"It shall not be done," replied the lady:--"Has my lord been visited by
heaven? or is he possessed by the Shitan?"--And the lady burst into
tears of rage and vexation as she quitted the apartment.

"There's obstinacy for you--women are nothing but opposition. If you
wish them to be faithful, they try day and night to deceive you; give
them their desires and tell them to be false, they will refuse. All was
arranged so well, I should have cut off all their heads, and had a fresh
wife every night until I found one who could tell stories; then I should
have rose up and deferred her execution to the following day."

Mustapha, who had been laughing in his sleeve at the strange idea of
the pacha, was nevertheless not a little alarmed. He perceived that the
mania had such complete possession, that, unless appeased, the results
might prove unpleasant even to himself. It occurred to him, that a
course might be pursued to gratify the pacha's wishes, without
proceeding to such violent measures. Waiting a little while until the
colour, which had suffused the pacha's face from anger and
disappointment, had subsided, he addressed him:

"The plan of your sublime highness was such as was to be expected from
the immensity of your wisdom; but hath not the prophet warned us, that
the wisest of men are too often thwarted by the folly and obstinacy of
the other sex. May your slave venture to observe, that many very fine
stories were obtained by the caliph Haroun, and his vizier Mesrour, as
they walked through the city in disguise. In all probability a similar
result might be produced, if your highness were to take the same step,
accompanied by the lowest of your slaves, Mustapha."