pasha; and in return for all this, Cousrouf Pacha attempted to
poison his faithful master and benefactor, and calumniated him to
the grand sultan. Isn't this horrible?"

"It certainly would be if it were true," said Osman; "yet I do not
believe it. Much is told and said of the great and mighty, and they
are often calumniated and accused of evil deeds which they have not
committed. If it were so, do you not suppose the grand-admiral,
Hussein Pacha, the mighty man, and the grand-sultan, would have
punished him as he deserved? No, my father says differently, and has
received from Stamboul other and more reliable information. Cousrouf
Pasha has fallen into disgrace--that is a fixed fact--and the sultan
has sent him into exile. Yet he did so against the wish of the
Grand-Admiral Hussein. Do you know why? Consrouf has fallen into
disgrace? Because he refused to go to Egypt as pacha, declaring that
was equivalent to sending him into an open grave, as he should never
return home from that land of rebels and Mamelukes. The sultan
wished to send him to Egypt because he suspected him of having a
secret amorous intrigue with one of the sultanas. The sultan had
been told that Cousrouf Pacha was in the habit of being secretly
conducted to the sultana's chamber at night by a female slave. As
the sultan stealthily approached and opened the door of the chamber,
he heard a rustling and whispering, but was so dark in the room that
he could see nothing. He called slaves with torches to his
assistance. They searched the room, but found nothing. The sultana
stood on the balcony looking out into the starlit night. She met her
husband with a smiling countenance, saying the night was so
beautiful, she had gone out to gaze at the stars. The sultan, it is
said, gnashed his teeth with rage, but kept silence, as it would
have been unworthy of his dignity to threaten where he could not