a piece of linen, which unluckily proved to be the grind seignior's
turban; who, enraged at his insolence in touching his turban, commanded
that his head should be struck off.

"My father awaked before he lost his head, but not before he had lost
half his wits from the terror of his dream. He considered it as a
warning sent from above, and consequently determined to avoid the sight
of me. He would not stay to see whether I should really be born with the
head of a dog and the tail of a dragon; but he set out, the next morning,
on a voyage to Aleppo.

"He was absent for upwards of seven years; and during that time my
education was totally neglected. One day I inquired from my mother why I
had been named Murad the Unlucky. She told me that this name was given
to me in consequence of my father's dream; but she added that perhaps it
might be forgotten, if I proved fortunate in my future life. My nurse, a
very old woman, who was present, shook her head, with a look which I
shall never forget, and whispered to my mother loud enough for me to
hear, 'Unlucky he was, and is, and ever will be. Those that are born to
ill luck cannot help themselves; nor can any, but the great prophet,
Mahomet himself, do anything for them. It is a folly for an unlucky
person to strive with their fate: it is better to yield to it at once.'

"This speech made a terrible impression upon me, young as I then was; and
every accident that happened to me afterwards confirmed my belief in my
nurse's prognostic. I was in my eighth year when my father returned from
abroad. The year after he came home my brother Saladin was born, who was
named Saladin the Lucky, because the day he was born a vessel freighted
with rich merchandise for my father arrived safely in port.