herd, betrothed to the merchant Nouraddin, from " whom my body has been forced by the perfidy of a "flave, and to whom my foul is united by indissoluble "bonds. O! let not the terrors of thy frown be up

on me! Shall the sovereign of Egypt stoop to a rep" tile of the dust? shall the judge of nations retain the " worthless theft of treachery and revenge? or shall he, " for whom ten thousand languish with defire, rejoice. " in the fufferance of one alienated mind?" Osmin, whose breast had by turns been inflamed with defire and indignation, while he gazed upon the beauties of Amana, and listened to her voice, now suddenly threw. her from him, and departed without reply.

When he was alone, he remained a few moments in fufpence: but the passions which eloquence had repressed, foon became again predominant; and he commanded Amana to be told, that if within three hours me did not come prepared to gratify his wishes, he would caft the head of the flave for whom he was rejected at her feet..

The eunuch by whom this message was delivered,' and the woman who had returned to Amana when the Caliph retired, were touched with pity at her distress, and trembling at her danger: the evils which they could fcarce hope to prevent, they were yet folicitous to delay; and, therefore, advised her to request three days of preparation, that she might sufficiently recover the tranquillity of her mind, to make a just estimate of her own happiness; and with this request to send, as a pledge of her obedience, a bowl of sherbet, in which a pearl had been difsolved, and of which she kad first drank herself.

To

To this advice, after some throbs of defperation, she at length confented, and prepared to put it in execution. At the time when this resolution was taken, Nouraddin suddenly started from a restless slumber; he was again stung by an instantaneous reflection upon his own mifery, and indulged the discontent of his mind in this exclamation: If wisdom and goodness do indeed

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preside over the works of omnipotence, whence is oppreffion, injustice, and cruelty? As Nouraddin a" lone has a right to Amana, why is Amana in the power of Ofmin? O that now the justice of Heaven "would appear in my behalf! O that from this hour I

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was Ofmin, and Ofmin Nouraddin!" The moment he had uttered this wish, his chamber was darkened as with a thick cloud, which was at length diffipated by a burst of thunder; and a being, whose appearance was more than human, stood before him. "Nouraddin," said the vision, " I am of the region above thee; but

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my business is with the children of the earth. Thou "haft wished to be Osmin, and as far as this wish is " possible it shall be accomplished; thou shalt be en"abled to affume his appearance, and to exercise his "power. I know not yet whether I am permitted to "conceal Ofmin under the appearance of Nouraddin, " but till to-morrow he shall not interrupt thee."

Nouraddin, who had been held motionless by astonishment and terror, now recovered his fortitude as in the prefence of a friend, and was about to express his gratitude and joy, when the genius bound a talisman on his left arm, and acquainted him with its power : "As " often as this bracelet," said he, "shall be applied to "the region of thy heart, thou shalt be alternately

changed in appearance from Nouraddin to Osmin, " and " and from Osmin to Nouraddin." The genius then fuddenly disappeared, and Nouraddin, impatient to recover the poffeffion of Amana, instantly applied the stud of the bracelet to his breast, and the next moment found himself alone in an apartment of the seraglio.

During this interval, the Caliph, who was expecting the issue of his message to Amana, became restless and impatient: he quitted his apartment, and went into the gardens, where he walked backward and forward with a violent but interrupted pace; and at length stood still, frowning and pensive, with his eyes fixed on the clear furface of a fountain in the middle of the walk. The agitation of his mind continued, and at length broke out into this foliloquy: "What is my felicity, and "what is my power? I am wretched, by the want of "that which the caprice of women has bestowed upon

my flave. I can gratify revenge, but not defire; I " can with-hold felicity from him, but I cannot pro

cure it to myself. Why have I not power to affume "the form in which I might enjoy my wishes? I will " at least enjoy them in thought. If I was Nouraddin, " I should be clasped with transport to the bofom of A" mana." He then resigned himself to the power of imagination, and was again filent; but the moment his wish was uttered, he became subject to the genius who had just transported Nouraddin to his palace. This with, therefore, was instantly fulfilled; and his eyes being still fixed upon the water, he perceived, with fudden wonder and delight, that his figure had been changed in a moment, and that the mirror reflected another image, His fancy had been warmed with the ideal caresses of Amana; the tumult of his mind was increased by the prodigy; and the gratification of his appetite

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appetite being the only object of his attention, he hasted instantly to the palace, without reflecting that, as he would not be known, he would be refused admittance. At the door, to which he advanced with eagerness and precipitation, he was stopped by a party of the guard that was now commanded by Caled: a tumult ensued, and Caled being hastily called, believed that Nouraddin, in the phrenzy of defperation, had fcaled the walls of the garden to recover Amana; and rejoicing in an opportunity of revenge that exceeded his hope, instantly stabbed him with his poinard, but at the fame time received that of the Caliph in his heart. Thus fell at once the tyrant and the traitor; the tyrant by the hand which had been armed to fupport him in oppreffion, and the traitor by the fury of the appetite which his perfidy had excited.

In the mean time, the man who was believed to he flain, reposed in security upon a fofa; and Amana, by the direction of her women, had prepared the message and the bowl. They were now dispatched to the Caliph, and received by Nouraddin. He understood by the message that Amana was yet inviolate; in the joy of his heart, therefore, he took the bowl, which having emptied, he returned by the eunuch, and commanded that Amana should be brought into his presence.

In obedience to this command, she was conducted by her women to the door, but as she entered alone pale and trembling; and though her lips were forced into a smile, the characters which grief, dread and averfion, had written in her countenance, were not effaced. Nouraddin, who beheld her disorder, exulted in the fidelity of her love, and springing forward, threw his

arms about her in an extasy of tenderness and joy; which was still heightened when he perceived, that in the character of Osmin those embraces were fuffered with reluctance, which in his own were returned with ardor: he, therefore, retreating backward a few paces, applied the talisman again to his breaft, and having recovered his own form, would have rushed again into her arms; but she started from him in confufion and terror. He fmiled at the effect of the prodigy; and sustaining her on his bosom, repeated some tender incidents which were known to no other; told her by what means he had intercepted her message; and urged her immediately to escape, that they might possess all their defires in each other, and leave the incumbranceof royalty to the wretch, whose likeness he had been enabled to assume, and was now impatient to renounce, Amana gazed at him with a fixed attention, till her fufpicion and doubts were removed; then fuddenly turned from him, tore her garment, and looking up to heaven, imprecated curses upon her head, till her voicefaultered, and she burst into tears.

Of this agony, which Nouraddin beheld with unutterable distress, the broken exclamations of Amana at length acquainted him with the cause. "In the bowl," faid she, which thou hast intercepted, there was "death. I wished, when I took it from my lips, that "the draught which remained might be poifon: a

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powder was immediately shaken into it by an invi" fible hand, and a voice whispered me, that him who drank the potion it would inevitably destroy." Nouraddin, to whose heart the fatal malignity had now spread, perceived that his diffolution would be fudden: his legs already trembled, and his eyes became