyes of the beautiful princess sparkled at these words even
brighter than the diamonds in her coronet. "O sweetest of parrots," cried she,
"joyful indeed are thy tidings, for I was faint and weary, and sick almost
unto death with doubt of the constancy of Ahmed. Hie thee back, and tell him
that the words of his letter are engraven in my heart, and his poetry has
been the food of my soul. Tell him, however, that he must prepare to prove
his love by force of arms; to-morrow is my seventeenth birth-day, when the
king my father holds a great tournament; several princes are to enter the
lists, and my hand is to be the prize of the victor."
The parrot again took wing, and rustling through the groves, flew back to
where the prince awaited his return. The rapture of Ahmed on finding the
original of his adored portrait, and finding her kind and true, can only be
conceived by those favored mortals who have had the good fortune to realize
day-dreams and turn a shadow into substance: still there was one thing that
alloyed his transport - this impending tournament. In fact, the banks of the
Tagus were already glittering with arms, and resounding with trumpets of
the various knights, who, with proud retinues, were prancing on towards
Toledo to attend the ceremonial. The same star that had controlled the
destiny of the prince had governed that of the princess, and until her
seventeenth birth-day she had been shut up from the world, to guard her from
the tender passion. The fame of her charms, however, had been enhanced rather
than obscured by this seclusion. Several powerful princes had contended for
her hand; and her father, who was a king of wondrous shrewdness, to avoid
making enemies by showing partiality, had referred them to the arbitrament of
arms. Among the rival candidates were several renowned for strength and
prowess. What a predicament for the unfortunate. Ahmed, unprovided as he was
with weapons, and unskilled in the exercise of chivalry! "Luckless prince that
I am!" said he, "to have been brought up in seclusion under the eye of a
philosopher! Of what avail are algebra and philosophy in affairs of love?
Alas, Eben Bonabben! why hast thou neglected to instruct me in the management
of arms?" Upon this the owl broke silence, preluding his harangue with a pious
ejaculation, for he was a devout Mussulman.
"Allah Akbar! God is great!" exclaimed he; "in his hands are all secret
things - he alone governs the destiny of princes! Know, O prince, that this
land is full of mysteries, hidden from the all but those who, like myself, can
grope after knowledge in the dark. Know that in the neighboring mountains
there is a cave, and in that cave there is an iron table, and on that table
there lies a suit of magic armor, and beside that table there stands a
spell-bound steed, which have been shut up there for many generations.
The prince stared with wonder, while the owl, blinking his huge round
eyes, and erecting his horns, proceeded.
"Many years since, I accompanied my father to these parts on a tour of
his estates, and we sojourned in that cave; and thus became I acquainted with
the mystery. It is a tradition in our family which I have heard from my
grandfather, when I was yet but a very little owlet, that this armor belonged
to a Moorish magician, who took refuge in this cavern when Toledo was captured
by the Christians, and died here, leaving his steed and weapons under a mystic
spell, never to be used but by a Moslem, and by him only from sunrise to
mid-day. In that interval, whoever uses them will overthrow every opponent."
"Enough, let us seek this cave!" exclaimed Ahmed.
Guided by his legendary mentor, the prince found the cavern, which was
in one of the wildest recesses of those rocky cliffs which rise around Toledo;
none but the mousing eye of an owl or an antiquary could have discovered the
entrance to it. A sepulchral lamp of everlasting oil shed a solemn light
through the place. On an iron table in the centre of the cavern lay the magic
armor, against it leaned the lance, and beside it stood an Arabian steed,
caparisoned for the field, but motionless as a statue. The armor was bright
and unsullied as it had gleamed in days of old; the steed in as good condition
as if just from the pasture; and when Ahmed laid his hand upon his neck, he
pawed the ground and gave a loud neigh of joy that shook had the walls of the
cavern. Thus amply provided with "horse and rider and weapon to wear," the
prince determined to defy the field in the impending tourney.
The eventful morning arrived. The lists for the combat were prepared in
the vega, or plain, just below the cliff-built walls of Toledo, where stages
and galleries were erected for the spectators, covered with rich tapestry, and
sheltered from the sun by silken awnings. All the beauties of the land were
assembled in those galleries, while below pranced plumed knights with their
pages and esquires, among whom figured conspicuously the princes who were to
contend in the tourney. All the beauties of the land, however, were eclipsed
when the princess Aldegonda appeared in the royal pavilion, and for the first
time broke forth upon the gaze of an admiring world. A murmur of wonder ran
through the crowd at her transcendent loveliness; and the princes who were
candidates for her hand, merely on the faith of her reported charms, now felt
tenfold ardor for the conflict.
The princess, however, had a troubled look. The color came and went from
her cheek, and her eye wandered with a restless and unsatisfied expression
over the plumed throng of knights. The trumpets were about sounding for the
encounter, when the herald announced the arrival of a strange knight; and
Ahmed rode into the field. A steel helmet studded with gems rose above his
turban; his cuirass was embossed with gold; his cimeter and dagger were of
the workmanship of Fez, and flamed with precious stones. A round shield was at
his shoulder, and in his hand he bore the lance of charmed virtue. The
caparison of his Arabian steed was richly embroidered and swept the ground,
and the proud animal pranced and snuffed the air, and neighed with joy at once
more beholding the array of arms. The lofty and graceful demeanor of the
prince struck every eye, and when his appellation was announced," the Pilgrim
of Love," a universal flutter and agitation prevailed among the fair dames in
the galleries.
When Ahmed presented himself at the lists, however, they were closed
against him: none but princes, he was told, were admitted to the contest. He
declared his name and rank. Still worse! - he was a Moslem, and could not
engage in a tourney where the hand of a Christian princess was the prize.
The rival princes surrounded him with haughty and menacing aspects; and
one of insolent demeanor and herculean frame sneered at his light and youthful
form, and scoffed at his amorous appellation. The ire of the prince was
roused. He defied his rival to the encounter. They took distance, wheeled, and
charged; and at the first touch of the magic lance, the brawny scoffer was
tilted from his saddle. Here the prince would have paused, but alas! he had to
deal with a demoniac horse and armor; once in action nothing could control
them. The Arabian steed charged into the thickest of the throng; the lance
overturned every thing that presented; the gentle prince was carried pell-mell
about the field, strewing it with high and low, gentle and simple, and
grieving at his own involuntary exploits. The king stormed and raged at this
outrage on his subjects and his guests. He ordered out all his guards - they
were unhorsed as fast as they came up. The king threw off his robes, grasped
buckler and lance, and rode forth to awe the stranger with the presence of
majesty itself. Alas! majesty fared no better than the vulgar; the steed and
lance were no respecters of persons; to the dismay of Ahmed, he was borne full
tilt against the king, and in a moment the royal heels were in the air, and
the crown was rolling in the dust.
At this moment the sun reached the meridian; the magic spell resumed its
power; the Arabian steed scoured across the plain, leaped the barrier, plunged
into the Tagus, swam its raging current, bore the prince breathless and amazed
to the cavern, and resumed his station, like a statue, beside the iron table.
The prince dismounted right gladly, and replaced the armor, to abide the
further decrees of fate. Then seating himself in the cavern, he ruminated on
the desperate state to which this demoniac steed and armor had reduced him.
Never should he dare to show his face at Toledo after inflicting such disgrace
upon its chivalry, and such an outrage on its king. What, too, would the
princess think of so rude and riotous an achievement? Full of anxiety, he sent
forth his winged messengers to gather tidings. The parrot resorted to all the
public places and crowded resorts of the city, and soon returned with a world
of gossip.
All Toledo was in consternation. The princess had been borne off
senseless to the palace; the tournament had ended in confusion; every one was
talking of the sudden apparition, prodigious exploits, and strange
disappearance of the Moslem knight. Some pronounced him a Moorish magician;
others thought him a demon who had assumed a human shape, while others related
traditions of enchanted warriors hidden in the caves of the mountains, and
thought it might be one of these, who had made a sudden irruption from his
den. All agreed that no mere ordinary mortal could have wrought such wonders,
or unhorsed such accomplished and stalwart Christian warriors.
The owl flew forth at night and hovered about the dusky city, perching on
the roofs and chimneys. He then wheeled his flight up to the royal palace,
which stood on a rocky summit of Toledo, and went prowling about its terraces
and battlements, eavesdropping at every cranny, and glaring in with his big
goggling eyes at every window where there was a light, so as to throw two or
three maids of honor into fits. It was not until the gray dawn began to peer
above the mountains that he returned from his mousing expedition, and related
to the prince what he had seen.
"As I was prying about one of the loftiest towers of the palace," said
he, "I beheld through a casement a beautiful princess. She was reclining on a
couch with attendants and physicians around her, but she would none of their
ministry and relief. When they retired I beheld her draw forth a letter from
her bosom, and read and kiss it, and give way to loud lamentations; at which,
philosopher as I am, I could but be greatly moved."
The tender heart of Ahmed was distressed at these tidings. "Too true were
thy words, O sage Eben Bonabben," cried he; "care and sorrow and sleepless
nights are the lot of lovers. Allah preserve the princess from the blighting
influence of this thing called love!"
Further intelligence from Toledo corroborated the report of the owl. The
city was a prey to uneasiness and alarm. The princess was conveyed to the
highest tower of the palace, every avenue to which was strongly guarded. In
the mean time a devouring melancholy had seized upon her, of which no one
could divine the cause-she refused food and turned a deaf ear to every
consolation. The most skilful physicians had essayed their art in vain; it
was thought some magic spell had been practised upon her, and the king made
proclamation, declaring that whoever should effect her cure should receive
the richest jewel in the royal treasury.
When the owl, who was dozing in a corner, heard of this proclamation, he
rolled his large eyes and looked more mysterious than ever.
"Allah Akbar!" exclaimed he, "happy the man that shall effect that cure,
should he but know what to choose from the royal treasury."
"What mean you, most reverend owl!" said Ahmed.
"Hearken, O prince, to what I shall relate. We owls, you must know, are a
learned body, and much given to dark and dusty research. During my late
prowling at night about the domes and turrets of Toledo, I discovered a
college of antiquarian owls, who hold their meetings in a great vaulted tower
where the royal treasury is deposited. Here they were discussing the forms and
inscriptions and designs of ancient gems and jewels, and of golden and silver
vessels, heaped up in the treasury, the fashion of every country and
age; but mostly they were interested about certain relics and talismans that
have remained in the treasury since the time of Roderick the Goth. Among
these was a box of sandal-wood secured by bands of steel of Oriental
workmanship, and inscribed with mystic characters known only to the learned
few. This box and its inscription had occupied the college for several
sessions, and had caused much long and grave dispute. At the time of my visit
a very ancient owl, who had recently arrived from Egypt, was seated on the lid
of the box lecturing upon the inscription, and he proved from it that the
coffer contained the silken carpet of the throne of Solomon the wise; which
doubtless had been brought to Toledo by the Jews who took refuge there after
the downfall of Jerusalem."
When the owl had concluded his antiquarian harangue the prince remained
for a time absorbed in thought. "I have heard," said he, "from the sage Eben
Bonabben, of the wonderful properties of that talisman, which disappeared at
the fall of Jerusalem, and was supposed to be lost to mankind. Doubtless it
remains a sealed mystery to the Christians of Toledo. If I can get possession
of that carpet, my fortune is secure."
The next day the prince laid aside his rich attire, and arrayed himself
in the simple garb of an Arab of the desert. He dyed his complexion to a
tawny hue, and no one could have recognized in him the splendid warrior who
had caused such admiration and dismay at the tournament. With staff in hand,
and scrip by his side, and a small pastoral reed, he repaired to Toledo, and
presenting himself at the gate of the royal palace, announced himself as a
candidate for the reward offered for the cure of the princess. The guards
would have driven him away with blows. "What can a vagrant Arab like thyself
pretend to do," said they, "in a case where the most learned of the land have
failed?" The king, however, overheard the tumult, and ordered the Arab to be
brought into his presence.
"Most potent king," said Ahmed. "you behold before you a Bedouin Arab,
the greater part of whose life has been passed in the solitudes of the
desert. These solitudes, it is well known, are the haunts of demons and evil
spirits, who beset us poor shepherds in our lonely watchings, enter into and
possess our flocks and herds, and sometimes render even the patient camel
furious; against these our counter-charm is music; and we have legendary
airs handed down from generation to generation, that we chant and pipe, to
cast forth these evil spirits. I am of a gifted line, and possess this power
in its fullest force. If it be any evil influence of the kind that holds a
spell over thy daughter, I pledge my head to free her from its sway."
The king, who was a man of understanding and knew the wonderful secrets
possessed by the Arabs, was inspired with hope by the confident language of
the prince. He conducted him immediately to the lofty tower, secured by
several doors, in the summit of which was the chamber of the princess. The
windows opened upon a terrace with balustrades, commanding a view over
Toledo and all the surrounding country. The windows were darkened, for the
princess lay within, a prey to a devouring grief that refused all alleviation.
The prince seated himself on the terrace, and performed several wild
Arabian airs on his pastoral pipe, which he had learnt from his attendants in
the Generalife at Granada. The princess continued insensible, and the doctors
who were present shook their heads, and smiled with incredulity and contempt:
at length the prince laid aside the reed, and, to a simple melody, chanted
the amatory verses of the letter which had declared his passion.
The princess recognized the strain - a fluttering joy stole to her heart;
she raised her head and listened; tears rushed to her eyes and streamed down
her cheeks; her bosom rose and fell with a tumult of emotions. She would
have asked for the minstrel to be brought into her presence, but maiden
coyness held her silent. The king read her wishes, and at his command
Ahmed was conducted into the chamber. The lovers were discreet: they but
exchanged glances, yet those glances spoke volumes. Never was triumph of music
more complete. The rose had returned to the soft cheek of the princess, the
freshness to her lip, and the dewy light to her languishing eyes.
All the physicians present stared at each other with astonishment. The
king regarded the Arab minstrel with admiration mixed with awe. "Wonderful
youth!" exclaimed he, "thou shalt henceforth be the first physician of my
court, and no other prescription will I take but thy melody. For the present
receive thy reward, the most precious jewel in my treasury."
"O king," replied Ahmed, "I care not for silver or gold or precious
stones. One relic hast thou in thy treasury, handed down from the Moslems who
once owned Toledo - a box of sandal-wood containing a silken carpet: give me
that box, and I am content."
All present were surprised at the moderation of the Arab; and still more
when the box of sandal-wood was brought and the carpet drawn forth. It was of
fine green silk, covered with Hebrew and Chaldaic characters. The court
physicians looked at each other, shrugged their shoulders, and smiled at the
simplicity of this new practitioner, who could be content with so paltry a
fee.
"This carpet," said the prince, "once covered the throne of Solomon the
wise; it is worthy of being placed beneath the feet of beauty."
So saying, he spread it on the terrace beneath an ottoman that had been
brought forth for the princess; then seating himself at her feet-
"Who," said he, "shall counteract what is written in the book of fate?
Behold the prediction of the astrologers verified. Know, O king, that your
daughter and I long have loved each other in secret. Behold in me the Pilgrim
of Love!"
These words were scarcely from his lips, when the carpet rose in the air,
bearing off the prince and princess. The king and the physicians gazed after
it with open mouths and straining eyes until it became a little speck on the
white bosom of a cloud, and then disappeared in the blue vault of heaven.
The king in a rage summoned his treasurer. "How is this," said he, "that
thou hast suffered an infidel to get possession of such a talisman?"
"Alas, sir, we knew not its nature, nor could we decipher the inscription
of the box. If it be indeed the carpet of the throne of the wise Solomon, it
is possessed of magic power, and can transport its owner from place to place
through the air."
The king assembled a mighty army, and set off for Granada in pursuit of
the fugitives. His march was long and toilsome. Encamping in the Vega, he
sent a herald to demand restitution of his daughter. The king himself came
forth with all his court to meet him. In the king he beheld the real minstrel,
for Ahmed had succeeded to the throne on the death of his father, and the
beautiful Aldegonda was his sultana.
The Christian king was easily pacified when he found that his daughter
was suffered to continue in her faith - not that he was particularly pious,
but religion is always a point of pride and etiquette with princes. Instead of
bloody battles, there was a succession of feasts and rejoicings, after which
the king returned well pleased to Toledo, and the youthful couple continued to
reign as happily as wisely, in the Alhambra.
It is proper to add, that the owl and the parrot had severally followed
the prince by easy stages to Granada, the former travelling by night and
stopping at the various hereditary possessions of his family, the latter
figuring in gay circles of every town and city on his route.
Ahmed gratefully requited the services which they had rendered on his
pilgrimage. He appointed the owl his prime minister, the parrot his master ot
ceremonies. It is needless to say that never was a realm more sagely
administered, nor a court conducted with more exact punctilio.
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