The Evansville daily journal., 1859-11-11
story OF the Precious stone.
(CoNCKUDED.)

him, he overthrew three donkeys, two blind
men, and an old female cake-seller, who
called him a pig and an infidel, and pre-
ferred sundry accusations against his mother,
now in her grave. Sibbi needed her not,
but pluuging into the crowd, he found him
self in the midst Of a procession of dervish-
es, who struck him with the palms of their
hands for interrupting their public devo-
tions. Escaping from these ostentatious
penitents, he slipped into a dark passage,
but emerging at its further extremity into
the street, he found hin self face to face with
the ieweller, who Yves in the very act OF
laying his complaint before the wall.
"Hai' exclaimed the wretch, behold,
there is the thief; seize him, and you will
fud the gem upon bis person.
An aged dervish, with long white beard,
ana majestic countenance, stood, by chance,
close to Sibbi as the words Of this accusation
were uttered. He did not speak, but giving
him II look, unperceived by the bystanders,
held his hand half open by his side. In
derstanding his meaning, Sibbi put the opal
into his hand, upon which, calm and unper-
turbed, the dervish passed on.
Reduced to his original penury, Sibbi felt
his courage revive. Are you mad : he
exclaimed, addressing the jeweller with a
fearless countenance. What do you talk
of? Gems | am an Arab, SO poor as not
to possess an asper. Search me, he con-
tinued, to the wall, " and you will immedi-
ately perceive the truth of my statement.
The worthy magistrate had learned, in
the course OF his dealings with mankind
to distinguish an honest face from Il false
one. 81 believe your words" he said to
Sibbi; q but be frank with me: something
has passed between you and this jeweler
explain what it was, and you have the as
surance of believer in the Book that no
harm shall befall you on account Of your
confidence
Thus appealed TO, the unfortunate Sibbi
related his whole story; upon which the
wallis countenance assumed terrible ey.
preston, and he exclaimed: overly, the
wickedness of mankind is great | took
you to be an honest man, whereas it seems
you are shameless imposter. Produce the
gem instantly, or prepare for a dungeon,
the bastinado, and the bow-string." In
spite of his protestations, Sibbi was dragged
to prison, and the jeweler, with all his
friends. was invited to witness his torture
and execution on the following day.
Meanwhile the dervish, who lived at the
college of the Mosque of Flowers, shut
himself up in his oratory, and placed the
OLai bClOiO tAAS tShOiC VI OiUSh JstopSi.
Never had he beheld anything so magnifi-
cent. Nature, when making this stone,
seems to have chosen as a pattern one of
those pearly clouds which, filed with soft
light hover about the rising moon, vened,
streaked, and fretted with the pale glimmer
of the dawn. 1t has upon the sight the
effect of a section of the SKY when beauty
is filling it to overhowing.
Rut IN the estimation of the derYiSh the
loveliness it had received from the hand OF
the great Archetype, was nothing compared
with the charm of the great Archetypes
name, composed of four letters-the tetra-
grammaton of the western worldly pro-
nouncing which, with suitable rites, man
may command the services of all SPIRITS
The dervish, as might be supposed, was no
connoisseur in precious stones, but being
possessed by strong sense of beauty, his
admiration increased as he placed the opal
i'll various lights, and held it up between
his finger and thumb towards the sun
Sparks of crimson, purple, and violet ap-
peared to flash from it as he gazed, till they
were concentrated and lost in ruby-col-
ored flame, which glanced and corruscated
into all the hues Of the rainbow as he
changed the position of the stone.
Quitting the Modresi, the dervish pro-
ceeded to the house of an honest jeweller,
with whom he had long been acquainted,
aud showing him the opal, demanded to
know its value.
HIt is worth the revenues of pachalic
replied the lapidary; q but there is no jew
eller in Cairo sufficiently wealthy to pur-
chase it."
"Supposing it were shown the Cover
nor ?" inquired the dervish, "might he not,
L H.; IL
it at its full value II
" | would not be the man, whispered the
lapidary, " to manage the negotiaton--he
would certainly seize upon the gem, and bas-
tinado me to death"
"What, then, is to be done ," said the
dervish in perplexity.
The jewelier unused awhile, and then ex
claimed:
t'There is here in Cairo a rich merchant
from India, who leaves tonight with the
caravan for Syria; he will buy the OPAL and
enrich its owner with fifty Thousand dinars
ofgold3
alt would endow college, exclaimed
the dervish.
ait would purchase pachalc," reioined
the lapidary.
These suggestions were merely paren-
thetical. The jeweller carried the opal to
the merchant, who gave for 1t still larger
sum than had been named. The dervish,
when he had received the money, offered to
reward the jeweller for his trouble; but
unless he could purchase the Office of pa
cha, he was already sufficiently opulent to be
regardless of gain: he therefore refused the
dervish's offer. The latter, causing the gold
to be tied up in two leathern bags, had it
borne before him by slaves to his apart
ment in the college, where he carefully lock-
ed it up. He then proceeded to the house
of the wall, who was asleep, and his slave
apprehensive of his severity, refused to wake
him. Being questioned, however, they in
formed him that their master had left with
his lieutenant orders respecting the Arab,
who, according to the best of their belief,
was to be strangled in the morning. Hav-
ing received this cheering information, the
derviSh hastcned to the lieutenant's house,
and found him surrounded by spies and
executioners, and furiously intoxicated with
beng. With such man he perceived there
was nothing to lie done; so he repaired to
the prison, and through the influence of his