ring had given to me; I had carefully preserved it, because the initials
of my benefactor's name and a passage from the Koran were worked upon it.
When he give it to me, he said that perhaps we should meet again in some
other part of the world, and he should recognise me by this token. The
person who now took notice of the purse was his brother; and when I
related to him how I had obtained it, he had the goodness to take me
under his protection. He was a merchant, who was now going with the
caravan to Grand Cairo: he offered to take me with him, and I willingly
accepted the proposal, promising to serve him as faithfully as any of his
slaves. The caravan proceeded, and I was carried with it."



CHAPTER II


"The merchant, who was become my master, treated me with great kindness;
but on hearing me relate the whole series of my unfortunate adventures,
he exacted a promise from me that I would do nothing without first
consulting him. 'Since you are so unlucky, Murad,' said he, 'that you
always choose for the worst when you choose for yourself, you should
trust entirely to the judgment of a wiser or a more fortunate friend.'

"I fared well in the service of this merchant, who was a man of a mild
disposition, and who was so rich that he could afford to be generous to
all his dependants. It was my business to see his camels loaded and
unloaded at proper places, to count his bales of merchandise, and to take
care that they were not mixed with those of his companions. This I
carefully did till the day we arrived at Alexandria; when, unluckily, I
neglected to count the bales, taking it for granted that they were all