The Andrew County Republican. [volume] (Savannah, Mo.) 1871-1876, 1874-07-03

L
one Gay lie hiIiou 49, -s- -
You think the brides were foolish to
marry him, but many women keep on
making as foolish matches all the world
over and she who marries a sot is
killed slowly, instead of being killed
quickly with a bow, as Schahriar did his
work.
Besides, all the women of the East
we're slaves, as they are mostly now,
and subject to whatever orders the Sui
tan might make.
Now it happened that this old Schah-
riar had a Vizier or chief officer under
him (who executed all his murderous
orders) and was Mortified by the cruel
ties he had to commit. And this same
Vizier hada beautiful and accomplished
daughter, who was even more Mortified
than her father; and she plotted how
she might stay the bloody actions of
Schahriar.
She conld gain no access to him, and
could hope to win no influence over him
except by becoming his bride ; but if
she did become his bride, she should
have but one day to live. SO, at least,
thought her sisters and her father. She
of course found it very hard to win the
consent of her father, the Vizier, TO her
plan but at last she succeeded, and so
arranged matters that the Schahriar
should command her to be his bride.
The fatal marriage day came, and the
Vizier was in agony of grief and alarm.
The morning after the espousal, he
waited, in an ecstacy of fear, the order
for the slaughter of the innocent bride /;
but to his amazement and present relief,
the order was postponed to the following
day.
The bride, whose name was Scheher-
azade-known now to school-boys and
schoolgirls all over the world,wasmOst
beguiling of speech, and a most charm
ing story-teller. And on the day of her
~espousal she had commenced the mar
ration of a most ~engrossing story to her
husband, Schahriar, and had so art
fully timed it, and measured out its
length, that when the hour came for
the Sultan to set about his cares of OF
flee she should be at its most interest
ing stage. The Sultan had been so be-
guiled by the witchery of her narrative,
and so eager to learn the issue that he
put off the execution of his murderOus
design, in order to hear the termi-
nation of the story on the following
night.
And so rich was the narration and SO
great was the art OF the Princess Sche-
herazade, that she kept alive the curios-
ity and wonder of her husband, the
Sultan, day after day, and week
after week, and month after month,
until her fascinating stories had lasted
for a thousand and one nights.
If you count up these you will find
they will make a period of two years and
nine manufacturing which she had be-
guiled the SULTAN and stayed the order
for her execution. In the interval, chill
dren had been born to her, and she had
SO won upon her husband, that he abol-
ished his cruel edict forever, on condi-
ton that from time to time she should
tell over again those enchanting stories.
And the stories which she told on these
thousand and one nights, and which
have been recited since in every Ian
guage in Europe, thousands and thou
sands and thousands of times. are the
Arabian Nights Tales. If this account
is not true in all particulars, it is at least
as true as the stories are.
A good woman sacrificed herself to
work a deed of b~enevolence. That sto-
ry at any rate is true, and is being re-
peated over and over in lives all around
us.-S. Nicholas.