The Superior times. [volume] (Superior, Wis.) 1870-1912, 1873-11-08

chard.
"You lie ~ exclaimed the Sultan in
great excitement.
81 see him" added Ali, in tone of
inspiration; she lies covered with
blood at the foot of the tree which
bears the celebrated Sultan apple,
which you prefer"
haram- Bou-Ladj Immediately sent
several eunuchs to assure HIM of the
| fact, and these very soon returned in
tears in confirm the assertion of the
soothsayer.
1.-The names of the murderers2"
cried the Sultan in his sad indigna-
ton.
Ali ieigned to consider. One might
have heard the movement of a hy's
wing, SO profound WAC the silence, The
anxious expectants waited the terrible
revelation.
at is the Lord Omar and his par
tisans,' said Ali; they have committed
the crime III order to take the place of
the Grand Vizier, and to succeed him
In your favor"
Karam-BouLadi, pale, incensed,
could not pronounce word. He ex-
tended his arms, held out his hand,
and, with an energetic gesture, divided
the air from left to right
The Back-Staf understood He
grasped Omar by the nape of the neck
before the latter had time to say ''Ouf !"
and his head instantly rolled at the
| feet of tie Sultan.
and said to him:
%la~ t,ot
to say, Grand Soothsayer of the Court,
| with the rank of manamouchl of the
| first class"
Then he gave orders TO cham ber-
| lain to assign him a palace, rich vest
ments, fine horses, and to fill his pock-
cts with gold
Ali thought he must be dreaming ;
Ben-Douda, himself had not expected
much favor When the jester found
himself alone with Ali, he said to him :
" 1t is not all over. Now you have
the title Of soothsayer, you will have
every day to satisfy the caprices OF the
Sultan"
GO Alas !" said Ali, chow shall [ do
this 2"
- With audacity one may cceed in
anything, and then [ shall be there to
offer suggestions the Sultan hides
nothing from me- [ will always tell
you beforehand of his desires, and of
the replies you ought to give but On
one condition.
" What is that 2"
"That we share all the favors
granted you"
willingly" said Ali
From that moment Ben Douda be-
came the auxiliary of the great Sooth-
sayer of the Court, and there was
no enigma which Ali could not solve at
once.
However, one day he was III a
dilemma
KaramBou-Ladj, who was a tribu-
tary OF the Sublime Porte, one morn,
ing received missive from the Grand
Turk, which caused him much anxiety.
He sent for his Grand Soothsayer.
9 Grand Soothsayer," said he, q OF
what is the Grand Turk thinking OF
this morning."
"Of what you are thinking OF, . re-
piled Ali, without hesitation.
Do you know of what I am think.
ing" cried the Sultan in a fury,
considering Ais reply as an irony ;
81 think of having thy head, insolent y
You see that / have OWNED"
How cried Karam- Bou-Ladj
You believe the Grand Turk harbors
SO vile a thought 2"
"You harbored it yourself
I'm fact, the tone of his message
was stern, said the Sultan to himself
1.-The case is grave. [ must consult
my Grand Vizier."
Another time, the Treasurer of State
being carried of, the Sultan required
Ali to discover the robbers.
g [ will give you three days to find
} them il at the end of the third day,
at the hour when the muezzin calls the
faithful to prayer, you have not dis
covered the guilty persons, ! will have
your head "
The poor Ali was very unhappy, and
the opulence in which he passed his
} existence was no adequate compensa-
ton for the continual terrors in which
he lived. He re-entered the palace in
sadness and crOuched down on the
seat of the salam- alex, which orna-
nents the gateway of every MussUlman
dwelling. There, smoking his chibouk,
he meditated on the vanity of human
affairs, when the muezzn, with his
clear voice, called from the lofty nina
ret the faithful to evening prayer
One is passed by" said Ali, heav-
ing a deep sigh.
The next day, submissive to his des-
tiny, he was at the same place, when
the ghorghetti of the muezzin an
nounced to him that the day was ended.
= Now two are gone by sighed Ali.
Finally, the third day, resigned to
the approaching death which appeared
to him the hour Of deliverance and
mercy, he cried on hearing the muezzin
"Aliah be praised. The third flies
away. All is completed !"
At the same instant a passer-by, who
had heard HIM, grasped his hand, kiss
ing it respectfully.
:" My lord, " said he, with tears i'll his
eyes, " dc not ruin us s; you have dis
covered us. The first day you dlscov-
cred the first Of my accomplices the
second, the other and to-day you
have at last OWNED that / was the
! third robber. Do not expose us, and
will tell you where we have hidden the
| treasures of the Sultan"
AS may be imagined, Ali promised
all that was desired, aud the robber
then indicated the place where the
treasures were concealed.
When the guard came to apprehend
him, Ali demanded to be taken before
the Sultan.