Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1868-09-08
HENRY.
The Fortune of Abdallah.
A PERSIAN STORY.

| -9@ q e.. A PERSIAN STORY. Il 3 :
| Abdallah was prosperous barber Of Shiraz.
| He married woman Of surprising beauty,
but excessively yain SO that his whole substance
was consumed in providing her with dresses,
| trlnkets, and the luxuries OF miniature harem.
| Above all other women, the wife of Hassan,
the kings astrologer, was envled by the wife OF
| Abdallah, the unostentatious barber, for this
lady affected great grandeur and could afford
| it, on account of the large salary and handsome
presents bestowed upon her husband. & ssgE7
| One day the disconnected beauty announced
| to Abdalah that she would no longer continue
| to live with him unless he gave up the misera-
| BILE business Of barber and adopt that of astrol
oger. In vain did he represent to her that
trimming boards was his habit, while of astro-
| logical predictions he knew nothing; she in
sisted, and the unfortunate man, infatuated by
| affection, obeyed. "a
| So, observing the eccentric practices of the
astrologers he took brass basin and pestle
| of steel into the bazaar, and shifting his basin
| cried aloud that he would calculate nativities
| predict the events Of the future, detect
thieves, and recover lost property. His neigh
| bors were astonished, and one and all said, "Ab
dallah, the barber is certainly mad = But it
CHANGED that certain lady returning from the
bath, walked through the bazaar with her veil
torn; she appeared in great distress, and upon
hearing the cry of Abdallah, sent one of her
slaves to him with this message IF you are
an impostor my husband shall cause you to be
bastinadoed !; if you are really an astrooger,
inform me where I shall find necklace of pearl
which [ have this day lost. - Poor Abdalah
bewlldered, gazed, upon the lady, and gaining
time to invent an answer, said ''She can will
the pearls, when they are near, for the veil is
torn u These words were reported to her by
the slave, and she uttered cry of JOY "Ad-
mirable prophet, she exclaimed, Il placed my
pearls for safety in rent that is'in the veil of
the bath, and she ordered Abdalah to be pre-
sented with forty gold pieces. Now, it should
| be known that in the Persian baths are screens,
word for veil So Abdallah, by lucky ac
cident of speech, had not only saved himself
| from the bastinad, but he gained forty pieces
Of gold. a Eai
| At length another lady, the wife of the
kings treasurer, made her appearance, and
| just at that moment messenger from the
treasurer came up to Abdallah, in the bazaar,
and spoke to him. The lady stood close by
and listened. aAbdallah, u said the slave,
my master has lost the king $ great ruby; if
thou hast the wisdom of the stars, thou canst
| find it; if not, thou art a pretender, and will
assuredly cause thee to be bastinadoed." This
time the unfortunate barber was at his wit
end. 20, woman y he exclaimed, thou art
| the author of this. He meant his own wife
| but the treasurer's who stood by, imagined he
referred to her. Guilt is always pale, the poet
says. She herself had stolen the kings ruby,
and believed that the astrologer was aware of
her crime. So when the messenger had de-
parted, leaving the barber petrifed with per-
plexity, she approached him and said, in soft
tone--.rO, astrologcr confessthat in an hour
a. r IL,
sending me to condemnation ~ Abdallah
sternly reped-"W oman, | knew thy guilt
| Where is the jewel?e3 She answered-''U Under
the fourth cushion from the door, in the apart
ment of KashOm, my lords Georgian slave
Abdallah FASTENED to the palace, was awarded
with robe of honor, thousand gold pieces,
and costly ornament
Urged by his wife, Abdallaif essayed once
more. The kings treasury had been broken
open, and forty chests of money had been car
ried away. Not trace Of the thieves had been
discovered. The royal astrologer had tried ev-
cry sort OF dlvlnation and failed, and was there
fore in disgrace. But the fame of AbdalIah,
which was now spoken of in all Shiraz, had
reached the ear Of the king, who sent for him,
and gave him audience in the Hall of Kalent
Serponceideh. .'Abdallah,' - he said, with
severe expression In his face 'sart thou truly
able to read the stars?' Put me to the
proof!' answered the barber who was now
prepared for the worst. Then discover the
forty chests of money which have been stolen,
as we'll as the criminal Succeed, and then
thou shalt marry a princess, and become my
minister fail, and | will hang thee!" There
must have been forty thieves /" said Abdallah,
making fortunate and not very difficult guess.
Grant me forty days!'' Forty days thou
shalt have, said the king, and thou shalt
then die, or live for riches and honor .s-.
SO the barber went home and told his wife,
and said, II have forty days to live; will sit
upon my prayer mat and mediate on the evils
OF life and the blessedness Of death. Give me,
| beg thee forty beans. At the hour OF even
ing prayer, daily, will give thee one, that, by
counting the remainder, may remember how
many days have to live.n she conf piled, and
every day at the exact hour of sunset, Abdal-
Ian gave her bean, and said, with great hrnl-
ness and solemnlty, There is one of them''
And on the last day he said, in AN excited man
ner, There are the whole forty OF them p
What was his establishment when, at the in
slant violent knocking was heard at the door.
A crowd OF men were admitted, and one OF
them, evidently the chief, said, 20, Abdallah,
wise astrologer, thou shalt receive the forty
chests OF gold, untouched, but spare our lives!
In supreme bewllderment, he answered, This
night should have seized thee and thy
wretched companions Tell me, on thy head,
how knowest thou that possessed this knowl-
edgeY' 1--WE heard said the chief Of rob-
bers that the king had sent for thee. There
fore, one of us came at the hour of sunset to
listen at thy door, and heard thee say, There
is one of them" We would not believe his
story, and sent two to ascertain it; and thou
vast heard to say, There are two of them;
and this night, y, wonderful! thou didst ex-
claim, There are the whole forty but re-
store the king money, and do not deliver us
unto the executioner.
Abdallah promised to do what he could Be-
ing admitted to the palace, he declared that,
owing to some mystery OF the stars, it was Civ
en- to him to discover either the thieves or the
treasures, but not both. The monarch, at
length, consented to take the forty chests, and
fulfilled his promise to Abdallah.
A Prussian has invented q new offensive
weapon it consists of a powder which can be
discharged some distance, and so acts on the
nerves of the enemy that one discharge will
make whole regiment sneeze for an hour, a
period of time during which the needle gun can
be used effectively by the Prussians.
An irritable man, having been disappointed
in his boots, threatened to eat up the shoema-
ker, but compromised by drinking cobbler.