When his house was searched, he and his chest had
disappeared. We discovered that he sailed for Egypt, and rejoiced that
we had driven him from Constantinople.
"My friend, Damat Zade, expressed the warmest gratitude to me. 'You
formerly saved my fortune; you have now saved my life, and a life yet
dearer than my own: that of my daughter Fatima.'
"At the sound of that name I could not, I believe, avoid showing some
emotion. I had accidentally seen this lady, and I had been captivated by
her beauty and by the sweetness of her countenance; but as I knew she was
destined to be the wife of another, I suppressed my feeling, and
determined to banish the recollection of the fair Fatima for ever from my
imagination. Her father, however, at this instant threw into my way a
temptation which it required all my fortitude to resist. 'Saladin,'
continued he, 'it is but just that you, who have saved our lives, should
share our festivity. Come here on the birthday of my Fatima; I will
place you in a balcony which overlooks the garden, and you shall see the
whole spectacle. We shall have a _feast of tulips_, in imitation of that
which, as you know, is held in the grand seignior's gardens. I assure
you the sight will be worth seeing; and besides, you will have a chance
of beholding my Fatima, for a moment, without her veil.'
"'That,' interrupted I, 'is the thing I most wish to avoid.
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