seized it with avidity, devoured it with her eyes; a smile of joy came over her features, and she instantly prepared a reply, which Nasib conveyed to Miri: it drew a shower of pearls from his eyes.

During these transactions, Mookhthal, son of Boolghamoon, the div, who had carried off Zora, offered her marriage, but she rejected his proposal. In vain did he proffer the richest presents; Zora was firm in her refusal; whereupon, the young div, exasperated at the disappointment, resolved to kill her. But, bethinking himself, he determined, first, to write to her father. He accordingly cast the unhappy Zora into a dungeon, and wrote a letter to Otarid, in these terms: "Give me the hand of your daughter, or I will put her to death." The bearer of this letter was a div, who placed it by the side of the vizir whilst he was asleep. Otarid, when he awoke, and learned from this epistle the fate of his child, went in tears to the king. "Sire," said he, "if you do not help me, the div Boolghamoon will have my daughter; rescue her, or I shall die before your face." The king, distressed at the news, observed, "What can be done? Who can resist Boolghamoon div? To make head against him, a hundred thousand kings would be barely sufficient. On one hand, I am menaced by Miri, who has killed Sahib, and is about to invade my territories. What then can I do for you?" "Prince," replied Otarid, "craft is more potent that force. Instead of opposing the king of Egypt, offer him your daughter, on condition that he recovers mine. If he destroys the div, we shall be rid of one enemy; and if the div destroys him, we shall escape another." King Ilayl, delighted at this suggestion, dictated a letter to his secretary, which he addressed to Miri, wherein, after compliments and expressions of friendship, he said, "Boolghamoon-jadoo has carried off a young lady from our harem; attack him, kill him, take his castle, and restore the lady, and all your wishes shall be fulfilled." This letter, which was accompanied by rich presents, threw Miri into great perplexity. His faithful counsellors, Mooshthar and Nikakhtar, advised him to undertake the adventure. "Do not be dispirited," said they; "with the favour of heaven, every thing is practicable. Let us march against the div, vanquish him, and there will be an end of our trouble."

Miri ordered his troops to march, and when they approached the territory of Boolghamoon-jadoo, Mookhthal hastened to acquaint his father that the king of Egypt was about to attack him. "What a rash fool must he be," exclaimed the div, with a scornful smile, "who esteems his life so little as to think of fighting with me!" By the force of magic, he instantly filled the atmosphere around the Egyptian army with snow and hoar-frost, to such a degree, that men and horses perished with cold. Miri, convinced that this supernatural occurrence was the effect of the jadoo's sorcery, prayed to Aramia,* and recommended his troops to do the same. The Almighty ordained that the charm should then dissolve, and joy appeared throughout the Egyptian army with the rays of the sun. They advanced against the citadel, defended by the sea on one side, and on the other by a vast ditch. During the night, they incessantly invoked Aramia, and, at break of day, Boolghamoon made a sortie at the head of his troops, when, on a sudden, monstrous serpents, more numerous than drops of rain, issued from the waters, flames darting from their eyes, nostrils, and throats. When the protection of Aramia had caused these monsters to vanish at the approach of the Egyptians, Boolghamoon, astonished, exclaimed, "Were there ever such children of Adam! What race are they, who thus set my arts at defiance ?" "If magic is vain," remarked his son Aramia is the Arabian name of the prophet Jeremiah.

Asiat.Journ.N S.VOL.22.No.86.

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Mookhthal, "the sword is still a resource." Boolghamoon had a large drum, made by Skandar-zelghoo (the Two-horned Alexander '*), the sound of which instilled fear into the heart at the distance of a thousand miles. The sounds it emitted this very night, as a signal of the next day's battle, almost extinguished the courage of the Egyptians; but prayer to God and invocation of Aramia restored their confidence.

In the morning, Mookhthal marched out at the head of his wild and horridlooking legions, and drew them up in order of battle. With a loud voice he defied Miri, exclaiming, "Son of Adam, as thy faith forbids the massacre of so many human beings, let us decide our quarrel by single combat: if I am victor, I will retain my prize; if vanquished, I will yield her to thee." At these words, Miri encouraged his troops, telling them that God was his protector, and Aramia would be on their side. Advancing with bow and arrow, he approached the div, who was on foot, and in stature like a mountain, armed with an enormous club, and vomiting flames from his mouth: he seemed the very personification of hell. When Mookhthal beheld Miri, he stepped forward a few paces, brandishing his club. The king of Egypt, adjusting his bow and addressing a prayer to Aramia, leaped from his courser; he had scarcely touched the ground, before the div's club had crushed the noble animal. The Egyptian soldiers, thinking Miri had fallen, uttered loud and plaintive cries; but the king promptly drew his bow, and his shaft pierced the side of the div, who, feeling a mortal wound, roared horribly, whilst Miri, with his scimetar, cut him in two. Whilst the Egyptians raised shouts of triumph, and poured forth thanks to heaven, the soldiers of the div dispersed, and announced to Boolghamoon-jadoo the fate of his son: the unhappy father groaned in agony, tore his collar, and covered his head with ashes.

Miri forthwith sent Nasib to seek Zora With his talisman, he traversed securely the castle, and beheld a throne, and crowds of divs mourning for Mookhthal. He heard Boolghamoon tell his daughter Shamgoon ('black colour') that he intented to set off next day, and cut off the head of every mortal he encountered, in revenge of his son. Shamgoon warned her father, that the Egyptians were not ordinary men; that as they had destroyed Moohhthal, they might prevail over him; and "what then," said she, "will become of me? "Dismiss all uneasiness on that score, daughter," replied the div; "they have no power over my life, because my soul is lodged in the body of a black fish, and so long as that fish swims on a certain lake, my life is secure from harm. The girl who was the cause of Mookhthal's fate shall die tomorrow."

Nasib hastened to Miri with this intelligence. The king marched his army to the lake, and employed some fishermen to catch the black fish, which he kept alive till he encountered Boolghamoon, when he threw it violently to the ground. As the fish underwent the agonies of death, so did the div, and when Miri crushed it with a blow, Boolghamoon breathed his last. The troops of the magician were easily routed; the citadel was taken, and an immense booty fell into the hands of the victors.

For six days was their search for Zora ineffectual, and Miri began to think that the jadoo had destroyed her in his rage. Nikakhtar, in traversing the apartments, perceived a large stone; he shook it, and plaintive moans were heard. He fastened a rope to his girdle, and the other end to the stone, and let himself down an aperture, where he beheld a female of great beauty fastened with silken cords, and bathed in tears. "Zora!" he exclaimed, and immediately broke her bonds, and told her that heaven had sent her a liberator. If • Such is the designation given to Alexander the Great by all the Asiatic nations.

the beauty of the lovely captive made an impression on the heart of Nikakhtar, her deliverer appeared in her eyes invested with countless graces; they stood for a moment in a state of entrancement; then, intoxicated with delight, they fell into each other's arms.

Nikakhtar hastened to Miri with the news of his success. Zora was conveyed to the harem of the king, before whom she prostrated herself, kissing his feet and congratulating him on his triumph. Nasib raised her, placed her in a carriage, and sent her, under the charge of Nasib, to King Ilayl, with an account of his victory; he followed closely after.

On his departure, Shamgoon re-entered the castle, and seeing its desolation smote her head, and vowed to revenge the death of her father and brother. She assumed the form of Nomi-Awthab, and with her divs, followed the steps of Miri. One of the genii, in the costume of an eunuch, applied for permission to speak to King Miri. He was admitted. "I am," said he, "NomiAwthab's eunuch, who has sent me to say that, having heard of your success, and being impatient to felicitate you, she has secretly withdrawn herself from her father's palace, and awaits you at the sea-shore; she will die if you come not." Miri hesitated. At length he said, "I will come;" and sent an express to Nasib and Zora, desiring them to turn back

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When Miri met the daughter of the div, he felt, he knew not why, sad and discontented. "You do not love me, I see it," said she. "After so long a trial, I did not expect so sudden a revulsion," was his reply. The daughter of the div, on this, arose and withdrew. On the arrival of Nasib and Zora, the king imparted his doubts as to the reality of the Nomi-Awthab he had just seen; "neither her aspect nor her behaviour pleases me," said he; try to unravel the mystery, Nasib." The general promised to do so, and making himself invisible, he approached the person of Shamgoon, whom he heard lament that all her deceit was ineffectual, and declare that she would sacrifice Miri that very night. "It was the daughter of the jadoo," said Nasib, on returning to the king; " she repents not having assasinated you." Miri ordered his troops to bring her to him by force, with all her attendants. The false Nomi-Awthab upbraided him for using his mistress like a slave. The king having addressed a prayer to Aramia, the divs returned to their own infernal forms, too horrible to behold. "Let them die!" said Miri; and his command was forthwith obeyed. After this dangerous adventure, the king renewed his thanks to heaven, and again marched towards the territory of king Ilayl.

The arrival of Zora was the source of great satisfaction to this prince; but her father, Otarid, was extravagant in his joy. He declared that her deliverer must be a messenger from heaven, superior to weak humanity. Ilayl directed Otarid to select the richest jewels in his treasury, as a present to Miri, and his generals at the head of their troops to welcome him to the city. Upon his entry, the people hailed with acclamations the conqueror of the divs, and showered gold and jewels upon his head. The city, illuminated, resembled a paradise. King Ilayl met Miri, embraced him tenderly, complimented him upon his success, and placed a rich diadem upon his head. Feasts and banquets succeeded each other without interruption; and the largesses exceeded even the hopes of the troops.

All the varieties of enjoyment, however, did not mitigate the affliction of Miri at the absence of Nomi-Awthab; on the contrary, they augmented it. At length he despatched Nasib with a letter to her, wherein he declared that his life had become weary to him; that, without her, it were better he should perish in the deeps of the sea.

Entering invisibly the apartment or Nomi-Awthab, Nasib saw her and Zora together, and overheard them relate their respective adventures during their separation. Zora, amongst other incidents, described the trick played by Shamgoon, by which Miri was for a time deceived. At this, a secret flame was lighted in the breast of Nomi-Awthab, who broke out into such bitter invectives against her lover, that Zora repented her words. "No," said the princess; since he is so easily duped, he shall be no husband of mine: what resemblance could there be between Shamgoon and me?" Nasib, not disconcerted by this incident, delivered his message; but Nomi-Awthab, though she saw the letter, would not touch it. The tender Zora threw herself on her knees, and telling her that Miri had soon detected the artifice, protested that, if the princess did not read the letter, she would put herself to death. Nomi, thereupon, called for ink and reed, and traced this answer: "To him that rules my heart, Miri, king, adorned with the diadem. I have heard that it has happened to you to mistake the features of a sorceress for mine; though my mother has not made me capable of deceiving a man. Could you offer such an affront to the king my father, and after so many efforts for me, place me in comparison with a cursed div? Zora has related to me your adventures, and her eulogy of you has augmented my love; but what she said of the sorceress has so dejected me, that I would not have written had she not urged me.”

Miri was much distressed at this letter, and at the thought that the princess should imagine he could feel a passion for any object but herself. "Lead me to her," said he; "I cannot endure the cold intercourse of letters; in her presence I am confident I could subdue her anger and regain her heart."

Accordingly, Miri and Nasib set off secretly at night to the castle of NomiAwthab, and attaching a rope to the ramparts, scaled the wall. Miri, with the talisman of Nasib on his arm, entered the apartment of the prineess, who, seated upon a throne, was accompanying with her melodious voice the lute of Zora. Miri was so ravished at her beauty, that he sunk senseless on the floor. The princess, hearing the noise, uttered a shriek, and Zora, clapping her hands,* threw down her lute, and hastened to her friend and mistress. "By your sun,"+ she exclaimed, "Miri hears us." Looking around, she beheld only Nasib." "Whence came you?" said she; we heard a voice like that of Miri." 'True," said Nasib; "impatient to see Nomi-Awthab, the unhappy Miri has accompanied me hither; he sees you, he hears your sweet voices; but, unable to endure the spectacle, he has fainted, though I see him not." The princess, though covered with confusion, felt a secret sentiment of delight at the presence of the prince; though, assuming a tone of severity, she said, “Whence comes it, that strangers presume to enter my dwelling without announcement? Do they think that they are in the house of Saresca or Shabrang? My august father and mother are the only visitors I have hitherto had; since my house seems to be regarded as a caravanserai, I shall dwell here no longer." She then arose, as if to seek the queen; but Zora held her by the robe, saying, "it is a great sovereign, the son of a potent emperor, who has suffered much for you; stay and seat yourself on the throne, that a single glance may reward his woes." She did so for a moment; but Miri, feeling his heart palpitate violently, said to Nasib, "let us be gone; I can endure it no longer," and went away. Awthab, hearing this, desired Zora to prevail upon the prince to return, which he consented to do, and Awthab received him kindly at the door. After the salute of peace, their hands joined; each seated on a throne,

The mode of summoning domestics in Georgia and the East.
A common Georgian adjuration.

#

they seemed like two suns illuminating the world. Assuredly, they were formed for each other. Miri dared scarcely look upon the dazzling beauty of the princess; hanging upon her vermil lips, and tasting their balmy spoils, he exclaimed, "how far does such a moment of delight overpay ages of misery!" Thus passed the whole night. When they fainted through excess of emotion, they were revived by Zora besprinkling them with rose-water. When break of day forced them to separate, they knew not what they did.

Miri sent Nikakhtar and Nasib to king Ilayl, to claim the fulfilment of his promise. The king of Maghrib was perplexed, and said he must consult his vizirs. Queen Khoostshid and the vizirs declared that none but a prince of extraordinary merit could have accomplished what Miri had done, and the queen insisted that no one should have her daughter's hand but the conqueror of Bhoolghamoon-jadoo; she had made this vow to heaven. The king acknowleged the merit of Miri, and that he could not refuse his application without a breach of faith; but, said he, “I shall blush in the face of my people if I give my daughter to a king who has been bought with money." Miri having heard this from Nasib, who was invisibly present, thought it time to send him the letter of Aramia, which the king had no sooner read, than all doubt of Miri's royal descent vanished from his mind.

The marriage of the king of Egypt with the beautiful Nomi-Awthab took place with the utmost splendour. Ilayl invited all the grandees of his empire: "I have but one daughter," said he, in his proclamation, " and I wish that her nuptials may be magnificently celebrated before she departs to a distant land." The guests arrived in crowds; the city seemed on fire with the illuminations; not an unhappy soul could be found in it. The dowry of the princess was 2,000 camels, precious stones, pearls, silk stuffs, slaves of both sexes, and horses, who knows their number?

The queen and the vizir Otarid accompanied Nomi-Awthab and her constant friend Zora. When they reached the sea-shore, Miri chased a deer, which led him amongst the rocks, where he was forced to remain during the night, with Nasib and Nikakhtar. In the morning, they found that they were on a mountain belonging to king Milatan, an impious prince, who boasted that he was a god, and acklowledged no superior. Woojna, his general, was a man of prodigious strength. A mortal feud existed between Ilayl and Milatan, and they were constantly making inroads on each other's territory. Every night, Woojna prowled over the mountain, to surprise and plunder travellers, and discovering Miri and his companions, he asked who they were, and whence they came? The aspect of the giant filled them with wonder and alarm. Knowing not the people with whom he had to do, Miri replied, "we come from the country of Ilayl.” At these words, Woojna put all three in fetters, and dragged them before his master, who treated them as spies from his enemy, in spite of the protestations of Miri, that he was on his march to Egypt, and had lost his way. Milatan directed his general to inquire into the truth of this story, and Woojna cast them into a large cavern, which he closed up with an enormous stone.

Meanwhile, whilst the people of Miri, led by Mooshthar, were seeking him, they fell in with a body of men who said they were the soldiers of king Abroo; "Miri having killed his son Sahib, the king is on his way to Egypt to demand vengeance for his blood." Aghast at this intelligence, Mooshthar hastened to disclose to Nomi-Awthab the appalling news of the disappearance of Miri and the expedition of the king of the Franks.

The lovely queen of Egypt uncovered her head, tore her hair, broke her collar, and lacerated her bosom, whiter than alabaster. Zora, thinking of her