UC-NRLF 
 

 

 e 
 
 

 THE 
 
 A ROMANCE OF ANCIENT PERSIA. 
 
 BY AUSTIN C. BUEDICK. 
 
 / UN! -/. . 
 
 NEW YORK: 
 
 PUBLISHED BY SAMUEL FRENCH, 
 
 121 NASSAU STREET. 
 


 CHAPTER I. 
 
 A STKANGE CAPTURE. 
 
 AMONG all the cities of old, the ruins of which 
 are now left to tell of the mighty age that has 
 long since passed away, none exceeded in ex 
 tent, in wealth, or in grandeur, Persepolis, the 
 chief capital of ancient Persia. At the foot of a 
 siteep, rugged mountain, was extended a wide 
 plain, watered by a goodly river. Upon all 
 hands this plain was shut in by high cliffs of 
 rock, looming darkly in the distance, leaving the 
 level space some five-and- twenty miles in length, 
 and upon this was the city built, occupying the 
 whole vast area. The wealth of the royal pal 
 ace almost exceeds belief. It was a vast struc 
 ture, serving not only for the royal residence, 
 but also for a citadel and bulwark. Its colon 
 nade of massive pillars still stands, and is a fit 
 object of wonder. These pillars are of gray 
 marble and seventy feet high, and their capitals, 
 which are of an order of architecture differing 
 from any other then in use, are beautiful in the 
 extreme. The interior of this kingly abode was 
 literally cased with gold and precious stones, 
 and to count or estimate the wealth there dis 
 played, were a task beyond the ability of one 
 man. And then other evidences of grandeur 
 were built in the city, and upon all hands were 
 to be seen sculptures and towers, and courts and 
 monuments. And as though the vast plain 
 gave not room enough for the ingenuity of the 
 sculptors, the faces of the very rocks that 
 
 formed the cliff wall of the city were cut and 
 carved in a most elaborate and flais Md manner. 
 Into the ^acos cf the l?rger rocks were cut 
 tombs and sepulchral chambers, with beautiful 
 portico * richly sculptured iran. tkf- <?olid cliff. 
 
 Truly the kmg of Persia had wealth, for his 
 capital contained within itself the wealth of a 
 nation. And he had power, for thousands on 
 thousands bowed down to do him homage, and 
 princes and potentates acknowledged his au 
 thority. 
 
 Next in importance among the palaces of 
 Persepolis to that of the king was the palace 
 of Rustem, one of the most powerful satraps, 
 or governors, of the realm. Rustem was now 
 past the meridian of life, but still strong and 
 vigorous, and fond of all those manly sports 
 which were the delight of the warrior race of 
 that period. He was a favorite of the king, a 
 friend to those who bowed to him, and some 
 times generous and benevolent to the poor, 
 lie could be warm and ardent in his attach 
 ments, and he could love with his whole heart ; 
 but there was no principle, no moral obligation, 
 felt by him. He was the slave of impulse, and 
 the owner of a will that would not bend. Very 
 slight causes would attract his friendship, and 
 causes just as slight would arouse his anger and 
 hate. Above all things else did he love to be 
 honored and obeyed and flattered. Disobey 
 
 965203 
 
8 THE KING AND 
 
 , 
 
 him, and he was your enemy ; trample upon his 
 authority, and his hate was deadly. Under 
 such circumstances the friendship of years would 
 be cast off in an instant, and his dagger might 
 seek the very heart he had hung upon in love for 
 a long, long while. 
 
 Such was Rustem, and such was the man 
 upon whom the king relied for much of his 
 power and advice. Of course such a man would 
 have many friends and some enemies ; he would 
 have strong friends and enemies most bitter. 
 One thing alone troubled Rustem exceedingly. 
 He had yet no children. He had married 
 many wives, but no heir came yet to inherit his 
 title and his wealth. He at times wished that 
 some one would give him a child, for he felt 
 that there was a very large space in his heart at 
 present unoccupied. Perhaps it was so, for the 
 satrap had now passed over thirty years of ma 
 turity thirty years had passed away since he 
 became of parental age, and during all that 
 time he had prayed for a child. He did not 
 know that his heart was already filled with hate 
 where love might have come in ; he imagined 
 that about ^be half of his whole heart was dying 
 for the wantoif pccupatJopI aiul jhjit pceupation 
 could be afforded only* by the presence of a son. 
 Thus stop$ Rtf&<*rr tne &ftrjip, jan3 hfe*f$lt that 
 *** * 
 
 had 
 
 God had *g*iven*hinl little 
 given him no child. 
 
 It was a morning in early summer. Rustem 
 had been engaged one whole month in business 
 for the king, and now he was determined to have 
 some recreation. He took with him twenty men 
 in all, armed with axes, spears, javelins, bows 
 and knives, and with the best horses the king 
 dom could afford, he set out. His course was 
 to the northeast, towards the Hetzendarra Moun 
 tains, where there were to be found all sorts o1 
 wild game, even to camels and buffaloes. The 
 first night Rustem stopped at a little hamlet a 
 the foot of the mountains, where lived some 
 peasants and hunters, having ridden over fifty 
 miles from the great city. The poor people 
 here knew him well, and he was treated with 
 much respect. 
 
 In the evening, after wine had been drank am 
 supper eaten, an old hunter named Bal, who hac 
 ranged over the mountains many years in search 
 of game, made a movement as though he woulc 
 speak with the satrap. 
 
 "What is it?" asked Rustem, who noticed 
 the movement. 
 
 COBBLER. 
 
 " I wish to tell your excellency of a most cu 
 rious animal that dwells among the mountains." 
 "Ah," uttered Rustem, who was ever on 
 land for anything curious or wonderful, " go on 
 and tell me, good Bal." 
 
 It is a most curious animal, sir, and such an 
 one as I never saw before. I first saw it about 
 hree weeks ago, and several times have I seen 
 t since ; but I cannot get near it. Once I was 
 near enough to throw my javelin. I threw it 
 with all my might, and the animal caught it in 
 lis paws and broke it in pieces. Then he com 
 menced to hurl great rocks at me, and I was 
 breed to retreat." 
 
 But how does this animal look 1 ?" asked 
 Rustem, who had become much interested. 
 
 Why, he looks something like a huge mon 
 key. He runs sometimes on all fours, but he 
 runs the fastest when erect. But the most cu 
 rious thing is that he is always with a flock of 
 wild goats, and he seems bent on protecting 
 these goats in preference to himself." 
 
 It must be some afrite or some ghoul," said 
 Rustem. 
 
 " So I have thought," said the old hunter, 
 with an involuntary shudder. 
 
 " And yet I must find him," resumed the sa 
 trap. " You shall go with me to-morrow, Bal, 
 and we will surround and capture the thing." 
 
 This was agreed to, and at an early hour the 
 party retired. All night did Rustem either 
 dream, or lie awake and think, of the strange 
 animal of which he had heard. From Bal s de 
 scription he thought it might be some wicked 
 afrite or genie who thus wandered among the 
 mountains, and he debated much within himself 
 whether it would be safe to attack such a power. 
 But he had said that he would hunt for it, and 
 he wished not his followers to think him coward 
 ly ; and besides, his curiosity was wonderfully 
 excited, and he wished to satisfy it. 
 
 In the morning the satrap was ready betimes, 
 and at an early hour his party set out, accom 
 panied by Bal. Shortly they began to ascend 
 the mountain, and though the way was rugged 
 and dubious, yet Bal led them up surely. When 
 they reached the top of the first mountain, they 
 saw a vale ahead of them in which the grass 
 grew luxuriantly, and which was wooded most 
 ly with the tree of the pistachio nut. In this 
 vale Bal said he first saw the strange animal, 
 and so the party descended into it, but nothing 
 was to be found save some birds and small ani 
 mals. Rustem brought down two large birds 
 
THE KING AND COBBLER. 
 
 
 
 with his arrows, and then kept on. Bal now 
 led them over the top of another mountain, and 
 from thence through a long, rugged, winding 
 ravine, and not until near noon did they reach 
 another vale where vegetation was plenty. But 
 when they reached this second vale, they found 
 it not only more extensive than the first, but far 
 more beautiful. It was a sort of basin of rich 
 soil amid the surrounding mountains of rock, 
 and it was seldom visited by man, on account of 
 the rugged way that led to it, and from the fact 
 that very few knew the only path by which it 
 could be reached. 
 
 After viewing the beautiful place for some 
 minutes, the party began slowly to descend to 
 wards it. They saw many wild goats frisking 
 about among the trees, and just as they reached 
 the edge of the place they started up a wild boar. 
 Rustem saw the huge animal start, and with a 
 shout to his followers, he set forward upon the 
 chase* Away went the boar, and away went the 
 satrap, and behind him came the score of men, 
 eager for the sport. The boar ran a long dis* 
 tance among bushes and rank-weeds, and all 
 heedless of scratches and rending garments, Rus- 
 tem followed on. At length they came to an 
 open space, and when the boar was half way 
 across, the satrap let fly a javelin ; the weapon 
 struck the monster just behind the shoulder, and 
 he turned. He rolled over upon the grass, and 
 this served to drive the javelin further into his 
 flesh. Rustem had watched his movements, and 
 as soon as he rolled over upon the ground, the 
 noble hunter sprang from his horse, and running 
 quickly up, he gave the animal a blow upon the 
 forehead with his axe that stunned him. After 
 this the brute was easily despatched. Rustem 
 was now all elate and eager. He was fired with 
 enthusiasm, and was ready to attack anything 
 that should present itself. As soon as the boar 
 was dead, the satrap re-mounted his horse, anc 
 at that moment a shout from Bal arrested him. 
 
 " There, there !" cried the old hunter, rushing 
 towards the noble, and at the same time pointing 
 off towards a point where a herd of goats were 
 huddled together. 
 
 Rustem looked, and he 8aw in the midst o 
 the goats the animal of which Bal had spoken 
 He at first approached it carefully, and found i 
 to be standing upright. Its head was coverec 
 with a thick mass of black hair, which hung like 
 the mane of a buffalo or lion. The body was o 
 a curious shape, and of a green color, seeming 
 to be coyered with scales. As soon as Rustem 
 
 ad satisfied himself with gazing upon the 
 trange nondescript, he gave the word for the 
 hase ; but he was careful to order his followers 
 ot to wound him in any way, unless it should 
 ecome absolutely necessary in self-defence, as 
 e wished to capture the thing if possible. 
 
 "By the spirit of Ahriman," he cried, "I 
 [ever dreamed of such a monster. It is neither 
 , man, a beast, nor a bird ; nor is it a dragon, 
 or it has no tail of such. See those green scales, 
 low they glisten in the sunlight. If it is a de 
 mon, I will give it chase, and surely the name 
 f the one mighty God will be proof against his 
 x>wer." 
 
 As he thus spoke, he set forward, and his party 
 bllowed on after him. The nondescript watch* 
 ed his coming a few minutes, and then sprang 
 nto the bushes and disappeared, most of the 
 joats following after him. Rustem urged his 
 lorse on, and when he had cleared the clump of 
 jushes, he saw the strange animal just bounding 
 away towards the rocks at the edge of the woqd. 
 Away he went, his horse now thoroughly excited 
 with the idea of the chase, and soon he found 
 limself flying along a rocky ravine, with the 
 londescript only a short distance ahead. Further 
 on, Rustem saw a cliff which rose directly across 
 the ravine, and he thought he should surely se 
 cure the animal there ; but he was mistaken, for 
 when it reached the cliff it sprang up the ragged 
 side of the rock with incredible agility, and in a 
 moment more would have disappeared. The 
 satrap was now beside himself with excitement. 
 He saw that he should not be able to make his 
 way over the cliff which tho nondescript had 
 mounted with so much agility, except with much 
 time and labor, and if another moment were lost 
 he should lose his prey* So in the frenzy of the 
 moment he snatched a javelin and hurled it with 
 all his might. The strange being saw the move 
 ment, and he caught the weapon as it went whiz 
 zing by him, and broke it in pieces. Some of 
 the others, seeing the movement of their master, 
 hurled their javelins. The nondescript saw them 
 coming, but he could not dodge them all ; one of 
 them struck him in the thigh, and he set up a 
 howl of rage that made the very rocks shake, and 
 then disappeared over the cliff. 
 
 Rustem would have dashed on and climbed 
 the cliff, but Bal told him that by riding back a 
 short distance he might go around it. He did 
 so, and having gone back to the point at which 
 he entered the ravine, he took another path 
 around the side of the mountain, and ere long 
 
10 
 
 THE KING AND COBBLER. 
 
 he came to an extensive table of loose stones, 
 and at a short distance he saw the afrite sitting, 
 trying to pull the javelin from his flesh. He 
 tried to run when he saw his enemies, but pain 
 and loss of blood had weakened him, and he was 
 soon caught. He did not struggle at all when 
 he was seized, but with an imploriHg look into 
 the face of the satrap, he pointed to the vengeful 
 javelin, and then he folded his arms across his 
 breast. 
 
 Bnstem and his followers were now more 
 astonished than before. They found that what 
 they had taken for green scales was nothing 
 more nor less than a garment very curiously 
 made of leaves, and having removed a part of 
 these so as to get at the wound of the javelin, 
 they found that the skin beneath was nearly as 
 white as their own. In short, they discovered 
 that their prize was in truth a human being, or 
 at any rate, so very near one that there was no 
 external sign by which to detect the difference. 
 Among the noble s followers was one who un 
 derstood the secrets of the surgical art, and he 
 extracted the barbed head of the javelin without 
 much cutting or trouble. The wound was found 
 to be only in the flesh, and after it had been 
 carefully bandaged, Rustem advanced once more 
 and spoke with the strange being, but he got no 
 answer. The wild youth for such he really 
 was threw the long, tangled black hair away 
 from his face, and gazed with wonder into the 
 countenances of those about him, but he made 
 no answer to any of the questions that were 
 asked of him : and yet his face did not seem all 
 a blank he did not appear like one who had no 
 idea of the nature of what he saw and heard, 
 but rather like one who was sorely puzzled. The 
 satrap was a man well versed in language, and 
 he spoke in all he could remember, but the youth 
 understood none of them only when the pure 
 Persian was spoken, he manifested an interest 
 that did not appear when he heard others. Rus- 
 tem then approached and lifted him to his feet, 
 at the same time making signs that no harm 
 was intended. 
 
 Now that the mystic being stood erect, his 
 form and features could be more plainly seen. 
 He had a noble frame tall and stout, with limbs 
 of perfect symmetry, and rounded and turned at 
 every point, and a face eminently handsome, not 
 withstanding the bronzed hue which exposure 
 had given it. He could not have been more 
 than fifteen or sixteen years of age, for the beard 
 had not yet begun to grow upon his face, though 
 
 in his physical frame he had all the developments 
 of maturer years. After trying in vain to get 
 some spoken word from him, Rustem ordered 
 him to be put upon a horse, and as soon as he 
 was well secured the party returned. They 
 reached the hunter s hut just after the sun had 
 set, and there they encamped for the night. 
 
 In the evening Rustem went into the room 
 where he had had the wild man confined, and 
 found him lying down, but he rose to a sitting 
 posture as soon as he saw his captor, and in his 
 look and movement he displayed a perfect sub 
 jection, though, as it afterwards appeared, it was 
 the strange fear of the wounds he had received 
 that made him so. He seemed to have an in 
 stinctive knowledge that such a loss of blood 
 could cause death, and he really had an instinct 
 ive feeling that his captors could save him from 
 the dread fate. The satrap talked with him again, 
 but he did not understand. He uttered a sound, 
 but it was a wild, thrilling, sonorous sound, un 
 like anything save the low bellowing of the buf 
 falo. 
 
 The wound was dressed again, and in the 
 morning it was attended to once more, and by 
 this time it was found to be doing well. In 
 truth, the blood and flesh of the sufferer were so 
 pure, so free from disease of any kind, that such 
 a flesh wound, though quite deep, healed rapidly. 
 
 As soon as breakfast was eaten, Rustem set 
 out upon his return to the city, for he considered 
 that he gained prize enough for one day. On 
 the way, he pondered upon the subject of the 
 strange game he had captured, and he had at 
 length resolved that he would keep the wild 
 youth and see if he could not educate him. No 
 sooner was this plan formed than he called his 
 followers about him and made them swear that 
 they would not speak of what had happened to 
 any one, for he wished no one to know that he 
 had such a being within his place : first, because 
 he wished to make his experiments unencumber 
 ed by the advices and needless assistance of those 
 who would surely offer themselves if they knew 
 of the circumstances ; and second, because he 
 thought the youth himself would be more tract 
 able if he were not bothered by visitors. 
 
 It was after dark when Rustem entered the 
 city, and he reached his own house without ex 
 posing his prize. His followers were faithful, 
 and he feared not for them, so he was sure he 
 should have everything as he could wish ; and 
 he promised himself much pleasure in the culture 
 of the strange mind he had found. 
 
GflAFTR II. 
 
 TUB LION HEART. 
 
 FOR a while Rustem found the task he had 
 undertaken a difficult one ; but he did not give 
 it up. When he had caused his strange protege 
 to be clothed in the common garb, he found him 
 to be not only comely in appearance, but ex 
 tremely beautiful. The satrap was delighted 
 with this, and he at once called his charge Feri- 
 doon, which signifies The Lion Heart. He gave 
 him this name because he was as bold and strong 
 as a lion, and because he exhibited traits of no 
 bleness and daring with which the king of beasts 
 is supposed to be endowed. 
 
 Rustem furnished seven stout men to take 
 charge of his adopted son, and two most excel 
 lent masters were appointed to instruct him. 
 For several months much difficulty was experi 
 enced in keeping a physical control over the 
 youth, for the seven stout men were but as in 
 fants in his hands when he became enraged ; but 
 on such occasions the presence of his master 
 would instantly restore him to composure. 
 
 Feridoon could not have been lost when a 
 mere suckling, for he showed some signs that 
 plainly evinced a faint memory of the sound of 
 language, and at first, when his guardians were 
 conversing, he would watch them with deep 
 interest. He was first taught to pronounce sim 
 ple words, and then sentences, and at the end of 
 a year he could speak very plainly, and read the 
 
 more simple tales of the language. By this 
 time his temper, too, had become subdued, and 
 he was reasonable in all his demands, and would 
 also listen to reason. 
 
 Thus passed away five years, and, strange as 
 it may seem, Rustem had kept his secret most 
 safely. Those whom he had trusted had not 
 betrayed him, and none in the city, save one or 
 two old scholars and his own household, knew 
 that he had a youth of adoption beneath his 
 roof. Even his own wives did not know it. 
 They knew that he had some one confined in the 
 further apartment of the great palace, but they 
 knew not who it was. 
 
 And during these five years Feridoon had be 
 come a finished, polished scholar. All that time 
 his teachers had labored with him to teach him 
 the arts and secrets of science and literature, and 
 from the very first he had evinced a warm de 
 sire to learn. As soon as he had become able to 
 read and speak, there seemed to be no end to his 
 thirst for knowledge. The most knotty points 
 of politics he seized arid dwelt upon, and he 
 would not let them go until he had solved them 
 to his heart s content. As the fifth year drew to 
 a close, Feridoon began to discuss with his 
 teachers, and they found, to their surprise, that 
 they had raised up a mind more mighty than 
 their own. The secret was, they had found a 
 
12 
 
 THE KING AND COBBLER. 
 
 soul and mind of God s own forming, and all 
 they could do was to give it the field in which to 
 work. At this time the old teachers approached 
 the more direct points of government, and they 
 found that their scholar met them in their argu 
 ments. They found that his mind had already 
 grasped these points in advance. They explain 
 ed to him the rights of kings and the duty of 
 subjects, but Feridoon stopped them in the midst 
 of their disquisition, and told them they must be 
 wrong. 
 
 " Surely," said he, in a tone of sweetness and 
 candor, but yet with much power and energy, 
 " after what you have told me of the principles 
 of humanity, of religion, of social rights, and of 
 political power, you will not tell me that one 
 man can hold the governing power over all 
 others, unless all those others wish it." 
 
 " But some one must govern," answered the 
 tutors, " and let it be whom it may, others will 
 find fault." 
 
 " Not if his government be just and equitable," 
 answered Feridoon. " If ke shows that the whole 
 energies of his soul are given for the good of his 
 people, then of course none who are fit to be 
 governed can find fault. Those who would mur 
 mur at such rule would be themselves the op 
 pressors, and should be dealt with accordingly. 
 Surely there can be no true government without 
 the consent of the governed, for if such a gov 
 ernment could exist, it would show the power of 
 Might over Right." 
 
 It was in this way that Feridoon finished his 
 education, and at every point where he differed 
 from his tutors, he was sure to carry the day. 
 
 But the youth s education was not yet com 
 plete. One dark night Rustem called six of his 
 most trusty guards, and with them he set off in 
 to the country, taking Feridoon with him. He 
 stopped upon a beautiful oasis in the midst of 
 ,the great desert to the northeast of the city, and 
 there he finished the youth s instruction in the 
 use of arms. Feridoon had already received 
 instruction in the use of the sword and dagger, 
 but now he was cased in heavy armor, and 
 mounted upon a fiery steed, and taught to make 
 use of the lance and battle-axe. A stout lance 
 was given him, and he was directed to run it 
 against a certain point in a distant tree upon a 
 full gallop. He performed the feat the first time, 
 and ere long he convinced his guardian that no 
 more instruction could be given him in the use 
 of arms, for he exhibited a rapidity of move 
 ment, a quickness of motion, a clearness of per 
 
 ception, and an unfailing sight, that they had 
 never seen equalled. In physical strength, he 
 was a literal giant. When he was taken from 
 the wild mountains, his physical powers had be 
 come fully developed, and even then he pos 
 sessed all the brute force of the lion, but now he 
 was stronger still. 
 
 The youth was taken back to the city by night, 
 and once more he found himself in his own rooms 
 at the satrap s palace. 
 
 On the morning that ushered in the sixth year 
 of Feridoon s liberation from the wilderness, 
 R astern went in alone to see him. He was now 
 twenty years old at least, and probably more 
 than that. At any rate the satrap called him 
 one-and-twenty. Pie arose as his master entered, 
 and saluted him with becoming obeisance. Rus 
 tem gazed upon his charge in admiration ; and 
 well he might, for surely a more comely youth 
 did not exist. He was now tall and well -formed, 
 with every physical point of beauty fully devel 
 oped, and his carriage was as easy and graceful 
 as that of the most assiduous courtier. His fea 
 tures were not only perfect in form and regular 
 ity, but in their combination they presented a 
 beauty such as Rustem had never seen else 
 where. His hair was black as night, and hung 
 in glossy curls all around his neck and shoul 
 ders ; and his eyes, which were also black, 
 sparkled and burned like the evening stars. 
 
 Rustem was happy, for he had now a son. 
 Surely, he had a right to claim Feridoon as his 
 own, for he had not only reared him to full man 
 hood, but he had done more ; he had done more 
 than give him life even he had snatched him 
 from a state of savageness and wildness he had 
 taken him from the literal state of the brutes, and 
 made him a man. So Rustem had made all his 
 servants, who were in the secret, swear that they 
 would always call Feridoon his own child ; and 
 when asked concerning him, they would repeat 
 the story he should give them. And that story 
 was this. Said Rustem : 
 
 "After many prayers and sacrifices unto God, 
 the dearest wish of my soul was granted. One 
 of the spirits of Ormuzd appeared to me in a 
 dream, and told me that my wife Sarah should 
 bear me a son, and that I should call his name 
 Feridoon, for he should be of a lion heart. And 
 because of his lion heart I should keep him from 
 the world till he should have fulfilled the full pe 
 riod of manhood. And my wife Sarah did bear 
 me a son, and I called his name Feridoon, and I 
 kept him away from the world. But the mother 
 
THE KING AND COBBLER. 
 
 13 
 
 of the child died, and the infant was reared upon 
 the milk of g&ats, and he waxed strong in body 
 and strong in mind. So I kept him apart from 
 all others of his kind, save those who should 
 teach him ; and even the fact of his birth I kept 
 hid. But now the period of his manhood is 
 come, and he goes forth to the world. So shall 
 ye speak to all who may ask of you concerning 
 Feridoon." 
 
 And they swore that so they would speak, and 
 even the youth himself, out of his great grati 
 tude and love, gave promise to the same. 
 
 After Rustem. had gazed with delight upon his 
 son for a long while, he thought he would ques 
 tion him upon the point of his memory of child 
 hood. He had never yet asked of that, because 
 he feared he might call up some memories in the 
 youth s mind that would clash with his own hopes 
 and designs. 
 
 " My son," he said, taking a seat by the side 
 of the youth, " I wish to ask you concerning 
 your early childhood." 
 
 " Do you not already know that 1" returned 
 Feridoon, smiling. 
 
 " Not of your* earliest childhood. I would 
 know if you can remember anything of your 
 parents." 
 
 The youth gazed into the old man s face for 
 some moments, and then he bowed his head. 
 He pondered a long while upon the subject thus 
 presented, and finally he said : 
 
 " I suppose you may now be my parent, but 
 yet my mind sees nothing of you beyond the 
 time when you gave me chase in the mountain. 
 I remember that, and I remember far back of 
 that; but had you never found me, I should 
 have always looked upon a certain old goat as 
 my parent. You will remember that I had no 
 knowledge then of humanity, or of races, save 
 that I knew I was not a boar nor a bird, but I 
 think I did really think myself a goat, though 
 of different formation. You must not laugh at 
 the absurdity of what I say, for then this great 
 soul, this wonderful source of knowledge, had 
 not been felt by me, and I only felt the instinct 
 which governs the brutes." 
 
 " Of course you could only feel that," an 
 swered Rustem ; " and so far from laughing am 
 I, that I feel deeply interested in what you say. 
 Can you remember your first impressions ? 
 What I would know is, how far back your mem 
 ory can run." 
 
 Again Feridoon thought deeply, and at length 
 he said : 
 
 "Away back in the distant years of life, when 
 I was small and weak, I can see a deep cave in 
 the rocks, and there I lived among a flock of 
 goats. I well remember the goat from which I 
 received my milk, and I remember, too, of find 
 ing sweet fruits which I ate. From that time I 
 waxed large and strong, so that at length I pro 
 tected my goats often from their enemies. Once 
 I remember of killing a monstrous boar that at 
 tacked us. I sprang upon him with a club, and 
 killed him as easily as I could now kill one of 
 your warriors." 
 
 " And back of that ; can your memory see 
 nothing else nothing of the human face and 
 voice ?" 
 
 "Ah!" uttered the youth, while a sudden 
 beam of light shot athwart his handsome face, 
 " I remember how my heart thrilled when first 
 I saw your face, and heard your voice. It was 
 that alone which made me so submissive to 
 your will. I was entranced by your speech, for 
 it awoke in my soul a set of feelings which, as I 
 can now see, must have sprung from some recol 
 lections which still clung faintly to my mind, 
 But I could never explain them, never analyze 
 them, though of course I can now see that they 
 must have come from the memory of scenes, and 
 faces, and speeches, which I had heard and 
 seen before. Then, too, I sometimes think I 
 can see a dim, flickering picture of blood and 
 strife of flashing steel and sharp cries, and of 
 loud curses but I have no form or feature to 
 the scene." 
 
 After conversing a while longer upon the 
 same subject, Eastern became convinced that 
 Feridoon was two or three years old, at least, 
 when he was lost, and in all probability his fa 
 ther had been a merchant, and had been mur^ 
 dered and robbed upon the desert. Nothing 
 else seemed so reasonable as this, and upon it 
 he rested his thoughts of Feridoon s origin, 
 That Feridoon was a Persian he knew, and 
 from his form and features, he believed him to 
 be a native of Persepolis. 
 
 "And now," said the youth, "I am to see 
 your females ; I am to mix in your society of 
 men and women, and find good and evil. Do 
 you think people will love me ?" 
 
 " Most surely they will." 
 
 "And will the females love me ?" 
 
 "Ay," answered Rustem, with enthusiasm. 
 " They will fall down at thy feet, even as the 
 worshipper sinks dojvvn before the morning s sun. 
 
14 
 
 THE KING AND COBBLER. 
 
 Among all our people there is not another so 
 comely as thou art." 
 
 reridoon blushed, and after a while, he said : 
 
 "And may I not find among the females of 
 our city some kind heart and noble soul with 
 which I can mate ?" 
 
 " What know you of such things ?" asked 
 the satrap. " You have never seen a woman s 
 face." 
 
 " 0, 1 have, my father." 
 
 "Have! When?" 
 
 " When I have slept." 
 
 " You have dreamed, then ?" 
 
 "Perhaps so. But I have seen some most 
 lovely forms. And I have been taught, too, of 
 the love of woman. In many of the tales that 
 I have read, woman stands out as the very type 
 of that true love which my soul feels is the 
 most sacred and pure. In nearly all the manu 
 scripts I have read, the writers have striven to 
 make woman seem an angel. Is it so ?" 
 
 " Sometimes it is, but often it is not," re 
 turned Rustem, somewhat puzzled by his pro 
 tege s manner and thoughts. " But let not your 
 thoughts turn upon that point. Seek first to 
 read the truth of humanity as you shall find 
 it spread out about you, and then you may go 
 on and seek such companions as jou like, after 
 your judgment has become experienced." 
 
 Much more conversation was held, and when 
 Rustem left his protege, it was decided that on 
 the following day he should be taken to the 
 court of the king, and introduced to the nobles 
 and courtiers. This pleased Feridoon much, 
 and he was grateful for the favor thus extend 
 ed. He supposed he was now to be introduced 
 into the midst of those who would show him all 
 the virtues and beauties of social life, and the 
 truth and justice of moral government. Alas ! 
 how sadly was he deceived. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 THE ASTROLOGER. 
 
 THE secret of Feridoon s strict obedience to 
 the wishes of Rustem had been gratitude. As 
 soon as he became conscious of his advancing 
 knowledge and consequent happiness, his whole 
 soul was not only given to the work, but it was 
 also turned in thankfulness upon his benefactor. 
 He had not submitted to his close confinement 
 because he deemed that any one had a right to 
 keep him there, but because he was willing to 
 sacrifice his personal liberty for the knowledge 
 he was receiving. No one had ever yet aroused 
 him to anger, and consequently no one had 
 witnessed the effects of his wrath. All that he 
 had manifested had been the natural kindness 
 and nobleness of his soul ; and though in the 
 course of his martial and manual studies he had 
 evinced surprising degrees of strength, yet not 
 one of those who knew him even dreamed of the 
 mighty physical power that lay at rest within 
 the muscles and sinews of his comely frame. 
 
 The apartments he had occupied were six in 
 number, and among them was a large artificial 
 garden, that had been constructed especially for 
 his use. From these apartments he cauld at 
 any time have easily made his way had he been 
 so disposed ; but he had no desire so to do, for 
 lie knew that his guardian wished him not to. 
 
 On the following morning Feridoon was array 
 ed in a garb of rich and costly fabric, and in 
 
 company with his father, he went to the court of 
 the king. On the way he found much to attract 
 his attention, and several times he stopped his 
 horse to gaze upon the various objects of wonder 
 that met his sight. And people looked at him, 
 too. 
 
 " Surely," said one, " that must be the son of 
 some powerful king whom the satrap has re 
 ceived from abroad." 
 
 " Nay," said another, " it must be some real 
 king, for see how nobly he rides, and AVith what 
 majesty he holds his head. Most surely, one 
 who has been ruled all his days would not ride 
 like that." 
 
 " Upon my faith you are all wrong/ spoke a 
 merchant, who happened to be passing. "That 
 is no less than Eustem s son, for I heard yester 
 day that he had a son whom he had kept seclud 
 ed for one- and- twenty years." 
 
 Upon this, the people pressed after the youth 
 and gazed vronderingly upon him, and soon 
 their murmurs broke forth into shouts of ap 
 plause. At length Feridoon became aware that 
 he was the object of all this commotion, and he 
 raised his hat and bowed to the crowd. Then 
 he rode more closely to his father s side and ask 
 ed him for his purse. The satrap gave it up 
 without asking a question, and as soon as Feri 
 doon received it he commenced to scatter pieces 
 
16 
 
 THE KING AND COBBLEE. 
 
 of gold among the crowd. He had read in old 
 manuscripts that benevolent princes had done so, 
 and as he saw much poverty about him, he wish 
 ed to do the same. This raised the admiration of 
 the people to the highest pitch, and it well pleas 
 ed the satrap, for he loved to see his assumed 
 son thus honored. 
 
 In due time they reached the royal palace, 
 and Feridoon was introduced to the king. He 
 had been instructed how to behave, and as soon 
 as he found himself in the royal presence, he fell 
 on his knees and bowed his head. 
 
 This king s name was Sohrab. He was now 
 past the meridian of life, and his countenance 
 gave signs of a jealous, bitter spirit, and his 
 whole form and feature gave token of a riotous 
 and sensual indulgence and excess. He had 
 formerly been a powerful general under Kei 
 Khosrou, the former king. In an excursion 
 against the insurgent Khorasons, Kei Khosrou 
 was taken sick, and in that state he was brought 
 back to die. Feridoon had heard the story from 
 his father, and he knew how Sohrab came on 
 the throne. He had heard how the old king 
 was taken sick and crazy, and how he was 
 brought back to Persepolis to die. After he 
 was dead, his body was laid in the great hall of 
 the capitol, all exposed to view, and all the 
 people of the kingdom came to look on those 
 noble features in death, and to pray for a suc 
 cessor as good and just as he had been. At 
 the end of a week, the body of the dead king 
 was embalmed and laid away in the royal sep 
 ulchre, and then Sohrab proclaimed himself 
 king. The soldiers sustained him, for he made 
 tnem promises of great honors, and as Kei 
 Khosrou had left no child behind him, the peo 
 ple submitted to Sohrab s rule. 
 
 All this Feridoon had heard, and in his soul 
 he felt that the man before him was not a true 
 king that he did not stand as a true representa 
 tive of the interests of the people. But when he 
 came to look into the king s face, he was sorely 
 distressed, for he saw there the marks of a wick 
 ed man, and his proud soul shrank from bow 
 ing to such a man. But the king was delighted 
 with Feridoon, and he heaped on him the most 
 fulsome flattery, and also did he natter Rustem 
 for having raised up such a son. 
 
 " By my royal head," he cried, after he had 
 gazed well upon the youth, "you should be ever 
 near our person. Some of my best warriors 
 shall learn you to bear arms, and in time your 
 sinews may become strong and tough. How 
 
 would it suit you to live here in this our royal 
 palace ?" 
 
 " For the present, O king, I would live with 
 my father/ returned the youth. 
 
 " So be it, then ; only let me have the light 
 of thy countenance often. * 
 
 After much such talk, Rustem and his son 
 withdrew and proceeded on their way home. 
 Feridoon gave full scope to his feelings, and 
 failed not to speak his thought of the king. The 
 satrap chided him for his speech, and express* 
 ed sorrow for his opinions. 
 
 " For," said he, " Sohrab is our king, and as 
 such, we must love and honor him. He has 
 been a great friend to me, and not for half my 
 wealth would I have you incur his displeasure, 
 He is revengeful, too, and would surely put you 
 to death if he heard that you spoke against 
 him." 
 
 "Put me to death for merely speaking!" ut 
 tered Feridoon in surprise. 
 
 "Ay, most surely." 
 
 " But his people would object." 
 
 "Ah, my son, he is the people. They move 
 only through him. His will is their law." 
 
 The youth pondered awhile, and then he said : 
 
 " I will be as careful as I can ; but the king 
 had better not lift a hand against me, for I should 
 surely smite him." 
 
 The satrap said no more, for he knew that his 
 son was governed by just thoughts, and it was 
 beyond his power to combat them. And then 
 he was thus led to view himself in rather an un 
 favorable light, for he had himself had some hand 
 in elevating Sohrab to the throne. In view of 
 receiving the office of satrap of Persepolis, he 
 had given all his influence for that man. 
 
 "When they reached their dwelling, they found 
 an old man sitting in the hall. Even the satrap 
 was inspired with much reverence by the strang* 
 er s venerable looks, and Feridoon bowed with 
 pure esteem and respect, This stranger was an 
 old man, past the bound of threescore and ten, 
 of a tall, commanding form, but somewhat bent 
 beneath the weight of years. His hair and 
 beard were white as snow, and long and flow* 
 ing. His face was kind and generous in its ex* 
 pression, and a natural mildness softened every 
 feature. His dress was a robe of blue cloth, 
 confined at the loins by a girdle of silk. He 
 wore heavy sandals upon his feet, and upon hig 
 head was a hat of curious shape. His blue robe 
 was worked with curious devices in figures of 
 gold, and his girdle was worked the same. 
 
THE KING AND COBBLER. 
 
 17 
 
 " Whom have we here ?" asked Rustem, after 
 he had bowed to the old man. 
 
 "My name is Kobad," returned the stranger. 
 
 " Ha !" uttered Rustem, seeming a little star 
 tled at first, "the profound astrologer of 
 Arabia ?" 
 
 "Ay once of Arabia but now of Persia," 
 returned the old man. 
 
 Both the satrap and his son were considera 
 bly moved by this announcement, though through 
 different emotions. Rustem was moved by a 
 natural superstitious idea of the astrologer s 
 power, mingled with some dread ; while Eeri- 
 doon was moved alone by the superior knowl 
 edge that he had heard attributed to the wonder 
 ful man. He had heard that Kobad not only 
 read great truths from the stars, but that he 
 made them subserve his own purposes by hav 
 ing learned to count their changes-and foretell 
 their conjunctions and appearances. And then 
 his teachers, or one of them, had told him that the 
 astrologer was the most deeply versed in hu 
 man nature, in the laws of right and wrong, and 
 in the various occult sciences, of any man with 
 whom he had ever conversed. All this made 
 the youth look upon the old man with more 
 than ordinary reverence, and he failed not to 
 show his feelings in his glowing looks. 
 
 " You are the satrap Rustem ?" said Kobad, 
 after he had looked awhile on the youth and 
 then turned fo the officer. 
 
 " I am, sir." 
 
 "And this youth who is he ?" 
 
 " My son," replied Rustem, with some hesi 
 tation. 
 
 " The child of your own flesh and blood ?" 
 
 " I so look upon him," answered the satrap, 
 after another Hesitation. 
 
 " It matters not how you look upon him," 
 returned the astrologer, rather sternly; "every 
 man should know the child of his own loins. 
 Is this youth such to you !" 
 
 " Why do you ask ?" 
 
 " Because I would sec if you think to deceive 
 me. However, let that pass. I blame you not 
 for wishing to pass so noble a youth off as your 
 own ; but nothing within the range of human 
 destiny is hidden from me." 
 
 "Then you know all?" uttered Rustem, 
 tremulously. 
 
 "All that I wish to know. There be many 
 things I wish not to know, so I seek them not. 
 All that you know about the childhood of Fer- 
 idoon, I know. If I knew more, you would not 
 
 rest until I had told it to you, so I choose not to 
 delve it out from the bank of mystery that now 
 holds it in burial. But I have come to see the 
 youth himself, and I have that to tell him that 
 may be of lasting good to him." 
 
 " Then," said Eeridoon, his eyes sparkling with 
 pleasure, " I pray you come at once to my 
 apartments, for I shall hold it a joy to converse 
 with one so learned." 
 
 "And do you think to learn my mystic 
 science ?" asked the astrologer, gazing sharply 
 into the young man s face. 
 
 " I wish to learn nothing that is by right your 
 secret only what is proper for me to know 
 would I learn." 
 
 This answer pleased Kobad greatly, and he 
 embraced the youth Avith enthusiasm. After this 
 the satrap gave his consent for his son and the 
 astrologer to retire together, and he did it the 
 more readily because he believed that he should 
 learn from the former all that transpired ; but 
 he would not have dared to refuse under any 
 circumstance, seeing that the secret was only 
 in the strange man s hands, but that he knew 
 much more of the youth, or might do so, than 
 he did himself. 
 
 Eeridoon led the way to his own apartments, 
 and when he came to the stairs he assisted his 
 aged companion to ascend. When they had 
 finally reached their destination, the youth seated 
 the sage upon a soft lounge and then drew up a 
 cushion and seated himself at his feet. 
 
 Upon this the old man commenced to ask ques 
 tions, and Eeridoon answered them readily and 
 promptly. All the branches of learning of the 
 times were gone through with, and our hero 
 proved himself to be master of them all. 
 
 "My son," said the old man, after he had 
 gone through with all such branches as were 
 available to the best scholars of the times, even 
 to the science of government, " I find you a very 
 wonder in learning, and it is no very difficult 
 thing to predict for you a brilliant and useful fu 
 ture. I know you have bravery equal to your 
 intellect." 
 
 " I fear nothing, save evil from my own soul," 
 was the youth s response. 
 
 " Good, my son. And one with such a frame 
 should have some strength too ; for we live in 
 times when even the most pure in soul, and the 
 most gigantic in intellect, must sometimes over 
 come mere brute force. Do you think that age 
 will give you the physical strength to do that ?" 
 
 Feridoon smiled. At that instant a black 
 
18 
 
 THE KING AND COBBLER. 
 
 slave, of huge stature passed through the gar 
 den. He was one of Feridoon s own attend 
 ants, and the youth called him up. The black 
 soon stood in the presence of his master, a giant 
 in bulk, and with muscles like young yew 
 trees. 
 
 " Fear not," my faithful fellow," said Feri- 
 doon, as he arose, " I am not going to hurt 
 you." 
 
 As he spoke, he placed his right hand upon 
 the stout leathern girdle that confined the slave s 
 shirt, and the left hand he placed beneath the 
 fellow s thigh; then, with a quick movement, 
 he raised the bulky body of the huge black from 
 the floor, and lifting it high above his head, he 
 gave it one mighty swing, and hurled it to the 
 centre of the small lake that had been dug in the 
 centre of the garden, the great glass doors being 
 open, and the way all clear. The youth saw 
 the slave crawl out from the troubled water un 
 hurt, and then went and sat down again at the 
 old man s feet. 
 
 For a while Kobad could hardly believe the 
 evidence of his own senses. He gazed first upon 
 the slave while he floundered in the lakelet, and 
 then he gazed upon the youth. It was true, for 
 he had seen it, and as soon as he seemed to be 
 sure that his eyes had not deceived him, he 
 embraced the youth, and in a fervent tone, he 
 uttered : 
 
 " Surely God has raised thee up for some no 
 ble and glorious purpose. Now I will tell thee 
 what thou shalt do, and be assured that I speak 
 for thy good. To-morrow morning, as soon as 
 thou hast partaken of thy morning s meal, go 
 out and find the house of Zak Turan, the cob 
 bler. Go down this street till you come to the 
 great fountain of the lion ; there turn to the left, 
 and ere long you will find yourself face to face 
 with the brazen statue of Zal. To the right 
 hand there you will see a narrow street running 
 towards the sepulchre of Paishdadains ; half 
 way down this -street, upon the left hand, you 
 will see a cobbler s stall, and within you will 
 find an old man at work. He is a good man, 
 
 and will be friendly. Tell him you wish to rest, 
 and if he offers you a seat in his stall, tell him 
 that I sent you to him. I would not have sent 
 thee upon this mission, but I have proved thee 
 to be all that a yottth can be in knowledge and 
 truth, and I fear not to trust thee." 
 
 " But you know not of my more deep-set char 
 acteristics," said Feridoon ; " those evils or vir 
 tues that underlie all manhood, and make it in 
 the end either good or bad." 
 
 " Yes, I do," returned the astrologer. " I 
 have seen and conversed with one of your tutors, 
 and he has told me all your points of character. 
 Yet I could not believe in your knowledge till I 
 had tried you myself." 
 
 "And do you find me with an education be 
 fitting one of my age?" 
 
 "Ay well, well past my most sanguine 
 hopes." 
 
 " But what hopes can you have ?" 
 
 " Hopes of finding in all Persia one man who 
 is fit for the business Heaven has in hand. But 
 I have not time now to waste. Go to-morrow 
 morning as I have explained, and you shall not 
 regret it." 
 
 "But surely I may have some reason for 
 going ?" 
 
 " Only that it is my wish, and for your good. 
 You should ask no more." 
 
 "But have you no more directions no more 
 advice V 
 
 " Not now. Go as I have directed,, and your 
 own judgment will dictate the rest." 
 
 Feridoon was sorely puzzled, but he asked no 
 more questions. That the astrologer was hon 
 est and true, he could not doubt, for the fact 
 was written in every line of those mild, time- 
 worn features. As Kobad spoke, he arose from 
 his seat and turned away from the apartment. 
 Feridoon conducted him to the street, and when 
 there the youth asked : 
 
 " When shall we meet again ?" 
 
 " When there is need." 
 
 And with this he was gone. 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 ZILLAH. 
 
 WHEN Feridoon returned to his room he was 
 beside himself with puzzling conjectures. While 
 the astrologer had been with him he had been so 
 taken up with the majestic presence of the man 
 that he had had no time to indulge in the natural 
 inquiries which such a presence would be likely 
 to bring up ; but now that he was alone, all these 
 thoughts came rushing upon him. His mind 
 dwelt upon three points : first, what could give 
 cause for the interest of such a man as the Ara 
 bian astrologer in his behalf 1 ? second, why was 
 this interest ? that is, what particular purpose 
 was there in it ? third, what could possibly be 
 the intent of his seeking out the old cobbler ? 
 But in the midst of all this mass of strangeness 
 Feridoon had no doubts of the old astrologer s 
 honesty of purpose. His soul rather swelled be 
 neath it, for he imagined that he could trace out 
 in all some reliance that was to be placed upon 
 himself. 
 
 While the youth thus pondered with himself 
 his guardian entered the apartment, and after 
 speaking of other topics as a sort of prelude, he 
 asked what had been the business of the astrolo 
 ger. At first the youth hesitated, but not with 
 doubt. He was merely collecting his thoughts, 
 and when he had remembered how the astrologer 
 had commenced his questions he went on and 
 
 gave Rustcm a clear account of the whole con 
 versation, only omitting what had been said con 
 cerning the cobbler. That part of the business 
 he had resolved to keep to himself, not from any 
 desire to deceive, but simply because there pro 
 mised to be a bit of romance in the affair, and he 
 chose to go into it alone and free from overlook 
 ing and espionage. The satrap was much puz 
 zled with Kobad s intent, but he contented him 
 self with thinking that he only meant to instruct 
 the youth if he should need it. 
 
 " Did he not ask you anything concerning 
 your childhood ?" asked Kustera, uneasily. 
 
 "Not a word." 
 
 " Strange very strange. I suppose he only 
 means to give to you instruction if you need it. 
 And yet I cannot see into even that/ said Rus- 
 tem, thoughtfully. 
 
 Nor did Feridoon see into it, but he had some 
 ideas which he did not speak ideas which might 
 have made Kustem uneasy. He had seen enough 
 of existing things in one day to assure him that 
 there was need of , reform, and might not Kobad 
 have some ideas of such a work ? and might not 
 he want a young man to help him ? At any 
 rate, such thoughts floated dimly through the 
 youth s brain, but of course they were as shape 
 less as the mists of morning. 
 
20 
 
 THE KING AND COBBLER. 
 
 After nearly two hours spent in conversation, 
 the satrap withdrew, and shortly afterwards four 
 of Feridoon s black slaves came into his apart 
 ment. 
 
 " What is it ?" asked the youth, as they stood 
 gazing upon him. 
 
 But they did not speak. 
 
 " What do you wish 1" repeated their master. 
 
 " You will pardon us, but Clao says you threw 
 him from this window clear to the middle of 
 yonder lake. Did he not lie to us 1" 
 
 " Why do you ask ?" 
 
 " Because we four have staked a daric of gold 
 against the fourth part of a daric from him that 
 you did not do it." 
 
 " Do you think Clao would lie for the sake of 
 praising me V 
 
 "We feared so." 
 
 " You shall see." 
 
 As Feridoon spoke, he sprang from his seat 
 and caught the heaviest of the four slaves by the 
 girdle and the thigh, and with apparent ease 
 hurled him to the very verge of the further side 
 of the lake. 
 
 "Now what think you?" asked Feridoon, 
 turning to the other three. 
 
 But they said nothing : they stood like beings 
 petrified. At length, however, they fell upon 
 their knees and bowed till their foreheads touched 
 the floor. They had already learned to love 
 their young master for his kindness and gentle 
 ness, but now they worshipped him. He had 
 touched a place in their homely souls that held 
 their deepest admiration. Henceforth the twelve 
 slaves who attended upon him were to look upon 
 him as nothing less than a god. 
 
 The youth dismissed his slaves, after having 
 given them money enough to pay the stake they 
 had lost through his means, and then set about 
 his own affairs. He took a book of poems and 
 sat down to read, and at a seasonable hour he 
 retired. 
 
 In the morning he arose early and dressed 
 himself, not gaudily, but well. His hair he sep 
 arated and combed out until the flowing ringlets 
 glistened like jet, and his skin glowed like the 
 rose with the flush of pride and health. He 
 stood before his polished mirror of silver, and as 
 he gazed upon the picture of himself he saw be 
 yond, he wondered if wickedness and evil would 
 make him look like those youths whom he had 
 seen in attendance upon the king. He had just 
 completed his toilet when half a dozen of his 
 slaves came up. They knew how kind he was, 
 
 and it seems they had resolved to seek permis 
 sion to look at their young master s arms. 
 
 Feridoon laughed outright as they made their 
 request, and unclasping the jewelled band that 
 held his sleeve at the wrist, he stripped his arm 
 bare to the shoulder. The slaves gathered 
 around, and looked at it, and then they looked 
 upon one another and shook their heads. They 
 were anatomists enough to know that those long, 
 swelling lines of muscles, and those huge, hard 
 cords, contained the secret of the marvellous 
 prowess they had seen. They saw that where 
 their own big, brawny arms were flat or indented, 
 his were rounded with muscles. They finished 
 their examination and went away highly pleased 
 with the new favor that had been granted them. 
 
 After breakfast Rustem came up to see if his 
 son would attend him to court, but Feridoon told 
 him he meant to take a stroll about the city. 
 The satrap made no Objections, only he urged 
 the necessity of care and circumspection, and 
 then left the youth to follow such course as he 
 saw fit, not forgetting to repeat his injunctions 
 at least three times before he closed the door. 
 
 It was nine o clock when Feridoon left his 
 guardian s palace, and with a moderate step he 
 took his way as the astrologer had directed. At 
 the great fountain he stopped a while to view the 
 crowds of people who were assembled about the 
 place, and some of their remarks gave him more 
 insight into the peculiar characteristics of the 
 lower classes of the citizens than he had before 
 learned from books or the sayings of others. 
 When he came to the great brazen statue of Zal, 
 he turned to the right, and before him he saw a 
 long narrow street, at the extremity of which he 
 could distinguish the abrupt, dark face of the 
 sculptured rock. Down this street he turned, 
 and ere long he heard the notes of a merry song. 
 The words struck him as being peculiar, and he 
 stopped to listen. 
 
 " Like the bird in its native forest, or like the roe upon 
 the bleak mountain, 
 
 Where freedom from all care is his, and where joy com- 
 eth with each morning : 
 
 So live I among kings and princes, myself alone to fear, 
 and all to love. 
 
 They fear all things seen, and love nought but them 
 selves. 
 
 Ho, ho, how much happier, then, am I than the great 
 crowned ones of earth." 
 
 Feridoon approached the place from whence 
 the sound proceeded, and he found a cobbler 
 seated in his stall at work upon an old sandal. 
 He was a short, stumpy fellow, with grizzled 
 gray hair, a light gray eye, a round, laughing 
 face, and not far from threescore years of age. 
 
THE KING AND COBBLER. 
 
 21 
 
 " What ho, here, master cobbler, you make 
 the. place merry wiih your music and your 
 thoughts," uttered Feridoon, as he came up. 
 
 The old fellow looked up, and when he saw 
 the young man s costly dress, and his kingly 
 bearing, he seemed for a moment disconcerted, 
 but he quickly regained his composure, and then 
 he replied : 
 
 " I was only singing to pass away the time, 
 .sir." 
 
 " But your song was strange to me. If I 
 might believe that, you are the happiest man in 
 Persepolis." 
 
 "No, no. Happier than kings or princes, 
 said I." 
 
 "And how so?" 
 
 " Because I have no vexing cares upon my 
 mind." 
 
 " But he that has the welfare of a great peo 
 ple upon his care, and labors well for them, even 
 though all his life be marked with labor, yet he 
 must b3 happy, for who can be happier than he 
 who works for the good of all ?" 
 
 " O, I grant ye that, young sir." 
 
 " Then is not our king happy ?" 
 
 "It is not for me to say." . 
 
 "But you have spoken in your song, and you 
 said that you were happier than the king. 
 Explain." 
 
 " Nay, sir. Tis sedition tis rank conspiracy 
 to speak against the king." 
 
 " How so r 
 
 "Because he punishes it as such." 
 
 " Of course he would punish the man who 
 should dare to speak falsely of him ; but surely 
 he would not punish one for telling the truth ; 
 so let us hear thy answer. Come." 
 
 "Not so, master. Even should I tell the 
 truth, and it wtre hard upon our king, he would 
 make me taste the lash most freely." 
 
 " Ha, ha, ha," laughed Feridoon. " Why, 
 you have answered me more plainly than I had 
 hoped." 
 
 " But I have not answered thee against- the 
 king; no, I ll swear I have not." 
 
 " Bat you have, old father. You have said 
 he would whip you for telling the truth. What 
 more could you say against him ?" 
 
 "But that is the tru.h." 
 
 " Ha, ha arid tis what I asked you. And 
 now, soberly, if such is the king s character, then 
 you must be happier than he." 
 
 " You are not a spy, sharp sir?" said the cob 
 bler, with considerable fear. 
 2 
 
 " No, no. I am only walking for pleasure 
 and instruction, and I stopped here, hearing 
 your song, and liking its sentiment, hoping that 
 I might rest a while beneath your roof." 
 
 " Most surely you shall. Here, upon this 
 stool you may find a resting place, away from 
 the sun and the dust " 
 
 " There ?" cried Feridoon, looking upon the 
 dust covered seat to which the jolly old fellow 
 had pointed. " Why, the dust is already there, 
 and the sun will dart in there like fire in half 
 an hour. Good Kobad told me you had better 
 rest." 
 
 "Kobad?" exclaimed the cobbler, dropping 
 the sandal. 
 
 " Ay. Are you not Zak Turan ?" 
 
 " Of a verity I am." 
 
 " Then to you it was that Kobad -sent me." 
 
 "Now Ormuzd be my guide. Of course I 
 knew thee not." 
 
 " And do you know me now ?" 
 
 " Only that you are the offspring of Ormuzd,* 
 and fit to enter where you please," continued the 
 old man, rising from his seat and opening the 
 door of his stall. " So come in here, and follow 
 me." 
 
 Feridoon entered the stall, and when the door 
 was closed, the cobbler opened the way to -the 
 dwelling, which was in the rear, the stall being 
 only a sort of pen built out upon the street, and 
 shielded by an awning of net work and straw. 
 At first the youth found himself in a narrow, 
 dark hall or passage, at the further end of which 
 he saw a flight of stairs. Up these he was led, 
 and after passing through several small roome, 
 which contained the meanest of furniture, hig 
 guide opened a door which led to an apartment 
 of larger dimensions, and furnished well. The 
 next apartment, however, was still more sump 
 tuously furnished, and within it Feridoon found 
 two females, one of them well advanced in 
 years, and the other only a girl. This older fe 
 male was Zak Turan s wife, and her name was 
 Rudabah. She was taller than her husband, and 
 though a good, kind woman, yet her will was 
 law in the cobbler s dwelling. 
 
 "Rudabah," said Zak Turan, "this is the 
 youth of whom Kobad spoke." 
 
 The wife immediately arose and bowed very- 
 low, and then, without a word, followed her 
 husband from the apartment. 
 
 * The ancient Persians believed that next to God wer 
 two great spirits, that pervaded the universe and held in 
 fluence over mankind. Ormuzd was the good spirit and 
 Ahriman the evil. 
 
22 
 
 THE KING AND GOBBLER 
 
 Feridoon was much surprised at this move 
 ment, and he would have called the cobbler back 
 had not his eyes at that instant rested on the 
 face of the girl who was left with him. She had 
 arisen now, and was standing with downcast 
 eyes before the young man. Her form was 
 round and full, with a medium height ; her skin 
 as fair as the pearl of Catifa, and the color of 
 her cheeks blushing like the new-blown rose. 
 Her hair was a dark brown, and shone with the 
 lustre of gold, and her dark blue eyes were like 
 the morning and evening stars. Like pearls 
 themselves gleamed the pure white teeth that lay 
 half hidden behind her ruby lips, and over all 
 her face was thrown the charm of modesty and 
 virtuous purity. For some moments Feridoon 
 stood perfectly entranced, and his heart throbbed 
 with a wild, thrilling emotion. In all the tales 
 he had read he had not conceived of beauty like 
 this, and on the instant was his heart enchained. 
 
 " Lady," he said, as soon as he could com 
 mand his speech, " I know not why we have 
 thus met, or whether it was intended that this 
 meeting should take place. I was bidden by 
 Kobad, the astrologer, to come hither, and I 
 obliged him. Further than that he told me not/ 
 
 The youth s voice was as sweet as the murmur 
 of the evening zephyr, and the maiden listened 
 with rapture. She returned his glances, and the 
 rose upon her cheek deepened, and her swelling 
 bosom heaved with the emotions her heart had 
 . caught. She spoke, and her voice was like the 
 soft, sweet notes of the lute, or like the tones 
 of augels when they visit us in our dreams. 
 
 " To me, also, did the astrologer speak, and 
 he warned me of your coming. He told me to 
 receive you and entertain you, and to fear no 
 evil in your presence. He gave me no reason, 
 : nor did he state another wish." 
 
 " Then," said Feridoon, drawing nearer, " our 
 fates may run together. Perhaps Kobad has 
 looked into the future and seen that our des 
 tinies commingle, and thus would he bring us 
 .together that we may know each other." 
 
 The youth raised the maiden s hand to his 
 lips and kissed it, and then he led her to a ^eat 
 and reclined beside her. But she answered him 
 not yet. 
 
 " May I know, lady, how you are called by 
 those who bear you company {" 
 
 " My name is Zillah." 
 
 " And mine is Feridoon." 
 
 " The son of the satrap Rustem V asked Zil 
 lah, quickly. 
 
 "Yes I am so called. And you whose 
 child ?" 
 
 " Zak Turan is my father." 
 
 " Blessed by thee must be the parent who 
 bare thee, and blessed am I in the pleasure of 
 knowing thee. Thou art as a sun just arisen 
 upon my way, or like a full moon come to illu 
 mine the night of my life. I would know thee 
 fully, thy mind, thy soul, thy thoughts and thy 
 wishes." 
 
 " My mind," answered Z : llah, with a smile, 
 " is as a man seeking after riches with which to 
 bless himself and those dependent upon him. 
 My soul is like unto the chest within which that 
 man shall put those nobler jewels that are of 
 the most value. My thoughts are like the heav 
 ens sometimes clouded with passing griefs, but 
 with light and joy still resting there, like the 
 sun and moon and stars, albeit the clouds are 
 sometimes flitting before them. My wishes are 
 like the sands of the desert changing, as differ 
 ent winds sweep across them, but yet wandering 
 not from their parent bosom." 
 
 If Feridoon was charmed when he beheld the 
 outward beauties of the maiden, he was more 
 charmed now, and her eyes drooped again when 
 she saw how earnest and ardent was his gaze. 
 But the silence lasted not long. The youth went 
 on with the conversation, and he found that his 
 companion excelled all that he had ever read of 
 in woman. Her wit was as sharp as a sword, 
 and yet as pure and gentle as a zephyr. Her 
 thoughts were noble and sound, her ideas al 
 ways to the point, and her knowledge bounded 
 only by the reach of human ken. 
 
 " Surely," said Feridoon, at the end of the 
 fiftt hour, " your mind is a rich store-house of 
 jewels and gold of thought." 
 
 "Nay, nay, Feridoon," she replied, with a 
 sweet smile. " You must not flatter ; for sure 
 ly I have learned of thee, and from thy won 
 drous knowledge I know that I may learn much 
 more. True, I have had a most profound teach 
 er, for Kobad himself has taught me ; but my 
 discernment is not like yours. I am weaker in 
 thought and not so powerful in logic." 
 
 " Then the astrologer has taught the e ?" 
 
 " Yes ; for the past fuur years he has been 
 my tutor." 
 
 " And I must ask thee still another question," 
 resumed Feridoon, gazing softly into the maid 
 en s face. " Has thy heart rested in love upon 
 any of my sex V 
 
 " My father, surely, I love." 
 
THE ING AND COBBLER. 
 
 23 
 
 " Most truly. But any other ?" 
 
 " And my good teacher." 
 
 " Ay, of course ; but is there another ?" 
 
 "An hour since I should have answered thee 
 nay." 
 
 "And now?" 
 
 " I must confess that my heart has flown to 
 thee." 
 
 "Blessed being," cried the youth, drawing 
 Zillah upon his bosom, " you have found one 
 who can love thee with his whole soul and life. 
 Let our loves be known to God, and let our 
 hearts know that in the love they give they have 
 nothing lost. Surely Kobad would not have 
 sent me hither but for this." 
 
 " I do not think the good astrologer would 
 have been mistaken in his purpose," murmured 
 Zillah. " When he first told me that he should 
 send a youth to visit me, and bade me entertain 
 him, I obeyed because it was my duty, but I 
 could have wished that he had chosen a female 
 for my companion. So I dreaded the coming 
 of the youth and yet I ought not so to have 
 done, for I should have known that Kobad 
 would have done nothing concerning me but for 
 my good. Yet was I in dread of your coming, 
 and when I saw my father enter, and I knew 
 that the youth was following him, my heart was 
 pained. I dared not look up till you spoke. 
 But when I heard your voice, and when I saw 
 your face, there was but one pang left I won 
 dered if you had ever known woman and 
 loved." 
 
 " And I should have told you that until that 
 moment my eyes had never rested upon the face 
 of a female with whom I had spoken. Strange 
 as it may seem to you, it is a truth that since 
 infancy, you are the first female with whom I 
 foave spoken." 
 
 " Then joy is mine," murmured the beautiful 
 girl, and as she spoke, she pillowed her head 
 on her lover s bosom and embraced him without 
 fear of harm. She was happy now, and Feridoon 
 was happy as she. 
 
 The hours passed away, but they heeded not 
 their flight. Noon passed, but they knew it not. 
 The afternoon crept slowly on, and all the while 
 the lovers sat buried in the thoughts and feelings 
 that had so suddenly and strangely sprung into 
 life in their bosoms. It was not until the light 
 of day began to grow dim that Feridoon thought 
 of his home. He started up and gazed out upon 
 the distant horizon, and he knew that night was 
 at hand. 
 
 " By my life," he uttered, "I dreamed not of 
 this. See> Zillah, the day is gone !" 
 
 " The first day of our love," answered the 
 maiden, with beaming eyes. " O, how blessed !" 
 
 "Ay," responded Feridoon, "it is doubly 
 blessed, for it has not only given us joy, but it 
 has opened to us more treasures of the mind 
 than we had before possessed. O, it is our first 
 day of love, but not our last. It is but the 
 commencement of a long life of sweeter, holier 
 love than our hearts have before conceived of. 
 Is it not so ?" 
 
 " Most truly," answered Zillah. 
 
 The lovers embraced once more, and when 
 they had pledged their loves and asked God te 
 bless them, the youth turned away. 
 
 " I shall come again soon," he said, ere he 
 reached the door. " I cannot remain long 
 away." 
 
 Zillah smiled as he spoke, and then Feridoon 
 turned away. He went at once to the street by 
 a shorter way than that by which he had come, 
 and soon he was on his way towards his palace 
 home. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 HOW SEVEN MEN PERFORMED A MISSION FOB THE KING. 
 
 FOR a long time after Feridoon had gone, did 
 Zillah remain alone in her apartment. Her 
 head was not turned nor were her thoughts now 
 very wild or strange. Her love for the youth 
 with whom she had just parted was already of 
 that deep, fervent character which takes the 
 whole soul into its own mould, and reason and 
 judgment were both hers still. There was no 
 mock modesty in those long gone ages among the 
 pure ones none of that assumed distance that 
 marks the movement of those who would appear 
 what they are not, but truth and virtue went 
 hand in hand, and right was never hidden. If 
 a certain act was just and right, it was enough. 
 
 When the darkness fairly settled down upon 
 the great city, Zillah went down to the lower 
 sitting-room, where the family usually spent 
 their evenings, and there she found her father 
 and mother. The latter asked her immediately 
 what had passed between the youth and herself, 
 and after a moment s reflection, she related the 
 substance of what had been said, leaving out all 
 those sweet sentences wbich only lovers can un 
 derstand. When she had concluded, the old 
 lady looked very solemn, and Zak Turan laugh 
 ed outright, while Zillah blushed and hung down 
 her head. 
 
 "I hope Kobad has heen wise in this," said 
 Budabah, " for I should grieve most sorely 
 should evil fall upon our child." 
 
 " Evil ?" uttered the cobbler, with a meny 
 twinkle of the eye. " How can evil come of 
 true love ?" 
 
 " Look upon me and see," quickly answered 
 his wife. " See to what the love for you has 
 brought me." 
 
 " That was not love. It was hate that made 
 you marry me. You hated me, and so you be 
 came my wife to spite me. But God knows I 
 bear up well under the affliction." 
 
 " And why should you not, seeing that you 
 have such afflicted company ? If you are afflict 
 ed, what am I ? My life ! what a thing I have 
 for a husband." 
 
 " The merriest man in all Persepolis." 
 
 " The most foolish." 
 
 " In marrying you, I admit ; but I have long 
 since repented of that." Ai:d as Zak Turan 
 thus spoke, he laughed so loud and long that 
 they did not hear the rap which came upon the 
 door. 
 
 "But tell me," said Zillah, " why the astrol 
 oger should have sent the youth hither 1" 
 
 " I know not, unless it was that you might 
 fall in love with each other," answered the 
 cobbler. 
 
 " So it must have been," added the wife. 
 " But what does he mean by that ?" 
 
 "We have no business to question his mo 
 tives," returned Zak Turan. And then moving 
 
THE KING AND COBBLER. 
 
 25 
 
 nearer to his wife s side, he whispered so that the 
 maiden could not hear, " We must not speak of 
 this before Zillah." 
 
 For once Rudabah acknowledged the justice 
 of her husband s remark, and just as she gave 
 an affirmative nod of the head, they heard a loud 
 knock upon the door. The cobbler hastened to 
 open it, and when he had done so, three men 
 entered. They seemed to be travellers, and their 
 garments were very dusty. 
 
 " Good sir," spoke the eldest of the strangers, 
 " we are travellers, and strangers in this great 
 city. We saw your light shine through the 
 chinks of your door, and hearing your loud 
 laugh we thought there must be good cheer 
 within." 
 
 " You are welcome to such as I have," re 
 turned Zak Turan : " but I fear me you will 
 find my cheer anything but acceptable. I laugh 
 because of my light heart and my angel wife 
 not from the quality of my wine." 
 
 Rudabah was still sitting by her husband s 
 side, and in payment of the words he had just 
 spoken, she pinched him severely upon the neck, 
 so that he involuntarily cried out with pain ; but 
 he dared not resent it, for he knew that in a 
 pitched battle he should come out second best. 
 However, the affair passed off, and while his 
 wife went to fetch the wine, the cobbler made a 
 sign for his daughter to leave the room. Zillah 
 accordingly arose and was proceeding towards 
 the door, when one of the strangers called her 
 back. 
 
 " Surely," said he, " you will not deprive us 
 of the light of your dwelling ?" 
 " If you allude to my child" 
 
 " I allude to this lovely damsel who would 
 flee from us," broke in the guest. 
 
 " She is not used to strangers," said Zak Tu 
 ran, " and would be more easy in her own apart 
 ments, where she has work to do." 
 
 " I know not what may be your habits here," 
 resumed the stranger, " but in my own land we 
 deem it an insult for a female to retire from 
 before visitors. Let her remain, I pray you, 
 for thereby my pleasure will be much enhanced." 
 
 Now it had always been the custom of Zak 
 Turan, since his daughter had grown up to wo 
 manhood, to have her withdraw before visitors 
 entered, but now this had been prevented by the 
 suddenness of their entrance. Ha had done 
 this to protect his child from harm, for he knew 
 she was very beautiful, and that many would 
 wish to possess her charms. However, seeing 
 
 that his present guests were strangers, he sup 
 posed that no harm could ensue, so he bade 
 Zillah be seated again. 
 
 " She is your own child, then V said the 
 spokesman of the travelling trio. 
 
 " She is," was the cobbler s answer. 
 
 " Surely God has blessed you." 
 
 " So I feel. But here is my wine. It is not 
 the best, nor is it the worst. And here is bread 
 and meat." 
 
 The strangers helped themselves to the wine 
 and they praised is highly; and they did the 
 same by the bread. But while they ate and 
 drank, the one who had spoken so freely kept 
 his eyes fixed upon Zillah nearly the whole of 
 the time. She noticed it, and it made her feel 
 uneasy. There was a strange power in the eye 
 of the stranger that she could not define, but 
 which yet filled her with dread. After a while 
 the traveller moved away from the table and 
 drew his seat nearer to the maiden and began to 
 converse with her. He proved himself to be a 
 man of much information, and he talked to her 
 of foreign lands and foreign manners. Yet she 
 could see that same light in his dark, gleaming 
 eyes which she did not like. She had fiom the 
 first felt a secret dread of the man, and all his 
 fine talk could not banish it. 
 
 At length the strangers arose, and having 
 thanked the host for his kindness, they departed. 
 As soon as they were gone, Zillah told her father 
 that she did not like the looks of them, and he 
 admitted the truth of the impression, but appre 
 hended no danger. 
 
 "Let the strangers pass," said Rudabah, "they 
 may be as bad as man can be, and yet they would 
 be gods compared with thee, thou hateful, abom 
 inable, wicked, spiteful, odious, repulsive, shock 
 ing, loathsome, disgusting afrite." 
 
 " Mercy on me, my dear wife, what can you 
 mean V 
 
 " Didn t you tell those men I was your angel 
 wife V 
 
 "Surely I did." 
 
 " And is not that enough ?" 
 
 " No. I should have told them that you were 
 doubly my angel that you were heaven itself." 
 
 " And why didn t you ?" 
 
 " Because you were present, and while your 
 face was here to give the lie to any such remark, 
 I thought it not worth while to make it. Upon 
 my life, I doubt me if they believed what I did 
 say in your favor." 
 
 Rudabah gave in this time, but well did the 
 
26 
 
 THE KING AND COBBLER. 
 
 cobbler know that he should have to pay dearly 
 for his victory at some future time. 
 
 In the midst of this domestic squall, Zillah 
 retired to her own apartment, and there she lay 
 down to dream of the events of the day ; for 
 surely it had been an eventful day for her. Her 
 heart had been opened for the first time with 
 that pure and holy love which first burst upon 
 Adam after his sleep, and she felt her whole 
 soul warmed and lighted by the brightly burning 
 torch. But all the dreams she had that night 
 were not pleasant ones. She had some that 
 were dark and frightful, and from which she 
 awoke with a cry of terror. But she did not 
 believe that they meant anything. She had often 
 had bad dreams, and when the morning came 
 and she tried to reason upon it, she concluded 
 that those bad dreams so much worse than any 
 she had ever before had, were the result of the 
 excitement to which her mind had been subjected. 
 Of course, there could be no hidden truth in 
 them. 
 
 The forenoon of the following day had passed 
 half away. Zak Turan was at work in his stall, 
 when suddenly he was aroused by the appear 
 ance of six of the royal slaves accompanied by 
 an officer. The slaves bore a covered chair with 
 them, and when they came in front of the stall 
 they set it down. 
 
 " Is this the dwelling of Zak Turan, the cob 
 bler ?" asked the officer. 
 
 " It is," answered our friend. 
 
 " Then we have a message from the king." 
 
 " From the king !" uttered the cobbler, whose 
 first thought was of the language he had used the 
 day before, and of consequent imprisonment and 
 whipping. 
 
 " Ay. You have a daughter V 
 
 Now the old man trembled with a worse fear 
 still. " I have a daughter," he said. 
 
 " So the king is aware, and we have been sent 
 to bring her to him. So show us the way at 
 once." 
 
 The poor fellow knew not what to say. His 
 soul was torn by the most fearful doubts, and 
 his knees shook beneath him. 
 
 " Are you going to obey ?" cried the officer, in 
 a rage. 
 
 It was a serious thing to disobey an officer 
 from the king, and Zak Turan knew that diso 
 bedience would be of no avail, even should he 
 persist in it, for seven stout men were more than 
 he could cope with, even setting aside the thou 
 sands of soldiers who could be called upon to 
 
 come down upon him. So he came out from his 
 stall and led the way round to the gate that led 
 through the little garden, that being the most 
 direct way to the part of the dwelling the family 
 usually occupied. 
 
 Now it so happened that just as the slaves 
 were turning the angle of the garden wall, Feri- 
 doon came in sight of the stall, and when he 
 came up he entered it, and not finding the cob 
 bler there he passed in by the same way he had 
 ntered the day before, and proceeded at once to 
 the apartments of Zillah. 
 
 Meanwhile Zak Turan, followed by the officer 
 and the slaves, had entered the lower part of the 
 house, and there they found Zillah in company 
 with her mother. The maiden started upon be 
 holding the stout slaves, for so had commenced 
 one of the frightful dreams she had had during 
 the night. 
 
 " Ha !" uttered the officer, as his gaze rested 
 upon Zillah, " it needs no great exercise of wit 
 to tell that this is the girl which has so excited 
 the love of our king. You may consider your 
 self one of the fortunate ones of the kingdom, 
 fair lady, for the king loves you." 
 
 " Loves me ! The king loves me !" gasped Zil 
 lah, seizing hold upon the edge of the table for 
 support. " You speak in riddles." 
 
 ".Not at all. His majesty whom may God 
 protect has seen you, and loved you, and now 
 he would have you for his own. He bade me 
 tell you that you should be placed among his 
 wives, and be the most favored of them all." 
 
 " Impossible !" cried the frightened girl. " The 
 king cannot have seen me. You are mistaken. 
 It is some one else that he means. I have not 
 been out for a long while." 
 
 " You mistake. Did not three travellers stop 
 here last night V 
 
 " Yes," whispered Zillah, through whose mind 
 the truth now flashed at once. 
 
 " Ay and one of them was the king himself. 
 He saw you and conversed with you, and his 
 heart is wholly yours." 
 
 "But he surely does not mean " 
 
 Thus far the maiden spoke, but she could 
 speak no more then. The memory of a terrible 
 dream came crashing upon her, and her head 
 became dizzy and her heart faint. She sunk 
 down upon a seat and clasped her hands over 
 her eyes. 
 
 " Surely," spoke Zak Turan, as he saw this, 
 "you will not rob me of my child 1" 
 
 " Out upon thee for a treasonable dog !" cried 
 
THE KING AND COBBLER. 
 
 27 
 
 the officer, in high wrath. " Does not the king 
 take whom he pleases to wife ? And shall you 
 be exempt from a royal right which is as old as 
 the world itself? I have come from the king, 
 and woe will be upon you if you give not up 
 your child readily." 
 
 " I shall not resist/ uttered the old man . 
 
 " I do not think you will," responded the offi 
 cer, with a wicked smile. " But honestly, I am 
 surprised at this. Why, I had thought that the 
 child of a poor cobbler like yourself, would have 
 been overjoyed to become the favorite of a pow 
 erful king." 
 
 " Hold, sir !" cried Zillah, finding her tongue 
 now. " We are poor in the goods which mer 
 chants have, but we are rich in the gifts of Heav 
 en. Rob me of my virtue, and I am poor in 
 deed Rob these people of their child, and 
 they, too, will know what poverty is." 
 
 "Do not talk of virtue!" cried the officer. 
 " What more virtuous than a king s wife ?" 
 
 " What more base than she who ministers 
 solely to a king s base passions ?" she cried. 
 
 " Tis not the king s passions which are so 
 base tis his love that calls you." 
 
 " O, talk not to me of a king s love, when it 
 changes as does the wind that blows. The true 
 love of the heart is not a thing that can be put 
 off at every pretty face that one sees. I tell thee, 
 officer, tis only a passion most base that moves 
 the heart of the king towards me. Let him take 
 me now, and in one short month he will tire of 
 me, and find another." 
 
 "Very prettily spoken," returned the officer, 
 "but you had better save your wit for the king. 
 Come, we have not time to waste." 
 
 " You will not take me away ?" 
 
 " I hope you will not force me to take you. 
 The king will like you much better if he knows 
 that you came of your own free will." 
 
 "As such I will never go !" cried Zillah, sink 
 ing once more into her seat, and bowing her 
 head upon the table. 
 
 " Then I must take you, that s all," answered 
 the officer, somewhat angrily. 
 
 At this moment Zak Turan mustered up 
 courage enough to beg that his child might be 
 spared; but he was spurned by the officer as 
 though he had been a dog. 
 
 " Out upon thee, thou cobbling toad !" the 
 lieutenant exclaimed. "By the host of Ahri- 
 man, I ll have thee tied to the post of thine own 
 door, and send the very boys to whip you if 
 you speak thus again." 
 
 The poor man shrank back, for he knew full 
 well that he could do nothing for his fair child. 
 He knew that the king could take for his wife 
 whom he pleased, and that were he even to de 
 mand the daughters of all the satraps in the king 
 dom, he could have them all. How, then, should 
 he, a poor cobbler, escape ? 
 
 The officer went up and took hold of Zillah, 
 and lifted her to her feet, and then he called for 
 the slaves to come and take her out. They had 
 just lifted her from her feet when the inner door 
 opened, and Feridoon entered the apartment. 
 
 " Where is Zillah ?" he asked. 
 
 " Feridoon ! Feridoon !" cried the maiden. 
 " 0, save me ! save me !" 
 
 As she thus cried, she made one powerful 
 effort and broke from the grasp of those who held 
 her, and sprang to the side of her lover. 
 
 " What is it all 1" the young man asked, in 
 blank surprise, but not forgetting to wind his 
 arm about the form of her he loved. 
 
 For a moment no one spoke. The officer had 
 never seen Feridoon before, and he knew not 
 who he was, though all six of the slaves knew 
 him from having seen him at the royal palace 
 with the satrap. The officer was the first to speak. 
 
 " Young sir," he said, " I hope you will not 
 deem it prudent to interfere with our business." 
 
 " First let me know what your business is," 
 retorted our hero. 
 
 " We come on business from the king." 
 
 " But what has this maiden to do with that 
 business ?" 
 
 " Everything. She is to be the king s wife, 
 and we are now come to carry her to him." 
 
 "Zillah," said the youth, turning his gaze 
 upon his beloved, " explain this to me." 
 
 " Last night, after you had gone," commenced 
 the fair girl, seeming to place a strange confi 
 dence in the power of her lover to save her, 
 " three men came here and spent the evening, 
 and when I would have withdrawn from the 
 room, one of them detained me, and afterwards 
 he talked with me. It now seems that that man 
 was the king in disguise. He foil in love with 
 my face, and now he sends these men to fetch 
 me to him." 
 
 Q_and is that all?" uttered the youth, after 
 he had heard the story. And then turning to 
 the officer, he said : " I am sorry the king should 
 have bestowed his affection where it cannot be 
 returned. But you will inform his majesty that 
 Zillah is already beloved by another by one who 
 loved her ere the king saw her, and by one whom 
 
THE KING AND COBBLER. 
 
 she loves in return. Of course when you explain 
 this to the king, he will rest satisfied." 
 
 " He will be satisfied when he holds the maid 
 en in his possession, and not till then," returned 
 the officer. He spoke quite moderately, for he 
 was evidently charmed by the youth s beauty 
 and melody of speech. 
 
 " But you see that such satisfaction cannot be 
 his," promptly responded Feridoon. 
 
 " I hope you do not mean to resist the king s 
 orders, sfrr ?" 
 
 " Resist, say you ? Let me rather hope that 
 you will urge your suit no farther after the ex 
 planation I have made." 
 
 " This is fruitless talk. You know the royal 
 will, and I am forced to obey it. You will resist 
 it at your peril. Come, lady, your kingly lover 
 waits for you." 
 
 As the officer thus spoke, he advanced and 
 seized Zillah by the arm, but hardly had he 
 done so when Feridoon laid his hand upon him, 
 and hurled him across the room. First, the 
 officer was stunned and second, he was amazed. 
 
 "Did you understand what I said"?" asked 
 Feridoon, as soon as he saw that the lieutenant 
 was gazing upon him. 
 
 " It was you who must have misunderstood," 
 gasped the officer. 
 
 " Nay not so. I told thee this maiden was 
 my affianced bride, for so she is : and so she was 
 ere the king saw her. If, under those circum 
 stances, the king persists in his will, then he does 
 so against every law of right and justice, and 
 with God for my hope, and right and justice for 
 my armor, I will face every dastard king in the 
 world. So you may go and tell your royal 
 master." 
 
 There was something so bold, so noble, so 
 really gigantic and sublime in the look, the tone, 
 and the bearing of the youth, that the officer 
 ihrank away. But he happened to remember 
 that there was royal wrath at home, and he 
 started forward once more, though not so far as 
 he did before. 
 
 " Slaves !" he cried, turning to the six stout 
 fellows who attended him, " take that girl and 
 bear her out to the chair. Be quick." 
 
 Those were men whose duty never called upon 
 them to think. They only had to obey, and as 
 their commander spoke, they advanced in a 
 body towards where the youth and maiden stood. 
 
 " Back !" uttered Feridoon. " Lay a hand 
 upon this girl, and you " 
 
 He did not finish the sentence, for the slaves 
 
 had already advanced, and were upon the point 
 of putting their order into execution. By a 
 simple movement, Feridoon placed Zillah behind 
 him, and then he seized the foremost slave by 
 the girdle and the throat, and lifting him clear of 
 the floor, he ordered Rudabah to open the outer 
 door. The indignant wife and mother hesitated 
 not an instant, and as soon as the door was 
 opened the youth hurled the slave out into the 
 garden. On the next instant he seized another, 
 and hurled him after the first, and it was not 
 until three of them was thus disposed of that the 
 officer could recover his presence of mind suffi 
 cient to enable him to draw his sword ; but now, 
 when he had seen his third man thus hurled out 
 of the house, and the prospect being apparent of 
 himself soon following, he not only drew his own 
 sword, but he ordered his three remaining fol 
 lowers to do the same. 
 
 Ha !" uttered Feridoon, as he saw the move 
 ment. " Fear not," he softly whispered to his 
 beloved. " No blood shall be shed." 
 
 As he spoke, he drew his own sword, a wea 
 pon which he had selected from among more 
 than three thousand which his foster-father had 
 brought him, and moved towards the officer. 
 The latter placed himself upon the most approv 
 ed guard, but with one quick, resistless blow 
 Feridoon severed his sword in twain. Then he 
 seized the fellow by the neck, and with one 
 effort, sent him headlong into the garden. 
 
 " Now prepare to die, dogs !" the hero shouted, 
 at the same time raising his sword. The move 
 ment had just the effect he had anticipated, for 
 the three remaining slaves sank down upon their 
 knees and begged for mercy. 
 
 " Then get you gone !" our hero exclaimed. 
 
 The frightened slaves scrambled to their feet, 
 and with quick movements made their way into the 
 garden, where their companions were just climb 
 ing to their feet and rubbing their bruises, 
 Feridoon followed them out, and at another or 
 der from him they scampered into the street, one 
 of them, however, crawling upon his hands and 
 knees. As soon as they were gone the youth 
 closed the gat?, and then returned to the house. 
 
 " Now, sweet one, you are safe," he uttered, 
 as he clasped the still trembling girl to his bo 
 som. " By my life, no unholy king can gloat 
 his passions upon the being of my love. O, I 
 would slay every monarch on earth first, and 
 then turn to God and the people for their ap 
 proval." 
 
 " Holy angels !" ejaculated the poor cobbler, 
 
THE KING AND COBBLER. 
 
 29 
 
 just beginning to recover himself, " what sort of 
 arms have you got ? My life of lives, how you 
 did throw em about just as I would flies, or 
 spiders, or pebbles. Ormuzd protect us ! How 
 did you do it V 
 
 " Just as you saw. But why do you tremble, 
 Ziilah?" 
 
 " Alas, I tremble now for you." 
 
 " For me ?" 
 
 " Yes. Those men will return to the king, 
 and they will tell him all that has transpired, 
 and then he will send men enough to take you, 
 and he will put you to death !" 
 
 " But he has not slaves enough to take me." 
 
 " But he will send his soldiers." 
 
 " Are they men ?" 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 " Then I will tell them all the circumstances." 
 
 "My son," said the cobbler, "it would seem 
 that you are not well acquainted with the people 
 of our city." 
 
 " I must confess -that I am not. Until yester 
 
 day and the day before, I never went among 
 them." 
 
 " Then you know them not, nor do you know 
 our king." 
 
 " Yes, yes I know Sohrab well. This single 
 act, and the looks of his face, are enough. I 
 know him." 
 
 " Then know that the people fear him, and 
 that they will do his bidding, let it be what it 
 may. He has five thousand armed slaves in his 
 own palace !" 
 
 " And yet I do not fear them," returned Feri- 
 doon, " so long as God is with me. But wait 
 and see what shall come. Let us not fear until 
 we have occasion. Come, Zillah, you must not 
 fear more, for I am with thee. I have struck 
 down thine enemies once, and I can do it again." 
 
 Then Feridoon sat down, and ere long his 
 companions were so entranced by his conversa 
 tion that they fairly forgot the danger that had 
 threatened them, and which was threatening 
 them still. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 A KING IN TROUBLE. 
 
 SOHRAB was not upon his throne. He had 
 hurried off the business of the day, leaving the 
 local officers to carry out the details both of 
 judgment and punishment, as they saw fit. He 
 had hurried his satraps off to administer the gov 
 ernmental affairs as they might choose, and the 
 great hall of audience was nearly empty. A few 
 slaves remained behind to guard the place, and 
 ever and anon some officer of the city guard 
 would drop in to make his report, but finding 
 the business closed for the day he would gaze 
 about awhile upon the magnificence of the place 
 and then depart. And this hall of judgment 
 was worthy of being gazed upon, for every art 
 known to man at the time was lavishly displayed 
 there. 
 
 This royal audience chamber was over three 
 hundred feet long and near one hundred wide. 
 The sides were supported by eighty marble pil 
 lars, each thirty-five feet high, the bases of which 
 were formed by two recumbent lions to each col 
 umn, and the capitals or chapiters, being four 
 human forms placed at the angles of a square, 
 facing outward and stooping over so that their 
 heads formed volutes, while the roof rested upon 
 their shoulders. These pillars were further 
 adorned with all sorts of strange devices, and 
 much matter was written upon them in what are 
 now called the " arrow head " characters. The 
 
 dome, or centre piece, was supported by eight 
 more columns, seventy feet high, and in the cen 
 tre of the circle of these columns stood the royal 
 throne, covered with gold and precious stones. 
 There was vast wealth collected here ; and all for 
 one man, or at the will of one. And the thou 
 sands who labored received for their work noth 
 ing but stripes and chains. 
 
 But the king was not now upon his throne. 
 Twenty slaves guarded it from the hands of the 
 profane while their royal master disposed of him 
 self elsewhere. In another part of the palace, 
 where the open windows looked out upon the 
 broad garden and the artificial river, was the 
 king, and only four trusty eunuchs attended him. 
 He had gone there to await the coming of the 
 peerless Zillah. He had donned his most sump 
 tuous suit, and little dreamed he that the maiden 
 would spurn all his offers. He knew nothing of 
 that deep feeling which rests in the pure soul. 
 Those of his satellites who understood it told it 
 not to him, for they knew that he would not 
 comprehend it. He imagined that his royal 
 favor and love were more worth than all the 
 other things earth or heaven can give for this 
 life. 
 
 " Those slaves are tardy," he muttered to 
 himself. " Have they not been gone long ?" 
 
 This last remark was directed to his eunuchs, 
 
THE KING AND COBBLER. 
 
 31 
 
 and they answered it in the affirmative, of course. 
 And yet time sped on and the officer and 
 slaves did not return. Sohrab became vexed 
 and impatient, for he was not used to having-the 
 execution of his orders so long delayed. And 
 then the object for which he waited was one that 
 gave him more than usual impatience. Never 
 before had he seen so beautiful a being as the 
 one he now waited for. He had many wives and 
 many concubines, but not one in all his palace 
 had beauty like the daughter of the poor cobbler. 
 
 At length, when the king could contain him 
 self no longer, the sound of footsteps was heard 
 upon the stairs leading from the garden, for by 
 that way had Sohrab directed his officer to re 
 turn. In a few moments more the door of the 
 apartment was opened, and, throwing aside the 
 heavy tapestry that covered it, one of the eunuchs 
 who had been placed on watch entered. He re 
 ported to the king that the slaves were returning, 
 and that they bore the chair upon their shoulders. 
 
 " Ha well \" uttered the king. " And think 
 you the chair contains anything V 
 
 "It does, sire, for the slaves walked heavily 
 under their burden." 
 
 " Good ! The damsel took time to make her- 
 8 elf presentable. I shall like her the better- 
 What ho, here. Go help to bear the fair burden 
 up to our presence. Now by the gods, I shall 
 revel in bliss such as mortals seldom find. Such 
 wit such beauty such transcendent loveliness 
 were never seen !" And the king paced to and 
 fro across the broad apartment, as he thus spoke 
 with himself. " Tis strange, though/ he con 
 tinued, " that she should have remained hidden 
 so long. Her old father has been sly of her 
 charms. But by my royal head, I found her. 
 Zounds ! what a simple thing will lead to great 
 results. Had I not heard the cobbler laugh so 
 loudly I should never have entered his place 
 and had I not entered I should not have seen the 
 jewel of life I found. God kept her for me 
 surely !" 
 
 The king was stopped in his soliloquy by the 
 entrance of the officer whom we have seen at 
 Zak Turan s with the six slaves. 
 
 " Ha ! Manto !" cried the king, " where is your 
 charge ? Bring her up at once." 
 
 " Sire," said the officer, bowing low and trem 
 bling, " she has not come." 
 
 " Not come ! What mean you ?" 
 
 " The lady we could not bring." 
 
 " Not bring ? What had you in your chair 
 but the damsel 1 ?" 
 
 " One of your own slaves who sprained his 
 thigh so that he could not walk." 
 
 " Now by the gods, dog, you lie in my face !" 
 cried the king, in a towering passion. " Why do 
 ye tell me that you could not bring her 1" 
 
 "Because we met with resistance we could 
 not overcome." 
 
 " At human hands ?" 
 
 " Yes, sire." 
 
 " Then why did ye not tell them that it was 
 the king who had sent you V 
 
 " I did." 
 
 "Mark me, Manto speak no lie. Did ye 
 speak to a living man, and tell him twas the or 
 der of the king, and then did that man resist ?" 
 
 " Yes, sire." 
 
 "Was it the cobbler V 
 
 " No. He resisted not at all. Twas a young 
 man whom I never before saw ; but one of the 
 slaves knew him as the son of the satrap Rustem, 
 named Peridoon." 
 
 " Ha ! and has Rustem thus bred traitors for 
 his king ? But who helped this bold youth ?" 
 
 "No one, sire. He is himself a tower of 
 strength and daring. He seized your heaviest 
 slaves and hurled them from the house as you 
 would hurl a light javelin from you." 
 
 " You are lying, dog ! No man could do that." 
 
 " You shall ask your slaves, sire." 
 
 Accordingly the slaves were called in, and they 
 not only corroborated the statement of Manto, 
 but they went on and described the youth s 
 prowess in such terms that for a while rank.won- 
 der took the place of anger in the royal mind. 
 
 " Did the youth give any reason for his act V 
 the king at length asked. 
 
 " Ay. He said he loved the maiden himself." 
 
 " Now, by the throne I hold," cried the mon 
 arch, striding across the apartment, " I ll have 
 that rebel s head even were he thrice the son of a 
 satrap ! Ay I d have his life if he were my 
 own child. Shall I the king the monarch of 
 Persia the ruler before whom all people bow, 
 be thus trampled upon by a boy ? What ho, 
 there ! Slaves ! Dogs ! Up, up and haste 
 my will. Call up the captains, Manto, and take 
 a hundred soldiers. See them well armed and 
 then go bring me the damsel and the youth. 
 Bring the latter alive if you can, for by my royal 
 crown, I would look upon him ere he dies. But 
 harm not the damsel. Let harm come to her, 
 and I ll have the life of every man I send ! Ere 
 the sun goes down I must possess the beautiful 
 Zillah, for my heart is turned with love of her. 
 
THE KING AND COBBLER. 
 
 Haste thee, Manto, and let my bidding be done. 
 I ll await thee here." 
 
 " They may have fled." 
 
 " Then find them." 
 
 " We hasten to do your bidding." 
 
 " And your lives shall answer for your suc 
 cess." 
 
 As the king thus spoke, his lieutenant left the 
 apartment, and ere long a hundred soldiers were 
 ready to set out, and with them went six more 
 slaves to bear the chair. People gazed upon 
 them as they passed, and wondered what plan 
 the king had on foot now. 
 
 As soon as Sohrab was left alone with his 
 eunuchs, he began to pace the apartment more 
 moderately than he had been doing, for his 
 thoughts were deep and interesting. Feridoon 
 was his subject, and he gave it much weight. 
 He remembered the youth, and he remembered 
 how fair and beautiful he was. As the reader 
 knows, the king had seen him but once, and that 
 was only two days previous to the present time. 
 
 " Slave," he said, stopping suddenly in his 
 walk, and addressing one of his eunuchs, " go 
 and find Kanah, and bid him attend me here." 
 
 " By my soul, there s something strange about 
 this youth," he muttered, after the eunuch had 
 gone. " I noticed when he sat by my side in 
 the great hall, that he behaved not as other peo 
 ple behave in the presence of the king. He did 
 not cower nor shrink before me, and his obei 
 sance was only in outward form. I ll know him 
 well ere long and he shall know me !" 
 
 Soon afterwards one of the inner doors of the 
 apartment was opened and an old man entered. 
 He was older than the king, for he had surely 
 seen more than the threescore-and-ten years of 
 allotted life. Yet he was firm and upright, with 
 a face of great shrewdness and intelligence. His 
 name was Kanah, and he was the king s chief 
 counsellor and adviser. 
 
 " Ah, good Kanah, I have sent for you to help 
 me in a curious matter. Do you remember the 
 youth whom Rustem brought hither with him on 
 the day before yesterday ?" 
 
 "Ay, sire, I remember him well." 
 
 " Then sit thee down here. Now listen." And 
 thereupon the king went on and related all that 
 had happened at the house of the cobbler. 
 " Now, Kanah," the monarch resumed, " whom 
 do you think this youth to be ?" 
 
 " Surely, sire, I know not." 
 
 " But do you think him really the son of the 
 satrap 7" 
 
 "No." 
 
 " Ha I thought so." 
 
 " I will tell you my reasons, sire. In the first 
 place, Rustem told tfs that this youth was just 
 one and twenty years of age on the day he 
 brought him here, and that he had kept him thus 
 far secluded so that he might not become con 
 taminated by the vices of other youths. Now if 
 you will take the trouble to refer to the records 
 in the archives of the kingdom, you will find that 
 twenty- three years ago this very month, Rustem 
 went into Arabia with a part of Kei Khosrou s 
 army, and was gone three years. This is the first 
 evidence of contradiction. But later than that I 
 have one from his own lips. It is not ten years 
 since Rustem used to pray that God would be 
 stow a son upon him, and I remember well, that 
 within these nine years, last past, he has offered 
 sacrifices of goats and incense to God for the 
 same favor. And more do I remember. About 
 five years ago, Rustem was approaching old age 
 with sedate and sorrowful looks, and I think that 
 at that time he told me, when I rallied him upon 
 his dejection, that God had cursed him with 
 barren wives. Then it was that he went off to 
 the Hetzendarras to hunt, and when he returned 
 I could see that he came with smiles and good 
 humor, and so he has been ever since." 
 
 " By my life, Kanah, you have a wonderful 
 memory," said the monarch. 
 
 " I have looked up these things, sire, since the 
 satrap brought his son here. When I first saw 
 that youth, and heard Rustem tell that it was his 
 son, I began to doubt it. Out of curiosity I 
 hunted over the proof, and now you know it as 
 well as I do." 
 
 For some moments the king remained silent ; 
 but at length he said, while a sudden light shot 
 athwart his countenance : 
 
 " Good Kanah, I believe I am ahead of thee. 
 Dost thou not remember the mighty man of war 
 Kei Khosrou s great general GUSHTASP?" 
 
 " Ay, well," returned the counsellor. 
 
 " You remember he was the most comely man 
 of his time, and the most mighty in strength 1 ?" 
 
 " Ay most truly, sire." 
 
 " And is not this youth Feridoon his counter 
 part ?" 
 
 " Now, by the gods, my noble king, you have 
 lifted the veil !" cried the counsellor, with enthu 
 siasm. " This youth is the very self of Gushtasp 
 in form and feature ; and well do I remember 
 me that the mighty general had an infant son 
 when he was was " 
 
THE KING AND GOBBLER. 
 
 33 
 
 " KiDed by the robbers of the desert," Bug] 
 gested the king, seeing his companion hesitate. 
 
 " Ay that is it," added Kanah, with a strange 
 smile upon his face. "But 1 remember well that 
 he had an infant son, whom he took with him 
 when he went away upon his last mission." 
 
 " Rustem shall be questioned upon this," re 
 sumed the king. 
 
 " Yet. sire," quickly added Kanah, " you may 
 be sure Rustem meant no harm. Whatever may 
 have been his purpose in claiming the youth as 
 his own son, you may rest assured that he meant 
 no harm to you or to the kingdom." 
 
 "I hope not." 
 
 " 0, I know he did not, for I know Rustem 
 well, and he is one of your most loyal subjects. 
 Get the truth from him, but do not accuse him 
 of wrong." 
 
 And here the subject of Feridoon s nativity 
 rested for the present. The king and his coun 
 sellor conversed a long while upon the- curious 
 circumstance, but they arrived at no farther 
 points, merely dwelling upon the various sur 
 mises which such a matter would be likely to 
 bring up the main point being whether Rus 
 tem had brought Feridoon up from infancy, or 
 whether he had found him more recently. 
 
CHAPTER Vll. 
 
 A MOST STRANGE BATTLE. 
 
 THE wife of Zak Turan prepared dinner in 
 her best styls, for she had conceived a love for 
 Feridoon such as she would have felt for her 
 own child, and she wished to do him homage. 
 The dinner was eaten, and then Feridoon went 
 away and sat down with Zillah, while Rudabah 
 cleared off the table, and shortly afterwards Zak 
 Turan went out to his stall to work, for he had 
 a pair of sandals to stitch before night. It was 
 about half ail hour after this, while the youth 
 and maiden were conversing ardently together, 
 that the cobbler came rushing in all pale and 
 trembling. 
 
 " The Lord save us now !" he ejaculated. 
 "A hundred soldiers are coming this way," and 
 the same officer leads them who was here this 
 morning. Ormuzd be with us now !" 
 
 Zillah uttered a sharp cry upon this intelli 
 gence, and she would have fallen to the floor in 
 a swoon had not her lover caught her in his arms, 
 
 " Fly, good Feridoon fly !" cried Zak Turan. 
 
 " Not so, father," calmly replied the youth. 
 " I shall not do myself the injustice, for only 
 the guilty flee when any man approacheth. Yet 
 I would have thee conduct Zillah away from 
 here, for she may be moved with too much fear. 
 Mother, you will take her to her own apart 
 ments." 
 
 No sooner had Feridoon thus spoken, that* 
 
 Rudabah took Zillah by the hand to lead hei 
 away ; but the maiden revived upon the moment 
 she found herself about to be taken from her 
 lover, and it was not until Feridoon laid his ex 
 press command upon her, that she could be in 
 duced to leave. Hardly had she gone and left 
 our hero and the cobbler together, when the 
 heavy footfalls of the soldiers were heard without* 
 The youth sprang to the door, and he reached it 
 just as the soldiers were entering at the gate. 
 
 "Hold there, hirelings!" shouted Feridoon* 
 " Now what seek ye ?" 
 
 " Both you and the damsel Zillah," returned 
 Manto, for he it was who led the band. 
 
 "And wherefore me 1" 
 
 " The king will pitnish you for your deed this 
 morning." 
 
 " And wherefore the damsel ?" ^ 
 
 " That our king may take her to wife. * 
 
 " And if she were once within the king s grasp 
 he would make her his wife in spite of all reason 
 and persuasion V 
 
 " He would do his own will most surely, for 
 kings are not prone to ask advice upon such 
 matters." 
 
 " Then you may go and tell the king that Zil 
 lah he cannot have, and tell him also that I will 
 come to him on the morrow." 
 
 " But we have orders to take you both now/* 
 
THE KING AND COBBLER, 
 
 "And if I refuse?" 
 
 " Then you must go by force. The king bade 
 me fetch you to him either dead or alive." 
 
 " Then he is angry because I resisted you be 
 fore 1 ?" 
 
 " He is." 
 
 " You did not tell him that the maiden was 
 already beloved by another ?" 
 
 "I did." 
 
 "And does he still persist in having the maid 
 en for his own ?" 
 
 " Most resolutely." 
 
 " Then what a tyrant have we for a ruler ! 
 Go tell him that I will come to him to-morrow, 
 and that then we will argue our respective 
 claims face to face." 
 
 For a few moments Manto seemed undecided 
 how to act ; but he quickly remembered the 
 order of his royal master, and his mind was as 
 quickly made up. 
 
 " Young sir," he said, " you have heard the 
 orders we have from the king. Both you and 
 .be damsel must go with us now. If you will 
 submit quietly, all will be well ; but if you 
 choose to resist, the result be upon your own 
 head." 
 
 " Be it where it will, I shall not submit, be 
 cause if I do, Zillah will most assuredly be car 
 ried to the king, and then no one can protect her. 
 Methinks you, being a man, can judge somewhat 
 of my feelings. You know how you would feel 
 were the king to send a guard of slaves to seize 
 your own loved wife, for the God above us knows 
 that I love the beautiful Zillah as though she 
 were already mine in marriage. Now I have said 
 all. I hope you will not put me to another test." 
 
 Manto knew that he should fail in argument, 
 and as time was precious, he resolved to do his 
 work at once. So he beckoned to his followers 
 and bade them seize the youth immediately. 
 
 " Remember !" cried Feridoon, " this is right 
 against wrong. I shall defend the maiden that 
 I love against any power that shall set itself up 
 in open violation of the laws of justice. And 
 remember one other thing. You are many, and 
 I must therefore fight to the death if you force 
 me!" 
 
 But the soldiers heeded not his words. They 
 know nothing of him but what they now saw, 
 and with a confident movement some dozen of 
 those in advance moved towards him. It so hap 
 pened that a stout lever of olive wood stood 
 against the door post a lever which Zak Turan 
 had used for prying his door stone into place 
 
 and this the youth seized at once. It was 
 six feet long and very stout and heavy. This 
 repeated wrong had roused his indignation to its 
 highest pitch, and as he saw the movement of the 
 soldiers towards him, seeing some of them draw 
 their swords, and knowing that they were ready 
 to kill him rather than let him escape, he became 
 arigry beyond self-control ; it was the first time 
 within his memory that his passions had been so 
 thoroughly aroused. He swung the huge club 
 over his head, and at the first sweep four men 
 were laid prostrate. Higher and higher rose his 
 wrath as he saw the whole phalanx draw their 
 swords, and with his whole might he rushed upon 
 them. 
 
 Manto had at first wondered if the youth could 
 sway that huge club with skill enough to effect 
 anything, but his wonder changed to deadly fear, 
 for he not only saw the ponderous lever flash 
 through the air like a lightning-bolt, but he saw 
 the youth s face, and he knew that the savage 
 had supplanted the philosopher. He shrank 
 behind his followers, as he had a right to do, 
 and when he saw them falling like grain before 
 the reaper s hook, he resolved to make one last 
 effort. 
 
 " What ho ! my men !" he cried, " now move 
 together ! rush in upon him at once all of you 
 in a body !" 
 
 But the rushing part of the work was upon 
 the other hand. No man, nor no body of men 
 could stand before the enraged youth. He had 
 his enemies all before him, and not one of them 
 could reach him, for that stout club performed 
 its circuits instantly, and its force was such that 
 a whole section was swept down at once. Swords 
 were of no more use than so many chips would 
 have been. Those of the soldiers who had been 
 without the gate rushed in when they heard the 
 sound of conflict, and as they saw their com 
 rades falling before them they pressed blindly 
 forward, shouting and pushing and brandishing 
 their swords. But soon the current set against 
 them those in advance began to fall back. Yet 
 they braced themselves up, little dreaming at 
 the moment that they were only forcing their 
 brethren into useless destruction. 
 
 Thus went the work on. Feridoon was not 
 only yet untouched, but at every stroke he seemed 
 to gain new strength. The truth was, he was 
 losing his humanity he was forgetting that he 
 was a man. He seemed only to realize that he 
 was a beast defending his young from a merci 
 less foe. He swept his enormous club over his 
 
36 
 
 THE KING AND COBBLER. 
 
 head, and the royal soldiers fell before him like 
 chaff. 
 
 But such a combat could not last long. One 
 stout man will make quick work with a hundred 
 puny boys, and Feridoon did the same with the 
 hundred soldiers. The garden was literally 
 strewed with prostrate bodies, and when at length 
 the youth passed the gate and entered the street, 
 only six men were left to flee before him, and 
 one of those was Manto. He had had the judg 
 ment to keep out of the way. As soon as Feri 
 doon found that there were no more to oppose 
 him he let the point of his club fall, and having 
 gazed until the six fugitives had disappeared he 
 returned into the garden. Some of the men 
 were just crawling to their feet, but they fell 
 back as they saw their terrible enemy returning. 
 The youth did not molest them, however, but 
 pursued his way at once to the house, where he 
 found the poor cobbler trembling like an aspen. 
 
 " Now, mine excellent host, what is the mat 
 ter ?" asked Feridoon, as he noticed the old man s 
 perturbation. 
 
 " The Lord preserve us !" uttered Zak Turan, 
 in trembling accents. "You have slain the 
 king s soldiers, and most surely will he have 
 vengeance. You will not always be here to pro 
 tect us, and ere long they will come down upon 
 me/ 
 
 "Fear not, my kind father," returned the 
 youth, persuasively. " You have had no hand 
 in any of these doings, and so I will inform the 
 king." 
 
 " Will you tell him that ?" 
 
 " Most assuredly." 
 
 " But will you see him ?" 
 
 " I shall see him to-morrow." 
 
 " He will kill you !" 
 
 " I think not. I shall go armed, and if he is 
 sues orders against my life, I shall make him a 
 hostage for my safety. Fear not for me." 
 
 At this moment, when the cobbler was upon 
 the point of speaking, the door was opened, and 
 Feridoon instinctively raised the terrible club 
 which he still held in his hand; but it was 
 quickly dropped, for he saw that the new-comer 
 was none other than Kobad, the astrologer. He 
 gazed eagerly about him as he entered, and the 
 tremulousness of his flowing white beard showed 
 that he was moved by some strange fear, but 
 when his eye rested upon Feridoon, his face 
 brightened, and he hastened forward. 
 
 " My son," said he, " what strange thing is 
 this which has happened ?" 
 
 " Tis the result of th*e doings of a wicked 
 king," returned the youth. 
 
 Kobad sat down and Feridoon took a seat by 
 his side, and then the latter related all that had 
 happened, commencing with the first coming of 
 the three disguised men, and ending with the 
 conflict that had just transpired. When he had 
 closed his startling narrative, the astrologer was 
 for some moments lost in deep wonder, but a 
 sense of the real situation of things about him 
 came soon to his mind, and he started from his 
 seat. 
 
 "Noble, generous, brave boy," he cried, em 
 bracing the youth as he spoke. " How rightly 
 did the satrap judge when he called thee the 
 LION HEART. And you love the gentle Zillah ?" 
 
 " O, with every thought and feeling of my 
 life !" quickly answered Feridoon. 
 
 " God be praised for that !" fervently ejaculat 
 ed the venerable man. " I knew you would love 
 her, for she is worthy of it. Bat alas that the 
 foul king should have seen her, seeing that she 
 has no rank to protect her loveliness. And yet 
 rank or wealth is nothing to him. Sobrab ti*kes 
 whom he pleases, from the parents of his court 
 to those of the very beggars. But Zillah must 
 be removed now, for she will be no longer safe 
 here." 
 
 " I will protect her," said Feridoon. 
 
 " But you cannot always be with her." 
 
 " I will marry her." 
 
 " Not yet," said the old man, with something 
 like a smile upon his face. " And even if you 
 did, it would not save her, for you must remem 
 ber that the king will not give up his purpose. 
 You can see that in the very thing he has done 
 to-day first sending his slaves and then his sol 
 diers. His next movement will be to send a 
 body of lancers and archers, and against javelins 
 and arrows your strength will not avail you." 
 
 Feridoon saw the justice of these remarks, and 
 after he had pondered awhile, he asked Kobad 
 what he would do for Zillah s safety. 
 
 " I will take her with me and place her where 
 the king will not find her," answered the sage. 
 " I know of a place he will not easily find, and 
 thither I will take her at once and not only 
 her, but her parents also, for Sohrab will surely 
 take them in his rage. The influence of the sa 
 trap may protect you, but you can go with me if 
 you like." 
 
 "I would^go and be with Zillah, but not to 
 flee from the king, for on the morrow I shall go 
 to the royal palace. But promise me one thing 
 
THE KING AND COBBLER. 
 
 37 
 
 when Zillah is hidden away I may sometimes 
 go and sec her." 
 
 " Most, assuredly only there must be a con 
 dition. You shall go only when I can go with 
 you." 
 
 " And why so ?" 
 
 " Do you not see that if the king allows you 
 to go at large you will be watched ? He knows 
 that you love the beautiful damsel, and that you 
 would be likely to visit her. Your steps would 
 be followed accordingly, and Zillah s place of 
 concealment thus traced out." 
 
 " I see," quickly returned the youth, frankly, 
 " and I will obey. But there is yet one other 
 thing. How long must Zillah remain thus con 
 cealed ? For I see not how the power or will of 
 the king is to be overcome, but by perpetual 
 concealment." 
 
 The astrologer bowed his head, and at the ex 
 piration of a few moments he said : 
 
 " We will speak of that at some other time. 
 I can save her for the present, and for the future 
 I can see things which may not be explained 
 now. But we must move quick, for in all prob 
 ability the king will send a host here as soon as 
 his discomfited messengers return with their 
 tidings of failure." 
 
 Accordingly Zillah and her mother were called 
 down, arid they both readily "embraced the as 
 trologer s offer, for they saw that it was the only 
 real means of safety. So they set about pre 
 paring themselves at once. Zak Turan packed 
 up what little money and small articles of value 
 he had ; Iludabah took such articles of clothing 
 as she thought she should need; while Zillah 
 only thought of spending her present moments 
 with her lover ; but her mother worked for her, 
 and ere long they were ready to start. 
 
 "Let us wait no longer," said Kobad, when 
 he saw that all was ready. 
 3 
 
 "But I may see her soon," urged Feridoon, 
 still clinging fondly to the being he so deeply 
 loved. 
 
 " Yes. I will come for you as soon as is 
 proper. But if you delay us now, ruin may fall 
 upon all. Be wise, and you shall be the happier 
 for it." 
 
 The youth understood the meaning of the 
 sage, and with one more fond embrace and one 
 more sweet kiss, he handed Zillah over to her 
 mother, and prayed that God would protect her. 
 Then Kobad led the way out through the back 
 passage into the narrow, tiled covert behind the 
 house, and from thence he proceeded on through 
 a low, vaulted corridor that connected with the 
 bathing houses belonging to dwellings upon an 
 other street. Ere long, he came out into a nar 
 row, dark lane which seemed to wind about on 
 purpose for intricacy, and as the way was here 
 clear he pushed on with quick steps. 
 
 Feridoon watched the party till they had 
 passed from sight and then he turned his steps 
 towards the front yard. Here he found some 
 sixty men either dead or so far gone that fliey 
 had no life to show, but he could not help the 
 matter now. He supposed the servants of the 
 king would come and take care of them in good 
 time. There may have been a momentary pang 
 a sensation of pain as the youth looked upon 
 the work of death he had done ; but he quickly 
 remembered that those he had slain were men 
 let out to do evil for another men who were 
 ready to stake their lives in an event of ever so 
 great a crime, and that their death had ibeen 
 necessary to secure the safety of one who was 
 worth more to earth and to God than all the 
 hireling soldiers a tyrant can muster. These 
 thoughts calmed his mind, and with a soul satis 
 fied with this, its first great essay of life, he 
 moved on. 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 THE KING STILL IN TROUBLE. 
 
 LONG and impatiently did the king await the 
 coming of those whom he had sent for Zillah, 
 and often did deep curses fall from his lips 
 as moment after moment sped away. His old 
 counsellor had left him, and he had called his 
 four most trusty eunuchs to bear him company. 
 At length the sound of feet came upon the stairs, 
 and a slave who had been set upon the watch 
 entered. 
 
 " Now, slave, what news bring you ? Speak 
 it out, and stand not trembling there. By the 
 heavens and all .the gods that dwell therein, 
 you d better not crush my hopes. What have 
 ye seen ?" 
 
 " Some of your men are returning, sire." 
 " Some, say ye ? How many ?" 
 " Perhaps a score." 
 
 " They come as messengers, or mayhap they 
 bear the young rebel, while those with the maid 
 en come more slowly." 
 
 " But those who come now bear the litter with 
 them." 
 
 " Ha then they bring the maiden. Go con 
 duct them here at once !" 
 
 The slave had seen that the litter was borne 
 with its crimson canopy sidling, and he knew 
 that no maiden could be in it, but he dared not 
 tell his thoughts to his king ; so he withdrew, 
 and shortly afterwards Manto entered alone. He 
 
 was pale and trembling, and as he met the in 
 quiring gaze of his monarch his eyes fell to the 
 floor. 
 
 " Now, Manto, speak I" uttered the king, in 
 a harsh, forced tone. " Where is the maiden 
 and where the youth ?" 
 
 We could not take them, sire," answered 
 the lieutenant, mustering all his courage. 
 
 : Beware, Manto ! Do not tell me a lie. Do 
 not tell me you could not." 
 
 " I speak the truth, sire." 
 
 " Did you not take one hundred men with 
 you ?" 
 
 " Yes, sire." 
 
 "And what did they?" 
 
 " As God is my Maker and my Hope, they 
 fell like chaff before the wind, beneath the single 
 arm of him whom you call Eeridoon, or the 
 Lion Heart." 
 
 The king sank down upon a seat and gazed 
 his lieutenant in the face. Thus he remained for 
 a full minute, and then he sprang to his feet. 
 
 " Manto !" he said, in a hoarse, husky voice 
 " I do not think you would lie to me." 
 
 " I could not, if I would." 
 
 " Then tell me truly did this youth, all alone, 
 do as jfii have said ?" 
 
 " Of a verity did he, sire." 
 
 " With what manner of weapon 1" 
 
THE KING AND COBBLER, 
 
 " With an enormous club a ponderous beam 
 of wood." 
 
 " Then he must have slain some of my guard." 
 
 " Full threescore, at least." 
 
 " There is more than human work in that. 
 The youth has some powerful afrite* under his 
 control. It must be so. But tell me ail, Manto." 
 
 The lieutenant was much relieved when he 
 found that the king did not kill him nor swear 
 vengeance against him, and he related all the 
 circumstances jast as they occurred, save that 
 he gave a little extra coloring to the appearance 
 of Feridoon. When he had concluded, the king 
 remained for some moments in deep thought. 
 He was naturally superstitious, and hence his 
 mind had something to dwell upon besides the 
 disappointment he suffered. But his energies 
 were not by any means gone, and ere long his 
 next proceeding was planned. 
 
 " Now mark me, Manto," he said, arising, 
 and speaking slowly, and with energy. " Go 
 and call up a hundred more men. Take the 
 stoutest of our archers, and see that each man 
 has his javelin for by all the powers of dark 
 ness he cannot withstand the finely tempered 
 points of our arrow and javelin heads. Go you 
 with these, and bring him to me. Order him 
 to surrender, and if he does not, then kill him 
 at once. Kastef now, and when he is despatched 
 or secured, the maiden may be easily taken. 
 Do you understand?" This presented some 
 thing tangible and sure to the lieutenant s mind, 
 for now his men could fight at a distance, and 
 he did not think the flesh of the wonderful youth 
 would be impervious to the best and surest ar 
 row heads in the kingdom. So he told the king 
 he would obey, and then set at once about his 
 mission. 
 
 " I ll have the damsel yet," the monarch mat 
 tered, as soon as he was left alone with his eu 
 nuchs. " And when I do have her, I shall have 
 well earned my right to the possession. By my 
 royal diadem, I d possess her now if it took every 
 man in my kingdom to pay the price !" 
 
 An hour passed away, and during that time 
 Sohrab had been part of the time in the outer 
 porch with his pet birds, and part of the time 
 with his eunuchs in the great hall where he 
 meant to receive his beautiful prize. 
 
 But the end of that hour again brought disap 
 pointment. Manto returned and reported that 
 neither the youth, the maiden, the cobbler nor 
 
 b y the 
 
 ,i-*- u f genie held "> much 
 
 ancients as being of the demon stamp. 
 
 his wife could be found ; but he said he had set 
 his hundred men upon the search, with direc 
 tions not to give up until some of them had been 
 found. 
 
 The king listened until his lieutenant had fin 
 ished, and then sat down again and bent his 
 brow upon his hand. Had he been only half as 
 much moved as he really was, he would prob 
 ably have struck Manto dead at his feet at once, 
 but his emotions were so deep that they literal 
 ly operated as a weight upon his passions. 
 Reason came to him, as comes the last iron 
 touch of will to the dying man when all hope 
 is gone. He sat thus for full five minutes, but 
 those minutes seemed hours to Manto, for he 
 now expected nothing else so much as instant 
 death. 
 
 " Macto," he at length said, in a hoarse whis 
 per, " go and send Kanah to me, and then send 
 at once for the satrap Rustem." 
 
 With a step quicker by far than usual did the 
 lieutenant obey this mandate, for he felt as 
 though he were escaping death. 
 
 Soon the counsellor made his appearance, and 
 to him the king related what had happened. At 
 first, the old minister could scarcely credit the 
 story, but when his royal master had told all, he 
 was forced to give it credit. 
 
 " Has not the youth an afrite to obey his 
 will V Sohrab asked. 
 
 Kanah started. 
 
 " Tis a long while," he answered, "since I 
 have seen reason to believe in the existence of 
 those powerful spirits, but I will not take it upon 
 myself to say that they do not exist. But I 
 would rather see Rustem." 
 
 " I have sent for him." 
 
 " Then we shall know something from him. 5> 
 
 They did not have to wait long for the satrap, 
 as he was already on his way to the royal palace 
 when he met the messenger. He was very pale 
 when, he entered the apartment, and his coun 
 tenance showed plainly that he labored under 
 much fear. The king looked up as his satrap 
 entered, and for a moment he seemed undeci 
 ded how to receive him, but his first words 
 were very moderate. 
 
 " Rustem, we have been anxious to see you. 
 A most wondrous thing has happened a thing 
 almost passing belief, and we want your assis 
 tance in digging up the mystery." 
 
 " Sire !" spoke the satrap, trying to compose 
 himself, "I know to what you allude. You 
 speak of deeds which my son has this day done." 
 
40 
 
 THE KING AND COBBLER. 
 
 f < Ay that I do !" replied the king, quickly 
 and vehemently. " Do you then know of them V 
 
 " Yes, sire. My son reached home before I 
 came away, and he told me all that had hap 
 pened. I was not only angry, but I would have 
 punished him had I been able. However, my 
 anger will be some punishment." 
 
 " And he told you all,? How he refused to 
 comply with my orders ? how he attacked my 
 own slaves ? how he killed my own guard 1 and 
 how he hurled defiance at me ? at me his king 
 and lawful sovereign ?" 
 
 " Yes, sire he told me all." 
 
 " And what was his reason I" 
 
 " He loved the girl himself." 
 
 " But how could he have seen her, since he 
 has been all the while confined ?" 
 
 " He never saw her until yesterday." 
 
 " Ha ! And that is the amount of priority of 
 love he claims ! Why did you not strike him 
 dead when these awful confessions fell from bis 
 own lips V 
 
 " For two reasons, sire. First, I am not 
 strong enough ; and second, he is my own child, 
 and my father s " 
 
 " Stop ! stop ! good Rustem, you forget your 
 self," uttered the king, interrupting him. " Are 
 you sure he is your own child V 
 
 The satrap started as though an arrow had 
 pierced his heart. He gazed first into the face 
 of the king, and then into that of the counsellor. 
 
 " What mean you, sire ?" he at length asked, 
 hesitatingly. 
 
 " Do you not know what I mean V asked 
 Sohrab in reply, eyeing the satrap sharply. " I 
 asked you if you were sure that youth was your 
 own child. Now speak no falsehood, for I would 
 have the truth." 
 
 Rustem did not hesitate long, for he saw that 
 his monarch had some clue to the truth, and he 
 resolved to speak it. 
 
 " Sire/ he said, " I have never meant to de 
 ceive you, or to deceive others, any more than 
 he deceives who tries to hide his faults of form 
 by change and taste of dress. You know how 
 long I prayed for a son, and how fruitless were 
 my prayers. Five years ago I went to the moun 
 tains of the Hetzcndarra on a hunting expedi 
 tion. An old hunter told me of a strange ani 
 mal he had seen in the mountains. On the next 
 day I went in search of it, taking the hunter for 
 my guide. I found the strange thing the fellow 
 had seen, and gave it chase, and when I found 
 that I should lose it at that rate, I drew my jav 
 
 elin and threw it with a quick, strong aim" ; It 
 struck the animal upon the hip, and stopped him. 
 Now, sire, this strange animal was nothing less 
 than a wild youth, habited in a garb of leaves, 
 In every particular was he like the wild beasts 
 about him, save that he seemed to take a deep 
 interest in hearing me converse. He could nei 
 ther speak a single word of any language nor 
 understand a word of mine. But I took him 
 home, and he conceived an affection for me. I 
 soon found that he had some faint recollections 
 of language, and I employed two of the best 
 scholars I could find to educate him. In one 
 year s time he could speak plainly and read, and 
 at the end of five years he stood before me the 
 most polished man I knew, for daring all the 
 time of his studies his mind had not once been 
 distracted by extraneous affairs. And now, 
 sire, do you wonder that I should have called 
 him my son ? that I should have loved him as 
 such ?" 
 
 " Kanah, what think you ?" asked the king, 
 turning to his counsellor. 
 
 " I th ink Rustem s story one of deep interest, 
 and one of truth, as well. And now we have 
 some clue to the youth s prodigious strength. I 
 remember a wild man who was found in the Cau 
 casus, and it was almost impossible to capture 
 him. I would not believe that the human frame 
 could give room for such strength, if I had not 
 seen it. And then remember one other thing, 
 sire : remember the tree from which this scion 
 probably sprung. Gushtasp was the mightiest 
 man in the kingdom. You remember that no 
 six men in the army could beat him from the 
 arena." 
 
 "Gushtasp!" uttered Rustem, in surprise. 
 " What mean you ?" 
 
 " Simply," answered the king, " that this 
 youth, Feridoon, must be the son of that general, 
 His every look shows it." 
 
 The satrap began to see now what the others- 
 had seen. He reflected a while, and he remem 
 bered how Gushtasp had looked, and thon he 
 knew Feridoon was his counterpart. 
 
 " Upon my life," he replied, " yon da recall 
 now my own memory of the great general. It 
 must be as you have said." 
 
 " And even Gushtasp himself was tinged with* 
 rebellion," remarked the king. 
 
 " Rebellion ! Gushtasp !" uttered Rustem. 
 
 " Ay ; but we will not speak of the deai. Let 
 me know what you mean to do with your adopt- 
 ed child." 
 
THE KING AND COBBLEK. 
 
 41 
 
 ** It is against yon, sire, that his deeds have 
 been done ; but I pray you that his ignorance of 
 government and the rights of kings may be set 
 down in his favor. I am sure he meant no dis 
 respect to his royal master, but only thought of 
 the love he bore the damsel." 
 
 " Well," answered the king, after some mo 
 ments of thought, " I will do thus : to-morrow 
 the youth shall come before me, and if he will 
 confess where the maiden, Zillah, is hidden, and 
 give her quietly up to me, then shall this first 
 grievous offence be forgiven. What say you ?" 
 he asked, searchingly. 
 
 * Most assuredly shall he do so, sire," quickly 
 answered the satrap. "I suppose the damsel is 
 beautiful" 
 
 " As lovely as the full moon at midnight, in 
 the open heavens. As beautiful as the lily of 
 the vale and the rose of the hillside," rapturously 
 apostrophized the king. 
 
 "But yet," resumed Rustem, "he should not 
 grasp her from the king. He will attend me here 
 to-morrow, and you shall speak with him as you 
 see proper." 
 
 " We will," answered Sohrab. "But you had 
 better prepare the .youth ere he conies hither. 
 Let him understand himself thoroughly, so that 
 
 I shall not have to induct him into the first 
 principles of obedience." 
 
 " I will prepare him for the interview, sire." 
 " But you must not tell him of his parentage." 
 " Of course not," returned Rustem ; " for we 
 are not sure." 
 
 " O, as for that matter, we are sure enough," 
 interrupted Kanah. " If you should lose an ar 
 ticle to-day, and in twenty years hence I should 
 find one looking exactly like it, and at the same 
 time knowing that none other ever existed like it, 
 I should feel sure that I had found that which 
 you had lost. Gushtasp was killed close by 
 those mountains, and his wife and infant boy 
 were with him. The wife fled into the moun 
 tains, and was afterwards found dead. To be 
 sure, her features were not recognized, for the 
 wild beasts had made horrid work there; but 
 her jewels were found and recognized. The in 
 fant was not found. If you remember how Gush 
 tasp looked, you must know that Feridoon is 
 his very self." 
 
 The satrap admitted the truth of appearances, 
 and shortly afterwards he was dismissed. He 
 took his way towards his own palace, but it was 
 not without many misgivings, for he knew that 
 he had truly a lion heart to deal with. 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 AN EXTRAORDINARY SCENE. 
 
 IT was dark when Eustem reached his palace, 
 and he found that Feridoon had already retired, 
 so he let his business be until the morning. 
 When morning came, he repaired to the youth s 
 apartments, and found his charge engaged in 
 reading. His first aim was to examine more par 
 ticularly Feridoon s features with regard to his 
 nativity. He was surprised to find how true a 
 copy were those features of the features of him 
 to whom allusion had been made. Eustem had 
 known Gushtasp well, and they had been firm 
 friends while the latter had lived. He now 
 knew that Feridoon must have been the infant 
 which had been lost ; but his thoughts did not 
 stop here. 
 
 After Eustem had passed the wishes of the 
 morning with his protege, he sat down and pon 
 dered upon a new subject that had forced itself 
 upon his mind. He remembered that when the 
 former king died, Gushtasp had been murdered 
 upon the de.sert, and he wondered if Sohrab had 
 not had something to do with that affair, for both 
 he and Gushtasp were popular generals, though 
 the latter was the favorite of both soldiers and 
 people. Had Gushtasp lived, Sohrab might not 
 have been king. These thoughts led Eustem 
 into a chain of dark surmises ; and some modes 
 of expression which he had heard Sohrab use 
 served to strengthen his fears for he did fear 
 
 that his king had been guilty of a great crime. 
 He felt sure that no foul measures had been 
 used with Kei Khosrou, for he had seen the 
 corse lying in state, and there were no marks of 
 violence upon it ; but he could not feel so sure 
 in the case of poor Gushtasp, for he had been 
 met upon the desert, while travelling home with 
 his wife and child, and only three attendants, 
 and murdered. The circumstances were these : 
 
 The general, Gushtasp, was away when he 
 heard of his king s death, and feeling that he 
 had something to do with government, he left 
 his army and hastened towards home; but in 
 the desert, close by the base of the Hetzendarras, 
 he was met by assassins and brutally put to 
 death. It passed at the time as the doing of 
 robbers. The corse of the murdered general was 
 brought to the city, and when the people wept 
 and mourned over it, all knew how much he had 
 been beloved. The assassins had spared his 
 noble features, and even in death the bold gen 
 eral looked the hero the people had loved to 
 worship. But Sohrab was now king of Persia, 
 and he had always treated Eustem with favor ; 
 but even in this there was policy, for the satrap 
 was influential, and his influence was worth 
 keeping. 
 
 Thus did Eustem arrive at two points. He 
 believed Feridoon to be the son of his old friend, 
 
THE KING AND COBBLER. 
 
 43 
 
 and he feared that that friend had fallen by the 
 device of him who now ruled Persia ; but this 
 latter point he resolved to keep most sacredly to 
 himself. 
 
 " Feridoon," he said, at length, " very soon 
 you will go with me to the royal palace." 
 
 "I am ready, for I promised the officer yester 
 day that I would see the king to-day." 
 
 " But do you realize, my son, how great has 
 been your offence ?" 
 
 " That I have made the king very wroth I am 
 aware/ 
 
 " But you have trampled upon his authority." 
 " Let the king point out to me how, for I 
 would have no contention with my protector." 
 
 "But you have broken our laws, and are 
 hence liable to most severe punishment. Yet 
 on one condition will the king pardon you." 
 " Ah ! and what is that 1" 
 " That you will tell him where the damsel is 
 concealed, and relinquish all claim upon her." 
 "I shall think of this." 
 
 " And I hope you will think well of it, and 
 remember how much trouble you will save your 
 self by simply complying with our king s wishes. 
 Surely you have not become so overpowered by 
 the charms of the poor cobbler s daughter that 
 you cannot give her up." 
 
 " There are two sides to that proposition," re 
 turned Feridoon, with a smile. " I am young 
 and ardent, while the king is old and satiated. 
 Is he so overpowered by the charms of a cobbler s 
 daughter that he cannot give her up V 
 , " But he is a king, and his will is law." 
 
 " Perhaps it is so. But wait until I see .the 
 king, and then my mind will be made up." 
 
 " But you understand the premises, do you 
 not V 
 
 " Perfectly." 
 And there the matter rested, for Feridoon was 
 unwilling to argue with his father, and the latter 
 did not wish to chafe the youth before they wen 
 to the royal palace. He hoped that the present 
 and authority of the king would awe the offende 
 into submission. . 
 
 It was near the middle of the forenoon when 
 Rustem and his protege set out, and when they 
 reached the audience-chamber of the royal pal 
 ace, they found that most of the business of th 
 day had been transacted. There were some fe\\ 
 cases for judgment still left, but the king sa\ 
 the youth when he entered, and the remaining 
 business was quickly despatched. This bein 
 done, the king dismissed all save his own officer 
 
 nd attendants, among whom were Kanah and 
 rlanto, and then, at a sign from his majesty, 
 lustem and Feridoon advanced to the marble 
 >latform in front of the throne. 
 
 The king "gazed long and earnestly into the 
 ace of the youth, and he showed by his counte- 
 lance that he was deeply moved. At length he 
 poke. 
 
 " You are called Feridoon ?" 
 "lam, king." 
 
 Sohrab started when he heard that answer, for 
 not before in a long time had he been answered 
 so boldly, and with such perfect freedom from 
 all restraint. And then the phraseology was un 
 usual. He was never before addressed by the 
 mere term, king. 
 
 You were at the house of the cobbler, Zak 
 Turan, yesterday 1 ?" 
 
 I was." 
 
 You resisted my orders and killed my mes 
 sengers." 
 
 I opposed a body of ruffians who would have 
 dragged a poor female from her home against 
 her will." 
 
 " Beware how you speak," uttered the king, 
 rowing angry. 
 
 " If you would have the truth from me yon 
 must not cramp my tongue. I speak as I have 
 learned to do with freedom and boldness when 
 I speak the truth." 
 
 " Did not these men whom you opposed in 
 form you that they came from the king ?" 
 
 " They did." 
 
 " Then you knew whom you were resisting." 
 
 " But you forget, king, that men who will 
 stoop to such work might also lie." 
 
 " They did not lie. But enough of this. You 
 saw their badges, and you knew they came from 
 me. Now why did you resist them ?" 
 
 "Because they would have dragged one 
 whom I loved to ruin and misery." 
 
 " Ha ! You insult me now." 
 
 "I mean no insult: I speak but the truth. 
 If you sent for that maiden, then what would 
 you with her ?" 
 
 " Make her my wife." 
 
 " But she refused to come to you, and told 
 your messengers that she could not, and when 
 they would have dragged her away by force, she 
 shrieked aloud for mercy. Would you have 
 dragged one of the daughters of your people 
 ruthlessly to her own woe, simply to gratify a 
 momentary passion, which would have been 
 
44 
 
 THE KING AND COBBLER. 
 
 transferred to another in one short month at the 
 farthest ?" 
 
 " I would have made the damsel my wife. 
 Kings are not wont to ask favors ; they command, 
 and the people obey." 
 
 " So I have learned you look upon the kingly 
 office," returned Feridoon, gazing boldly and 
 searchingly into the king s face, " but not so can 
 I look upon it. You derived your power from 
 the people, for by their will alone were you 
 placed upon the throne you now occupy. A 
 true king rules for the people s good, and his 
 account is kept by God. The happiness of a 
 single subject . is worth a king s utmost care; 
 but O, who shall believe that a true king would 
 blindly follow out the craving of depraved pas 
 sions, even when sorrow and woe must fall upon 
 his subjects in consequence "?" 
 
 There was consternation in the audience-cham 
 ber. The attendants were astounded to hear a 
 simple youth speak thus to the king, but their 
 looks also showed that they deeply sympathized 
 with every word that had been uttered. The 
 king himself was at first moved by rage and pas 
 sion, and twice did his hand fall upon his sword- 
 hilt, but there was something in the counte 
 nance of the youth that stayed his hand. Per 
 haps his thoughts ran back to the time when a 
 noble general fell dead on the hot sands of the 
 distant desert, and mayhap he saw so much of 
 that ill-fated man in the features before him, 
 that his heart was moved in fear and remove. 
 
 " Let this folly pass," the monarch at length 
 said. " Your youth is some extenuation of your 
 tongue s range. But now we come to another 
 point, and you will do well to consider carefully 
 upon the subject ere you answer, for I see that 
 you have a habit of speaking hastily. Of course 
 you know where the damsel, Zillah, is concealed." 
 
 " I do not, sire." 
 
 " Speak no falsehoods." 
 
 "I have not yet learned to speak falsehood, 
 king. I know not where the maiden is." 
 
 " Do you know which way she went ?" 
 
 "I do not." 
 
 " But you will know." 
 
 " I have had the promise of knowing." 
 
 " Ah, that will answer. Now listen to me. 
 Your crime has been one which richly merits 
 death, and it has been but the most unusual 
 clemency on my part that has kept the stroke of 
 the executioner from you, and on these condi 
 tions will I extend to you a full pardon : you 
 shall inform me where Zillah is as soon as you 
 
 shall have learned, and you shall relinquish all 
 claim to her hand and love." 
 
 " And is that all ?" asked the youth, with a 
 cutter smile breaking the calmness that had 
 rested upon his face. 
 
 " Upon those conditions shall a full pardon be 
 granted." 
 
 " King of Persia," spoke the youth, in a firm, 
 direct tone, " I saw the beautiful Zillah before 
 you did, and I loved her, and in return did she 
 love me, and before God were our loves made 
 binding upon us by holy vows. Thus my right 
 is in the love of Zillah, and no claim have you 
 upon her." 
 
 " Beware, or I shall yet teach thee to thy cost 
 that kings do not bow to the caprices of such as 
 you." 
 
 " And thou shalt know, mighty king, that 
 such as I cannot be trampled upon even by him 
 whom people call sire. Neither will I tell thee 
 of the maiden s abiding-place, nor will I give 
 over my claim. She is mine ; and before my 
 God and these witnesses here assembled, I do 
 accuse you of the most gross cruelty and injus 
 tice. I shall not bow." 
 
 Sohrab sprang from his seat and clapped his 
 hands. His face was very pale, and his teeth 
 were set. At the signal thus given a dozen stout 
 slaves appeared, and as they gathered about the 
 king, he cried : 
 
 " Seize the traitor and bind him !" 
 
 " Hold !" cried Feridoon, starting back a pace, 
 and drawing his sword ; " let me first know why 
 I am to be bound." 
 
 " O, my child," implored Rustem, clasping 
 his hands and springing towards the youth, 
 " make no resistance here. It cannot avail you, 
 the archers will shoot you." 
 
 " I mean not to resist," returned Feridoon ; 
 " but I would know why I am thus to be bound. 
 Speak, king, and tell me." 
 
 " Bind him, I say !" 
 
 Feridoon hesitated an instant, and then, dash 
 ing aside those who had gathered about him, he 
 sprang upon the throne and seized the king by 
 the arm, and forced him back upon his seat. 
 Then he placed the point of his sword against 
 the monarch s breast. The people started back 
 aghast, and a cry of horror went up from every 
 lip. 
 
 "Back, back!" pronounced the youth. "I 
 mean the king no harm ; but if one person places 
 his foot upon the lower step of this throne, my 
 sword shall sink to this man s heart. Keep back, 
 
THE KING AND COBBLER. 
 
 and no harm shall be done ; but forward, and 
 you shall lose your king !" 
 
 Those people who saw this strange movement 
 knew that the bold youth meant what he said, 
 and they dared not move. The king himself 
 was sore afraid, but he could not move ; he was 
 held down by a grip of iron. He had turned 
 deadly pale, and his limbs shook with terror. 
 
 "Now, king," spoke Feridoon, "answer my 
 question. I do not mean to resist you, but I 
 wish to know why I am to be seized, and also to 
 have these witnesses now present know it." 
 
 " Have you not resisted the royal authority 1" 
 gasped the king. 
 
 " Yes ; but that is not the direct cause. Is it 
 not because I refuse to give up to you one whom 
 I love ?" 
 
 The king did not answer. . 
 
 "Answer me !" pronounced the youth, with a 
 glance that thrilled the monarch to the very soul. 
 " Do you not mean to imprison me, or to punish 
 me, because I will not give up to you a virgin 
 who has begged of me to protect her from your 
 embrace ? Answer me." 
 
 " It is so. I gave the order for the bringing 
 hither of the maiden, and you resisted it." 
 
 " Ay," resumed Feridoon, in a bitter tone ; 
 " that is the cause. Now listen, ye who stand 
 around this throne, and mark what justice is 
 done in Persia. Let the people know how stands 
 the law of eternal justice in our country. Your 
 king made his way in disguise to the home of a 
 poor cobbler, and there his eye rested upon a 
 beautiful maiden, who was the joy and light of 
 that lowly household. He beware, king. If 
 you move you shall die, as sure as God is ! He 
 went in there, and when he saw that lovely dam- 
 
 I sel, his passions were fired, and he resolved to 
 possess her. I was there. The girl turned her 
 prayers to me, and begged of me to save her. I 
 did so, for I loved her, and she was my own be 
 loved. The rest you know. Tell this to the 
 world, and then men shall know what kind of a 
 king they have. I have spoken, and now I shall 
 make no more resistance, unless my life is at 
 tempted." 
 
 As Feridoon thus spoke, he let go his hold 
 upon the king, and stepped down from the 
 throne. For a while not a word was spoken. 
 Those who stood around looked furtively at the 
 monarch, and then they gazed upon each other. 
 The daring youth had placed his sword in its 
 scabbard, and now stood with his arms folded 
 across his breast. But the king soon came to 
 himself. He started up again, and in a hoarse, 
 rattling tone, he said : 
 
 " Bind him, now !" 
 
 Thus he spoke, and then sank back again 
 upon his throne. The stout slaves moved up, 
 and Feridoon offered no resistance. Heavy 
 chains were placed upon his wrists, and these 
 were again secured about his waist. 
 
 " Now lead him to one of the strongest of our 
 dungeons. Off with him, and when this cloud 
 has rolled from our mind, we will give him sen 
 tence. Rustem, you will remain, and you, Ka- 
 nah, I would speak with you." 
 
 The youth was led away, and shortly after 
 wards the attendants left the audience-chamber, 
 only the king s eunuchs and the satrap and coun 
 sellor remaining. With the latter Sohrab wish 
 ed to confer respecting the extraordinary scene 
 that had just transpired. 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 PLOT AND COUNTERPLOT. 
 
 FERIDOON was plunged into a deep, dark 
 dungeon, and there he was told he should remain 
 until he had promised to reveal the hiding-place 
 of Zillah, and also to relinquish all claims to her 
 hand. After what had happened, Rustem did 
 not dare to interfere in any way, for he well 
 knew that the king would brook nothing of the 
 kind. He was grieved to know that his protege 
 was thus imprisoned, but all he dared to ask was 
 to be admitted to see him. The king informed 
 him if he would use his influence to bring the 
 youth to terms, he might have passage to the 
 dungeon. The satrap readily promised this, for 
 it had been his own purpose to do that same 
 thing. 
 
 " But he shall wait awhile first," said the king. 
 " He shall first taste of the prison, and then he 
 may be more pliant." 
 
 So the satrap had to wait a week, and at the 
 end of that time he went to see the youth. He 
 found him in good health, with his spirit broken 
 not at all. After embracing him, and explain 
 ing how things were going on in the world with 
 out, he came to the principal object of his visit. 
 He did not at first state what the king had said, 
 but upon his own responsibility did he urge the 
 youth to give up all ideas of claiming Zillah s 
 love, to give her up to the king, and promise to 
 make known her place of concealment as soon 
 as he should discover it. But all was of no 
 
 avail. Feridoon would not give up one point of 
 the position he had taken. Rustem urged and 
 argued, begged and entreated, but the youth was 
 firm. 
 
 " But," said the satrap, " you may be sure 
 that the king will keep you here until you com 
 ply with his wishes, even though you spend your 
 life here. Now, once more, listen to me. Under 
 no circumstances can you hope to enjoy this 
 damsel. If you relinquish your right to her 
 love, you will lose her, I know and so you will 
 if you remain here. And now see the reason to 
 obey the wishes of our monarch. By so doing 
 you will go forth to liberty, and then you will 
 soon find some other maiden who will make you 
 happy with her love. Be guided by me." 
 
 " Ah, my friend," replied Feridoon, with a 
 smile, " I can take my liberty whenever I wish. 
 They think I am stoutly chained ; so I am. But 
 see." And as he spoke, he slipped the irons 
 easily over his hands. " You see my hand is no 
 bigger than my wrist. Now, with these irons 
 off, how easily can I overcome my keeper when 
 he comes with provision, and then make my es 
 cape. But I do not wish to do so now. Yet do 
 not urge me any more on this point, for I will 
 not tear out the very joy and life of my soul to 
 please a wicked king. I am firm." 
 
 Rustem spent much more time in arguing the 
 point, but he at length turned away in despair. 
 
THE KING AND COBBLER. 
 
 47 
 
 He did not go as he came, however. From ar 
 gument and persuasion he passed to the authori 
 ty of a parent. He commanded the youth to 
 obey, and when, after much such commanding, 
 Feridoon remained still firm, he became angry. 
 He spoke hotly to the young man, but he receiv 
 ed only cool, calm words in reply. At length 
 the satrap went away, and his soul was angry 
 when he turned from the dungeon. One of the 
 most ancient and binding customs of the times 
 was the obedience of children to the commands 
 of parents, and Rustem now became nearly as 
 wroth as the king had been, and he told Feri- 
 doon that he was a wicked, ungrateful child, 
 and that no punishment could be more severe 
 than he deserved. 
 
 The youthful prisoner had cared but little for 
 the anger of the king, but he was deeply grieved 
 when he found that his protector was also angry, 
 and when he was left once more alone, he wept. 
 But when he came to reflect that right and jus 
 tice were on his side, he soon forgot his pain, 
 and contented himself with knowing that he had 
 done nothing which his inmost soul told him 
 was wrong. 
 
 And now how moved matters in the world 
 without the prison ? 
 
 The news of the imprisonment of Feridoon 
 soon spread throughout the great city, and peo 
 ple had the whole story by heart. The scene 
 that had transpired in the audience-chamber had 
 been all made known, and painted in its most 
 thrilling colors, and the people had learned all 
 the circumstances which had led to it. Zak Tu- 
 ran was a man generally known in the place, 
 and he was as generally beloved, and of course 
 the sympathies of the populace were with him, 
 his fair daughter and Feridoon. Sohrab was 
 feared, but never loved, and some of the bolder 
 of the people took up the matter and made 
 speech upon it at the street corners and in the 
 market-place. And then there was one other 
 source of excitement a source of which the 
 king little dreamed, and of which the reader 
 shall soon know. 
 
 One day (it was eight days after Feridoon had 
 been thrown into prison) the king sat all alone 
 in one of his own apartments. He had been 
 sitting thus for half an hour, and during that 
 time his lips had been moving with incoherent, 
 half-uttered sentences. Thus he sat, when an 
 attendant announced that Kanah was in waiting. 
 The old counsellor was at once admitted, and 
 there was trouble upon his countenance when he 
 entered, which the king at once saw. 
 
 " How now, good Kanah? No tidings of evil, 
 I hope." 
 
 The counsellor seemed to have had his course 
 all marked out before he entered the royal pres 
 ence, for he at once said : 
 
 " Sire, are you determined to prosecute your 
 claim to the daughter of Zak TuranT" 
 
 " Of a verity I am, good Kanah," quickly an 
 swered the king. " By my very life, that girl s 
 beauty haunts me night and day. I must have 
 her. And then, again, I have another reason. 
 I will not be thwarted in my first purpose. By 
 the heavens, Kanah, I should not survive the 
 chagrin of being overcome in so simple a plan." 
 
 " And yet, sire, the youth, Feridoon, must be 
 liberated." 
 
 " Not until he does my bidding." 
 
 "But your throne is not safe now. All 
 through the city the thing is making noise, and 
 the people are angry at what you have done." 
 
 " Then lash them into quiet !" 
 
 " That may not be so easily done. The peo 
 ple have now become like a man suffering under 
 some delicate malady which must be ministered 
 to with care and caution. They sympathize with 
 Feridoon, and as openly do they denounce your 
 majesty." 
 
 " Ha ! do they dare 1" 
 
 " Yes ; and they even threaten." 
 
 " Not me the king ?" 
 
 "Ay yourself, sire. But this is not all. They 
 have a most strange and powerful ally in the 
 person of Kobad, the astrologer. You have 
 heard of him ?" 
 
 "Ay, I have," returned the king; "yet I 
 never saw him. But what does he ?" 
 
 " He has preached to the people, and shown 
 them how you oppress them ; and in the present 
 case he has told them that Feridoon is one 
 raised up of God on purpose to save his people." 
 
 " Ha ! And does the arch-traitor sow rebel 
 lion so boldly ?" 
 
 " He does, sire ; and the people swallow it 
 most readily. At the street-corners and in the 
 market-place he makes much speech." 
 
 " Then why did ye not stay the rebel V 
 
 " I have had no chance." 
 
 " And my officers why have they not brought 
 him before me ?" 
 
 "For fear of arousing the people. It is true, 
 sire, that they are already chafed and sore, and 
 many of your officers are with them." 
 
 The king started from his chair, and would 
 
48 
 
 THE KING AND COBBLER. 
 
 have launched forth into a furious strain had not 
 the counsellor interrupted him. 
 
 " Sire," he resumed, in a persuasive, but yet 
 firm tone, " I have been planning for you. In 
 the first place a rebellion of this sort may be 
 quelled more easily by removing the cause than 
 in any other way. Now if you release Feridoon 
 from prison you will gain two points. First, 
 you will remove much of the cause of ill-feeling 
 among the people ; and, second, you may thus 
 find the damsel you seek." 
 
 " Ah," uttered the king, stopping in his walk 
 and seating himself again ; " how can that be ?" 
 
 " Set the youth at liberty, and then watch him. 
 In all probability he will soon make his way to 
 the place where the damsel is concealed, and if 
 he is watched, as he may be, of course you will 
 thus " 
 
 " I see, I see," exclaimed the king. " By my 
 life, it shall be done. The youth shall go and 
 the lovely Zillah shall be mine. But^mark me, 
 Kanah, I ll brook no more of this sedition. My 
 soldiers shall be set upon the guard over these 
 unruly tongues, and death shall most surely fall 
 upon him who dares speak thoughts of rebellion. 
 But your plan shall be followed, and you shall 
 have more work yet. Take eight of my most 
 trusty eunuchs, and set them upon the watch 
 over the youth s movements. They are keen, 
 quick-witted fellows, and they will know how to 
 work. Just give them their cue, and the rest 
 may devolve upon them without fear." 
 
 " I will do your bidding, sire." 
 
 " And fetch me this astrologer, too, Kanah. 
 By heavens ! bring him to me and I will put 
 him upon the speech of his life." 
 
 " It must be as you say, sire ; and still I would 
 recommend that he be not molested yet. The 
 people love him, for he is kind to them, and has 
 taught them much; and I have heard that to 
 him is this same Zillah indebted for her superior 
 attainments. He has been her constant tutor for 
 several years." 
 
 " And shall I, a king, submit to such things 1" 
 
 " Nay, sire, by no means. But wait and see 
 what effect the liberation of the young prisoner 
 has." 
 
 The king consented, after a while, so to do ; 
 but he saw that his counsellor had more yet to 
 say, and he urged him to speak. 
 
 " You must bear with me, sire, and know that 
 
 I simply speak for your good," said Kanah, with 
 evident reluctance. 
 
 " Speak on." 
 
 " Then, my king, why not give over this pur 
 suit after the damsel ?" 
 
 "How, Kanah? Give up Zillah, do you 
 mean ?" 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 " By my life, no ! Sooner shall half my king 
 dom sink to everlasting ruin ! She must be 
 mine, for I love her ; and I will not be turned 
 from my purpose by the rabble. Now urge this 
 point no more." 
 
 Kanah knew that urging would be useless, and 
 he let the matter drop, and shortly afterwards he 
 went away with the order for Feridoon s release. 
 He went himself to the dungeon, and he found the 
 prisoner just eating his supper. He told the 
 youth that he was free, and when the latter asked 
 to know why he was thus liberated, he was told 
 that the king had resolved to let the matter drop. 
 
 " And," continued Kanah, " I trust you will 
 be wise in future, and, for the sake of peace, 
 sacrifice a little of your own personal desire." 
 
 " But the king has not found Zillah the dam 
 sel of whom such mention has been made V ut 
 tered Feridoon in tones of sudden fear. 
 
 " No ; he is making no search for her." 
 
 With this assurance Feridoon left the prison, 
 and made his way at once to his protector s 
 dwelling. Rustem was of course much surprised 
 at seeing the youth, and it was some time before 
 he could be made to believe that he had been set 
 at liberty by order of the king, but when he did 
 realize that his protege had been really set free 
 by royal will, he did not exhibit that deep joy 
 which Feridoon had anticipated. Our hero was 
 not long in arriving at the conclusion that his 
 father was yet angry with him, and without fur 
 ther remark he went at once to his own apart 
 ments. 
 
 The youth s servants had learned of their mas 
 ter s arrival, and they crowded about him with 
 wild, unfeigned joy. This made our hero happy, 
 for he had found friends, and he stopped not to 
 inquire in his heart how stood their rank. He 
 enjoyed their truth and devotion, and he balanced 
 them in the scale of his own judgment, and they 
 proved to be better men than many who might 
 buy and sell them. 
 
CHAPTER XL 
 
 THE CAVE. CLOUDS. 
 
 PERIDOON had not been in his apartment ten 
 minutes ere he was both surprised and pleased 
 by the entrance of Kobad, the astrologer. He 
 started quickly forward to embrace the venerable 
 sage, and when he had done this, he wished to 
 know how the intelligence of his release was so 
 quickly spread. 
 
 " I saw you dome from the palace/ returned 
 Kobad. And then he wished to know upon 
 what terms the release had been made. 
 
 Feridoon explained it all related au that Ka- 
 nah had told him, also how lie had been treated 
 in his prison house. 
 
 "And now," he said, with much earnestness, 
 " may I not see Zillah ?" 
 
 The old man was silent for a few moments. 
 
 " You will not refuse me ?" 
 
 " No, no," slowly and thoughtfully pronounced 
 the sage. "But that the king has given up the 
 idea of obtaining Zillah, I do not believe. You, 
 my son, have been released only that he may 
 find her the more speedily. He knows you will 
 find her if you can, and his spies will track yotf 
 to her place of refuge. Do you not see it ?" 
 
 " I see that such may be the case," replied the 
 youth. 
 
 " Ay and we must be governed as though 
 we knew it were the case. You shall see Zillah 
 to-night, but we must move carefully. 8>he, pow 
 
 girl, needs to see you much, for her fear for you? 
 safety has been great, nor could all my positive 
 assurances give her soul peace or quiet." 
 
 This served to make the youth more anxious 
 to set out, and it was at length arranged that 
 Feridoon should disguise himself as an old man, 
 and then start as soon as it should become dark. 
 The astrologer took it upon himself to procure 
 the disguise, and to this end it was necessary that 
 he should depart at once. It was just nightfall 
 when he returned, and he brought with him the 
 garb and the white wig and flowing beard of an 
 old man. The ardent youth quickly clothed 
 himself, and having promised not to let his gait 
 betray him, Kobad started to lead the way. 
 
 Instead of passing directly out into the street, 
 Ivobad led the way out through the gardens back 
 of the Satrap s palace, and entered not a street 
 till he had left the palace a mile behind him, 
 FeridoOn walked with a stout staff, and he took 
 good care to stoop and shuffle along, so that his 
 gait might not belie his white beard and flowing 
 garb. Had our two adventurers stopped and 
 listened attentively, they might at times have de 
 tected a stealthy footstep near them 1 , and had 
 they been able to observe everything about them, 
 they might have seen a dark figure crouching 
 away continually in the darkest places, but still 
 hanging upo-n their footsteps. But they neithe? 
 
60 
 
 THE KING AND COBBLER, 
 
 heard nor saw anything to give them alarm. 
 They felt sure that with such precautions as 
 they had taken, they were safe, 
 
 After Kobad had passed beyond t*he point 
 where the officers of the king were in the habit 
 of ending their excursions, he quickened his pace. 
 His course was towards the northwestern section 
 of the city, and in three hours from the time of 
 starting, he came to the confines of the town, 
 which at that point were flanked by high, per 
 pendicular cliffs, all jagged and broken by abrupt 
 angles and huge masses of fallen rock. Here 
 the astrologer gazed carefully about him, but he 
 saw no one, and yet, not far off to the right, be 
 hind a projecting mass of rock, there was some 
 thing that had life and motion. A dark object 
 had glided in there only half a minute before the 
 sage made his survey. 
 
 Kobad s next movement was to pass on to 
 where a thick clump of wild mulberry bushes 
 grew, and having worked his way through these 
 he came to a small deposit of sand which ap 
 peared once to have been the bed of a stream or 
 pool. Here he waited until Feridoon was by his 
 side, and then he brushed away a lot of sand 
 close by the point of a stone that projected out 
 in a shaft from the adjoining cliff, and having 
 done this a ring of iron was revealed. This he 
 seized, and by it he raised a trap door of wood, 
 revealing thus an aperture some three feet square, 
 at the mouth of which appeared some steps 
 which were also of wood. He bade the youth 
 pass down and then he followed, carefully clos 
 ing the door behind him. 
 
 These steps were only six in number, and 
 when our hero had reached the bottom of them 
 he found himself obliged to stoop slightly in 
 order to avoid the rock which formed the ceiling 
 of the passage, for a passage it must be, since 
 he could feel the solid rock upon both hands. 
 As soon as Kobad had closed the door and come 
 down, he took the youth by the hand, and having 
 bidden him to stoop, he passed on slowly, mak 
 ing several abrupt turns, until at length he 
 reached a point where tiny rays of light could 
 be seen shining through chinks in the rock. 
 Here Kobad stopped and kicked With his sandal, 
 and in a moment more a door opened and 
 Feridoon found himself in the presence of Zillah. 
 
 There was a quick cry of joy from the lips of 
 the lovely maiden, a low murmur of love from 
 the enraptured youth, and then those loving 
 hearts were pressed together, and their beatings 
 of love were accompanied by bright, warm tears 
 of pure and holy joy. 
 
 " And you are free free from the power of 
 the unholy king," murmured Zillah, as she 
 gased up into the face of her lover. 
 
 " Yes, light of my soul ; and how blessed is 
 that freedom, since it brings me to thee S" 
 
 " Ah, my soul s master," returned Zillah, 
 with sparkling eyes and waking smiles, " how 
 lovely becomes this cave in the rock when you 
 are with me. Until now it has been dark and 
 cheerless, and my soul has been heavy and sad, 
 for fear of harm to thee has dwelt heavily upon 
 me. But joy cometh now." 
 
 Thus spoke the lovers, and when their passions 
 had become more calm, Feridoon turned to Zak 
 Turan and his wife. They were both well and 
 in good humor, and the joy they experienced at 
 seeing the youth was too- plainly written upon 
 their faces to admit any doubt touching its reali 
 ty. There was also a black slave in the cave ; 
 he was a faithful servant whom the astrologer 
 had provided. 
 
 As soon as Feridoon had time to look about 
 him, he saw that the strange apartment to which 
 he had been thus conducted, owed nothing to tho 
 art of man save the concealment of the entrance 
 and the wooden steps. It was a single cham 
 ber, some thirty feet square, with walls very 
 regular in their angles and surfaces, and not far 
 from twenty feet high. The ceiling was rough 
 and jagged, the rock hanging therefrom in points 
 and curiously stellated forms, While in the back 
 part there was a long fissure through which the 
 place was ventilated, and which in the daytime 
 admitted light. This aperture opened outside 
 upon the face of the cliff opposite from the city, 
 and at a point almost inaccessible, so that there 
 was no danger of the place being discovered 
 from that quarter. 
 
 Upon inquiry our hero was told that this cave 
 had been found only a few years previously, and 
 that none living, save those now present, knew 
 of its existence. Nearly two hours were passed 
 by Feridoon in sweet conversation with Zillah, 
 and at the end of that time the youth turned to 
 wards the venerable sage, for there were some 
 doubts upon his mind he would have cleared up. 
 
 " My father," he said, " it surely seems a 
 safe place here for our friends safe from the 
 immediate power of the wicked king but what 
 is to be in the future ? How are we ever to find 
 safety for them in any other place ? For surely 
 we cannot imagine that a life can be blessed with 
 much joy that is forced to spend itself here." 
 
 " Most assuredly not," replied the astrologer 
 
THE KING AND COBBLER. 
 
 51 
 
 ** and I trust that they will not be forced long 
 to remain here." 
 
 The youth gazed into Kobad s face, in hopes 
 that he would say more, but he did not, so he 
 asked further : 
 
 " But how shall they find safety to live in the 
 city, or even within the kingdom, as other peo 
 ple do ?" 
 
 Feridoon waited some moments, but the old 
 man did not answer ; and he continued : 
 
 " The king, if your suspicions are correct, still 
 means to seize upon Zillah whenever he can." 
 
 " I am sure he does," Kobad said. 
 
 " Then how tell me if you know how, oh 
 how, shall our lovely Zillah find safety from his 
 wicked arts, were she to remove back into the 
 city V 
 
 " That is more than I can tell you now," an 
 swered Kobad, with his head bowed, and his 
 hand pressed hard upon his brow. " Yet I feel 
 that the time is not far distant when that season 
 of safety shall come. My son," he continued, 
 while his voice sank to a low, thrilling tone, and 
 his eyes were raised partly heavenward, " I can 
 see in the future many things that are hidden 
 from you, and from other mortals. I can see 
 storms and tempests ; and I can see sunshine 
 and calms ; and in the midst of all I can see a 
 spirit of bright presence that holds the destiny 
 of the beautiful Zillah in its hand. I may not 
 read the future to you now, but be assured that 
 to me the scroll is opened and that I can read 
 its import faithfully. You may hope for the 
 best, and unless some darker power than any I 
 now see shall arise upon the scene, all will be 
 well." 
 
 Feridoon pondered awhile upon these words, 
 and he concluded to ask no more questions. If 
 the astrologer meant him well, then he knew 
 enough already ; and if evil was meant, then 
 surely questions would be of no avail. But upon 
 this latter proposition his mind only glanced 
 upon an idea which flitted by in the usual course 
 of thought, for he felt no more fear of evil in 
 tent in the soul of Kobad than he did of falsehood 
 in the breast of his own beloved. Yet he was 
 anxious he was anxious for the time when he 
 could call Zillah his own and have no fears come 
 to mar his peace. 
 
 And it is not strange that he should have still 
 experienced some anxiety respecting the final 
 consummation of this good, for he could not con 
 ceive how it was to be done. Yet he resolved 
 to trust his aged friend, and school his heart to 
 
 rest content with the assurance he had just re 
 ceived. 
 
 At length Kobad arose and signified his pur 
 pose of retiring. Feridoon drew Zillah upon his 
 bosom and spoke a few more hurried words of 
 love, and then he was ready to depart. He re 
 placed the false beard and hair upon his face and 
 head, and having taken his staff he followed Ko 
 bad from the place, with the promise, however, 
 that on the second night from that he should 
 visit his loved one again. 
 
 When Feridoon reached the surface of the 
 earth once more, he found that dark clouds were 
 rising up into the heavens from the westward, 
 and that they had already drawn their sombre 
 veils over most of the stars. He turned his gaze 
 upon the high cliffs behind him, and a strange 
 awe crept over his soul as he saw how black 
 and drear they lifted their rugged peaks against 
 the clouded sky. Not far from him, where a 
 mass of disconnected rocks seemed ready to 
 come tumbling down upon iiim, there was an 
 object that might have startled him had he given 
 it particular note. It did not move, nor did it 
 look unlike the small columns of dark granite 
 that surrounded it, and yet a very close observer 
 would have been struck with the strange resenv 
 blance which that object bore to the human 
 form. And more than this : had Feridoon been 
 perfectly versed in each separate conformation 
 of the rocks about that spot, he would have seen 
 that this one must have become located there 
 very recently, for surely there was no such thing 
 there three hours before ! 
 
 But the clouds rolled up into the heavens 
 more heavily and gloomy, and the aoul of the 
 youth became oppressed with a sense of disquiet 
 amounting to a strange sort of dread. 
 
 " These clouds are fortunate," remarked Ko 
 bad, after they had started on their way, " for 
 now the darkness will most safely hide us from 
 the gaze of any who may cross us on our way." 
 
 "But they affect me strangely," returned Feri 
 doon, in a low, nervous tone. 
 
 " How so ?" asked the sage. 
 
 " They throw a leaden weight upon my soul, 
 and seem to obscure the brightness I had learned 
 my hopes to dwell in." 
 
 " That is a mere whim. To your young and 
 ardent feelings everything should be bright and 
 joyous, but when you are older you shall find 
 that clouds are not easily dispensed with, even in 
 our own hopes and aspirations. One continuous 
 glare of light would be tiresome to the vision, 
 
52 
 
 THE KING AND COBBLEK. 
 
 and one unbroken chain of joy would soon cloy 
 the senses. Clouds are but the relief given by 
 an all-wise Maker to throw the better parts of 
 life s picture more vividly out." 
 
 " True/ answered Feridoon. " I know what 
 you mean ; but now my soul is really oppressed." 
 
 " Then rise above it. Shake off the fear, and 
 smile with the hopes I would give you." 
 
 The youth made no answer to this remark, 
 but with his head bowed and his hands clasped 
 behind him he followed on by the side of his 
 friend. He would have been cheerful if he could, 
 but he could not. 
 
 At length they reached the palace of the sa 
 trap, and as it was near morning, Kobad accept 
 ed the youth s invitation to remain with him 
 awhile and sleep. Feridoon called one of his 
 attendants and bade him keep watch near the 
 door, and not to allow him to be disturbed until 
 the sun should have been up, at least, three 
 hours. 
 
 And both the old man and the young retired. 
 The sage soon fell asleep, and his rest was sure 
 and sound, j^fot so the youth. He closed his 
 eyes, but sleep "would not come to him. There 
 
 was another idea in possession of his faculties". 
 Once his senses became lost beneath a drowsy 
 weight, but no sooner were the actual things of 
 life shut out, than he began to dream. He was 
 again in the cave with Zillah, and while he 
 pressed her to his bosom he was aroused by a 
 loud, rumbling noise, and upon looking up he 
 saw the top of the cave open, and an enormous 
 afrite came down and seized upon Zillah and 
 bore her away from him. He cried out so loud 
 that cne of his slaves came to his bedside to see 
 what was the matter. The youth grasped the 
 poor fellow by the neck, and would most assur 
 edly have strangled him had not a sense of his 
 real situation come opportunely to his mind. 
 When he first saw that black face bending over 
 him he only remembered the foul afrite of whom 
 he had just dreamed. 
 
 At length, however, just as the heavy clouds 
 which had been gathering in the heavens began 
 to empty themselves upon the earth in quick- 
 falling drops, he sank into a deeper slumber, 
 and the fatigue of the body overcame for a while 
 the vagaries of the mind. 
 
CHAPTER XII. 
 
 IN THE TOILS.j 
 
 AFIEK Feridoon and Kobad had left the cave, 
 the inmates spent some little time in conversing 
 upon the subject that had been broached by the 
 youth. Zillah seemed to have hung with much 
 anxiety upon the answers of the astrologer, for 
 she had a deep interest therein. 
 
 " My father," she said, addressing Zak Turan, 
 " why will you not tell me the secret of Kobad s 
 deep interest in both toe and Feridoon ?" 
 
 " Why, you know as well as I," the father re 
 turned. " He has often told you that he loved 
 you for your kindness and goodness, and hence 
 he has taken pleasure in instructing you ; and is 
 it not a natural consequence that he should love 
 you, after having for a while enjoyed your so 
 ciety ?" 
 
 " But what should have induced him at first 
 to come to me V 
 
 " He saw you first by accident. He came one 
 night past my stall, all footsore and weary, and 
 he begged of me to give him food and rest. I 
 took him in and ministered to his wants, and he 
 remained beneath my roof several days, having 
 become so worn down by fatigue as to be really 
 unable to pursue his way. During that time 
 you ministered wholly to his wants, for your 
 mother was busy with household duties, and 
 to. tell the truth, she was not in the best of hu 
 mors at having such a helpless stranger on her 
 hands." 
 
 " I remember that !" said Zillah. 
 
 " And do you remember," resumed the cob 
 bler, with a meaning twinkle in his sharp, gray 
 eye, " how fondly your mother used to speak of 
 our guest ? how sweet and mild were the words 
 she selected for her modes of expression when 
 making allusion to the old man ?" 
 
 "Mark ye, Zak Turan," uttered Rudabah, 
 shaking her finger menacingly in her husband s 
 face, " you are well now, and your face becomes 
 you well for such a piece of humanity as you 
 chance to be ; but beware that you don t get it 
 marked in a way that wont be so pleasant." 
 
 " Ha, ha, ha," laughed the cobbler. " I know 
 your prowess well, my sweet angel, but surely 
 you will not seek offence in the words I uttered. 
 Did I not say that your words were sweet and 
 mild ?" 
 
 " Ay, but what meant you ?" 
 
 " Did I not speak the truth when I said so ?" 
 
 "No, Zak Turan." 
 
 " Bless me, my angel, I did not think, when 
 I sought to make it appear that you always spoke 
 sweetly, that you would give the lie to my mean 
 ing." 
 
 The wife tried hard to be angry, but there 
 was such a blaze of good nature upon the round, 
 ruddy face of her lord, that she could not. 
 
 " Answer me one more question," said Zillah, 
 
54 
 
 THE KING AND COBBLER, 
 
 as soon as her mother was quiet. " What firs 
 induced the astrologer to bring Feridoon to me ? 
 " I know not, I m sure. He never gave me 
 any reason, save that the youth was worthy o 
 your love ; and I think he was right in that." 
 
 Zillah s eyes sparkled as her father thus spoke, 
 for her own heart gave a thrilling assent to his 
 words, and instead of asking more questions, she 
 communed with her own thoughts. There was 
 much to perplex her in the circumstance of her 
 introduction to Feridoon, and also in the care 
 which Kobad manifested for her welfare ; but 
 she did not allow it to annoy her, for she found 
 too much joy in the very source of her diffi 
 culty. 
 
 Nearly an hour had passed away since their 
 visitors had gone, and Zak Turan had arisen for 
 the purpose of retiring, when his attention was 
 arrested by a sound from the mouth of the cave. 
 He stopped and listened, and in a moment more 
 he was sure he heard some one descending the 
 wooden stairs. 
 
 " Kobad has returned," he said, as he became 
 assured that his ears had not deceived him. 
 
 "But why?" uttered Zillah, who felt some 
 fear. ^ 
 
 "Perhaps there is threatening of a storm. 
 The air comes down through our window cold 
 and damp, and I can see no stars up there as 
 usual." 
 
 " But by this time he would have been more, 
 much more than half way to the palace of Eus- 
 tem." 
 
 " You forget that half of the time that has 
 passed must have been spent in returning." 
 
 This thought, together with the hope of see 
 ing Feridoon, served to dispel the maiden s 
 fears, and she waited with anxiety for the open 
 ing of the inner door. And yet, all was not 
 joy in her heart; there was a lurking dread 
 there, which manifested itself in a trembling, 
 heaving breath, and in a clasping of the hands 
 upon her bosom in a prayerful attitude. 
 
 " Surely," uttered Eudabah, " Kobad would 
 not blunder about in that fashion !" 
 
 " Unless there has been some accident," quick 
 ly suggested the cobbler. 
 
 " 0," cried Zillah, " if Feridoon has been 
 hurt !" 
 
 As she gave this utterance breath, there came 
 a smart knock upon the door, and Zak Turan 
 stepped quickly to it. 
 
 " Who is there. ?" he asked- 
 
 " Feridoon," answered some one from with 
 out, in a strained tone. 
 
 The cobbler immediately opened the door, and 
 on the next moment half a dozen soldiers rushed 
 into the apartment of the cave. Zillah saw the 
 steel-bound garbs of the new comers, and with 
 a wild cry she started back, but she had no place 
 of refuge. 
 
 i " Who are ye ?" inquired Zak Turan, as soon 
 as he could command his speech. 
 
 " We are from the king," was the reply of the 
 officer who led the soldiers. 
 
 " And how found ye entrance here ?" was the 
 poor cobbler s next question, he being moved 
 almost as much by astonishment as by fear. 
 
 "This faithful servant of the king brought us 
 hither," replied the officer, pointing to one of 
 the eunuchs of the royal palace. 
 
 " And for what have ye come ?" 
 
 "For yon beautiful damsel whom we see 
 crouching away as though she feared us." 
 
 Zillah sunk down on her knees and clasped 
 ler hands, and on the next moment her mother 
 sprang towards her and made an attempt to 
 protect her, but she was quickly disposed of by 
 jeing seized and pushed away. J2ak Turan 
 mew that his interference would only tend to 
 make matters worse, and he wisely refrained 
 rora any physical demonstration. But he sank 
 down upon his knees and implored the officer to 
 spare his child. 
 
 Now mark ye," said the officer, and it was 
 an answer to all that could be possibly said, " the 
 ting has sent me to bring this damsel to him, 
 md when some one more powerful than the king 
 ihall interfere, I may listen." 
 
 " Then listen to the voice of God !" cried Zil- 
 ah, " O, carry me not to the royal palace !" 
 
 "But you are not God, nor does he speak 
 hrough you, for our king is God s most faithful 
 icrvant. Come, and let me have no cause to 
 jive you bodily pain, for the king s orders must 
 DC obeyed." 
 
 As the officer thus spoke, he seized the maiden 
 
 y the arm and raised her to her feet, and then 
 
 calling his companions to his assistance, they 
 
 raised her from her feet and bore her towards 
 
 he mouth of the cave. 
 
 Father! father ! O, my father!" Zillah 
 ;ried, in agonizing accents. " Save me ! save 
 me!" 
 
 Zak Turan sprang forward and laid his hand 
 upon the shoulder of the officer, but hardly had 
 
 done so when he received a blow upon the 
 
THE KING AND COBBLER. 
 
 55 
 
 head that laid him prostrate upon the hard rock, 
 and while Rudabah sprang to the assistance of 
 her husband, Zillah was borne from the place. 
 As soon as the soldiers reached the level ground 
 outside the cave they formed a sort of litter 
 of their spears, upon which they placed their 
 own outer garments and then laid their prize 
 upon them. Four of the stoutest men shoul 
 dered the litter thus provided, and then the 
 party set forward at a brisk walk. Zillah said 
 no more, for she knew it v/ould be useless, and 
 the only sounds that issued from her lips were 
 the deep groans of anguish that she could not 
 keep back. She was truly miserable now. 
 
 The clouds which had been gathering thick 
 and black in the heavens now hung over the 
 earth like a suspended ocean, and ere long great 
 drops of rain began to descend and patter upon 
 the earth. The soldiers stopped and set the lit 
 ter down, and having taken some of the gar- 
 meats upon which Zillah was lying they placed 
 them over her, and having covered her up as 
 well as they could, they resumed their march at 
 a quickened pace, 
 
 Ere long the rain came down in torrents, and 
 the spirit of darkness brooded over the earth 
 more powerfully than before. Those who bore 
 the litter could now hardly see the ground upon 
 which they trod, and but for the faint reflection 
 of the raindrops they would have been in a 
 gloom as dark as chaos itself. Yet they kept 
 on, for they had now reached that part of the city 
 where their duty often called them, and they 
 had an instinctive sense of the proper course. 
 The officer walked in advance, and ever and 
 anon he would stop to listen in order to hear if 
 his followers were upon his track, and several 
 times when he did thus, his first assurance of the 
 proximity of the soldiers was given by their run 
 ning against him. 
 
 And all this while poor Zillah was drenched 
 to the skin, and the chilling grasp of the storm 
 had sank its touch to her very heart. She was 
 very cold, and her frame shook as with a spasm. 
 Once she begged her abductors to find some 
 shelter. They held a momentary consultation, 
 but they did not stop. 
 
 But the journey was to have an end, and at 
 length the royal palace was reached, and the sol 
 diers soon gave up their charge to the king s 
 trusty eunuchs, who conveyed Zillah to a com 
 fortable apartment, where attendants of her own 
 sex were found to wait upon her. 
 
 The king slept and the eunuchs chose aot to 
 
 awaken him. They resolved to let the news keep 
 for him until morning, and in the meantime to 
 have Zillah restored to a condition of rest and 
 comfort. 
 
 The women into whose hands the poor maiden 
 was now given, saw that she was chilled by her 
 recent exposure, and they quickly concocted a 
 restoring cordial, and then placed her in a warm 
 bed. Her exhausted system sank under the in 
 fluence of the cordial and the wooing bed; and 
 she soon slept. Luckily for her, she was so ut 
 terly exhausted that she could not dream, and 
 she passed some hours of sweet, refreshing sleep. 
 
 When Zillah awoke she found that the storm 
 had passed away, and that the sun was shining 
 brightly through the lattice near her bed. It 
 was sometime before she could fully realize what 
 had passed, and it was not until she saw several 
 strange, black faces about her bed that she re 
 membered whither she had been carried the night 
 before. 
 
 " Will our noble lady dress ?" asked one of 
 the female slaves, deferentially. 
 
 Zillah started up at the sound of these words, 
 for they conveyed to her mind in an instant the 
 whole startling truth. None but a favorite of 
 the king s would be addressed thus ! 
 
 " Who are ye ?" the poor girl gasped, hardly 
 knowing what she said. 
 
 " We are sent to serve thee. And," continued 
 one who had a pleasant cast of features, albeit 
 they were black and coarse, "we have heard 
 something of thy story, and would advise thee 
 for thy good. Dress as we shall direct, and re 
 ceive the king." 
 
 Zillah lay back upon her pillow, and for some 
 moments she pondered upon her situation. She 
 was not without a fair share of personal courage 
 save when brute force was brought against her, 
 for from this she shrank in terror. She saw that 
 she had better not commence by utter obstinacy, 
 and soon she arose from her bed and allowed 
 herself to be dressed. She was at first dazzled 
 by the gorgeous apparel they put upon her. The 
 rich stuffs of gold cloth, the sparkling jewels, 
 the flowing robe of spotless silk, the redolent 
 perfumes and the softly gleaming pearls that 
 went last upon her pure white brow, all seemed 
 for a while to enchain her senses in bewilder 
 ment. But there was no pride, no joy, in the 
 sensation, for she felt herself to be but as the 
 gaudily bedecked lamb that is prepared for the 
 sacrifice. 
 
 When all this vras done when the maidea 
 
56 
 
 THE KING AND COBBLER. 
 
 was thus prepared she was led from the sleep 
 ing apartment out through a long corridor, and 
 finally into a room which surpassed in magnifi 
 cence anything of which she had ever conceived. 
 It was a spacious place, with a floor of mosaic 
 marble, laid in tiny bits of various colors, so as 
 to represent pictures of various kinds, while in 
 the centre played a fountain of sparkling water. 
 The roof was supported by marble pillars, back 
 of which hung a tapestry of gold cloth on three 
 sides, while on the fourth the scene opened upon 
 a garden of most beautiful shrubs and flowers. 
 The seats in the apartment, which were of rich 
 fabric sumptuously draped and stuffed with 
 down, were supported upon small lions of gold, 
 and all the other furniture and trappings were 
 equally rich and costly. 
 
 Here Zillah was left alone. She did not no 
 tice the slight pain that had crept into her head, 
 for the excitement of the occasion overcame all 
 that. She had been alone only a few moments 
 when a section of the tapestry was drawn aside, 
 and in a moment more the king appeared before 
 her. 
 
 Sohrab stopped when he had gained a position 
 in front of the maiden, and gazed upon her with 
 a rapture almost approaching delirium. Never 
 before had she looked more beautiful. There 
 was a flush upon her cheeks outvieing the very 
 roses that crept up about the columns of the 
 garden, and in her eyes shone a light that might 
 hold wager with the stars. 
 
 " Zillah," spoke the king, at length, " heaven 
 seems all crowded into this one moment of my 
 life. O, most lovely of thy sex, thou knowest 
 not what pangs I have suffered with the fear 
 that I might lose thee, nor can tongue tell the 
 joy that at this moment pervades my senses when 
 I find that thou art truly mine." 
 
 "Thine!" uttered the maiden, in a shrill, trem 
 bling whisper. 
 
 " Ay for thou art surely : mine now, and thou 
 shalt find how truly a king can love." 
 
 " Then you do love me 1" 
 
 " Love thee ? 0, with my very life. To thy 
 slightest wish shall half my kingdom be sub 
 ject." 
 
 "Then," murmured Zillah, sinking quickly 
 down upon her knees, " give to me my liberty 
 and let me go my way. O, what can be more 
 easy for you to do than this ?" 
 
 The king s countenance changed. 
 
 " You should not ask that," he said. 
 
 " But it is the prayer of my heart." 
 
 " And yet I cannot grant it, for it would break 
 my own heart to do so. No, no you will not 
 persist in such a demand." 
 
 Zillah arose to her feet "and stood before the 
 king. She looked upon him, and she saw a man 
 who had reached the downhill of life, whose head 
 already bore the frost of years in silver touches 
 laid on thick and white, and whose face showed 
 the marks of the libertine and the debauchee. 
 She at first would have shrunk from the mon 
 arch with fear and loathing, but a sense of the 
 wrong that had been heaped upon her gave her 
 courage, and the regal station of her oppressor 
 gave him an importance that might not be passed 
 over with mere disdain. She remembered how 
 he had stolen in upon the sanctity of her home, 
 and had even abused the holy boon of charity 
 to the fatal injury of those who bestowed it. 
 Then she remembered how he had sent to seize 
 her how he had even sent messengers of death 
 upon the man who would have protected her. 
 These thoughts passed quickly, yet vividly, 
 through her mind ; and then she thought of what 
 must be the will of such a man. Next she dwelt 
 upon his power, and the picture was not promis 
 ing of joy to her. 
 
 " Sire !" she said, returning the king s look 
 with one of the deepest agony, " you will not 
 keep me here against my will you will not 
 force me to remain with you, when you are as 
 sured that each moment of my sojourn beneath 
 this roof is a dagger of death to my soul. O, 
 you are a powerful king, and I but one of the 
 meanest of your subjects." 
 
 " Hold ! Zillah ! You are not so. You are 
 not my subject you are mistress of my heart, 
 keeper of my affections, and ruler of my joy." 
 
 " Say not so, sire !" 
 
 " But it is the truth. Your fate is wrapped 
 up in the same sphere with mine own. You are 
 mine mine to love and to adore." 
 
 Zillah sank back upon her seat once more and 
 buried her face in her hands, and while she sat 
 thus the king seated himself beside her and 
 passed his arm around her neck. She felt the 
 touch she felt the hot breath strike her face 
 and, in a moment more she felt his lips sealed 
 upon her cheek. This broke the spell. This 
 startled the maiden back to life, and she felt her 
 whole soul take fire with indignation and con 
 tempt. With a quick, energetic movement she 
 sprang from the royal embrace, and then with 
 her hands clasped before her she cried : 
 
 " Touch me not again ! Your embrace is 
 
THE KING AND COBBLER. 
 
 57 
 
 worse than death a thousand times. Kill me if 
 you will, but touch me not I" 
 
 "Beware, Zillah !" uttered Sohrab, turning 
 pale and trembling. "Beware how you excite 
 me to wrath !" 
 
 " Did I not tell thee, king, that I would rather 
 die than suffer your embrace ? O, your wrath 
 would be to me a blessing when compared to 
 your love." 
 
 "Ay but ye shall have both. I ll love thee 
 I ll make thee my wife and then I ll hate 
 thee as I would a toad !" 
 
 Zillah shrank away from the king, for his 
 words fell like hot coals upon her heart, and his 
 face showed that he meant all he said. She 
 knew his power ; she knew that no Feridoon 
 could save her now, and under the emotions thus 
 brought up she might have sank senseless down 
 had not one of the black eunuchs at that mo 
 ment made his appearance. 
 
 " How now, slave ?" cried Sohrab. 
 
 " The satraps and the judges are arrived, and 
 the people clamor for audience, sire." 
 
 " Go tell them I will be with them anon." 
 
 The slave disappeared, and as soon as he was 
 gone, the monarch turned to Zillah. His face 
 had assumed an iron firmness, and his eyes 
 gleamed with a strange fire, seeming half exulta 
 tion, with some wrath and a touch of hatred. 
 He raised his finger towards the maiden, until it 
 pointed directly into her face, and then he said, 
 in a low, hissing tone, but with measured ac 
 cents : 
 
 " Zillah, the duties of my office call me now 
 to the throne, but I shall return to you. This 
 night, when you retire, you will be my wife. 
 Do you hear me !" 
 
 Zillah hesitated for one moment, and then she 
 sprang forward and sank down at the mon 
 arch s feet, with her clasped hands raised towards 
 him. 
 
 " Sire !" she cried, " O, for the love of heav 
 en, release me from this place. I cannot love 
 you as a husband, for my heart is another s ; 
 but let me go let ie depart in purity and 
 peace and as my king I will love you always 
 and pray for you with every prayer of my 
 heart." 
 
 " So, so, pretty one you look most beautiful 
 now at my feet." 
 
 " Answer me, sire ! 0, answer me, and 
 when you speak remember that God looks 
 down upon us." 
 
 " I ohoose not to trouble myself with anything 
 above the earth at this present time," was the 
 king s cold reply. " But listen I saw you and 
 loved you, for you were the most beautiful be 
 ing upon whom my eyes had ever rested. I re 
 solved that you should be mine, and I sent for 
 you, little dreaming that any one would dare 
 resist the orders of the king. You know that 
 I have had some trouble in obtaining you, but 
 you are here at length, and my wish is grati 
 fied. Now you may be my wife, and be among 
 the happiest of the happy, with every wish cared 
 for and every whim, even, regarded ; or you 
 may be my wife and be as miserable as you 
 choose for my Avife you shall be, even though 
 death stood by your side, and I had to em 
 brace you both together ! Now you have had 
 an answer to all your questions and all your 
 prayers." 
 
 Zillah arose and walked slowly to the seat 
 where she had before rested, and with a deep 
 groan she sank down upon it. The king gazed 
 at her a moment in silence, and then he said : 
 
 " Remember I shall be with you anon, and 
 you must love me. The miser shall, unasked, 
 give all his store in noble charity ere I give up 
 thee ! The doting mother, in her own right 
 mind, shall give her darling infant to feed the 
 dogs, ere I give one claim of mine upon thee 
 away ! Thou art mine mine to share my bed, 
 and my love if you will." 
 
 When Zillah next looked up she was alone. 
 The words she had heard rang wildly in her 
 ears, and her heart throbbed painfully in her 
 bosom. She gazed upon the gaudy tapestry 
 which was still in motion from the king s touch, 
 and her brain commenced to reel. She remem 
 bered how the persecutor had looked how his 
 eyes had gleamed, his teeth grated and his face 
 paled, and a faintncss gathered about her heart. 
 She walked to the open balcony that looked 
 out upon the garden, but she noticed not the 
 fragrance of the zephyrs that came up from the 
 thousand bursting roses and aromatic shrubs. 
 She went to the fountain and bathed her brow 
 in the cool water, for she felt a strange oppres 
 sion there a close, confined sensation, accom 
 panied by a burning heat. She felt her steps 
 tottering she knew that her strength was leav 
 ing her, and she had just time to reach her seat 
 once more, when the last spark of conscious 
 ness went out, and she sank down faint and 
 insensible. 
 
CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 A MOST STARTLING INTERVIEW. 
 
 WHEN Zuk Turan and his wife were left alone 
 with their serving man, they were in a state of 
 bewilderment for a while, that almost shut out 
 the realization of pain. Rudabah first hastened 
 to the assistance of her husband, but she found 
 that he had not been hurt, only slightly stunned 
 by the blow he had received. As soon as they 
 were really capable of calm reflection, Zak Tu 
 ran resolved to hasten away at once and hunt up 
 Kobad. Accordingly he left his wife and slave 
 in charge of the cave, and made his way out, 
 bidding them, ere he left, to keep the inner door 
 fastened and not to open it save to tho se whom 
 they knew to be friends. 
 
 Shortly after the cobbler left the cave the rain 
 began to fall, but he noticed it not. Pie only 
 hastened on as before, for he had started at a 
 speed as swift as he could maintain. His first 
 stopping place was the palace of the satrap Rus- 
 tem, for he naturally concluded that the sage 
 would have stopped with Feridoon. At the gate 
 he found a slave sleeping beneath the shelter of 
 an arch, and of him he inquired if the astrol 
 oger was within. The slave said no. 
 
 " And has Feridoon returned ?" 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 " And are you sure that an old man did not 
 come with him ?" 
 
 "Don t know," returned the slave, rubbing 
 his eyes and yawning. 
 
 " Then will you find out ?" 
 
 " Not now. If you want to inform yourself 
 upon such matters you had better present your 
 self at some seasonable hour. Now go away 
 before we lock you up for disturbing the peace 
 at this unseemly time." 
 
 The cobbler was afraid of the guard of the 
 powerful satrap, and he dared not offend him ; 
 yet he resolved to make one more trial, for he 
 had an impression that Kobad was there. 
 
 " Hark ye !" he said. " If Feridoon learns not 
 the intelligence .1 have to communicate, his mis 
 ery for life may be scaled. But I would rather 
 the old astrologer should know it first, for he 
 may have some means of helping the matter 
 without alarming the youth." 
 
 " You are deceiving me 1" 
 
 " I am not. The young man s happiness de 
 pends upon the success of my mission. One 
 whom he loves is in danger." 
 
 " Do you mean the damsel ?" 
 
 " Ay ; I mean Zillah ; my own child." 
 
 " Eh 1 You, you the father of our young 
 master s love ?" 
 
 " Yes. I am Zak Turan." 
 
 " And why didn t you say so ? By my life 
 of lives, had I known that, I d let you pass even 
 though the satrap himself bade rue not. Hold a 
 moment, and I ll call a slave to conduct you." 
 
 As the fellow thus spoke he stepped back into 
 
THE KING AND COBBLER 
 
 59 
 
 the court, and in a few moments he returned with 
 another slave. 
 
 "Hist! say nothing that I slumbered; for 
 the rain kept me in, and my lids were heavy. 
 They drooped against my express wishes." 
 
 " Fear not," returned the cobbler. " I am not 
 prone that way." 
 
 Zak Turan now followed his new guide, and 
 ere long he reached Feridoon s apartments. 
 Here they found a slave awake, and from him 
 they learned that Kobad was there. The cob 
 bler at once went to his bedside and awoke him, 
 and then told him all that had happened. At 
 first the old man would hardly believe it. He 
 rubbed his eyes and seemed to doubt the real 
 ity of his being awake, but he soon satisfied him 
 self upon this point, and then he made Zak Tu 
 ran tell the story over again. When he had 
 heard the startling tale repeated, and had real 
 ized it all, he leaped from his bed and caught 
 the cobbler by the hand. 
 
 " You are Zak Turan," he muttered, half to 
 himself, " and you surely know what has hap 
 pened." 
 
 Then he sat down upon a stool, and after re 
 flecting for some moments, he added : 
 
 " I see how it must have been : we were fol 
 lowed. Those eunuchs are witty men, and they 
 overcame our precautions. But hark ye ; say 
 nothing yet of this to Feridoon. Did he know 
 it he would rush at once to the royal palace, and 
 that must not be, for surely some arrow or jav 
 elin, or some vengeful spear-head would find 
 his life. ^Sit thee down, Zak Turan, for I must 
 ponder upon this. Of course Zillah will be in 
 no immediate danger to night, save from the 
 storm, for when she reaches the palace she will 
 be wet and cold, and must have rest. Fear not. 
 I will ponder well, and you may be assured that 
 my thoughts shall be to some purpose." 
 
 For some time the ,old astrologer remained 
 with his head bowed upon his hands, but at 
 length he started up and commenced to pace 
 the room. Once he stopped and clasped his 
 hands together vehemently and then walked on 
 again. 
 
 " I must do it," he muttered to himself. " I 
 must do it, or all may be lost. I must see him, 
 for no messenger can be sent. O, Sohrab, 
 what a villain thou art !" 
 
 He stopped walking as he ceased speaking, 
 and having gazed full into Zak Turan s face for 
 some moments, he continued : 
 
 " Rest here, my son, and be assured that our 
 
 sweet child can be saved. Yet I would have 
 given much ere I would have had such a thing 
 happen. But I have a power greater than the 
 king. Let not your heart grieve, for Zillah shall 
 be saved." 
 
 ***** 
 
 The king hurried through with his business 
 in the audience chamber, and that day there 
 were some judgments rendered that had but lit 
 tle of deliberation in their rendering. Before 
 noon he had cleared the last case from the dock 
 et, and all else that might come in before the 
 proper time of closing the divan, he left for 
 Kanah to dispose of, for he knew that Kanah 
 not only possessed the ability to render judg 
 ment, but that most of the people had much 
 confidence in him. As soon as this arrangement 
 was made the king left the great hall and took 
 his own private way to his family apartments. 
 He reached the sumptuous apartment where he 
 had left the maiden, but she a was not there. 
 He went and looked out into the garden, but 
 he could not see her there. He was just going 
 to another apartment when one of his female 
 slaves entered his presence. 
 
 " Where is Zillah ?" he asked, as the slave 
 stopped and bowed low down. 
 
 " She has gone to her bed," was the slave s 
 response. 
 
 " Gone to her bed?" iterated the king. " And 
 did she know that I should seek her there ?" 
 
 " She is sorely afflicted, sire." 
 
 "Ay; so I feared she would be. But my 
 presence will soon restore her." 
 
 " Not so, sire ; for she is bereft of reason at 
 times, and her blood lies hot in her veins. After 
 you had gone to audience we found her here 
 upon the floor, and when we had conveyed her 
 to her couch, we at once sent for your physician, 
 and he says that a raging fever is working in her 
 svstem." 
 
 " I will see her," said the king, with some 
 thing like regret upon his features : and as he 
 spoke he followed the slave out into the corri 
 dor beyond, and thence to a spacious apart 
 ment, within which was a bed most richly fur 
 nished. 
 
 Upon this bed reposed the form of Zillah. 
 She seemed to sleep now, and her breath was 
 quick and heavy. Upon her cheek was a deep 
 hectic flush, and her flesh was hot and parched. 
 The king spoke to her, but she did not answer. 
 He laid his hand upon her brow, but she moved 
 not in recognition of his presence. 
 
60 
 
 THE KING AND GOBBLER. 
 
 " Did she rave, said you ?" he asked, turning 
 to the slave whom he had met in the other 
 apartment. 
 
 " Ay, sire, most strangely, though not with 
 such power as some. She seemed only as 
 though her mind wandered, and her speech was 
 of such a kind as bore no sense nor meaning to 
 us." 
 
 " Now, by my life," cried the monarch? bring 
 ing his hands together, " she talked the same 
 with me, and I did not think of her being lost in 
 mind. And yet, had I reflected, I might have 
 seen that her mind was not her own then. But 
 let her be cared for, and the physician shall an 
 swer for her life with his own. By my life, if 
 her breath goes out in death, then all who have 
 to do with the medications of her disease shall 
 die with her !" 
 
 Sohrab stooped over and kissed the maiden s 
 pure white brow, and then he turned away from 
 the apartment. He stopped at the door, and 
 having once more informed his slaves that then- 
 own lives should be answerable for the sure re 
 covery of the invalid, he went away. When he 
 reached the great chamber of the garden, where 
 he had first met Zillah, he stopped and gazed 
 out upon the flowers that were sending their 
 aromatic breath up sosweetly into the palace. 
 He stood leaning against one of the marble 
 pillars, and while there he cursed his fate that 
 the beautiful object of his love should be thus 
 held from him even after he had her within his 
 power. He was just upon the point of turning 
 away when a movement of the arras caught his 
 eye, and upon looking that way he observed a 
 human figure step from behind the heavy hang 
 ings into the room. 
 
 This new comer was an old man, bent by 
 age, with a head as white as snow from the frost 
 of years, and whose uncut beard flowed down 
 to his breast like a sheen of silver. The reader 
 will at once recognize Kobad, the astrologer, but 
 the king knew him not by sight, though, as we 
 already know, he had often heard of him, and 
 that, too, lately, in connection with events of 
 not the most pleasing sound to royal ears. 
 
 "Now whom have we here?" uttered the 
 king, part in anger and part in surprise sur 
 prised that the intruder should have made his 
 way to these private apartments unannounced, 
 and angry that he should have been allowed so 
 to do. 
 
 " One who has come to see the king," an 
 swered the old man, boldly. 
 
 " Then you have wandered from your path. 
 The king should have been seen an hour ago, in 
 the royal audience chamber." 
 
 "But that which I would speak the king 
 alone should hear ; and hence have I sought 
 him here." 
 
 " And how gained you admittance 7" 
 
 " The same as does your majesty, I suppose. 
 As good fortune would have it, I stumbled di 
 rectly upon the way that led hither." 
 
 " But wherefore come ye 1" 
 
 " Concerning a maiden named Zillah, the 
 child of a poor cobbler, whom some graceless 
 villains did seize last night and bear away; 
 and to your majesty come I now for justice." 
 
 " And do ye know who seized the maiden ?" 
 asked the king, biting his lips. 
 
 " I only know that they were soldiers, and, if 
 I have been informed correctly, they wore the 
 uniform of one of the royal squadrons. Does 
 the king know anything of this ?" 
 
 There was something so patriarchal in the 
 look, the tone and the bearing of the aged man, 
 that Sohrab was constrained to listen, and when 
 he would have called for his attendants he felt 
 a secret, strange forewarning that he had better 
 not. 
 
 " Do you know that you now speak with the 
 king ?" 
 
 " I know it well." 
 
 " Then methinks you speak freely." 
 
 " So that I may be the better understood. 
 I would know if you can tell me of this maiden ?" 
 
 " Suppose I were to tell thee that she is now 
 in my palace ?" 
 
 " Then I should believe thee." 
 
 " She is." 
 
 " I knew it." 
 
 " Ha ! You tamper with me then !" 
 
 "I would hear the truth from thy own lips. 
 But what intent have you in this movement ? 
 What will you do with the girll" 
 
 " She is for my wife." 
 
 "But she already loves another, and is belov 
 ed in return. You will not force her to become 
 the partner of your chamber ?" 
 
 " Look ye !" cried the king, and his face 
 flushed with anger. " You are an old man and 
 I have heard thee speak, but I ll listen no more. 
 Depart now in peace, or run the risk of such 
 punishment as you may deserve. Out, I say !" 
 
 " Hold a moment, king. I have not come 
 here merely to banter you, or to make a bargain 
 of words. I have come to warn you ; and let 
 
THE KING AND COBBLER. 
 
 61 
 
 me assure you that you had better wind your 
 body round with sackcloth, and bury thy head in 
 dust and ashes, than persist in this design upon 
 the maiden of whom we speak. If she is now 
 here " 
 
 " She is here, and here she shall remain \" 
 interrupted the king. 
 
 " I know she s here," quickly answered Ko- 
 bad, "and that she must remain here for a 
 time, for the brutal treatment she last night re 
 ceived" has made her sick. But, king of Persia, 
 listen to me. Better hadst thou kneel down 
 now and give thy life quietly up, than to do 
 the thing thou hast planned, for the moment 
 that sees the pure and lovely Zillah seduced to 
 thy foul will, shall see this kingdom shake to its 
 yery centre ! Dost hear me 1" 
 
 At first the king could not answer, for he was 
 strangely moved. It was not all anger, nor was 
 it all fear. It was a strange mingling of emo 
 tions that stirred up his feelings, and wonder 
 held a prominent place among them. But the 
 idea of kingly dignity and power soon came to 
 help him, and clapping his hands quickly to 
 gether, he called for his attendants. In a few 
 moments six eunuchs entered. They came in 
 by a point close at Kobad s side, and as they 
 bowed in the royal presence the old astrologer 
 turned full upon them, and with a lofty wave of 
 the hand, he said : 
 
 "You are not wanted now. Retire, and 
 hold yourselves in readiness." 
 
 The eunuchs immediately turned from the 
 apartment, and before the astounded king could 
 call them back they were gone. 
 
 " Now, Sohrab, listen to me," said the strange 
 old man. " I have at the present moment come 
 to serve thee, though I will not so far speak rank 
 falsehood as to say that for thine own weal I 
 care one jot. Tis for Zillah that I care, and 
 you shall not harm her, nor shall you take her 
 as your wife. She is sick now, and cannot be 
 with safety moved, but you shall not harm her." 
 
 " Now, by the God of my creation !" cried 
 the king, starting back, and drawing his sword, 
 "you shall die for this. Never before was king 
 so insulted by a hireling slave !" 
 
 " Tis I that have been insulted by hireling 
 slaves !" calmly returned the old man, at the 
 same time opening his robe and drawing forth 
 a heavy blade. " Had I known the damsel was 
 so sick, I might not have come to-day, but it is 
 well that I am here. And now I ask thee once 
 
 in earnest wilt thou give the fair Zillah up 
 when she has recovered V 
 
 "No !" whispered the king, hoarsely and spas 
 modically. His face was of a livid hue, and his 
 hands were clutched till the very blood seemed 
 to harden in them. " By the faith of my fathers, 
 I ll have thee killed by inches, and the four 
 quarters of my city shall each bear upon its 
 highest tower a quarter.- of thy rebel body !" 
 
 Kobad moved nearer to the king and gazed 
 steadily and calmly in his face, and in a low, 
 meaning tone, while each word seemed laden 
 with more than human import, he said : 
 
 " Sohrab, the people of your own kingdom 
 already cry out against you, and your sins are 
 not only known, but they are felt and suffered. 
 All over Persepolis have flown the tidings of 
 your conduct towards this poor girl. True, you 
 are a king, and have the right to rule, but you 
 should know how tyrants are looked upon, and 
 how the people sometimes use them. You are 
 a doomed man if you do not turn from your 
 present course, and just so sure as you lay a fin 
 ger of harm upon Zillah, or force her to one 
 concession beyond her full and glad consent, as 
 surely shall your death follow it. I have read 
 the stars, and even now, at noonday, they look 
 down angrily upon thee." 
 
 " Ha !" uttered the monarch, starting from 
 his entrancement, and clenching his hands, as 
 he heard the last words, " you are Kobad, the 
 astrologer of Arabia /" 
 
 "Ay king." 
 
 " And you are the arch traitor who has already 
 been stirring up my people. Well may ye warn 
 me of their vengeance when you yourself set 
 them on." 
 
 " Didst say / was the arch traitor ?" asked 
 Kobad, moving nearer to the monarch, and gaz 
 ing more fixedly in his face. 
 
 The king was upon the point of clapping his 
 hands again, when lie caught more clearly the 
 expression of the astrologer s dark hazel eye. 
 There was a strange gleam in that eye, and well 
 might any man be moved by it, but upon Soh 
 rab its influence was marvellous. He first bent 
 eagerly forward and then he started back. Soon 
 there came a bitter, lowering smile curling about 
 his eyes, and the king clasped his hands above his 
 brow as though a sudden pain had seized him 
 there. 
 
 " Sohrab, look upon me more carefully. Gaze 
 more keenly upon me, and see what you find in 
 my face. Is not there something in the stars ?" 
 
62 
 
 THE KING AND COBBLER. 
 
 " sh !" whispered the king, turning pale as 
 death, and at the same time putting forth one 
 hand and feeling the flesh of Kobad s arm. 
 
 " You dare not come here if you are . But 
 
 it cannot be. Some demoniac skill of thine 
 works upon me thus." 
 
 " Mayhap it is, Sohrab. But listen now. You 
 know that this maiden whom you have forced 
 hither to your palace is beloved by another, do 
 you not V 
 
 But the king did not answer. He only gazed 
 fixedly into the old man s face. And Kobad 
 continued : 
 
 " You did know that she was beloved by Feri- 
 doon. And now you would rob the youth of his 
 more than life. King, you have seen the youth 
 of the Lion Heart do ye dream who he is ?" 
 
 "Ay! 1 know I" cried Sohrab. 
 
 " Ah, then you have read the story in his 
 face. You see in him the keen black eye and 
 the noble, lofty brow of his father. Now do 
 you know what became of that father ?" 
 
 "The robbers of the desert killed him!" 
 gasped the king. 
 
 They did not !" whispered Kobad. 
 
 " They did !" whispered the monarch, in reply. 
 
 " Sohrab/ spoke the astrologer, slowly and 
 calmly, " when Kei Khosrou, our beloved king, 
 died in this palace, you resolved to be king in his 
 place, and while that royal corse lay exposed 
 here to the gaze of the people, you heard that the 
 noble Gushtasp was returning to pay his last 
 tribute of love to the remains of his beloved 
 monarch. You feared Gushtasp, for you knew 
 that the people loved him more than they did 
 yourself. So you sent out a party of your slaves 
 to murder him ere he should reach the city. 
 Those slaves did their duty too faithfully. They 
 murdered the noble general, and when they re 
 turned, you poisoned them every one so that your 
 secret might be safe. You -stood over the cold 
 corse of Gushtasp you gazed into his noble, 
 generous features, noble yet in death and you 
 knew that the cruel gash that had let his life- 
 blood out, was of your own making ! And yet 
 you did not repent of your crime, for I saw you 
 then I saw you as you bent over the body of 
 my best friend " 
 
 " You saw me !" shrieked the king. " Your best 
 friend !" 
 
 "Ay, Sohrab, the noble Gushtasp was my 
 friend, and I wept when I saw him dead and 
 even then I knew that it was you who had killed 
 
 him. Suppose the Lion Heart knew t was you 
 who killed his father !" 
 
 " Out, monster ! devil ! sprite ! afrite ! infer 
 nal ghoul ! Out, I say !" shrieked the king, glar 
 ing wildly at the old astrologer. " You have 
 taken a form from the other world, and now put 
 it on to oppose me with. You lie in my face 
 when you say twas I who killed Gushtasp." 
 
 " I do not lie, king. Before God I do most 
 solemnly swear that your slaves murdered the 
 noble Gushtasp that twas by your orders done, 
 and that he died that you might be king. And 
 listen " here the old man s voice sank to a 
 terrible whisper " there was another whom you 
 meant should die ! another against whom your 
 hand was raised and now it was your own hand 
 not the hand of a slave, but you yourself meant 
 to strike the blow. Do you remember 1 Look 
 at me, Sohrab. Do you remember ?" 
 
 The king could bear no more. With one wild 
 movement he clapped his hands together, and 
 gave one frenzied cry for his slaves. 
 
 " Beware, Sohrab !" spoke Kobad, hurriedly, 
 but distinctly. " Let one movement of yours 
 bring a tear to Zillah s eye, and every soul in. 
 Persia shall know what I know !" 
 
 He ceased speaking just as the slaves rushed 
 into the apartment, and as they entered he 
 raised the heavy tapestry and disappeared. 
 
 " What ho ! here slaves ! dogs ! seize that 
 old dotard and bind and gag him ! Gag him 
 quickly, and let his mouth be stopped !" 
 
 The slaves had seen the, old man pass out on 
 the instant before, and they expected to raise the 
 arras and lay their hands directly upon him ; but 
 they were mistaken. They sprang around the 
 marble pillars and raised the tapestry, but 
 nothing of the man they sought was to be found. 
 There were four passages leading from the cor 
 ridor that was bounded by the arras, and into 
 each of these passages sprang a slave. 
 
 Ere long the eunuchs returned to the king 
 and reported that the old man could not be 
 found. 
 
 " Not find him ?" yelled Sohrab, starting back 
 and gazing into the face of the slave that had 
 spoken. 
 
 "Not in the palace, sire." 
 
 "But he must be here !" 
 
 " He is a genie !" uttered one of the oldest of 
 the eunuchs ; " and he has gone off in the air. 
 How could he escape, when each passage is 
 guarded at the other end ? The slaves there 
 
THE KING AND COBBLER. 
 
 63 
 
 know that he has not passed. He may be in 
 this very room even now !" 
 
 " In here V gasped the king, starting as though 
 he had heard the call of the death- angel, and at 
 the same time gazing nervously about him. 
 " He is not here !" 
 
 " I meant that he might be here," returned the 
 eunuch. " Genii can go where they please with 
 out being seen, you know, for they can change 
 themselves into thin air." 
 
 The king gazed into the face of his slave, 
 and gradually he moved towards him until he 
 could lay his hand upon his arm. All this while 
 he was very pale and his step was tottering and 
 unsteady. 
 
 " Bahboul," the monarch whispered, " did you 
 see that man ?" 
 
 "Yes, sire when you called us in before, 
 and he ordered us to retire." 
 
 " Ay and did you note his face his eyes 
 those deep eyes of lustrous hazel ?" 
 
 " Ha !" So the old slave uttered, and his black 
 face began to work strangely. 
 
 " Did you note his face, I say?" gasped Sohrab. 
 
 " I did ! I did ! I remember now. O, my 
 master, did I not tell thee he was a genie V 
 
 " Is he ? By my life, Bahboul, if you ll con 
 vince me that that man was truly a genie, who 
 
 only assumed that form iu which to visit earth, 
 I ll make you happy for the rest of life." 
 
 " I cannot make sure, sire ; but you should 
 know how he spoke. Did he speak like one of 
 earth ?" 
 
 The king bowed his head once more, and he 
 was deeply troubled. It was a moment to him 
 of perplexing and agonizing thought ; but in 
 the end he murmured, in a low, sad, painful tone : 
 
 "Leave me, Bahboul, and make search through 
 the palace. Start up the guards all of them 
 and let not a corner where a mouse might hide 
 be missed. Be quick, now and mind that the 
 old man is gagged the moment he is taken. 
 Away." 
 
 When Sohrab was left alone, he threw himself 
 upon a seat and buried his face in his hands. He 
 muttered incoherent sentences to himself, and 
 ever and anon he would start up and gaze about 
 him as though he had heard some frightful sound. 
 In an hour his slaves returned with the intelli 
 gence that the old man was not to be found. 
 Every place had been searched, but no traces 
 of him could be discovered. 
 
 The king once more tried to calm himself, by 
 believing that his strange visitor was not a hu 
 man being. 
 
CHAPTER 
 
 HOMELESS. 
 
 Feridoon first heard of the stroke of 
 fate which had fallen upon Zillah, he was beside 
 himself with rage and grief, and but for the earn 
 est appeals and assurances of the astrologer, he 
 would have gone at once to the royal palace and 
 attempted her liberation. 
 
 " She shall be saved," said Kobad, "for though 
 the king has her now in his power, yet he will 
 not dare to harm her." 
 
 "But such a villain dares anything," returned 
 Feridoon. " It is a trait of cowardly character, 
 that the individual may be sometimes led by .his 
 wicked passions to do that which in another 
 would require a vast amount of courage." 
 
 " Ay, my son, unless you can work upon the 
 fears powerfully enough to restrain them. Now 
 I know that the king would sooner have his good 
 right hand cut off, and his body buried in lep 
 rosy, than do harm to Zillah. I have seen the 
 foul monarch, and I have left him with a cue 
 from which he will not depart." 
 
 "But how?" 
 
 " I know of a most foul murder he once com 
 mitted the murder of a man whom the people 
 most fondly loved and I told him of it ; and I 
 told him, too, that if he did harm to Zillah all 
 men should know his sins. Be sure he would 
 not have those sins known for all the wives earth 
 can give." 
 
 " But how long ere I can see my love ?" 
 " I cannot tell. She may not recover from her 
 sickness before the lapse of a week. But be sure 
 you shall see her, and in health and purity." 
 
 It was difficult for the youth to restrain him 
 self, but when he came at length to see that his 
 interference now might cause Zillah s malady to 
 assume a more dangerous phase, he concluded 
 to let her remain where she was, and to trust 
 the word of his friend. After this he went away, 
 for he had much to do, and Feridoon was left 
 alone. It was now near evening on the day 
 following the visit of Kobad to the royal palace. 
 Our hero had been alone only some ten min 
 utes, when Rustem entered. Of late the satrap 
 had said but little to his protege, for he felt some 
 what angry at what had passed. The old noble 
 came in and sat down, and for some time he 
 regarded the youth in silence. At length he 
 said : 
 
 " Feridoon, I have done much for you, and to 
 me you surely owe the manhood you now pos 
 sess." 
 
 " I owe you much, my father, and deeply do I 
 feel it," returned the youth, sincerely. 
 " Then you should obey me now." 
 " In all things reasonable, my father." 
 " Ay, and you should let me be the judge of 
 what is right." 
 
THE KING AND COBBLER, 
 
 65 
 
 "Look ye, noble sir," spoke Feridoon, prompt 
 ly and energetically, "if I am to feel grateful for 
 the manhood you have given me, of course it 
 must be because I find joy in exercising the 
 powers your gifts have bestowed upon me. But 
 if you are still to do my thinking if you are to 
 judge of what is right for me, then what benefit 
 results to me from your favor ?" 
 
 " Listen, my son. The king demands that you 
 shall relinquish your claim upon the love of the 
 cobbler s daughter; that you shall write to her 
 and say you can love her no more, and that you 
 shall also bid her, if she still loves you, to turn 
 all her faith to the king ; that she shall be his 
 wife, and be loving and faithful unto him." 
 
 "Did the king make such a demand?" ut 
 tered the youth, starting up. 
 
 " He did." 
 
 " And what said you in return ?" 
 
 " That I would do his bidding." 
 
 " O and does Sohrab think us all fools T By 
 my life, I would sooner bury my dagger deep 
 within my own heart than prove myself such a 
 villanous coward ! But much sooner would I 
 put my weapon s point to his dastard heart 
 and so you may tell him !" 
 
 For a moment there was a flush of anger 
 upon the satrap s cheek, but it soon passed away, 
 and an expression of earnest, eager imploring 
 took its place. 
 
 " My son," he resumed, " that is not all the 
 king said. He also swore most solemnly that 
 if you did not his bidding he would take your 
 life!" 
 
 " Take my life ? By the laws of Persia and 
 the sacred creed of God, he dare not !" 
 
 " But he can do it quickly. You have opposed 
 his authority and killed his servants. Remem 
 ber, my son, that sixty-nine of his soldiers have 
 fallen by your hand, and that, too, while they 
 were lawfully obeying their royal master." 
 
 " You know how they were obeying and what 
 they were obeying." 
 
 " I know all that, my son, but we must re 
 member that our laws know nothing about it. I 
 have read the laws of our nation many times, 
 for I have helped administer them during many 
 years, and I know that the king, or any other 
 person, has but to accuse you, to compass your 
 death. Be sure your life is forfeited by our laws. 
 Only look at it, Feridoon. Suppose every man 
 could do as you have done, with impunity, sim 
 ply because he judged the mission unjust in 
 
 which those were engaged whom he slew. You 
 see what a state of things would exist." 
 
 " I understand you," answered Feridoon, calm 
 ly. " But I have one criterion now, that to me, 
 at least, appears just. I can look calmly to 
 heaven and bare my heart to God, that he may 
 see all that it contains. I have no sorrow for 
 what I have done, save that I mourn for those 
 misguided men who fell beneath my arm, and I 
 would suffer much could I bring them back to 
 life." 
 
 " But do you realize, my son, that your death 
 is sure to follow this obstinacy ? If you do not 
 as the king has commanded, you are sure to die." 
 
 "If," quickly added the youth, " he can do 
 that thing." 
 
 " Of course the king can do his will." 
 
 " Very well. . Now here is my answer. Not 
 for all the favors kings can bestow, nor in fear 
 of all the penalties they can inflict, will I give up 
 one iota of my claim upon the love of Zillah ; 
 and this is my reason. Every principle of right 
 and justice gives her to me, and the will of the 
 king is nothing but black and rank wickedness, 
 to the commands of which I will never submit. 
 I am in the path of honor and virtue, and I shall 
 stake my life for its maintenance. If the king 
 can take it, it is his ; but he must be a wonderful 
 man if he can take it." 
 
 Rustem started back in his seat, for the youth 
 had risen as he spoke the last sentence, and 
 there was something so superbly grand in his 
 very appearance that the satrap was for the mo 
 ment awe-struck. But all this soon passed, for 
 there was a stern reality staring him in the face, 
 of which he had not yet spoken, and that weighed 
 heavily tipon his mind with more power than 
 could all the ideas of which the youth had spok 
 en. He made known that idea as follows : 
 
 " If you turn a deaf ear to all this, then listen 
 while I speak one other thing : the king has also 
 sworn that / shall die if you do not do as he has 
 asked !" 
 
 " Is this true ?" 
 
 " Most true." 
 
 "But the king does not mean it." 
 
 " I know he does." 
 
 " He dares not do such a thing !" 
 
 " I tell you he dares do anything. Now will 
 you see your father die ?" 
 
 "Not if I can help it. I will protect you 
 with the last movement of my strength, and for 
 your sake I will brave death itself." 
 
66 
 
 THE KING AND COBBLER, 
 
 " And yon will give tip this wild passion your 
 heart has held ?" 
 
 " Do you mean my love for Zillah ?" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 Feridoon did not reply at once. He arose 
 from his chair, and paced to and fro across the 
 room several times ere he spoke ; and when he 
 did speak, his voice was very low but yet very 
 firm and decided. 
 
 " I wish tHat you might escape this affair, for 
 no blame can be attached to you even by the king. 
 But this last movement shows him to be worse 
 in disposition and intent than we had even 
 painted him. But I will not give up to him." 
 
 " Not to save my life ?" 
 
 ""Would you have me do it?" asked the 
 youth, with startling energy, as he moved quick 
 ly forward and placed his hand on the satrap s 
 nrm. 
 
 " I would not die," answered Rustem. 
 
 " Nor would I sell my soul to a wicked king 
 for the life of any man," promptly returned Fer- 
 idoon. " What shall be your joy henceforth 
 when you realize that hereafter every breath you 
 draw is but the remembrancer of another s woe ? 
 I am sorry. I will lay down my life for you, but 
 I will not sell my own soul. So you may tell 
 the king." 
 
 " And is this your final answer ?" 
 
 "It is, most surely." 
 
 Rustem arose, and there was anger and cha 
 grin upon his features. He could hate as strong 
 ly as he could love, and his heart could turn its 
 tide of affection into a stream of gall at a provo 
 cation that aimed itself at his self-love. He spoke 
 not another word, but with a flashing eye and a 
 frowning brow, he strode from the apartment. 
 
 When Feridoon was left alone he reflected upon 
 what had passed. He knew the temper of Rus 
 tem, and he knew that there was much love of 
 self above all other things in his composition. 
 And he remembered, too, how wickedly the king 
 had acted, and he was resolved that he would 
 not bow to such a villain in the dust of shame 
 and agony. So he repented not of what had 
 passed. 
 
 The evening advanced and the shades of night 
 were gathered about the great city. The can 
 dles had been lighted in Feridoon s apartments, 
 and he was engaged in reading a manuscript 
 that belonged to Rustem, when a slave entered 
 bearing a slip of parchment in his hand, which 
 he handed to the youth. The latter took it and 
 read, and when he had finished he started up to 
 
 speak with the slave who had brought it, but he 
 was gone. 
 
 Feridoon ran his eyes over the document once 
 more, and then a grim smile rested upon his fea 
 tures. It ran as follows : 
 
 " To FERIDOON, of the Lion Heart: 
 
 " I wish not to recount what has transpired, 
 knowing full well that no words of mine can 
 make it plainer to you than it now must be. 
 But my house can no longer be your home 
 my roof can no longer cover you. If you can 
 not find it in your heart to comply with the 
 commands I have laid upon you from the king, 
 then must you find another home. I wish not 
 to see you again unless you come to obey. Go 
 your way and act your own pleasure, and remem 
 ber that henceforth you are no child or friend of 
 mine. RUSTEM." 
 
 Feridoon rolled up the parchment and placed 
 it in his pocket, and then he called his slaves to 
 him and informed them that he was going out. 
 He would not tell them where he was going, 
 nor how long he meant to remain he only told 
 them he was going away, and he bade them to 
 remain behind. After this, he dressed himself 
 in a plain suit, taking the precaution to put on 
 a light, firm shirt of mail which had been fur 
 nished for him when he received his lessons in 
 warfare. What money really belonged to him 
 he took, and then, with his faithful sword and 
 dagger, he departed. He did not stop until he 
 reached a point where a view of Rustem s pal 
 ace was cut off, but when he had gained this he 
 slackened his pace and finally halted. 
 
 It was now qxiite dark, the night having fairly 
 aet in, and there being no moon. A sense of 
 loneliness crept over Feridoon s soul, for he was 
 like a stranger in the great city. For Kobad he 
 knew not where to look. Zillah was in the royal 
 palace, and who should tell where good Zak 
 Turan might be ? At length, however, he turned 
 his steps to the house where the honest cobbler 
 was wont to dwell, with the faint hope that he 
 might find some one there who could direct htm. 
 He reached the house and found four soldier? 
 stationed there. 
 
 " How now ?-" he asked, seeing that they were 
 armed only with swords. " What do ye here ?" 
 
 " We are watching for the king," replied one 
 of them. 
 
 " Watching for the king ?" 
 
 " At his command, I mean." 
 
 " And wherefore ?" 
 
THE KING AND COBBLER, 
 
 67 
 
 "For the purpose of finding one whom the 
 king feareth." 
 
 " And who is it ?" 
 
 "Kobad, he is called, and he is an astrologer." 
 
 " Ah then the king fears him ?" 
 
 " Ay, verily for he soweth sedition among 
 the people." 
 
 "Is Zak Turan within the house ?" 
 
 " No, for we seek him, too." 
 
 " Ah ?" 
 
 " Yes. The king wants both him and his wife 
 to come and console a weeping damsel whom he 
 hath taken to his home with him." 
 
 " I would have seen the cobbler, but tis no 
 matter now," said the youth, as he turned away 
 from the place. He saw that the soldiers did 
 not know him, and he had no desire that they 
 should, so he moved on down the street towards 
 the old sepulchre. He knew not whither he was 
 going, neither did he care. His chief desire was 
 to find the astrologer, but he knew not which 
 way to turn, for he had not the least idea where 
 the old man was. 
 
 The youth kept on until he came to the sepul 
 
 chre, which was dug out from the solid cliff, and 
 here he sat down. He gazed up at the frowning 
 front of the place, and in the gloom he could 
 see the quaint sculpture that stood out from 
 its parent rock. Here was the dwelling of the 
 dead, and he thought, as he sat there and viewed 
 the ponderous doors of solid metal, how many 
 mortals had ended their earthly pilgrimage there ! 
 
 " Ah I" he murmured to himself, " here life s 
 journey ends, and king and slave aleep both 
 alike. The mighty race of kings who sleep here 
 the renowned Paishdadians are no more now 
 than the slaves who cringed at their feet ! Then 
 how should the man live who would have his 
 name remembered where memory is worth the 
 having? Surely, honor and truth, virtue and 
 justice, must be the properties that shall embalm 
 it." 
 
 Thus he pondered for a while, and at length 
 he arose and turned his steps once more towards 
 the city. He felt strong now in his resolution, 
 and he had prayed to God for guidance and 
 counsel. But he had not yet a resting-place, nor 
 did he know whither his steps would bring him, 
 
CHAPTER XV. 
 
 DANGERS AND FEARS. 
 
 TJIE satrap heard Feridoon when he left the 
 palace, and though there may have been a slight 
 pang at the thought of thus losing his protege, 
 yet he was too wroth to have it pain him much. 
 Rustem felt that the youth owed to him all the 
 obedience of an own child, and among all the 
 social laws of Persia there was none more bind 
 ing than the reverence and obedience of parents. 
 Rustem could have, borne with Feridoon s first 
 refusal, however, but when he came to refuse to 
 sacrifice his whim (so Rustem called it), to save 
 the life of his protector, his anger could be con 
 tained no longer. His heart was wholly estrang 
 ed now, and he hated the youth as much as he 
 had ever loved him. It was one of the pecu* 
 liarities of the man. 
 
 As soon as Feridoon had gone, the satrap 
 went up to the apartments he had occupied and 
 bade the slaves go and join those below, at the 
 same time telling them that they would serve 
 their late master no more. The poor fellows 
 were really wild with grief when they heard this, 
 but they saw that the satrap was angry and they 
 asked no questions. 
 
 When this was done, Rustem prepared to wait 
 upon the king, for Sohrab had demanded to 
 know his success before he slept. He called 
 some of his slaves to attend him, and as speedily 
 as possible he made his way to the royal palace. 
 
 He found the king waiting for him in One of the 
 private apartments, which was lighted up by 
 hanging lamps of solid gold. 
 
 " Now, Rustem, what luck ?" asked the mon^ 
 arch) even before the satrap had fairly let fall the 
 arras behind him. 
 
 " It is of no use," returned the visitor, in a 
 fearful tone. " The young man will not comply. 
 I told him all, but it made no impression upon 
 him. I have turned him from my gate, and no 
 more will I give him a home, or even coun 
 tenance him in any way." 
 
 At first the king became angry, but when he 
 learned Rustem had turned the offender from his 
 dwelling he became somewhat appeased, for it 
 conveyed to him the simple idea that the satrap 
 sympathised with him. For some moments the 
 monarch paced up and down the apartment with 
 out speaking, and when he did speak he was 
 much calmer than Rustem had dared to hope ; 
 but this calmness was the result of deep passion. 
 
 " Rustem," he said, " I shall have the youth 
 seised and brought hither, and this time he may 
 be assured he gets not away alive. Not only 
 would I have him bid Zillah accept my love, 
 but I would nip in the bud a plan of rebellion 
 which I am sure he countenances. By^y royal 
 head, Rustem/ added Sohrab, growing more 
 vehement in speech and gesture, " you dream 
 
THE KING AND COBBLER. 
 
 not what a cloud is gathering over us . The peace 
 of the city ay, of the whole country, is endan 
 gered. That crasy old astrologer is doing much 
 mischief, and I fear that this Feridoon is leagued 
 with him in his crime. That old man must be 
 Found.* 
 
 " He was in my palace this very evening) 
 sire." 
 
 " How ? In your palace this evening " 
 
 " Yes, sire. * 
 
 " Then, by heaven, why did yo\i not detain 
 him?" 
 
 "I knew not of his presence there till he had 
 departed." 
 
 " O, God give me power now over him !" ex 
 claimed the monarch, starting across the room 
 and raising the silken arras. " What ho, there ! 
 Slaves !" 
 
 In a very few moments a doeen slaves came 
 fcnshing in. "they moved more quickly than 
 Usual now, for their royal master had become of 
 late very petulant. 
 
 " Now, Eastern, which way went the dotard ?" 
 
 " I know not, sire," returned the satrap j and 
 after a moment s reflection, he added : M but if 
 your majesty means to send out your slaves 
 after him, they might stop at my outer gate* and 
 mayhap my porter can give some further intellr* 
 gence*" 
 
 This plan the king resolved to follow, and he 
 at once despatched a hundred of his best sol 
 diers, directing them to divide themselves into 
 ten parties of ten each, and to scour the city all 
 through* 
 
 " By my life, Rustem," he said, after the sol 
 diers had gone, "those two rebels shall be 
 brought) dead or alive, and when they come, if 
 they come alive, they shall surely die ! I know 
 that they have foul plots on foot, and they shall 
 be stopped in their wicked work. Lend me your 
 aid, for I shall need it. Every true man must 
 now stand by his king, for I tell you the throne 
 of Persia topples now upon its base ; and what 
 is Persia when her throne is overturned ? There 
 is danger, Rustem ! There is treason rank, 
 foul treason, abroad. Have ye act seen it ? By 
 my soul, I can smell it in the very air ! There s 
 a phantom about me, howling dire threats in my 
 ear, and airy daggers are aimed at me ! Can ye 
 not see them, Rustem ?" 
 
 During the delivery of this strange speech, the 
 monarch hud been walking to and fro, and his 
 manner was vehement and excited. His face 
 was pale ad his eyes glared wildly. He stop- 
 
 ped, as he ceased speaking, directly in front of 
 the satrap, and gaeed him in the face. 
 
 " Can ye not see them, Rustem ?" he repeated, 
 
 The satrap was confounded, and he knew not 
 how to reply. He feared the king s mind was 
 turned and he Was not far from right, 
 
 * I was not aware, sire," he at length replied) 
 "of so much danger," 
 
 " Were you not 1 But be sure I am not mis 
 taken* Go now, and let me see you again on 
 the morrow," 
 
 " Shall you bring the old astrologer to judg 
 ment to*morrow, if he is taken ?" asked Rustem* 
 
 " Bring him to judgment ! Do you mean, 
 shall I bring him to the judgment hall ?" 
 
 * Yes, sire*" 
 
 "AfoJ He shall die in his dungeon !" 
 
 And so the king meant he should die, for not 
 for half of his kingdom would he have had that 
 old man open his lips before his officers* Not 
 for his own right arm would he have had that 
 old man s face seen by those who might remem 
 ber him as one they had seen before* 
 
 As soon as Sohrab was left alone, he com 
 menced once more to pace the room, for he was 
 in a state of mind bordering on craainess, His 
 heart was torn by wild emotions, and his brain 
 was turned by fearful phantasms. For half aa 
 hoar he remained thus, and then he left the 
 apartment and entered a long, winding corridor, 
 Which was flanked on either hand by marble pil 
 lars, and lighted at short intervals by hanging 
 lamps of gold. His way now lay towards the 
 chamber where Zillah was confined. He reached 
 it and entered without ceremony ; be found the 
 maiden awake, and the attendant informed him 
 that the physician pronounced her, not only out 
 of danger, but rapidly gaining. The king was 
 pleased with this information, and having ordered 
 the attendant to leave the chamber, toe seated 
 himself by the bedside* 
 
 Zillah was awake, and a perceptible shudder 
 ran through her frame as she thus found her 
 royal persecutor by her side. But she did not 
 repulse him* She knew that he would not harm 
 her now, and she had presence of mind enough 
 to know that it would be better for her not to 
 exhibit her real feelings, for she was not igno 
 rant of the fact that nothing would more exas 
 perate a man than scorn and disgust from one 
 whom he would conciliate. But she meant not 
 to lie she did not mean to flatter him by pro 
 fessing any feeling which did not exist in her 
 bosom. She would conceal, but not fabricate. 
 
70 
 
 THE KING ANJ) COBBLER. 
 
 " Sweet angel," said the king, in a tone as soft 
 and tender as he could command, " you know 
 not how happy this report of your health has 
 made me. I trust the time is not far distant 
 when you shall be yourself once more, and accept 
 the fond and devoted heart I have given you. 
 You will learn to love me, Zillah." 
 
 " Alas, sire, my poor love is not worth your 
 seeking." 
 
 " Yes it is. By my royal crown, it is worth 
 more than the loves of all other women beside." 
 
 " But my heart, I fear, can never learn to love 
 you." 
 
 " Say not so. Take back that fear, and com 
 mence now to learn the lesson of love. You 
 have loved. Is it not so ?" 
 
 Zillah gazed up into the monarch s face, and 
 after a moment of doubt she replied : 
 
 " Yes, and my heart is no longer mine own." 
 
 " You loved the youth called Feridoon 1" 
 
 " Yes, sire/ 
 
 " Alas, sweet Zillah, you are not to blame for 
 loving the stout youth, but I know full well that 
 you would never live happily with him. He has 
 a most direful temper, and over it he holds no 
 control. He is not fit to possess so sweet a 
 flower, for he has no shelter to offer thee not 
 even a roof to cover his own head." 
 
 "What mean you, sire ?" the maiden asked, in 
 surprise, for the speech of the king had a truth 
 ful sound. 
 
 " I mean that the youth has no shelter. He is 
 but a beggar in the city." 
 
 " Is he not with his father ?" 
 
 " He is not with Rustem, for the old noble 
 has been obliged to turn him from his gates. 
 His disposition was such that there was no peace 
 in living with him, and the old man was obliged 
 to turn him off. It was hard for the satrap, for 
 he loved the youth well, but he could not put up 
 with his evil and his hardness of heart." 
 
 " Hardness of heart, sire V iterated Zillah, in 
 a sad tone, and about which there seemed to be 
 an air of reproof. 
 
 "Ay. Let me tell thee. Feridoon had form 
 ed a certain project which came in the end to 
 endanger the satrap s life. Kustem went to him 
 and explained this told him that his own life 
 was in danger from his, the young man s, plan, 
 and asked him to give it up, and what, think 
 you, was Feridoon s reply 1" 
 
 " I know not," returned the maiden, trembling. 
 
 " It was a decided negative. He utterly re 
 fused to comply with his protector s wishes." 
 
 " But there must have been some deep princi" 
 pie involved some idea of right which the 
 youth could not overstep." 
 
 " No, not so. It was only a whim of his own 
 a caprice." 
 
 " Will you explain it to me ? Tell me what 
 it was he would not give up," 
 
 " Really, I cannot now tell, for I was very 
 busy at the time upon another point, and I did 
 not ask ; but I think it was something about a 
 female slave that Feridoon had bought. Ha, 
 yes ! I remember now," broke forth the king, to 
 whose mind a very handy lie had come a lie 
 with two edges that might cut both ways. " Yes, 
 yes, I have it now. Feridoon bought a beautiful 
 female of a Caucasian merchant, and afterwards 
 it proved that she had a lover among the mer 
 chant s followers. This lover was a powerful, 
 dark man, and he swore that if his beloved was 
 not given up to him, he would murder the sa 
 trap, for he imagined that the satrap had the 
 power to give her up if he chose. When Rus- 
 tem heard of this he was sore afraid, and he 
 went at once to Feridoon and asked him to give 
 up the slave, at the same time stating the danger 
 whick-threatened him. But the youth turned a 
 deaf ear to all his entreaties. He loved the 
 beautiful slave, and would not give her up." 
 
 A sharp, cruel pang shot to poor Zillah s 
 heart as she heard this, and a low, stifled sob 
 broke from her lips. 
 
 " O," she at length uttered, rising half up in 
 bed, " this cannot be 1" 
 
 " It is most true, fair one." 
 
 " It cannot be. Feridoon loves no slave girl ; 
 he cannot." 
 
 " Be not deceived, Zillah. You do not know 
 the man as others know him." 
 
 The maiden sank back upon the pillow and 
 closed her eyes. A moment she remained thus, 
 and when she suddenly opened her eyes again 
 upon the king, she saw a look of fiendish tri 
 umph just curling about his mouth and eyes. 
 In an instant the conviction went to her soul 
 that Sohrab was lying to her, and she resolved 
 to question him. 
 
 " Sire," she said, " when did Feridoon pur 
 chase this slave ?" 
 
 " I do not know." 
 
 " But he must have had her some time, if ha 
 loves her so well." 
 
 " About a week, I believe." 
 
 Now Zillah knew that was false, for it was 
 only the day before that Kobad had been with 
 
THE KING AND COBBLER. 
 
 71 
 
 her, and told her all about Feridoon, and she 
 knew that he had no slave girl then. So her 
 mind was quickly relieved, and she knew that 
 the king was deceiving her ; but she said nothing 
 about her conviction. 
 
 "And now/ resumed Sohrab, "you shall 
 find here a heart that shall be wholly yours. I 
 will love you fondly and truly, and your joy 
 shall be my joy, and your pain my pain. Shall 
 it not be so ?" 
 
 "Ask me not now, sire. My head aches and 
 my soul is pained. Let me rest now." 
 
 " So you shall," cried the kig, rising and 
 bending over the sweet, pale face of the invalid. 
 " You may rest now, and ponder upon what I 
 
 have said. You must love me, and I know you 
 will. Be sure that I shall make you happy." 
 
 He kissed her upon the brow as he ceased 
 speaking, and then left the apartment. He had 
 hopes now and so had Zillah. Kobad had assured 
 her that she should be saved, let the king do his 
 utmost, and she had much confidence in that old 
 man s power to save her, for she had seen enough 
 of his character to know that he never spoke 
 falsely. 
 
 Very differently did those two, the king and 
 the maiden, regard the aged astrologer. One 
 feared him with a fear that amounted to almost 
 a deadly power ; and the other loved him with a 
 love that amounted to a holy reverence. 
 
CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 ANOTHER FAILURE, BUT NOT WITHOUT A SUCCESS, 
 
 WHILE the king was trying to deceive Zillah 
 into a more favorable regard for himself, three of 
 our acquaintances were together, planning for 
 the future. They were Kobad and the old cob 
 bler and wife, and their place of meeting waa in 
 a cave not far from the one in which they were 
 before. This cave in which they now were, was 
 further in among the rocks, and not so spacious 
 nor comfortable as the other. Yet it served 
 well enough for the purpose, for its existence 
 was not known to the soldiers, and its inmates 
 were protected from the inclemencies of the 
 weather. 
 
 But these three were not alone. There were 
 three others there three officers of the govern 
 ment ; old men, and holding places of honor and 
 trust. They had been conversing some time and 
 the subject of conversation must have been one 
 of deep interest, for the officers showed by their 
 looks that they were astonished and interested. 
 
 " I thought that there must have been foul 
 play," said one of them, " when he was killed. 
 Gushtasp would not have been killed by the rob 
 bers on the desert, for all of them knew him and 
 loved him. But how will you prove this to the 
 people ?" 
 
 " By my word," returned Kobad. 
 
 " But the king will not let you speak. He 
 will have you seized and gagged at once/ 
 
 A strange smile flitted across the astrologer s 
 face, and for a while he gazed down upon the 
 rock at his feet in silence. At length he said : 
 
 " Once I had some dealings with our king and 
 he knows me well. My power is too great for 
 him to break. I could perform some things that 
 would make both him and you start and trem-- 
 ble. Sohrab cannot harm me. I am protected 
 by a strange charm which he cannot break. Yon 
 have heard often of my knowledge, and of my 
 power as a necromancer, but you do not dream 
 how much of that remarkable power I really 
 possess. I do assure you that with one single 
 movement J can so work upon the king that he 
 shall not move except at my bidding." 
 
 The three officers regarded each other in silence 
 and surprise. One of them at length moved 
 nearer to the strange man, and in a low tone 
 asked : 
 
 " You are sore Gushtasp is dead ?" 
 
 " Most sure," returned Kobad ; and then, with 
 a quiet smile, he added : " yoti did not imagine 
 that you saw Gushtasp now before you, did 
 you*" 
 
 " I did not know who- you might be." 
 
 " No, no*," returned the astrologer, in a sad 
 tone, " there is no such good news. Gttshtasp 
 was stabbed to the heart and killed at once. He 
 is now in the h^me of spirits, where we may all 
 
THE KING AND COBBLER. 
 
 73 
 
 meet him ere long, for age is creeping upon us 
 apace. But let that pass. Gushtasp is long 
 since dead, and he died by the order of Sohrab, 
 and of that fact the people must soon be ap 
 prised. I shall need your co-operation, and in 
 return you may rest assured that no harm shall 
 come to you. We must meet again, and in the 
 meantime, I would have you watch the king." 
 
 " We will," answered one of the official trio, 
 " for such as he will bear much watching." 
 
 "Ay," added another; "and well would it 
 hare been for Persia could he have been watched 
 as he deserved years ago." 
 
 "Better late than never," remarked Kobad. 
 "But now onr conference is ended and we may 
 return to the city, only remember that we sepa 
 rate before we reach the routes of the royal senti 
 nels." 
 
 Having spoken some words of cheer to Zak 
 Turan, the astrologer left the cave in company 
 with the three officers, but erelong they sepa 
 rated, and Kobad pursued his way alone towards 
 that section of the city where stood Rustem s 
 palace. He had proceeded along past the statue 
 of Zal, and was just stepping upon a sort of low 
 curb that was arranged upon the street-side to 
 protect pedestrians from the horses, when he saw 
 some half dozen dusky figures emerge from a 
 street that cornered directly before him. He 
 would have turned back, but the strangers hailed 
 him and he stopped. 
 
 " Who are ye ? and what do ye want?" asked 
 Kobad. 
 
 " We are merely passing about the city as you 
 are," replied one of the party, " and we hailed 
 you because we would know if you had seen one 
 of the king s enemies in your travels." 
 
 " I may have seen many," replied the old man, 
 placing his hand upon the hilt of his sword, that 
 he carried beneath his long robe. 
 
 By this time the strangers had come more 
 closely up, and Kobad noticed that there were 
 ten of them in all, and that they were gathering 
 about him. He started back towards the nearest 
 house and drew his sword. 
 
 " Keep your distance," he said. " I wish not 
 to harm you, but I can allow no familiarity. Do 
 you know who I am ?" 
 
 " You are one whom we have been sent to 
 take Kobad." 
 
 " Ay I am ; and if you know my power you 
 will not molest me. I use not the weapons you 
 use." 
 
 " And yet your sword looks very like ours." 
 
 * Does it V returned the old man, holding 
 he weapon higher up in the starlight. "Per- 
 laps it does. So demons sometimes look like 
 men. But beware how you put my weapon to 
 ,he test." 
 
 The soldiers hesitated as the astrologer put 
 ;his piece of artifice upon them. They knew 
 lim to be a wonderful man, and perhaps he 
 might have some dark power hidden in his 
 sword. They whispered together, and while 
 hey did so Kobad blamed himself for having 
 )een thus caught at a disadvantage. Had he 
 thought of such a meeting he might have pre 
 pared himself with weapons which these men 
 could not have overcome. He had at home a 
 curious powder alight, airy, imperceptible mix 
 ture that would have struck every man blind 
 who stood about him. A small quantity of it, 
 cast off about him, would float upon the air in 
 all directions, and while he kept his own eyes 
 tightly closed, others would not discover such 
 necessity until they felt the sharp pain in their 
 optics and then closing the lids would be of no 
 use, for their eyes could be of use to them no 
 more. But the old man had not this thing with 
 him, nor had he anything save just such a sword 
 as any man might carry. 
 
 Meanwhile the soldiers had conferred together, 
 and it was resolved that they should make the 
 attempt at least, to capture the rebel, for in that 
 light they viewed him. Two of their number, 
 more bold than the rest, drew off at a short dis 
 tance, and gradually worked around behind the 
 old man, and at the moment that those in front 
 were beginning to advance, they sprang forward 
 and caught the astrologer by the arms, and in a 
 moment more his sword was wrenched from 
 him. 
 
 " Now, old man, what think you ?" cried one 
 of the party, in an exultant tone. 
 
 " I think that for the while I am your prisoner," 
 Kobad replied, without the least trepidation. 
 
 " So ye are." 
 
 " You will conduct me to the king, I sup- 
 pose ?" 
 
 " Don t know exactly how that ll be." 
 
 " How ? Am I not arrested by order of the 
 king ?" 
 
 " Most surely ; and you are going to the royal 
 palace, too ; but I don t know as the king need 
 to see you." 
 
 A sudden fear shot through the old man s 
 bosom as he heard these words. He remembered 
 how the king had been affected by his- presence, 
 
74 
 
 THE KING AND COBBLER. 
 
 and he knew, too, that the king knew his grea 
 secret knew him ! 
 
 " Tell me your orders 1" he said, speaking ye 
 calmly, but with an effort. 
 
 " We take you to the palace, and deliver you 
 there to the master of the prison ; so we mus 
 hurry, for the master may be sleepy, and hi 
 wont dare to sleep till he hears from us." 
 
 Now Kobad knew this master of the prison 
 and he knew him to be a most ready, unscrupu 
 lous tool of Sohrab. He blamed himself more 
 than ever now for having allowed himself to 
 renture forth without protection. To resist his 
 captors would be of no avail, for they were strong 
 men, either one of whom might have overcome 
 him alone. 
 
 "Look here," uttered one of the soldiers, 
 " this isn t exactly the thing. Just remember 
 our orders. The old chap wasn t to speak, you 
 know." 
 
 " So he wasn t," rejoined the one who seemed 
 to have the lead in the affair. And as he spoke 
 he drew a stout piece of sackcloth from his 
 pocket, and proceeded to bind it over the old 
 man s mouth. 
 
 " How now 1" the prisoner gasped, putting up 
 his hands to stop this new movement. " Why 
 is this ?" 
 
 " So ordered the king. We wasn t to let you 
 speak a word." 
 
 Kobad resisted this movement, but it mattered 
 little to his captors, for very easily did they bind 
 his hands behind him, and then the cloth was 
 bound tightly over his mouth ; and when this 
 was done they took him by the arms and turned 
 their steps in the direction of the royal palace. 
 
 The astrologer now felt sure that the king 
 meditated some summary proceedings against 
 him that in all probability he was to be killed 
 without further ceremony, and the more he pon. 
 dered upon this the more sure did he feel of it. 
 Surely the king feared him, and would give half 
 his kingdom to see him dead. The inference 
 from this was easily drawn. 
 
 For sometime the party kept on without meet 
 ing any human being. They had passed Rus- 
 tem s palace, and were crossing the great square 
 in front of it, when a single human figure was 
 seen crossing towards them. He stopped as 
 they came close to him, and was upon the point 
 of turning one side to let them pass, when a 
 sudden exclamation broke from his lips. It was 
 too dark to recognize countenances, even at a 
 short distance, but the glittering whiteness of the 
 
 old astrologer s beard was visible while a face 
 could not be seen at all. The dusky figure from 
 which this exclamation had come moved nearer 
 up and peered with its eyes into Kobad g face. 
 
 " Kobad ?" it said, interrogatively. 
 
 Of course the old man could not reply, but 
 one of the soldiers immediately spoke for him. 
 
 " This is Kobad. Now who are you, and what 
 do you want ?" 
 
 " I want this old man," said the new comer, 
 who seemed to be a youth. 
 
 " If you were the king you might have your 
 will, but seeing that you are not, you ll just 
 move out of the way, or we ll take you too." 
 
 " Ha ! You take him to the king, then ? Is 
 that your wish 1" 
 
 This last question was addressed to the astrol 
 oger, and then, for the first time, the intruder 
 seemed to notice the gagging of the mouth. 
 
 " Do you want to go with these men ?" the 
 youth asked. 
 
 The old man shook his head quickly and ener 
 getically. 
 
 " Here take this piece of impudence, and let s 
 carry him along, too," cried the leader of the 
 party, turning to his followers. 
 
 Half a dozen of the soldiers moved forward at 
 this order, and they were somewhat surprised to 
 see the stranger start back and draw his sword ; 
 but more surprise awaited them, for on the next 
 instant he was at them, and as the man nearest 
 to him fell to the earth, he cried : 
 
 Leave this old man to me. I am FERI- 
 DOOT!( t ofthe Lion Heart! Give him up and it 
 shall be well with you, but put me to the task 
 and ye shall all fall !" 
 
 From the impulse of long habit, the soldiers 
 clung to their prisoner, but the moment they 
 heard that dreaded name they drew Kobad after 
 them. 
 
 Will you make your own deaths 1" asked 
 Feridoon, raising his sword. 
 
 " Now let not a boy overcome us," cried the 
 soldiers leader. "Let us show him that our 
 words are good and our arms strong. He may 
 iare swept down men with his club, but our 
 words are as good " 
 
 Thus far had the leader spoken when a smart 
 low upon the head from the pommel of Feri- 
 doon s sword laid him upon the ground. At 
 his, those who held Kobad let him go and drew 
 heir swords. Feridoon saw the movement, and 
 [uick as lightning did he sweep his sword about 
 lim. His own weapon was heavy and sharp, 
 
THE KING AND COBBLER. 
 
 75 
 
 and beneath its bio withe lighter blades of the 
 soldiers snapped like sun-burnt reeds. They 
 might as well have tried to withstand a hurri 
 cane, so rapid and strange were the movements 
 of their adversary. In less than three min 
 utes not one of them had a weapon in his hands, 
 and only two of ten were upon their feet. These 
 two hesitated a moment after their swords were 
 gone, and then they started away across the 
 square. 
 
 Feridoon watched them until they were lost 
 in the thick gloom, and then he turned to the 
 old man. First he threw off the gag from his 
 mouth, and then cast off the lashing from his 
 arms. v 
 
 " Thank fortune !" he murmured, as he threw 
 the cord away, " I came this way most oppor 
 tunely." 
 
 The old man laid his hand upon the youth s 
 head, and with fervent tones he blessed him ; and 
 then, as they turned to walk away, he asked : 
 
 " But how came you out so late from your 
 home ?" . 
 
 "Home ?" repeated Feridoon, in a tone half of 
 sadness and half of bitterness. " I have none." 
 
 " But the satrap ?" 
 
 " Has turned me from his doors." 
 
 " When ?" 
 
 " This very night." 
 
 " And for what ?" 
 
 " Because I would not write a letter to Zil- 
 lah, and bid her turn her thoughts forever from 
 me and obey the king in his demands." 
 
 " And has Rustem become such a tool 1" ut 
 tered the astrologer, in a tone of regret. 
 
 " He did it through fear. The king had prom 
 ised him to take his life if he did not succeed in 
 bringing me to his purpose. I could not sacrifice 
 my soul to such a cause. I told Rustem I 
 would lay down my life for him, but I would not 
 sell my very heart my every principle of honor 
 to the bidding f such villany. Yet I am sor 
 ry that Rustem is so situated." 
 
 " O, you need not fear for him. The king 
 will not afford to take the satrap s life. If he 
 made such a threat, it was only to spur him up 
 to the work of serving him." 
 
 " Hark !" uttered the youth, whose quick ear 
 had caught a sound that Kobad could not yet 
 hear. " There are footsteps coming this way, 
 and quite a number, too." 
 
 " Mayhap it is another party in search of me," 
 said the old man, stopping to listen. " I heard 
 those who held me when you came, speak of 
 
 other parties which were out upon the search, 
 and this is surely one of them. Let us conceal 
 ourselves somewhere." 
 
 Feridoon had no desire to seek a conflict, so 
 he looked quickly about him for a place of 
 concealment. He remembered a place he had 
 just passed, and upon going back he found a 
 narrow gateway with an arched top, the gate 
 of which was partly open, swinging inward. 
 They both went in and closed the gate, and 
 here they remained. The coming men soon 
 reached the spot, passing close to the gate, and 
 from their remarks it was evident that Kobad s 
 suspicions were correct. They did not stop at 
 the gate, however, and ere long, our two friends 
 resumed their way. 
 
 They spoke but little, for both seemed to have 
 plenty of thought that the circumstances had 
 called up. It was very quickly and readily ar 
 ranged that Feridoon should remain with the as 
 trologer for the present, and hence the latter 
 led the way. He walked more quickly than one 
 of his advanced age could generally do, and 
 at the end of half an hour he entered a narrow, 
 dark lane, near the eastern cliffs, where the dwell 
 ings were sparse and poor. At the door of one 
 of these he stopped and knocked, and ere many 
 moments had elapsed a voice asked, from with 
 in, who was there. Kobad answered, and soon 
 afterwards the door was opened by a black ser 
 vant, who held a lamp in his hand. This latter 
 individual led the way to the back part of the 
 building, where our hero found a room not only 
 well furnished, but displaying some signs of 
 wealth. The slave disappeared and the old 
 man and the youth sat down together. 
 
 " One question I must ask," said Feridoon, 
 whose feelings were now centered upon one 
 point. " Is Zillah safe ?" 
 
 " Just as safe as though she were here," con 
 fidently returned Kobad. 
 
 " But she is within the power of the king, and 
 you know what base passions move him." 
 
 "I know all that, but Zillah is not in his 
 power, even though he may think she is. There 
 is one ever near her who will watch over and 
 protect her." 
 
 Feridoon looked puzzled. The astrologer no 
 ticed the look and quickly added : 
 
 "It is not an imaginary personage of whom I 
 speak, but I have been to the bedside of Zillah, 
 and I know there is one there who will easily 
 and promptly stop any wickedness the king may 
 attempt. So make yourself easy on that score. 
 
THE KING AND COBBLER, 
 
 As soon as the maiden is perfectly recovered, I 
 can remove her from the palace without trou 
 ble; but nowhere else can she receive better 
 medical treatment than there." 
 
 " But she is not very sick ? w 
 
 " No. Her constitution will easily throw off 
 the malady. In a very few days, at the farthest, 
 she will be as well as ever." 
 
 The youth seemed satisfied with this, and he 
 spoke to that effect. There were many things 
 he would have liked to know many things that 
 seemed strange and marvellous to him, but ( he 
 let them pass, having become assured that Ko- 
 bad liked not to be questioned on that point. 
 
 It was now sometime past midnight, and hav 
 ing called the black slave into the room, the as 
 trologer bade him conduct Peridoon to a place 
 of rest. The youth followed his sable guide up 
 a flight of narrow, wooden stairs, then down 
 another flight into a sort of hall, where a door 
 opened into a back yard. Our hero saw a high 
 wall that enclosed this yard, and wondered ex 
 ceedingly when he saw his guide step out upon 
 the dew-wet pavement ; but he followed without 
 
 asking any questions. TMft next movement was 
 more strange still, for the slave proceeded di 
 rectly to the brick wall, and having stooped 
 down and removed a brick from its resting- 
 place and moved some secret spring which was 
 hidden within the aperture thus revealed, he 
 raised up a slab of stone from the pavement, 
 and then motioned the young man to go down. 
 
 " Fear not," said a voice ; and, on turning, 
 our hero found Kobad standing by his side. 
 " "We have cause for care, you know. Go down 
 and I shaft quickly follow." 
 
 Thus bidden, Feridoon moved to the place and 
 stepped upon a ladder that he found there, and 
 having descended he waited at the foot for the 
 old man, who soon came with the lamp. After 
 passing along a narrow passage the youth found 
 himself in a very neat and comfortable apart 
 ment, in which were two beds. The old man 
 pointed him to the one that he might occupy, 
 and without further remark than to wonder at 
 the ingenuity displayed in the concealing of the 
 place, he undressed himself, and soon after 
 wards he had begun to dreaiiL 
 
CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 FKIENDS, AND HOW THEY WORKED. 
 
 ON the morning following these events, the 
 king was early astir, and when he reached the 
 apartment where he usually gave audience to his 
 officers and heard the reports of the night, he 
 found some half dozen of his officials there, and 
 he noticed at once that they wore troubled coun 
 tenances. At first he felt misgivings, for of late 
 he had become used to disasters and disappoint 
 ments. His first question was of the old as 
 trologer to know if he had been captured. Of 
 course he received a negative answer to this 
 question, but he saw that that was not all, and 
 he asked what more. After some hesitation and 
 an interchange of quick, furtive glances among 
 the officers, one of them related to the monarch 
 the circumstance of there having been found 
 eight men in the great square near Rustem s 
 palace that six of them were dead and two of 
 them so injured that they had but just recov 
 ered their speech. 
 
 Sohrab started first forward with his hands 
 extended, and then he started back again. He 
 trembled violently, and for some seconds tried to 
 speak without being able to articulate. But at 
 length he managed to give the order for having 
 those two men sent up to him, and ere long af 
 terwards they made their appearance, one of them 
 limping along with much difficulty and the other 
 brought in a chair borne upon two spears. 
 
 " Now," whispered the king, " what is it V 
 
 The soldier who had walked up told the story. 
 He told how his party had found the old astrol 
 oger, and how they had gagged and bound him 
 and started to bring him to the palace. Then he 
 told of the coming of Feridoon, and of the part 
 that young man had acted. The poor fellow up 
 on the chair not only corroborated the statement, 
 but he gave some further light by repeating 
 the language used by Feridoon. 
 
 " But here are only eight of your party ac 
 counted for," said the king, showing by his tone 
 and manner that he hardly knew what he said. 
 
 " The other two must have fled," returned 
 one of the officers, " probably fearing your maj 
 esty s wrath." 
 
 But his majesty paid no attention to this an 
 swer. He had walked to the opposite side of 
 the apartment, where he remained, with his back 
 turned to his officers, for some minutes. When 
 he returned, his face was very pale and rigid as 
 marble. His teeth were set and his hamds 
 clutched tightly together. He gazed around up 
 on his subjects some moments, and When he 
 spoke his voice was firm and strong, though a 
 close observer might have seen from the marks 
 upon his brow that he suffered much pain. 
 
 " Go and set every officer of my guard upon 
 the watch," he said. " Of the five thousand 
 
78 
 
 THE KING AND COBBLER. 
 
 soldiers who are quartered here, take every one 
 if necessary, and spread them through the city. 
 Let every street, square and every nook, of 
 whatever kind, be searched and watched. I 
 would have that old man, and that young one, 
 too, brought before me. Let it be alive, if you 
 can, but dead if it must be. And be ye sure, 
 also, that their mouths be stopped. Let it ap 
 pear that either of them have spoken after their 
 capture and those who do the neglect shall sure 
 ly die. Can you remember this ?" 
 
 The officers assured their royal master that 
 his commands should be obeyed, and then they 
 set off at once to see the thing done, and the 
 two soldiers were conducted back to the place 
 from whence they had been taken, considering 
 themselves fortunate in having escaped alive. 
 They did not know that their lives, that were 
 of such consequence to them, gave their king 
 no more weight of thought than two flies. He 
 happened to forget them in the press of more 
 important business. 
 
 In one hour from that time, the citizens were 
 not a little astonished at seeing great numbers 
 of soldiers spreading themselves over the city. 
 Into every street and place they entered, and 
 little lanes that had never before received such 
 marked distinction, were now guarded by live 
 soldiers. What it meant people could not ima 
 gine, but they knew something strange must 
 have happened, though they could not even have 
 dreamed of so strange a thing as the sending 
 out of all these soldiers after two men one of 
 them a man far gone on the down-hill of life, 
 and the other a youth just at the foot of life s 
 ladder. 
 
 Meanwhile the king remained in the apart 
 ment where we left him. He was all alone, not 
 even one of his eunuchs being with him, and 
 most of the time he had been walking up and 
 down the paved floor. But he had stopped now, 
 and his hands were clasped upon his brow, and 
 thus leaned against one of the marble pillars. 
 At length he started back, and as he brought 
 his hands together with an energetic movement, 
 he said : 
 
 " And all this is about a girl " 
 
 No, no, king, it is not all about a girl. Had 
 you never seen that girl, the same cloud that 
 now hangs over you would have opened its 
 storm upon your head. 
 
 " And I must fret and rave just for that which 
 is all my right if I please. By my life, the 
 pretty piece of trouble is mine, and this very 
 
 night shall she become my wife. She is well, 
 now. I saw her up this morning, and the rose 
 is back on her cheek. I need not fear that old " 
 
 The king stopped here, and the ashy pallor 
 once more came to his face ; but he soon over 
 came the fear, and just as he would have gone 
 into another soliloquy, one of his eunuchs en 
 tered his presence and asked him if he would 
 give audience that day, at the same time in 
 forming him that many people had assembled in 
 the audience chamber. 
 
 Sohrab bade the slave tell his officers that he 
 would be with them soon. Then he went and 
 swallowed a bowl of wine, and after this he went 
 down to the great hall where be was wont to 
 give his judgment on all cases his subjects 
 chose to present. Plbple saw that something 
 ailed the king, and several of the citizens with 
 drew without presenting their cases, for they 
 saw that he rendered his judgments most wild 
 ly, and sometimes without any possible reference 
 to the case in hand. 
 
 One old man, who had three slaTes, made 
 complaint against a merchant for having seized 
 one of his slaves for trespass, and put said slave 
 to hard work in his own shop. The complain 
 ant was willing, he said, to pay whatever money 
 might be due for the trespass, but he wanted his 
 slave. The king heard the case, and he decided 
 that all three of the slaves should be given over 
 to the merchant. 
 
 It so happened that the merchant had only 
 kept the one slave out of a whim, and when he 
 got out of the audience chamber, he laughed 
 heartily at the strange ruling of the king, but at 
 the same time assured the old man he should 
 not take the slaves. 
 
 Sohrab was so fairly out of his head that every 
 one noticed it, and by the time he had rendered 
 judgment in a dozen cases those who dared stole 
 away, and some of the others presented false 
 statements, plaintiff and defendant agreeing 
 thereto. 
 
 After all the business was disposed of which 
 came up, the king entered into a private busi 
 ness with some of his own officers, so that he 
 did not get away from the great hall till near 
 the middle of the afternoon. He then went to 
 his dinner, and after having taken a few turns in 
 his garden, he went to see Zillah. 
 
 The maiden was sitting by the open window 
 when the king entered, and she did seem about 
 well of her sickness. It had been but a slight 
 attack of fever, which had yielded at once to 
 
THE KING AND COBBLER. 
 
 79 
 
 skilful treatment ; and the constitution which no 
 irregularity of life had ever shattered, arose 
 quickly above the malady. Sohrab entered the 
 room and motioned the attendant away, and in 
 a moment more the monarch and the maiden 
 were left alone. 
 
 " Now, sweet Zillah," commenced the royal 
 suitor, " the time draws nigh for the bliss of 
 our loves. You will soon be mine. Since yes 
 terday you have recovered wonderfully, and it 
 almost seems a special work of God in my favor. 
 Are you not nearly recovered ?" 
 
 Zillah could not deny it, for she felt that she 
 was physically well. 
 
 " I am not so weak, sire, as I have been, 
 and I think that health has been once more re 
 stored to me." 
 
 " And do you not feel thankful ?" 
 
 " I do, most surely." 
 
 " But you cannot feel so joyful as I do, for 
 the hour that gives you health gives to me the 
 most beautiful wife on earth." 
 
 As the king thus spoke, he placed his arm 
 about the maiden s neck, and would have kissed 
 her, .but he saw that she had turned deadly pale, 
 and he started back. 
 
 " What is it ?" he quickly asked. 
 
 " O, spare me ! spare me !" 
 
 " Spare you And from what ?" 
 
 " From the dreadful fate you have mentioned." 
 
 " Do you mean the marriage with me V 
 
 " Yes, sire," faintly uttered Zillah. She had 
 made a mistake in her choice of words, but she 
 was too much moved to See it. 
 
 " And do you call becoming my wife a dread 
 ful fate ?" hissed the king, in rank madness. 
 
 "Alas, sire," uttered the poor girl, hardly 
 knowing what she said, " how can I look upon 
 the crushing of my heart without dread ?" 
 
 " And is it thus you meet my love ? Is it 
 thus you will receive the proffered affection of 
 your king ? Speak to me, girl, and tell me if 
 you mean thus to treat me." 
 
 " O, spare me ! Let me rest now ! Come to 
 me" 
 
 " When ?" 
 
 " Never ! never ! O, never !" 
 
 And Zillah, as she thus gasped, bowed her 
 head and groaned aloud. She was frantic, and 
 knew not how or what to speak. Her mighty 
 love for one whom she believed to be noble, 
 generous, virtuous and pure, was stout within 
 her, and she could not give it up. But she 
 could not help fearing the king, for she read in 
 
 every line of his features the passion that raged 
 within him. Sohrab gazed upon her awhile 
 after she had given utterance to that last inco 
 herent sentence, and he at first seemed almost 
 bewildered by the words, the tone and the man 
 ner ; but soon he found his tongue, and in a 
 thrilling whisper, he said : 
 
 " I see that words will be of no more avail. 
 This very night you shall be my wife ! Now 
 mark me. This very night !" 
 
 " For the love of God !" shrieked Zillah, sink- 
 ing down upon her knees, and raising her clasped 
 hands towards the king, " spare me ! spare me ! 
 I will be your slave your meanest slave. I 
 will shelter with the Ethiop, and drudge with 
 the very beasts but 0, spare my love ! break 
 not my heart ! tear not my soul in pieces !" 
 
 The king gazed down upon the imploring 
 maiden, and a wicked smile worked upon his 
 features. 
 
 " Girl," he said, and his tone was cold and 
 decided, " as sure as we both live, you shall be 
 my wife this night ! I have no more to say now. 
 Your own sense will tell how best to prepare 
 for my coming." 
 
 So the king spoke, and then he turned from 
 the room. Zillah arose to her feet and threw 
 herself upon a couch, but soon she felt a hand 
 upon her head, and she looked up. It was her 
 attendant who was with her, an old female slave 
 who had long held the station of nurse to the 
 royal wives. 
 
 " What is it 1" she asked, raising the unhappy 
 girl to a sitting posture. 
 
 " Alas, Thais, I am doomed !" the frantic 
 maiden murmured. 
 
 " Doomed ?" repeated Thais. " But how V 
 
 Zillah repeated all that the king had said. 
 
 " To-night ?" muttered the old nurse, to her 
 self. " By my life, but Sohrab hastens the mat 
 ter with a haste most unseemly." 
 
 " And my last of earthly joy is gone from me 
 forever ! No more shall the sun rise to give me 
 blessing in his golden beams, no more shall the 
 soft zephyr come to impart freshness to my 
 cheek, nor can the tender breath of friendship, 
 even, be a source of joy to me more !" 
 
 "Be not too sure," answered Thais, in a 
 matter-of-fact sort of way. " The king has for 
 gotten himself. Be sure you shall see no more 
 of him to-night." 
 
 Zillah started up and caught the old woman 
 by the arm, and gazed half wildly into her face. 
 
 " What mean you "?" she gasped. 
 
80 
 
 THE KING AND COBBLER. 
 
 " Just what I say. The king shall not trou 
 ble you to-night." 
 
 " O, if I could he sure of this !" 
 
 " I swear it." 
 
 " And you will save me V 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 The maiden threw her white arms about the 
 nurse s neck, but Thais soon shook them off, say 
 ing, as she did so : 
 
 " I must away now and attend to this matter. 
 Fear not, Zillah, for as I live, the king shall not 
 harm you." 
 
 Thais went to a little cot on which she slept, 
 and from beneath the bedding she drew a small 
 paper parcel, which she hid in her bosom, and 
 then having once more bade the girl be of good 
 heart, she left the room. She traversed many 
 passages and corridors, and at length she reached 
 that part of the palace where the king s own 
 apartments were situated. She looked into sev 
 eral of them, but she found not the one she 
 sought, and she sat down to await his coming. 
 She waited there full fifteen minutes, and at the 
 end of that time some one approached. She 
 moved out of the way, but not far, for she soon 
 saw that he whom she sought was he that now 
 came. It was one of the king s eunuchs, Bah- 
 boul, whom we have already seen in confidence 
 with the monarch. Thais called to him as he 
 came near, and without asking any question he 
 followed her until they came to a secluded 
 place. 
 
 " Now, Bahboul," spoke the nurse, hurriedly 
 but distinctly, " the king has planned to make 
 Ziliah his wife this night." 
 
 " Are you sure ?" asked the eunuch, somewhat 
 nervously. 
 
 " Most sure. He has sworn it with a solemn 
 oath." 
 
 " Then our course is clear. Have you got the 
 powder ?" 
 
 "Yes. Here it is. Now remember fix it so 
 that he shall be sure to drink it." 
 
 " I will do my part." 
 
 That was all that was necessary in that quar 
 ter, and Thais returned to the chamber of her 
 charge. 
 
 Bahboul went at once to the apartment where 
 the king always supped, and there he waited the 
 coming of his master, for the time of his usual 
 coming was near at hand. Just at dusk Soh- 
 rab made his appearance, and ordered his wine 
 immediately. 
 
 He always did this, and for this moment had 
 Bahboul waited. The eunuch hastened to obey 
 the order, and with a dexterous movement he 
 emptied a portion of the powder into the bowl. 
 The king took it and drank ; then he ate some 
 slight quantity of food and called for his bowl 
 again. After this he arose and went into another 
 apartment. In an hour more he would have 
 gone to claim the sweet Zillah, but a strange 
 drowsiness had come over him, and he thought 
 he would take a short nap, bidding his slaves 
 awaken him in just one hour. At the end of 
 the time they tried to obey him, but they could 
 not awaken him. They shook and rolled and 
 punched, and lifted him up and let him fall, but 
 all to no purpose. The sleep would not let go 
 its hold upon him, and at length they gave it up 
 in despair. 
 
 So that night the maiden passed in peace, 
 while the king slept on, all unconscious of what 
 strange scenes were awaiting him. 
 
CHAPTER XVIII, 
 
 CLOUDS AKD LIGHT. 
 
 the king arose he rubbed his eyes and 
 looked about him. He found the sun shining ! 
 into the apartment, and he thought he must 
 have made some mistake when he laid down. 
 He thought it was near sunset then. It was 
 some minutes before he noticed that the stin was 
 in the eastern heavens, but when he did notice it, 
 he started forward and grasped one of his trem 
 bling eunuchs by the arm. 
 
 " Villain ! dog !" he gasped. " What does 
 this mean 1" 
 
 The terrified slave gasped for breathy and after 
 a while he related what had occurred the previous 
 night* He told how they had tried to wake him 
 < how they had done all they dared do, without 
 effect. 
 
 This set the king pondering for a moment, and 
 then he knew that he had been drugged in some 
 way. A few moments more of thought and he 
 knew ^hat he must have had it in his wine. 
 Thefl he turned upon his slaves, and with a harsh 
 oath his hand leaped for his sword, but he could 
 hot find it. 
 
 " Slates !" he roared, " where are my wea 
 pons ?" 
 
 "Bahboul took them from you while yoti 
 slept, sire. He said they would prevent your 
 testing easy/ 
 
 " Ha ! And was t not Bahbotil who gate Jnd 
 my wine last night ?" 
 
 "Yes, sire." 
 
 " He dies ! Go send him hither." 
 
 Some of the slaves withdrew, but they return* 
 ed without finding Bahbotil. The king now lite^ 
 tally frothed at the mouth with rage, and, for a 
 while, he was totally unable to speak ; but at 
 length he managed to mutter, in a hot, hissing 
 tone : 
 
 " Tis a plot ! I see ! But now they shall be 
 overtaken in their work ! This very hotir-Hhia 
 very minute-- I go to Zillah -and henceforth she 
 is mine ! And then they shall all be mine- 1 and 
 they shall die. But what of the astrologer 7 
 Has he been captured ?" 
 
 " He had not, an hour since, sire." 
 
 " Be sure that I know when he is taken. Re 
 main you here. I go to the lady Zillah." 
 
 The king hastened out of the room as he thuss 
 spoke, afid with quick strides he made towards 
 the damsel s apartments. He found her already 
 dressed, but he did not wonder at this, for the 
 sun was more plain here, and he saw that it had 
 been up many hours. 
 
 " Ah," he said, after he had closed the door 
 behind him, " you escaped me last night. Did 
 you know I should net come V 
 
82 
 
 THE KING AND COBBLER. 
 
 " I prayed to God that you might not," Zillah 
 replied, in a trembling tone. 
 
 " You did, eh ? But let me assure you twas 
 not God who answered your prayer. There 
 were human hands in that work. Did you know 
 it?" 
 
 " I know nothing, sire, save that you did not 
 come." 
 
 " I believe you speak falsely," muttered Soh- 
 rab, eyeing the maiden keenly. " But it wont 
 save you, for now I have come to fulfil my 
 pledge. Are you ready V 
 
 Ziilah did not speak, for she knew not what 
 to say. She cast her eye upon Thais, but this 
 latter personage was busily engaged in pulling a 
 flower in pieces which she had plucked from a 
 vine that grew up by the window. The king no 
 ticed the direction of her glance, and he turned 
 his own attention for a moment upon the nurse. 
 
 " Slave !" he cried ; " you know something of 
 this affair." 
 
 " Me, sire ?" exclaimed the old woman, look 
 ing up with well feigned wonder upon her face. 
 
 " Yes you. You know something of this." 
 
 " I only know that I waited here until long 
 after midnight, to deliver my charge into your 
 handa, and that you did not come." 
 
 The monarch could read nothing but open 
 truth upon the face of the nurse, and ho thought 
 she might be guiltless. But one thing troubled 
 him, or perplexed him, at least. Zillah did not 
 seem so frightened as she did before, and he 
 thought she regarded him with a sort of cool in 
 difference. Could the king have seen what she 
 had seen, he would not have wondered at this, 
 for behind the heavy arras that covered the en 
 trance to a small closet, stood a stout black form, 
 armed with a sharp sword. That form was 
 Bahboul, and the sword was for the king ere 
 harm should come to the maiden. 
 
 But Bahboul was not destined to slay his royal 
 master, nor was Zillah destined to see the bloody 
 work done, for just as the king was moving to 
 wards her, two eunuchs unceremoniously entered 
 the place. 
 
 " How now, slaves ?" cried Sohrab, in quick, 
 passionate tones. " Why come ye here ?" 
 
 " Sire," spoke one of them, while they both 
 knelt, " the audience chamber is crowded, and 
 many people demand the royal presence." 
 
 Then go bid them wait our pleasure." 
 
 " But, sire, your ministers demand that you 
 shall come. It is now one whole hour past the 
 time." 
 
 " And let it be an hundred hours. The king 
 is not tied by his subjects." 
 
 " And shall we tell them to wait ?" 
 
 " Yes. Tell them I have business of more 
 importance." 
 
 " And what shall be done with the prisoners ?" 
 
 " Prisoners ?" 
 
 "Yes, sire. The old astrologer and Feridoon." 
 
 " Ha ! Now, by the gods, ye move me. Go 
 tell the minister I ll be there quickly." 
 
 The eunuchs withdrew, and the king turned to 
 Zillah. 
 
 " Be sure," he said, " that I shall return very 
 soon. I shall quickly shake this business from 
 my hands/ and then you ll be fully in my power. 
 When I do return I shall be yours alone to love." 
 
 Shortly afterwards Sohrab entered the great 
 audience hall attended by his eunuchs and four 
 of his chief household officers. With a quick 
 step he ascended the royal throne and seized his 
 sceptre. He stepped thus quickly, that his trem- 
 ulousness might not be seen. He gazed about 
 him, and amid the throng he saw the tall, vene 
 rable form of Kobad, and next to him stood the 
 firmly knit person of the Lion Heart. 
 
 " How now ?" the monarch cried, in a passion. 
 " Twas my order that these rebels should be 
 gagged. Who has dared to disobey me?" 
 
 " Sire," spoke an old officer, named Ban, 
 " Saffo, Lonza and myself brought the prisoners 
 hither, and we knew nothing of this order." 
 
 The king gazed upon the three men thus de 
 signated, and he liked not the looks they gave 
 him. They were the same three whom we saw 
 with Kobad in the cave. 
 
 " Slaves, stand before me \" 
 
 At this order, twelve stout, black slaves moved 
 out in front of the throne. 
 
 " Now listen to my order, and upon your lives 
 let it be quickly obeyed. Bind those two men 
 and take them hence. Take them to the dungeon 
 wjiere the youth was once before." 
 
 The slaves bowed, and then turned to the spot 
 where the accused men stood. 
 
 " Hold one moment !" spoke Kobad. " I must 
 speak ere I am condemned." 
 
 " Not a word ! Not a word !" shonted the king. 
 "Off with him!" 
 
 " Now, by the justice of heaven and the laws 
 of Persia, I demand to speak !" uttered the old 
 man, stepping upon the back of one of the mar 
 ble lions, and gazing around upon the assembled 
 multitude. 
 
 The people had flocked hither now because 
 
THE KING AND COBBLER. 
 
 they knew the astrologer and Feridoon were cap 
 tured, and a murmur, loud and deep, arose in 
 the audience chamber. 
 
 " Let him speak !" were the words that greeted 
 the ears of the king. 
 
 "By the gods of my country, he shall not 
 speak !" roared the king. " Off with him, I say. 
 Slaves, do my bidding, or you die on the spot ! 
 Call in the soldiers, and bid them clear the place. 
 We ll see who is king in Persia \" 
 
 " Sire," spoke Kanah, in a low tone, " you 
 had better let him speak." 
 
 " What ! and do you, too, turn against me 1" 
 uttered Sohrab, gazing angrijj- into the face of 
 his old counsellor. , 
 
 " I speak for you, sire. Let him speak. It 
 is but simple justice, and the people will most 
 surely demand it." 
 
 As Kanah thus spoke he stepped back from 
 the throne, and as the king followed him with his 
 eyes he saw that all his officers remained passive 
 and silent. No not wholly silent, for they whis 
 pered together with anxious, nervous looks. 
 
 Meanwhile, both Kobad and Feridoon moved 
 towards the throne, and just as the king was 
 upon the point of ordering his slaves to seize 
 them, he noticed that one of his old generals, at 
 the head of a hundred stout soldiers, was follow 
 ing them up. 
 
 " Now Foaz," the monarch uttered, address 
 ing the general, " what means this ? Have ye 
 come to help me V 
 
 " I have come to aid justice, sire," returned 
 the old warrior ; " the prisoner must be heard, 
 for he has matters of importance to communi 
 cate." 
 
 The king sprang to his feet and clapped his 
 hand upon his hip, but his sword-hilt was not 
 there. Then he sank back upon his throne, and 
 his face turned deadly pale so pale that all the 
 blood settled back into his coward heart, and 
 left him too weak to stand. 
 
 " Kobad," said the general, " you may speak 
 now ; and," he added, turning his eyes upon the 
 royal slaves, " the first man who dares to inter 
 rupt you dies." 
 
 " My countrymen " 
 
 " He is an Arabian !" gasped the king. 
 
 "I am a Persian !" spoke Kobad, nobly and 
 clearly, " and to my noble countrymen would I 
 speak. Do ye not all know that Persia is not 
 now what she has been ? Her glory is fading, 
 and the energies of the people are going out. 
 Ere long some envious prince will make war 
 
 upon us, and we are lost, if we have no king !" 
 
 Sohrab started up from his throne, but he did 
 not speak. 
 
 " And whence comes all this ?" the old man 
 continued. "Is it not a judgment of an offend 
 ed God for the crimes of him who calls himself 
 king ? Listen to me. You all remember the 
 noble Gushtasp you who are old enough. Did 
 you not love him V 
 
 A low murmur broke from the multitude, and 
 it grew louder and deeper, and the people all 
 said yes. 
 
 " But who shall tell the deep crime that de 
 prived you of that noble man 1 You know he 
 was murdered, and ye think the robbers of the 
 desert did it. No, no. Sohrab feared that Gush 
 tasp would be made king, and he sent out his 
 own slaves to murder him as he came home to 
 attend the funeral of the dead king. Those 
 slaves most faithfully did the work, and when 
 they returned with Gushtasp s life upon their 
 hands, Sohrab killed them every one with poison 
 and he thought the secret of his crime was 
 safe !" 
 
 " Black, accursed liar !" shrieked the king, 
 starting up again ; " how is your soul sworn to 
 falsehood. My people, he is crazy. Listen not 
 to him ! Slaves take him away !" 
 
 But the slaves dared not stir. The old man 
 gazed a moment into the face of the frantic mon 
 arch, and then he resumed : 
 
 " I know of what I speak, for I saw the deed 
 done. I saw those murderers, and I knew them 
 for Sohrab s slaves ; but I was too late to stop 
 the murder. Gushtasp spoke one word to me 
 ere he died, and that word was Sohrab ! But 
 look into the coward s face, and see if the guilt is 
 not there !" 
 
 Every eye was turned upon the king in an in 
 stant, and some almost pitied him for the dread 
 ful terror he suffered. His face was now fairly 
 purple with suffocation, and the power of speech 
 was gone from him. 
 
 " And now listen further. Know ye not how 
 for years Sohrab has trodden upon your liberties 
 and sacrificed your interests to his own base 
 passions ? Even now he has within his palace a 
 poor maiden whom he has snatched from her 
 home, and against every plea of mercy and jus 
 tice would he sacrifice her. You know the laws 
 of Persia. What must be the penalty of all these 
 crimes 1" 
 
 "Death !" murmured a hundred voices. 
 
 " Ay and let the sentence be carried out." 
 
84 
 
 THE KING AND COBBLEE. 
 
 " But we have no law that can put a king to 
 death," gasped Sohrab, seizing upon this one 
 hope. " Tis open treason to speak of the thing !" 
 
 " Tis true/ uttered Kanah. " We cannot put 
 a king to death," 
 
 And so all the ministers said. The king Was 
 above the reach of human law. 
 
 "And now let the traitor be led away," cried 
 Sohrab, now almost himself again. 
 
 " Not yet," pronounced Kobad, while a strange 
 light shone in his still dark eye. " There is a 
 matter of justice to be done yet. Here is an old 
 man who has come to demand his child, and he 
 must be heard." 
 
 At this juncture Zak Turan came forward, and 
 close by his side came his trembling wif> 
 
 " Now," resumed the old astrologer, " let Zil- 
 lah be brought" 
 
 " No ! no ! It shall not be !" cried the king, 
 
 "Justice! justice!" answered Kobad. "Bah- 
 boul, go and lead the maiden hither." 
 
 And from behind one bf the great pillars step 
 ped the old eunuch. He bowed to the astrologer, 
 and then, before the astounded king could pre 
 vent him, he had left the hall. 
 
 Once more that purple hue came to the face of 
 the king, for he was fearful yet. A new cloud 
 arose before him, and it was so black that the 
 one which had just passed seemed all light by 
 its sids. 
 
CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 CONCLUSION. 
 
 ERE long, the lovely Zillah was led into the 
 audience chamber, and a murmur of surprise and 
 delight arose from the lips of the people as her 
 transcendent beauty shone upon them. She was 
 pale with excitement, but her face flushed when 
 she saw Feridoon, and she did not shrink from 
 his impulsive embrace. Next she saw the good 
 Zak Turan and Rudabah, and she forgot her 
 sorrows. 
 
 As soon as this scene was passed, Feridoon 
 sprang upon the back of one of the marble lions 
 which supported one of the corners of the throne, 
 and in a clear, bold tone, he cried : 
 
 " My countrymen, I demand at your hands the 
 death of him who murdered my father!" 
 
 For a few moments all was hushed with aston 
 ishment, but an old soldier cried out : 
 
 " Tis Gushtasp himself !" 
 
 And at that moment hundreds recognized the 
 remarkable likeness. 
 
 "No, no," spoke Kobad, "it is not Gush 
 tasp it is his son, and he shall have the boon 
 he craves." 
 
 " It cannot be," pronounced the old counsel 
 lor, "for the person of the king is sacred. But 
 you may now speak of the maiden." 
 
 " Ay and so I will," returned the old man 
 " for she stands the same as stands the noble 
 youth with a sad, strange story of her life. 
 
 6 
 
 Now listen to me, for your very souls shall start 
 in horror at what I shall tell !" 
 
 Once more the king started from his throne, 
 but he could not stand, and the words he at 
 tempted to speak only gurgled in his throat. 
 The astrologer looked pityingly into his face 
 for an instant, and then went on : 
 
 " You all remember Kei Khosrou. He was 
 a king who at least loved his people and feared 
 not their enemies. You remember when the 
 insurrection occurred in Khorason. The king 
 went thither with only a few of his people, 
 knowing that his presence would quell it. Gush 
 tasp was away, and when the king left he gave 
 the throne in charge to Sohrab. Sohrab felt the 
 golden seat beneath him, and he wished lo pos 
 sess it for his own and with the wish came the 
 purpose. He called two of his trusty messengers 
 to his side and bid them go out and hang upon 
 the king s course, and when he stopped at night, 
 they were to draw the king away by persuasion, 
 and when they had got him at a safe distance 
 from his retinue, they were to kill him and 
 secure the body, and then return to the city with 
 it, and then he would say the king had returned 
 sick and out of his reason, and died. 
 
 " The two messengers went out, and they 
 came up with the royal retinue ; and at night 
 they made their way into the king s tent, and 
 
THE KING AND COBBLER. 
 
 under a false pretext they drew him away. When 
 they had gone far enough, and the king demand 
 ed to know their business, one of them struck 
 him upon the head ; but the king fell not. He 
 drew his sword, and the villains set upon him 
 fiercely, One of them the king killed, but the 
 other struck him down at length, and believed 
 him to be dead. Yet the surviving villain was 
 too weak from loss of blood and exhaustion to 
 either move the king s body, or to bury it, and 
 he crept in among the bushes to recover him 
 self. In, the morning the king s retinue found 
 no king when they awoke, and one of them said 
 ^- he has ridden on alone. They hunted some 
 time for him, but not finding him they started 
 on towards Khorason, thinking that he must 
 have hastened on in advance. 
 
 " The wounded assassin saw them depart, and 
 just then some peasants came that way, and see 
 ing the body of the king, they picked it up and 
 bore it away. The assassin dared not reveal 
 himself to them, and when they were gone he 
 crept out from his hiding-place and made back 
 towards the, city, and there he told Sohrab what 
 had happened. Other messengers were at once 
 sent out, and they found the peasants after two 
 days search, and the peasants said they had bu* 
 ried the body in the sand, and that the jackala 
 had unearthed it and eaten it up. Then these 
 messengers returned, having first been assured 
 that the peasants knew not whose body they had 
 buried, and told their success to Sohrab. Then 
 he caused some crafty workmen to set at the 
 task of making an image of clay to resemble the 
 king and it was made, and so truly was it col 
 ored that it looked like a human corse. Then 
 Sohrab gave out that the king had returned sick 
 and crazy, and that he had died ; and he caused 
 this image to be dressed in grave-clothes and ex- 
 hibit|l it in the hall of judgment, and a barrier 
 was built about it that no hand might profane 
 it. And he told that the queen had become crazy 
 and fled. He meant the king s favorite wife, 
 Roxana, for it was known that she was soon 
 to give birth to a child." 
 
 The old man stopped a moment to overcome 
 the emotion that worked upon him, and while he 
 did so his eyes sought those of the king, but the 
 latter could not speak. At length the speaker 
 went on. 
 
 "But, my countrymen, those peasants spoke 
 falsely to the messengers who came to them. 
 The king was not killed. Those honest people 
 Cursed him, and it was at his command that 
 
 they told the messengers he was dead and bu 
 ried. The king knew who his enemy was, and 
 his only care was to save his favorite wife and 
 child, for Eoxana had already given birth to a 
 daughter. One of the peasants had a brother in 
 the city, named Zak fruran, a poor cobbler. 
 The king gave to this peasant his royal signet, 
 and bade him hasten to the city and see Roxana 
 to see her without Sohrab s knowledge- with 
 out the knowledge of any but the women. He 
 did so he was bold and witty and Roxana 
 received her husband s warning in season ; and 
 she took her infant and fled to the house of the 
 cobbler, where she represented herself as the 
 widow of a poor merchant who had been cruelly 
 put to death by the temporary ruler. And there 
 she found a shelter and a home ; but she lived 
 not locg only two short months and then she 
 gave her infant princess to the cobbler s wife, 
 to care for and love. % 
 
 " Khei Khosrou got well in season to witness 
 the cruel butchery of the noble Gushtasp, and he 
 saw the general s wife flee with her infant son, 
 but he could not find them. Some of you al 
 ready know the strange story of that son how 
 his mother must have been devoured by the wild 
 beasts,, and how he was suckled and reared by 
 the wild goats, until Rustem found him. But 
 Khei Khosrou came to the city in disguise. He 
 saw the wicked Sohrab upon the throne, and all 
 sick at heart he turned away from the .scene. 
 Royalty had no charms for him he felt easier 
 with the yoke from his neck, and he resolved to 
 travel. 
 
 He saw his infant, but he did not tell the good 
 people who protected it that it was his child, and 
 then he started off. He visited Arabia and 
 Egypt, and other countries. A few years since 
 he returned to this city, and ere long his heart 
 was pained at the wickedness he saw. But his 
 child had grown up beautiful and good, and that 
 gave him joy. Ere long he learned, through an 
 old teacher, of the youth Rustem had found 
 upon the Hetzendarras, and when he saw the 
 youth he knew twas Gushtasp s son. Then 
 there came a strange, wild hope to his bosom. 
 He saw that the youth was noble and good, and 
 he hoped to make that youth the husband of his 
 own sweet child and then give to his wronged 
 and suffering people a virtuous, just and fear 
 less king and queen ! His work is almost done !" 
 
 As the old man ceased speaking, he bowed his 
 head, and big tears started from his eyes. Soon 
 he felt a hand upon his knee, and when he looked 
 
THE KING AND COBBLEE. 
 
 87 
 
 down he found Zillah and Feridoon both at his 
 feet. He raised them up, and with deep cries of 
 joyful emotion they sank upon his bosom. 
 
 "My father! murmured Zillah, "O, my 
 father !" 
 
 " Yes, sweet one, I am thy father. I am I 
 am !" 
 
 One moment the old man stood thus, and then 
 he pushed his children from him and started up 
 the steps of gold that led to the throne. With 
 one hand he seized the jewelled sceptre, and with 
 the other he caught Sohrab by the throat and 
 hurled him from the throne. 
 
 " Out, dog !" he shouted, while his eyes flashed 
 fire. " "What ho ! slaves, seize the murderer ! 
 People of my kingdom, once more behold your 
 true king, come to set you free from a monster, 
 and to restore joy once more to your hearts, 
 peace to your homes, and plenty to your garners !" 
 
 Who doubted that tongue now ? Who now 
 did rot know those features, all changed as they 
 were by time and troubles *? Not one. All gazed 
 a moment at the venerable man who held the 
 sceptre, and then they fell upon their knees and 
 shouted with all their might in tones of mad joy. 
 ***** 
 
 Sohrab had been led away by the very men 
 who had been so lately wont to obey him, and 
 he spoke not a word ere he went. Not one lisp 
 fell from his lips, but groans, deep and heavy, 
 could be heard away down in his bosom. He 
 was led away, and that very night he died in his 
 prison-room. He took his own life, for he was 
 found the next morning weltering in his own 
 blood, which came from a wound in the neck 
 made by a small knife. None mourned for him, 
 not even his wives, and his body was placed in 
 a low, dark sepulchre, away off under the moun 
 tain, where reposed the bones of malefactors. 
 
 Kei Khcsrou explained to his friends how he 
 had obtained the assistance of Bahboul and Thais 
 by telling them who he was, and also how he had 
 been obliged to reveal himself to Ban, Saffo and 
 Lcnza. And he explained other things, too, 
 until they all wondered they had not known him 
 when first he came among them. 
 
 A few days passed away, during which time 
 the restored king was at work night and day in 
 giving order and harmony to the several depart 
 ments of government. One evening, while he 
 and Kanah were at work among the parchment 
 rolls of the late ruler, the latter opened one of 
 
 them, and as his eye ran over it, he uttered an 
 exclamation of surprise. 
 
 " What is k ?" said the king, 
 " Light upon a dark subject, sire," returned 
 the old counsellor. " You remember how quick 
 ly the insurrection was quelled of itself at Kho- 
 rason, after you were supposed to be dead?" 
 " I do remember it, and I wondered at it." 
 " Then wonder no more, for see here," .uttered 
 Kanah, as he passed over the parchment. 
 
 It was a simple document, and told that Soh 
 rab had got up the insurrection in question him 
 self. 
 
 " Never mind," said Kei Khosrou, as he rolled 
 the missive up, " he will not breed wickedness 
 any more." 
 
 At length the business was all regulated, and 
 then the old monarch saw Feridoon and his own 
 sweet Zillah made man and wife. Then he col 
 lected all the nobles of his kingdom, and before 
 them all he resigned his crown to Feridoon, for 
 he was too old to do the duty, and yet he could 
 work when there was need, for his counsel and 
 advice should ever be free while he lived. 
 
 Eastern had remained away from the royal 
 palace, for he feared the wrath of the young 
 monarch, but Feridoon recalled him to court, 
 and placed him in a station of honor about his 
 person, and treated him so kindly and generous, 
 ly that even Kustem himself forgot the harsh 
 ness of which he had been guilty. 
 
 And Zak Turan cobbled sandals no longer. 
 He became a. man of vast importance at court, 
 being made one of the ushers of the royal apart 
 ments and a sort of officer at large, to go and 
 come when he pleased. His wife seldom scolded 
 now, for she was made busy with the young 
 queen s slaves, keeping them in place and at 
 their duty, and what she had of harmless venom 
 she could vent upon them. But they ratheV en 
 joyed it than otherwise, from the fact that she 
 was so kind to them always, that they loved to 
 see her have these little spells of selfish enjoy 
 ment. 
 
 And Persia saw better and happier days. Her 
 commerce with other nations expanded, her laws 
 were improved, her home interests were faithful 
 ly looked after, and through all the length and 
 breadth of the land went up praises of love and 
 gratitude to the youthful king, for he was all that 
 a nation, jealous of its honor, and ambitious of 
 its prosperity, could ask, 
 
 THE END, 
 
THE GOVERNESS. 
 
 BY T. A. KIMB AL L. 
 
 " WANTED, a Governess. Apply at No. 22, 
 Melville Street, Baltimore." 
 
 " Shall I apply for the situation ?" mused Ella 
 St. George, as she thoughtfully laid the news 
 paper, in which was the above advertisement, 
 upon tlie table ; " my little stock of money will 
 soon be exhausted ; I must come to some de 
 cision quickly, and I maybe fortunate enough to 
 find a good home." And she fell into a painful 
 reverie, and thought of the happy time when 
 she* had no care for the future, when a kind 
 father had protected her from every ill, a fond 
 mother had gazed with pride and affection on 
 her, and her brother had lovingly twined his fin 
 gers in her golden curls. 
 
 The tears started to her eyes, as she thought, 
 " where are they now ?" From her little win 
 dow, she could see the white marble that headed 
 her father s and mother s grave. And she had 
 never heard from her brother, or seen him, since 
 the time, five years before, when, on the eve of 
 his departure for Australia, he had cut off one 
 of the locks she prized so much, and pictured to 
 her the future, and the happiness that awaited 
 them when he should have become rich. 
 
 Mrs. Allen had just settled herself in the li 
 brary of her comfortable home, for a quiet morn 
 ing, having given orders that she should be 
 denied to all callers, with the exception of the 
 applicants for the situation of governess. The 
 servant opened the door, and ushered in a tall, 
 graceful girl, apparently about eighteen. She 
 looked very beautiful as she timidly entered, her 
 auburn hair hanging in rich profusion, her large 
 blue eyes beaming with intelligence, and the 
 purity of her complexion enhanced by contrast 
 with the black habit she wore. Mrs. Allen arose 
 ia some surprise, and awaited the object of her 
 visit. 
 
 " Madam, I underitand you are in want of a 
 governess 1" 
 
 " Ah ! yes ; pray be seated. You saw my 
 advertisement in the paper, I presume "?" 
 
 " Yes, madam." 
 
 " Can you teach the usual branches of an 
 English education, with the addition of music, 
 Italian, and French ?" 
 
 " I think I can, madam. I am a proficient in 
 music, and can teach singing and the rudiments 
 of French and Italian/ 
 
THE GOVERNESS. 
 
 " Ah ! Would you oblige me by singing, and 
 accompanying yourself upon the piano forte 1" 
 said Mrs. Allen. " We will proceed to the 
 drawing-room, if you please," and gracefully 
 rising, she led the way. 
 
 Ella seated herself at the beautiful instrument, 
 and commenced singing, with great sweetness, 
 " The light of other days." 
 
 Mrs. Allen said, " you sing sweetly ; that song 
 is a favorite with me. I think if my terms suit 
 you, I shall like you very well. My daughters 
 are of the respective ages of nine, twelve and 
 fifteen, and the salary I thought of giving is two 
 hundred dollars a year." 
 
 Ella accepted the situation. 
 
 "If you like," resumed Mrs. Allen, "you can 
 come this evening". You will take your meals 
 in the nursery, with the children, with the ex 
 ception of dinner. Mr. Allen insists upon the 
 children coming down to dinner ; of course, you 
 will accompany them." 
 
 Ella assented, and taking leave of Mrs. 
 Allen, promised to come at seven o clock in 
 the evening. 
 
 She now proceeded to the little cottage, where 
 she had boarded since her bereavement, and 
 busied herself the remainder of the day in 
 making the necessary arrangements for her 
 change of residence. Having completed these, 
 and finding she had still an ho ur at her disposal, 
 she strolled towards the little grave-yard that 
 contained the remains of her parents, and she 
 almost wished that her struggle in life was over, 
 and that she was quietly sleeping beside them. 
 
 The time for her departure at last arrived ; 
 and stepping into the carriage she had ordered, 
 was soon conveyed to the stately looking house 
 that was, for the present, to be her home. 
 
 Mrs. Allen and two of her daughters had 
 gone out for the evening, and Miss Lucy, the 
 youngest, was in bed. * Miss St. George was in 
 formed that she was to share Miss Lucy s room, 
 and was glad to retire at once. Lucy was sleep 
 ing, and Ella thought, as she gazed upon her 
 fair, sweet countenance, that she would not have 
 much trouble with her. Hastily undressing, she 
 joined her little companion ; and fatigued with 
 the exertions of the day, she was soon in a 
 sound slumber. 
 
 The next morning, Mrs. Allen entered the 
 school room, accompanied by her two daughters, 
 Ellen and Genevra, whom she introduced to Miss 
 St. George. " You have already made the ac 
 quaintance of Lucy, I perceive," she said ; " I 
 
 { shall leave them entirely to your own judgment, 
 as my time is quite taken up, and I hope you 
 will get on well together." 
 
 Twelve months glided away happily. Mr. 
 Allen expressed himself highly gratified with 
 the improvement of his daughters ; and their 
 mamma was glad to have the responsibility off 
 her hands. They kept very little company, and 
 with the exception of a Mr. Stanley, a constant 
 visitor, Ella had not seen any strangers. 
 
 Herbert Stanley was a handsome, intellectual 
 looking man, about thirty years of age, and pos 
 sessed considerable property in the South. He 
 had never had any chance of conversing much 
 with Ella, as she left the room immediately after 
 dinner, each day, with the two young ladies ; but 
 he was particularly attentive to her during din 
 ner, and evidently admired her. 
 
 " Mamma, do you not think Ella very hand 
 some V said Lucy one day to Mrs. Allen. 
 
 " I don t know, child ; what makes you ask ?" 
 
 " Well, Mr. Stanley said to pa that he thought 
 her a lovely girl that she had the grace of a 
 fairy, and the prettiest blue eyes he had ever 
 seen. Pa said he thought so too, and so do I ; 
 don t you think so too, mamma ?" 
 
 " I don t know what Miss St. George is doing, 
 to allow you to plague me now," exclaimed 
 Mrs. Allen; "go up stairs, directly." 
 
 " We have finished our studies for this morn 
 ing, mamma." 
 
 " Tell Miss St. George to walk out with you, 
 then." 
 
 Ella little dreamed of the storm that was 
 brewing overhead, as she dressed to go out with 
 her young charges. Lucy looked very sad, and 
 felt afraid she had got her gentle governess into 
 some trouble, though she could not see why her 
 mamma should be so ugly. 
 
 It was a lovely morning, and they walked to 
 wards the old mill, gathering the wild flowers on 
 their way; Geuevra playfully insisted upon dress 
 ing Ella s hair with the flowers, "just to see 
 how they looked," she said, " as nobody would 
 be coming that way to interrupt them." 
 
 They were thus pleasantly occupied, Geneva, 
 in making her governess look like the " Queen 
 of May," and Ellen and Lucy bringing her flow 
 ers, when they were startled by a deep toned 
 voice, saying, " Good morning, ladies." Ella 
 started to her feet, and the color rushed to her 
 temples, as she perceived Mr. Stanley, smiling 
 at her confusion. She tried to disentangle her 
 hair from the flowers^mt Genevra had fixed them. 
 
90 
 
 THE GOVERNESS. 
 
 in so well, that neither she nor her governess 
 could get them out. 
 
 The gentleman proffered his assistance, though 
 he said it was a pity to take them out, they were 
 so becoming to her. They now began to think 
 of returning to the house, and Mr. Stanley said 
 he was going to dine with them, and with Miss 
 St. George s permission, would accompany them 
 home. Genevra smiled archly at her governess. 
 Mr. Stanley and Ella entered into a pleasant 
 conversation, and his animated countenance 
 showed how much, he was pleased with his 
 fair companion. They reached the house just 
 as the dinner bell sounded, and she and her pu 
 pils hastily ran up stairs to arrange their dresses. 
 After dinner, the ladies retired, as usual, and 
 Mr. Stanley strolled into the library, and 
 through the door communicating with the con 
 servatory. He had not been there long, when 
 he was aroused by the sound of voices in the li 
 brary, and he heard Mrs. Allen say : 
 
 " I insist upon your leaving my house this 
 evening, Miss St George. I thought, when I 
 engaged you, that you were a respectable person, 
 and not a detestable flirt." 
 
 Ella indignantly repelled the accusation. 
 
 " I tell you," exclaimed Mrs. Allen, " that your 
 conduct towards Mr. Stanley was truly shame 
 ful, and he might well say, that you were a dis 
 graceful flirt! " 
 
 " Madam, I cannot believe that Mr. Stanley 
 would say so, as he has not had any opportunity 
 of judging; and as to flirting with him, I 
 cannot tell what you mean." 
 
 " Never mind that. He said so, and remem 
 ber, you leave my house to-night !" 
 
 Ella answered haughtily, " let it be so then/ 
 and was about to leave the library, when Mr. 
 Stanley entered, from the conservatory, and 
 begged her to stay a moment. 
 
 "lam sorry to have to contradict you," he 
 said, addressing Mrs. Allen, " but I think Miss 
 Ella anything but a flirt, and I think she is, 
 indeed, not suitable for her present situation ; 
 she might fill a better one." 
 
 Mrs. Allen flounced out of the room. 
 
 " Miss Ella," said Stanley, as he seated him 
 self by her side, " will you permit me to ask a 
 few questions, in a spirit of friendship, without 
 attributing it to impertinence 1" 
 
 " Certainly." 
 
 " Where do you think of going, upon leaving 
 Mrs. Allen s ?" * 
 
 " I have not decided ; my dismissal has been 
 so perfectly unexpected." 
 
 " My mother would be delighted to make your 
 acquaintance, Miss Ella, and you would be very 
 comfortable with her for a few weeks. Do not 
 let any feeling of delicacy induce you to refuse 
 this temporary home. I am at present staying 
 at a hotel, and would feel gratified if you would 
 allow me to convey you to Evergreen Cottage 
 this evening." 
 
 Ella felt uncertain whafr to do. She did not 
 like to refuse Mr. Stanley s offer, he seemed so 
 earnest and respectful in his desire to serve her, 
 and she finally consented to remain with his 
 mother for the present. 
 
 Stanley said he would come for her in an 
 hour. Accordingly, at four o clock (much to 
 Mrs. Allen s annoyance), a carriage drove up to 
 the door, and Mr. Stanley alighting, inquired if 
 Miss St. George was ready. And, having 
 taken leave of her young charges, and promising 
 to write to them, Mr. Stanley helped her into 
 the carriage, and they soon found themselves in 
 the cheerful little parlor of Evergreen Cottage, 
 his mother s pretty residence. 
 
 He introduced Ella, and explained the circum 
 stances that had transpired at Mrs. Allen s. 
 The old lady welcomed her with great cordiality, 
 and assured her she would feel happy in her 
 company as long as she would stay with her. 
 She then rang the bell for tea, and soon after, 
 Herbert, looking at his watch, said he had an 
 engagement, and must leave them ; but he 
 would call in to see them in a few days. 
 
 When Ella came down, the next morning, 
 she found Mrs. Stanley sitting at the breakfast 
 table, waiting for her. 
 
 "Good morning,my dear ; how did you sleep ?" 
 
 " Soundly, madam. I hope I have not kept 
 you waiting for breakfast." 
 
 " Not at all, my dear." Just then the servant 
 entered with a beautiful bouquet, of the rarest 
 flowers. There was a slip of paper attached : 
 " For Miss Ella, with Herbert Stanley s com 
 pliments." 
 
 " O, how very beautiful !" exclaimed Ella ; 
 " how I love flowers !" 
 
 Mrs. Stanley smiled, and remarked that Her 
 bert was always fond of flowers. 
 
 A week had passed away, and Herbert Stan 
 ley had not been to his mother s cottage, but 
 each morning he had sent a bouquet for Ella. 
 It was a fine evening, and the ladies were seated 
 at the window, pleasantly conversing, when a 
 
THE GOVERNESS. 
 
 91 
 
 barouche drove up, and Stanley bowed and 
 smiled, as he alighted. 
 
 "Well, ladies, how do you get on? Ah! 
 Miss Ella, you are ruining your complexion by 
 staying in the house. Will you not ride with 
 me, this lovely evening ? come, it will do you 
 good ;" and coming nearer to her, he said, " I 
 have something particular to say to you, and 
 may not have another opportunity, as I leave for 
 the South in a fortnight." 
 
 Ella s cheeks were rosy enough, as she left 
 the room to prepare for the ride. She was soon 
 ready ; Stanley assisted her into the barouche, 
 and waving their hands to Mrs. Stanley, were 
 soon out of sight. For some time they rode on 
 in silence ; Ella admiring the scenery, and Her 
 bert apparently lost in thought. At length, 
 arousing himself, he said : 
 
 " Miss Ella, I told you I should have to go 
 South in a fortnight ; I shall probably remain 
 two or three years ; but I cannot go, without 
 saying how much I esteem how fondly I love 
 you. Dear Ella, will you be my wife ? the light 
 of my southern home ? If you refuse, life will 
 indeed be a dreary blank ;" and he looked anx 
 iously for an answer. 
 
 Ella trembled, and said : " Mr. Stanley, you 
 forget the difference of our stations in life. Your 
 mother " 
 
 " Will be delighted," he said. "Dear Ella, 
 say at once that you will accompany me to the 
 South, as my darling wife." 
 
 She was confused ; but Stanley construed her 
 silence favorably to his wishes, and tenderly 
 drawing her shawl more closely around her, he 
 turned the conversation upon indifferent sub 
 jects, and they were soon once more at Mrs. 
 Stanley s. They entered the parlor together. 
 Herbert s countenance was radiant with happi 
 ness. Ella was going to run up stairs, but he, 
 gently detaining her, said : 
 
 " Dear mother, allow me to introduce you to 
 my promised bride !" 
 
 The old lady was very much affected, and 
 said : " God bless you, my children ! May you 
 ever be happy." 
 
 And now, need we say how beautiful Ella 
 looked, in her bridal robe of pale blue satin and 
 white lace, and the violets and lilies in her hair ? 
 Or how proud the handsome bridegroom looked 
 of his lovely bride ? and how the long lost 
 brother returned to witness their happiness ? 
 
REMINISCENCES OF CALIFORNIA, 
 
 BY FREDERICK STANHOPE. 
 
 MONTAIGNE has said " that the history of a 
 great city is the history of its nation ;" never, 
 perhaps, was this more fully exemplified than in 
 California. 
 
 San Francisco was settled in the year 1775 by 
 the Franciscan monks, sent out from old Spain 
 as missionaries to the Indians ; but their " mis 
 sion " was some three miles from the site of the 
 present city, which, in 1846, was the little peublo 
 of " Yerbabuena" (sweet herb), so called, from 
 the profusioh of a kind of fern growing on the 
 otherwise desolate soil. 
 
 For years, it had been scarcely known, save to 
 the geographer, or eastern hide merchant, and 
 only looked on as a . convenient depot for the 
 storage of hides ; while the fine bay rendered 
 the shipment easy. The town comprised some 
 fifty houses, with perhaps a couple of hundred 
 inhabitants. The buildings of adobes (sun 
 baked bricks) straggled over a large space, 
 fronted by the bay, and backed by a range of 
 sand hills. In the centre of the place was the 
 plaza, with an old one story adobe edifice, having 
 piazzas on two sides, and some pretensions to 
 whitewash, though evidently of many years 
 standing ; this was the custom and court house. 
 The dusty, deserted, grass-grown streets, if 
 streets they could be called, rarely evinced any 
 greater sign of business than a native cart or 
 
 two, lazily dragging their way, with vegetables 
 from the mission, or hides for shipment. These 
 carts were curiosities in their way; they had 
 two wheels, cut from solid blocks of wood, with 
 a hole for the axle, and being far from round, as 
 they turned, the cart would sway from side to 
 side ; the body was a few boards, with the pole, 
 or shaft, lashed to the horns of a pair of oxen.. 
 An affair of this kind would come lumbering into 
 town with, perhaps, half a dozen water-melons 
 for a load, brought as many miles. 
 
 In the bay, were one or two rusty ships, load 
 ed with assorted cargoes, which they peddled out 
 to the inhabitants at the very reasonable rate of 
 three hundred per cent, profit. These were the 
 stores of California ; they monopolized all the 
 trade, and when a signorita wished a new " re- 
 boso," or a young cavalier a pair of " calcon- 
 cellos," instead of doing their shopping in town> 
 they took boats for the harbor, carrying off the 
 hides necessary for payment for their purchases. 
 
 An air of languor seemed to pervade all, and 
 everything ; it was typical of the condition of the 
 entire country. Occasionally, a " Gente de 
 razon," out for a " pasea," would dash through 
 the streets with gaily caparisoned horse and 
 jingling bit and spurs ; and as the fresh breeze 
 from the bay saluted him, he would pause, while 
 puffing his cigarette, to gaze around, and then 
 
KEMINISCENCES OF CALIFORNIA. 
 
 93 
 
 gallop off perfectly contented with the condition 
 of affairs, and satisfied that no change could im 
 prove them for the better. 
 
 Alta California was divided among a few in 
 dolent rancheros, many owning immense tracts 
 of land ; some had sixty, and in one instance, 
 eighty square miles. Very little of this was 
 under any kind of cultivation ; their herds of 
 cattle running wild, afforded them, by their 
 hides, all they required for their simple mode of 
 life, clothing, and a few luxuries from the ships, 
 For many years, the country had remained as 
 nearly as possible in a primitive state. This 
 was the position of California in 1846. 
 
 But the star of progress begins to appear in 
 the east. War has been rumored ; at first scarce 
 believed, then deemed of so little moment, by 
 the far distant Californian, that it is forgotten. 
 The field, however, is opened; Fremont s ac 
 count of the passage of the mountains has been 
 published, and the route proved practicable; 
 and western frontiers -men, becoming crowded, 
 shoulder their rifles and start for the mountains, 
 while the eastern Yankee, wishing for a change, 
 but more cautious, takes ship round the Horn, 
 firm believers all in " manifest destiny." Cali 
 fornia, they were confident, would follow and 
 take her place by the side of Texas and Oregon. 
 
 So they began to drop in on our friends of 
 the Pacific, from the plains, from Mexico, and 
 by sea; the natives became uneasy; these Grin 
 gos troubled them with their restless manners. 
 One day, a large ship, filled with armed men, 
 sailed quietly into the bay of San Francisco, 
 and dropped anchor ; she had the first detach 
 ment of the Seventh Regiment of New York Vol 
 unteers. In a week, she was joined by her two 
 consorts. 
 
 The Californians rode down to the beach and 
 gazed with stupid wonder, while the troops 
 (some eight hundred) disembarked, and then, as 
 day after day the bowels of these huge monsters 
 of the deep disgorged arms and stores and 
 camp equipage and portable houses, sufficient 
 for an army, they put spurs to their beasts, with 
 a " Caramba, tan pendagos " (great heavens, 
 what fools), " they come here as though to 
 stay ; why, we must not permit it." So Pico, 
 and Manuel Castro, and one or two others, 
 headed them to drive out these intruders ; but 
 the engagements at San Miguel, and Salinas, 
 and San Jose, taught them a lesson they long 
 remembered, and the war, of short duration, was 
 soon virtually ended in California ; outbreaks 
 
 would occasionally take place, but they were 
 soon quelled. These Yankees were pig-headed, 
 they would stay ; and, worse than all, would not 
 conform to the beautiful and necessary " Cosas 
 de paies ;" no, heaven help them, they would la 
 bor in the hour for the siesta, and disturb those, 
 who wished to sleep, by noisy hammer and saw. 
 The " feastas," also, were violated ; why, even 
 the " weaning " of the holy and revered " San 
 Grijalva " was treated as an ordinary day by 
 the " Diabolos." They also interfered with the 
 sacred law ; no more could the alcalde, with a 
 touching simplicity, decide in favor of the long 
 est purse, or the nearest of his kin. No ; they 
 must have all the complexity of Chitty and 
 Blacksfone, and a jury, and drive one crazy 
 with their interminable arguments ; twas ab 
 surd ! The Yankees, however, had a strange 
 power of persuasion, and generally managed to 
 have their own way in these matters. 
 
 The change was now a perceptible one. 
 Houses, of a new style, were going up in all 
 directions ; a wharf, for boats, was in progress of 
 erection at Clark s Point ; a newspaper, about 
 eighteen inches square, had appeared, called, 
 very appropriately, the " California Star." It 
 was printed from a font of type found at the 
 mission, and used for age, to give to the world 
 manifestos of sapient "Jef de Politicos," or, 
 gallant " Commandantes." The editor was a 
 seceder from the Mormons. Shops were be 
 ginning to appear, where everything, from a Cal 
 ifornia " lariet " to a Yankee washing-machine, 
 might be procured. A ten-pin alley had sprung 
 up, though where the material came from, was a 
 mystery to all. Ships were moored in the bay ; 
 business was quite brisk. 
 
 The star is rising, but slowly; the new era 
 has commenced, but awaits future events. 
 
 Eureka ! Gold ! pure virgin gold is discov 
 ered ; and like a spectacle, when the fairy queen 
 waves her wand, the scene changes. 
 
 0, Gold ! potent enchantress, why are thy 
 praises not sung ? Art, science, woman, wine, 
 each have received the praise of bards ; while 
 thou, the mistress of all, who founds an empire, 
 or destroys a nation, who art sought by all, thou 
 art reviled. 
 
 Gold is found in California ; from clime to 
 clime flies the news. From distant lands come 
 those white-winged emissaries of commerce, 
 laden with anxious men, and the treasures of 
 the globe, to exchange for the yellow ore. Each 
 land sends her choicest fabrics, and her noblest 
 
94 
 
 REMINISCENCES OF CALIFORNIA. 
 
 sons. The village has become a city ; the coun 
 try, as yet known only by a few adventurers, 
 teems with the population of the universe ; this 
 new Exodus. The star has reached its zenith. 
 
 We have glanced at " Yerbabuena" in 1846; 
 let us look at it after eight years. As one nears 
 the coast, a bright light from the " Farrallones," 
 a group of barren islands off the harbor, attracts 
 his eye, first proof of the mighty change. It 
 stands on these bleak rocks as a herald to pro 
 claim the new era. Entering the straits, called 
 the " Golden Gate/ we see perched on the bold, 
 precipitous rocks, where stood the old "Pre 
 sidio," a fortress, bristling with guns, and over 
 its battlements waves " the banner of stars." 
 A pilot boat dashes alongside and delivers her 
 welcome freight. As we pass up the beautiful 
 bay, dotted with green islands, and stretching 
 far up into the heart of the country, we see many 
 changes ; steamers are passing us, puffing away 
 towards the rivers San Joaquin and Sacramento; 
 the bay is filled with shipping ; for miles it seems 
 a dense forest of masts. At last, the town is 
 before us ; have we, like Rip Van Winkle, slum 
 bered for a century, or has this fair city, a work 
 of magic, sprung up in a single night ? Where 
 we but yesterday left a hamlet, we find a city 
 that would seem the growth of years. We 
 have lost our sense of locality ; where now is 
 Clark s Point, with its rugged bluff ? Where it 
 should be, is a plain covered with blocks of 
 warehouses ; the little boat wharf has gone, but 
 in its place are countless piers, stretching out 
 into the bay, lined with ships and covered with 
 merchandise. The "Plaza," with its adobe 
 custom-house, is a fine square, surrounded by 
 stone, and brick edifices that would do honor to 
 New York ; the streets are laid out handsomely 
 and planked ; the old ox-cart has given place to 
 the omnibus and stage-coach, though the ruts of 
 the first are scarcely obliterated. Hotels that 
 rival our Revere or Astor, stand where we left 
 the little " pulperias." The bay has had to re 
 cede before street after street, and still they go 
 out; where our boats had quietly swung at their 
 anchors, are costly blocks, banking houses and 
 dwellings. 
 
 More than thirty thousand inhabitants, eight 
 daily and four weekly papers, three theatres, and 
 sixteen churches, give evidence of the state of 
 prosperity. And this in eight years. But this 
 work b|is not been done without obstacles. 
 
 Three times has the Fire King swept over the 
 city, leaving desolation behind ; but nothing can 
 affect its growth and progress. Like the Phoe 
 nix, fit emblem, it arises from the ashes rejuve 
 nated. Floods come, but their hearts are stout, 
 and they have plenty of boats ; so they e en live 
 in the second story till the first is dry again. 
 Like Mr. Tapley, they "thrive under adver 
 sity," and are not to be turned aside by mere 
 trifles. 
 
 Society, also, has kept pace with all else. In 
 stead of the rough " vaquero," or bare-footed 
 " doncella," we find our own fair country-women 
 aiding to soften and civilize the land and people, 
 and much have they done, and a great deal 
 more will they yet effect by their presence. 
 Husbands have now their wives to make home 
 not merely one in name, lovers have found means 
 to bring out their adored ones, sisters join broth 
 ers, and we find a home circle. Churches have 
 been reared, and societies,as numerous and more 
 zealous than at home, are brought together. A 
 worthy shepherd, leaving his beloved flock to 
 mourn his loss, comes out to establish Sabbath 
 schools, the great object of his life, and succeed 
 ing far beyond his most sanguine hopes, returns, 
 alas ! to die. Illness contracted on the Isthmus 
 hastens a chronic complaint, and the faithful ser 
 vant, with the prayers of thousands, lays down 
 his cross, to find his reward in another world. 
 
 The city, like the country, is cosmopolitan. 
 The Frenchman cannot work to advantage in 
 the mines, so he opens a " cafe " in the city, 
 while his wife has a "lansquenet" table, to re 
 lieve any whose pockets are plethoric ; or, if he 
 has no capital, he invests half a dollar in a brush 
 and bottle of blacking, and with a stand for the 
 foot, cleans your boots on the " plaza," as you 
 would have it done on the " boulevard." The 
 Chinese, exclusive, and shut off from the world, 
 here is changed ; rolling up his tail under a 
 hat, he takes a reef in his trowsers, and goes in 
 for the laundry business, having a peculiar fac 
 ulty for changing your linen shirts into cotton 
 ones. Swiss, Dutch, Greek, and Russian, all, 
 are here at home ; gold has levelled all distinc 
 tions and barriers. The old mission church is 
 now a store, and where the devout Mexican 
 bowed to the shrine of the blessed Virgin, the 
 puritanical Yankee, abjuring all idolatry, wor 
 ships the almighty dollar. 
 
THE BROKEN EAR-RING. 
 
 BY MRS. CAROLINE ORNE. 
 
 " I AM glad you ve called, for I have- some 
 thing I wish to show you," said Hester Har- 
 court to her friend, Isabel Leeds, who had run 
 in for a few minutes, in a neighborly way. 
 
 " What is it V 
 
 " Go with me to my dressing-room, and you 
 shall see." 
 
 Having entered the dressing-room, Hester 
 handed Isabel a pair of diamond ear-rings. 
 
 " Why, Hester," said Isabel, with a look and 
 accent of surprise, " these are as handsome as 
 Mrs. Pendletou s, and she gave three hundred 
 dollars for hers." 
 
 "And I gave three hundred for mine. They 
 are much handsomer than Mrs. Pendleton s, I 
 think. Let me show you how well they become 
 me." 
 
 Having placed them in her ears, she turned 
 from the mirror to Isabel. 
 
 " What do you think ? Don t they suit my 
 style 1" 
 
 " Exactly," was Isabel s reply. " I didn t 
 think that the effect would be so brilliant. I be 
 lieve diamonds never appear so splendid as when 
 in contrast with black hair, dark, lustrous eyes, 
 and cheeks as the story-writers say like the 
 heart of a red rose. For all that, Hester, I 
 shouldn t care to lay out three hundred dollars 
 for a pair of ear-rings." 
 
 "I am as well able to wear three hundred-dol 
 lar ear-rings as Mrs. Pendleton. And you wear 
 embroidery of the most expensive kind. In 
 that, you are more extravagant than I am. I 
 don t think of wearing French embroidery, ex 
 cept on particular occasions." 
 
 " I never wear it on any occasion. I employ 
 a young girl, who supports herself and her little 
 sister by doing fine needle-work." 
 
 " Well, I don t want imitation French em 
 broidery any more than imitation diamonds." 
 
 Hester was a little excited, and hastily remov 
 ing one of the ear-rings from her ear, it caught 
 in one of her curls, and became so entangled as 
 to break the ring. 
 
 " How unlucky !" said she. " I must send 
 and get it mended at once, for I wouldn t, on 
 any account, miss wearing them to Mrs. Bur- 
 ford s party this evening." 
 
 She rang the bell, which was promptly an 
 swered by a little girl of nine or ten years old. 
 
 " Do you know where Wall Street is ?" said 
 Hester. 
 
 " I was there once, but am not certain that I 
 can find the way." 
 
 " If I direct you which way to go, you can 
 find it, stupid as you are, I should think*" 
 
 " Perhaps I can I will try ; but I ve been in 
 the city so short a time." 
 
96 
 
 THE BROKEN EAR RING. 
 
 " Hadn t you better go yourself, Hester ?" Is 
 abel ventured to say. "As the child may lose 
 her way, I shouldn t think it prudent to entrust 
 her with anything so valuable." 
 
 " Why, it is six o clock now, and I ve not yet 
 concluded what dress to wear this evening." 
 
 " Let me go, then ; I should like the walk." 
 
 " To confess the truth, I want you to assist 
 me about a few little things which I have ne 
 glected to attend to, which you can do as well as 
 not, as you ve taken it into your head not to at 
 tend the party<o-night. Come this way, Floy, 
 and mind what I say to you." 
 
 The child timidly advanced to the table where 
 Hester stood. 
 
 " Do you see this ?" said she, holding up the 
 diamond ear-ring. 
 
 " Yes, ma am." 
 
 " It is broken, as you see, and I wish to have 
 it mended." 
 
 She then gave her what she considered the 
 necessary directions to enable her to find the 
 shop where she was to get it done. " It is worth 
 a hundred and fifty dollars," Hester went on to 
 say, " and if you lose it, you ll wish yourself 
 back to the almshouse again, where I took you 
 from, out of pity." 
 
 " If I lose it, shall you put me in the dark 
 closet, where the great chest is, with the dead 
 man s bones in it ?" asked the child, turning 
 pale. 
 
 " Yes, and shall keep you there all night." 
 
 " Please, Miss Hester, don t make me carry it 
 then ;" and tears started in the poor child s eyes. 
 
 " But I shall make you ; and if you lose it, it 
 will be because you are careless. Remember 
 you are to wait till it s done. It wont take a 
 great while to do it, and you must be back by 
 seven o clock, or a quarter after." 
 
 " Can she read writing ?" Isabel inquired of 
 Hester. 
 
 " I don t know can you, Floy ?" 
 
 " Yes, ma am." 
 
 " Stop one minute, then," said Isabel ; and 
 taking a pencil from her pocket, she wrote on a 
 slip of paper the directions Hester had given, in 
 a clear, legible hand. 
 
 The child s face brightened as she looked at 
 what Isabel had written, for she felt sure that it 
 would enable her to find the way. 
 
 " What does she mean about the dark closet 
 and thechcst ?" said Isabel, as soon as she was 
 gone. 
 
 "La, Isabel," said Hester, laughing, "you 
 
 don t suppose I keep a chest of bones, do you ? 
 I am not studying anatomy." 
 
 "No, but why should the child think of such 
 a thing 1" 
 
 " Why, I told her about the closet and chest 
 of bones just to frighten her. There must be 
 something to keep her in awe, or I shall lose all 
 control over her." 
 
 " I should think it wrong to endeavor to ex 
 cite a child s fears in that way. What is her 
 name 7" 
 
 " Florence Lisle." 
 
 "A pretty name don t you think so ?" 
 
 " Yes, pretty enough ; but when associated 
 with the idea of an almshouse pauper, it sounds 
 to me rather ludicrous." 
 
 " Do you know anything respecting her pa 
 rents ?" asked Isabel. 
 
 " No, I didn t trouble myself about that." 
 
 " She has a sweet face, though there is a 
 mournful expression in her large, dark eyes, 
 which made me feel sad. There has been a 
 time, I cannot doubt, when she was surrounded 
 by comfort and plenty. Had she always been 
 poor and friendless, so dark a shade of sorrow 
 could not rest on her fair, young brow. It is by 
 those who have seen better days that the misery, 
 occasioned by want and its attendant evils, is 
 the most keenly felt. The poor little wretch, 
 who has never known anything but poverty and 
 unkind treatment, possesses in most instances a 
 facility, truly marvellous, in throwing all its 
 griefs to the winds, whenever its physical wants 
 are temporarily supplied, and it can get beyond 
 the reach of the heavy hand, so ready to fall on 
 its luckless head." 
 
 " Well, Isabel, leave the subject of beggars 
 and paupers to discuss some other time, and 
 help me to decide what to wear this evening. If 
 you will, I will promise to use all my influence 
 in getting you appointed lady-principal of some 
 orphan asylum. Here are three such lovely 
 dresses, I don t know which to choose. At any 
 rate, I want to wear the one which will best be 
 come me, for I understand that there is a gentle 
 man going to be present who has been living in 
 China several years, who is as rich as a Jew, and 
 handsome as an Adonis." 
 
 " What is his name ?" 
 
 "I couldn t ascertain. Mrs. Pendleton, who 
 mentioned him to me, had forgotten." 
 
 While Hester and Isabel were examining the 
 the dresses, Florence, with a tiny box clasped 
 tightly in her hand, was walking with all possi- 
 
THE BROKEN EAR-RING. 
 
 97 
 
 ble speed towards the shop where she was to get 
 the ear-ring mended. When arrived, as she en 
 tered, a man decently dressed, who was walking 
 leisurely by, stopped and looked in at the door. 
 Florence^ having raised the lid of the box, hand 
 ed it to a man behind the counter, and asked 
 him if he could mend the ear-ring. He could 
 mend it, he said, and she told him that she was 
 to wait till it was ready. 
 
 " It wont take long to do it," he said, taking 
 the ear-ring from the box, and examining it. 
 He then opened a door, communicating with a 
 back apartment, and gave directions for it to be 
 done without delay. 
 
 Though she was not detained more than half 
 an hour in the jeweller s shop, Florence, when 
 she commenced returning, found her progress 
 retarded by the number of people she met on the 
 sidewalk, there having been either a lecture or a 
 concert near by. She had not gone far, before 
 she was jostled so rudely by one among a num 
 ber of men and boys, who suddenly turned a 
 corner, that she was thrown down. In her at 
 tempt to save herself from falling, the box, con 
 taining the diamond ear-ring, escaped from her 
 hand, though almost at the same instant, she re 
 gained possession of it. The man who had 
 been the means of her fall, instead of hurrying 
 on with the crowd, had remained behind, and 
 taking hold of her arm, assisted her to rise to 
 her feet. 
 
 " Are you hurt, my little girl," said he. 
 
 " Not any, thank you, sir," she replied; and 
 raising her eyes to his face, as she spoke, she 
 recognized him as the same man she saw stand 
 ing at the door of the jeweller s shop, shortly 
 after her entrance. 
 
 She, then, thought his face particularly repul 
 sive, and now, though he spoke softly, and ap 
 peared kind, she did not like his looks, and 
 wished, within herself, that he would not keep so 
 closely by her side, and more particularly, that 
 he would let go her hand, which he kept firmly 
 clasped in his, lest, as he said, she should be 
 again thrown down. 
 
 ** How far have you to go *?" said he, after they 
 had proceeded a short distance. 
 
 "A good ways yet," she replied ; and thank 
 ing him for his kindness, she told him she did 
 not wish to trouble him to go any further. 
 
 " 0, it is no trouble none at all ; and if I 
 leave you, and you should be thrown down 
 again, you may get hurt, and lose that little box 
 yon hold so tight in your hand. You haven t 
 
 told me what street you wish to go to is it 
 Pearl Street 1" 
 
 " No, sir Bleeker Street." 
 
 " Then we had better turn down this alley. 
 The distance will be much shorter." 
 
 " Miss Harcourt told me that I must go this 
 way." 
 
 At this moment the clock of a church hard 
 by commenced striking seven, and recollecting 
 that Miss Harcourt told her she must be back at 
 seven, or a quarter past, and recalling to mind 
 the threatened penalty, should she fail to be 
 there at the time, she inquired of the man how 
 long it would take to reach Bleeker Street. 
 
 " That," he replied, " depends on which way 
 you go." 
 
 " Will it take more than a quarter of an hour, 
 the way we are going now?" said she. 
 
 He saw by the earnest way. in which she made 
 the inquiry, that she was anxious to arrive with 
 in the time she had specified, and shaped his 
 answer accordingly. 
 
 "Yes," said he; "twice that time; but we 
 can be there in less than ten minutes if we turn 
 down the alley I spoke to you about." 
 
 She hesitated a minute, and then said : 
 
 " I believe I had better go that way, then." 
 
 Without giving her time to change her mind, 
 he turned, still holding her by the hand, and 
 soon they were hurrying through the narrow 
 alley, which Florence expected would so materi 
 ally shorten the distance. It terminated in a 
 respectable looking .street, but her conductor 
 soon turned from this into another. Several 
 more turns were made, when Florence, with a 
 feeling of alarm, found they were in a dirty- 
 looking street, where the buildings were mean 
 and dilapidated. She thought to herself how 
 strange it was, that the handsome street where 
 Miss Harcourt lived, should be near such a vile, 
 wretched-looking place. 
 
 "Are we almost there ?" she asked. 
 
 " Yes, we shall soon be there jaow," was his 
 answer, and looking round to make himself sure 
 that he was not observed, he unlocked the door 
 of an old building, which he quickly entered, 
 drawing Florence in with him. All this was 
 done so suddenly and unexpectedly, that it was 
 hardly realized by her, till she saw the man lock 
 the door inside, and put the key in his pocket. 
 
 " There, sit down an,d rest yourself," said he, 
 " and then you ll be better able to find that fine 
 street, where you live." 
 
 " I am n.ot tired. Please let me go, now. 
 
THE BROKEN EAR RING. 
 
 Miss Harcoart said I mast be back by a quarter 
 past seven, and if I don t get there at the time, 
 she ll punish me." 
 
 " Well, it s more n half past seven now, and 
 as it is too late to escape the beating the fine 
 lady will give you, you may as well be quiet, 
 and stay here a while longer. I ve got to go 
 away now, and while I m gone, you may go in 
 back here, and stay with my sister." 
 
 He opened a door, and pushed her into a small 
 back room.* 
 
 "iNow," said he, "I ll take charge of that lit 
 tle box you hold on to so tight, and if you re 
 hungry, the woman will give you something to 
 eat." 
 
 " 0, don t take the box, sir !" said she, " for I 
 mustn t stay any longer. Miss Harcourt is go 
 ing to a party to-night, and must have the ear* 
 ring to wear." 
 
 " There s no hurry about her having it ; and 
 in my opinion, it will be safer in my keeping 
 than yours. Give it to me, and save your fin 
 gers a wrenching !" 
 
 " I can*t let you have it, sir I can t, certain. 
 It is a diamond ear-ring, and is worth a hundred 
 and fifcy dollars. Miss Harcourt told me it 
 was." 
 
 " That s more than I expected twas worth. 
 Corr.e, no more fooling. I mean what I say. 
 Give it to me." 
 
 This was said with a look so stern, and in a 
 voice of so much anger, that Florence, not dar 
 ing to refuse any longer, gave him the box. 
 
 " There, that s right," said- he. " That s be- 
 havin like a woman. I m sorry that necessity 
 drives Hie to this, for your sake, for you ve as 
 pretty and innocent a looking foice as I ve seen 
 this many a day. As for the lady, who s count 
 ing on dazzling some poor fool s eyes, I shall be 
 glad to have her disappointed." 
 
 He then took the woman aside, who since their 
 entrance had been busy about some household 
 affair, and dfd not appear to pay much attention 
 to them, and having interchanged a few words 
 v/ith her, so low as not to be heard by Florence, 
 he left the house. When Florence found that he 
 had gone, taking the costly ear-ring with him, 
 unable to longer control her emotion, she burst 
 into tears. 
 
 " Come, child, there s no use in crying," said 
 the woman. " As soon as it is fairly dark, you 
 shall go back to where you belong." 
 
 "I don t dare to go without the ear-ring. 
 Wont the man bring it back bv-and-by, and let 
 me have it ?" 
 
 "No, child there s no use in deceiving you, 
 You ll never see it- again he has a use of his 
 own for it/ 
 
 . " What shall I do ?" said Florence. " I can t 
 go back to Miss Harcourt without it."-, 
 
 " She ll beat you, I suppose ?" 
 
 " I don t think she will ; but I had rather she 
 would than to keep me in the closet all night 
 with the dead man s bones ;" and as she spoke 
 a shudder crept over her, and her eyes dilated 
 with fear. 
 
 " Well, I m poor, and have done things which 
 I had better not have done, but I ve more feeling 
 than to do such a wicked thing as that. If you 
 don t dare to go back, you re welcorge to stay 
 here. You shall fare as well as my brother and 
 I do." 
 
 Florence reflected a while, and then said : 
 
 " I thank you, but I mustn t stay." 
 
 " You d rather go and be shut up in the closet 
 you speak of. Well, as I told you, as soon as it 
 is dark, I ll show you the way. My brother told 
 me I could, if you wasn t content to stay." 
 
 "As soon as you are ready, I should like tc 
 go," said Florence. 
 
 Florence had decided in her own mind not to 
 return to Miss Harcourt s, though she did not 
 mention her decision to the woman. She knew 
 that Isabel Leeds lived in the same street, and 
 the kindness and consideration she had manifest 
 ed towards her, made her determine to go to 
 her, and beg her to let her remain at least for 
 the night. She had, for a long time, been so lit* 
 tie used to being treated kindly, that had not 
 early moral culture taught her to shrink from 
 associating with the vicious, the sympathy mani 
 fested by the woman might have tempted her to 
 remain where she was. 
 
 " I suppose it is best that you should go," said 
 she, in answer to the wish expressed by Flor 
 ence. " If I had a daughter as pretty as you 
 are, I should know that this was no place for 
 her." 
 
 " Do you remember ever being in this part of 
 the city before ?" said the woman, when it had 
 got to be fairly dark. 
 
 " Never-^-Fve not been in the city long." 
 
 " Well, it s time to go now. We must go out 
 by the back door. My brother locked the other 
 door on the outside, when he went away." 
 
 The night was cloudy and very dark, and her 
 conductor, holding her fast by the^and, led her 
 through what appeared to her a labyrinth of lanes 
 and alleys. The truth was, she purposely chose 
 
THE BROKEN EAR-RING, 
 
 a circuitous rather than a direct way. After a 
 while they entered a well-lighted street. The 
 woman did not speak, but continued to pass 
 rapidly en through several others. At last she 
 slackened .her pace, and asked Florence if she 
 knew where she was. 
 
 " In Sleeker Street, I beliere," was the child s 
 answer. 
 
 " Yes, and you can now find the way." 
 " I think I can." 
 
 " Good night, then, and remember that, bad 
 as I am, I shouldn t have the heart to treat you 
 as cruelly as the proud lady does, yoji live 
 with." 
 
 Florence bid her good night in return thank 
 ed her for showing her the way, and looking 
 back, saw her turn a corner. She then walked 
 slowly along, and soon came in sight of the 
 large and magnificent mansion of Mr. Harcourt. 
 The sight of it inspired her with dread, and 
 turning quickly back, she inquired of the first 
 person she met where Mr. Leeds lived. Fortu 
 nately, he knaw how to direct her, and in a few 
 minutes she had reached the house. Isabel 
 Leeds, accompanied by an elderly gentleman, 
 had just arrived from the opposite direction. 
 The strong light of the lamp in front of the 
 mansion fell upon Florence, and Isabel saw 
 and recognized her. 
 
 " "Why have you been gone so long ?" said 
 she. 
 
 "I couldn t come before. Miss Harcourt s 
 ear-ring is gone !" 
 
 " How did it happen ? How did you lose it 1" 
 
 " I didn t lose it a man took it away from 
 
 me." 
 
 "What man *" 
 " I don t know." 
 
 " Come, we will go into the house. This 
 should be attended to at once." 
 
 " My poor child," said Isabel, addressing the 
 trembling Florence, when they had entered the 
 parlor, " come and sit down by me, and tell me 
 all about what has happened." 
 
 Florence, whose agitation was in a measure 
 soothed by the kindness of Isabel, related those 
 particulars already known, in a manner so art 
 less and unhesitating, that both Isabel and the 
 gentleman present, whose name was Kingsley, 
 were perfectly satisfied that what she said was 
 tme. 
 
 "I must let Hester know the fate of her ear 
 ring," said Isabel, when she had finished. " II 
 I dou t, as she is waiting for Florence to return 
 
 he may be too late for the party. When I part* 
 ed with her, half an hour ago, she was talking of 
 sending to the jeweller s to inquire why Flor 
 ence was so long detained." 
 
 Are you going to send me ?" said Florence, 
 ooking much alarmed. 
 
 "No, you may remain here for the present. I 
 will send her a note." 
 
 In a few minutes the note was written, and on 
 ts way to Miss Harcourt. Shortly afterwards, 
 Mr. Kingsley was told that there wfs a gentle 
 man at the door, who wished to see him. 
 
 "If a friend, invite Mm in," said Isabel, as 
 Mr. Kingsley left the room. 
 
 He soon returned, accompanied by a gentle 
 man, whom he presented to Isabel as his friend j 
 Austin Lisle, just arrived from China, where he 
 bad been a resident for several years. The mo 
 ment Isabel had responded to his salutation, 
 Florence approached him, and in much agitation; 
 said: 
 
 " Uncle Austin, I thought you were dead ! 
 Mr. Byles told me you were." 
 
 " Why, this must be my little Florence, I 
 parted with three years ago ! But how came 
 you here ? I expected you were in the country. 
 Is your mother here ?" 
 "Mother is dead." 
 " Dead ?" 
 
 " Yes, sir she died more than a year ago." 
 " This is sad news, which I was not prepared 
 to hear. Where have you been since she died 1" 
 " In the almshouse till about six weeks ago. 
 "A daughter of Edward Lisle and Florence 
 Linton been living in the almshouse ! Why did 
 you go there?" 
 
 " Mr. Byles carried me there. Ho said that 
 all the money you let mother have was gone, 
 and that I must be taken care of by charity." 
 
 " The last letter your mother sent me, and 
 which I must have received about the time she 
 died, said that she was amply provided for, for 
 at least three years to come. This Mr. Byles, I 
 suspect, is a dishonest man. He expected that 
 I should remain abroad several years longer, 
 which tempted him, I m afraid, to pocket the 
 money which should have been appropriated to 
 your maintenance. You were friendless, and he 
 magined he should escape detection/ 
 
 At this moment the door was unceremoniously 
 opened by Hester Harcourt. Mr. Lisle sat near 
 the door, with his arm encircling the Waist of 
 Florence, who stood at his side. She entered 
 the room in R manner so sudden and impetuous, 
 
too 
 
 THE BROKEN EAR-RING. 
 
 that she passed on to the centre of the apartment, 
 without being aware of their presence. 
 
 " I hope," said she, addressing Isabel, " that 
 you didn t expect me to be imposed upon by .the 
 vile falsehood so cunningly fabricated by Floy 
 Lisle, if you were. I never liked the child from 
 the first. She pretended to be excessively deli 
 cate and sensitive, but I always thought that it 
 was all mere pretence, and now I am certain it 
 was. Where is the little thief? Have you 
 taken her^mder your protection ?" 
 
 Isabel had several times during this speech 
 vainly attempted to interrupt her, and when she 
 found her attempts unheeded, had endeavored 
 by expressive signs to make her sensible of the 
 presence of a stranger ; but her mind was so 
 much pre-occupied, and so disturbed by passion, 
 she was unable to attract her attention. 
 
 " Have you taken her under your protection?" 
 she repeated, with increased vehemence. 
 
 " Florence Lisle is here," said Isabel ; " and 
 previous to my sending you the note, I had 
 made up my mind to let her remain here till I 
 had an opportunity of a personal interview with 
 you. Since then, she has unexpectedly found a 
 natural protector, which will, in part, preclude 
 the necessity of my interference." 
 
 " Yes," said Mr. Lisle, who rose and came 
 forward, leading Florence by the hand, " I am 
 the child s uncle, and am both able and willing 
 to take care of her. I have yet to learn in what 
 way she has excited your anger, and for what 
 reason you call her by such an opprobrious 
 name. The child of a mother so amiable and 
 so exemplary as hers was, cannot be guilty of 
 taking what does not belong to her. Will you 
 have the goodness to tell me what cause you 
 have to accuse her ?" 
 
 " Uncle Kingsley," said Isabel, " you are ac 
 quainted with the circumstances will you be so 
 kind as to explain them to Mr. Lisle 1" 
 
 "Certainly," replied Mr. Kingsley; and as 
 briefly as possible he made the necessary expla 
 nation. 
 
 " I promised my friend, Mrs. Burford, to at" 
 tend her party this evening," said Mr. Lisle, 
 after Mr. Kingsley had finished his narrative, 
 " but I will send an excuse, and attend to this 
 affair immediately. The sooner the facts of the 
 case are made known to the detective police, the 
 better." 
 
 " You are right," said Mr. Kingsley ; " and if 
 you please, I will go with you." 
 
 When they were gone, Hester inquired of Isa 
 bel who this Mr. Lisle was. 
 
 " He has recently arrived from China," was 
 her answer, "and is, I presume, the gentleman 
 you Expected to meet at the party this evening, 
 on whom you were somewhat desirous to make 
 a favorable impression." 
 
 " And you knew this, and yet permitted me to 
 say what I did in his presence." 
 
 " I did my best to prevent you." 
 
 " I will not dispute the point but, remember, 
 that we are no longer friends." 
 
 Without waiting for Isabel to reply, she left 
 the house, and stepping into the carriage which 
 was in waiting at the door, she Was soon on her 
 way to Mrs. Burford s party. 
 
 By the vigilance of the police, the man who 
 robbed Florence was arrested just as he was en 
 tering the shop of a pawnbroker, whose integ 
 rity, it was suspected, was not altogether unim 
 peachable. The diamond ear-ring was found in 
 the man s possession, and quickly restored to its 
 owner. 
 
 It is not improbable that a few months after 
 wards, when Isabel Leeds became the bride of 
 the wealthy Mr. Lisle, who was in every respect 
 worthy of her esteem, that Miss Harcourt re 
 gretted having treated the friendless Florence 
 with so little kindness and consideration. 
 
 In her uncle s house, Florence found a home 
 in the true sense of the word, and when, at a 
 suitable age, she was introduced into society, 
 there were few transcended her in beauty of per 
 son, and none in moral and mental culture. 
 
 THE END 
 
Photomount 
 
 Pamphlet 
 
 Binder 
 
 Gaylord Bros., Inc. 
 
 Makers 
 
 Stockton, Calif. 
 PAT. JAN. 21, 1908 
 
 U.C. BERKELEY LIBRARIES 
 
 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY