The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1891-08-19
The Golden Palace Eastern
Legend.

"Money given to the poor is never
lost" said my soldier attendant, Malek
Beg, who, as he stood before me in his
dark-blue uniform, with a crimson tur-
ban overlapping his dark, firm face and
short, gray hair, was a splendid speci-
men of the Mohammedan warrior of
northe rn India. Has the Sahib "
(msster) "ever heard the tale of the
Golden Palace, and how it was built for
Sultan Ahmed by wise man of old?
"Sultan Ahmed was great king
who ruled this land long ago; and he
had many warriors, and countless treas
ures, and mettlesome horses, and
richly caparisoned elephants, and
goodly sons and daughters, and stately
palaces in every part of his realm, and
whatever else the heart of man could
desire; yet all this was not enough for
HIM. For it befell that as he iourneyed
through the land that lies along the
foot of those mighty mountains of the
north which we call The Abode of
Snow )" Qmmalela or Himalaya), "he
beheld their grandeur and said, in the
pride of his heart, This is a fit place
for me to build such palace as shall
cause the glory of my name to endure
foreverp
So the sultan sent thither Yakoob
(Jacob) the Wise, the most skilful of
his builders, and gave them vast sums
of money for the work, and rich re-
wards for himself likewise; and he
babe him build upon that spot palace
such as no king on earth had ever had.
And when three years were past and
gone, Sultan Ahmed went forth to see
how the work had prospered.
But when he came to the spot. be-
hold! there was not one stone laid
upon another, and the place where the
palace ought to have stood lay bare
and empty as before. For it CHANGED
that when Yakoob first came thither to
build there was sore famine in that
land, and in the fields and along the
very highways lay men, women and
children dying for want of food. Then
was Yakoob's heart filed with pity, and
he remembered the words of the
Prophet, Allah will have mercy upon
the merciful ,; and he gave to them all
his own money, and all that the sultan
had left with him for the building of
the palace; and thus he saved alive
many who were ready to perish.
" But when Sultan Ahmed saw this
his anger was like the hot wind of the
desert; for he thought that this tale of
the famine was only a lie, and that
Yakoob had stolen the money himself.
So he cast him into prison, and babe
the horalds make proclamation abroad,
Tomorrow his man shall die, because
| L. hot H. !,
dared to mock him with liesI'
"But that night Sultan Ahmed
dreamed dream. There came to him
one taller than a giant, whose face was
hidden by the folds of long black
mantle that covered him from head to
foot; and he said to the Sultan, Follow
me'
And straightway they scared up far
above the earth, higher and ever
higher, till they came to the gates of
heaven, and passed through them.
And 10! within stood a palace of pure
gold, brighter than the sun, and So vast
that all the cities of Hindoos tan might
have found space within its walls.
Then asked the Sultan, What pal
ace is ths?'
And his guide answered: This is
the Palace of Mercful Deeds, built for
thee by Yakoob the Wise; and its
glory shall endure when all the kings
of the earth have passed away. But in
the same hour that Yakoob dies by thy
sword thou shalt die by mine, for thou
hast condemned better man than
myself
And with that the spectre let fall
his mantle, and behold his face was
the face of Azrael, the Angel of Death.
"Then the sultan awoke in terror;
and rose hastily and went straight to
the prison, and brought forth Yakoob
with all honor saying to him, Thou
hast been wiser than |, for in truth
deed of mercy is greater than the glory
of king. wallpapers Young People.
Caring for SnarrOWS.