he said: "Two worlds there are, one beneath the sun and the other in the
heart of a maid."

For a long time he gazed rapturously on the beauteous slave, admiring in
turn her fair countenance, her voluptuous bosom, and her houri-like
figure. How lovely, how divinely lovely it all was! And then he
bethought him that all this loveliness was his own; that he was the
master, the possessor of this girl, at whose command she would fall upon
his bosom, envelop him with the pavilion, dark as night, of her flowing
tresses, and embrace him with arms of soft velvet. Ah! and those lips
were not only red but sweet; and that breast was not only snow-white
but throbbing and ardent--and at the thought his brain began to swim for
joy and rapture.

And yet he did not even know what to call her! He had never had a
slave-girl before, and hardly knew how to address her. His own tongue
was not wont to employ tender, caressing words; he knew not what to say
to a woman to make her love him.

"Gül-Bejáze!" he murmured hoarsely.

"I await your commands, my master!"

"My name is Halil--call me so!"

"Halil, I await your commands!"

"Say nothing about commanding. Sit down beside me here! Come, sit
closer, I say!"