, 1888-09-30
HAGAR'S TEAR.

IHe hluBuO" VI lauleGJ part OF the en-
pire of Morocco, was sleeping the sleep Of
the just.
His bed was made upon a mat of Fass,
soft and warm, and his head reposed upon
a pillow embroidered with gold, for the
jeweler of the cruel sultan was rich and
of great renown.
"Kaddour slept a sleep calm and happy,
through which, as the hours wore on, ran
a beautiful and blissful dream. He
dreamed in this beautiful dream that an
angel had descended to him from the
country of Allah to demand of him a nun
dred thousand collars of pearls, emeralds,
topazes and rubies, with which to clasp
the graceful Threats of the hours, whose
sight rejoiced the eyes of the saints and
the elect in the Blessed Dejemaa, the
Mohammedan paradise.
"Al at once, through the silence Of
the night, rudely dispelling this wonder.
full vision. n voice called to him:
"'Kaddourl Kaddour-Ben-Aiebp
"And the jeweler, still delivered owe.
to his beautiful dreaming, leaped to his
feet, crying aloud:
Eyes. Lord, yesl Is it thou who callest
meP'
but as he opened his eyes and saw
nothing but his chamber filled with a
strange and binding radiance, he began
to tremble convulsively and his teeth to
chatter in his head.
Fear nothing cried the voice again;
fear nothing, Jeweler Kaddour-B Ben Aieb.
l am the king of the Genii, created of a
subtle fire, as thou knowest from the
teachings of the Koran, and it was | who
sent thee the dream thou hast had to pre-
pare thee for my coming. Thy renown
hath como even to me. l hear thou nrt an
incompatible artist; that none can equal
thaa in fba oT,.o ,, pi n 80 ~,o 1or,, ,.l
precious metals, and that the works that
come from thy hands are veritable mas
terpieces of art and skill
81 am unworthy, o, Seigneur!' cried
haddour, humbly prostrating himself be-
fore the spot whence the voice sounded,
and striking the earth with his brow, L
am unworthy of thy tlattering eulogies; l
am but a poor jeweler, the last of the
workers of my profession
" Thy humility pleases me- replied the
king of the Genii, 'and but adds another to
the virtues l have heard of thee. Ihave
come, however, to give an order that must
be executed Immediately for a collar of
fine pearls of the greatest purity. Show
me thy stock
"Kaddour hurried to obey, going with
all diligence to open his Golfers, closed by
triple locks, and to spread before the
royal customer his stores of gems and
metals.
'BahI and the king-for by this time
the voice had become a handsome and
knightly personage-made a face of dis
appointment, they are not what l wish;
have you nothing better to show me?'
No, mylord, said Kaddour, the sweat
of despair m~oistening his brow; nothing
else than these which l use in my work
for the sultan
'Humph! the sultan! My collar must
surpass the s%uitan's, and be made of pearls
from human tears. Flawlessly pure at that,
and sincere; one of those that run from
anger, envy, jealousy or malice
Alas, my lordI responded the Jew
eler, all disconnected, L am ready to do
thy bidding, but how shall l recognize if
the tears thou hast directed me to collect
for thee have the requisite purity, and
even when l have recognized them, how
arrange them into pearls for a collarp
Readily; take thisl' handing Kad-
dour a tiny whitish pebble. 1T is the
touchstcne of human sorrow and tears.
Every time thou approachest a tear, if
that tear be pure, 1t will change into q
perfect pearl; If impure, into a drop of
mud, black and nauseous. Get thee to
work at once, for tomorrow night | re-
turn for my collar, and also to see if thou
hast the address and skill that hast been
ascribed thee
Saying this, the king of the Genii
faded from sight, leaving Kaddour- Ben
Aieb open mouthed with astonishment
from all that he had seen and heard.
But how he pondered, how shall
| go about getting these tears to form
this collarr and suddenly the idea came
to him. He lighted his lamp, seated him
self at his table and began to compose a
number of placards, when completed run
ming thus:
"Knddour-B en-Aieb,
Jeweler of the sultan,
Purchases human tears
douro apiece.
THE first pink rays of the morning were
showing themselves upon the horizon as
the work of distributing the placards in
all the public squares and mailing them
to the walls Of the houses was ended.
He returned to hisdwelling then as hastily
as he had left it, to make his additions.
say his prayers and seat himself cross
legged on the bench of his boutique to
await the result of his proclamation.
"Soon-for he did not wait long, you
may be sure-from all parts of the city
the people began to come, first in twos
and threes, then in hundreds, jostling
crowding to his dwelling; Spaniards,
Maltese, Italians, Moors, Arabs, Kabyles
and Jews; merchants, mechanics, fisher
men, slaves and even usurers-a crowd
that swayed and murmured like the sea
before hat queer, enhancing
ment. A douro for each single tear would
make the poorest wealthy
AT last a usurer, well known for
a~varice, bad faith and hardness of heart.
spurred by cupidity. advanced to the
b%outique.
"'is it true, Kaddour,' said he, that
thou payest a douro apiece for tearsT'
III is true; but know well, o Levi
Abraham, in case thine eyes are still
capable of furnishing them, that the tears
l purchase must be pure, otherwise I take
them not
The usurer hesitated a little, but van.
pushed by his greed of gain, entered