Birmingham state herald., 1896-02-09
THE SULTANA'S PEARL.
By May French-sheldon, F. R. G. s.. Lon
 don, Eng.
tCopywrighted.)

don, Eng.
 (Copywrighted)
 Sadi Bin Hanidi of Zanzibar imperious- ly bade the naughty sultana: "To th4 white woman give that pink pearl thou wearest; we would pay her royal hom- age"
 The dark-skinned sultana flushed. her eyes gleamed with wild fire of hatred, and every gesture eloquently tctokened reluctance to obey, yet nesitancy to open ly defy and disobeY her liege master. Her long, daphanous silken robes, much bedizened with golden broders and stud ded with flashing jewels, were drawn closely about her as she nervously clutched them and sought to conceal in their amplitude the hand which the pre- cious pink pearl ornamented.
 She stepped with majestic grace fairly up to the sultan and dedantly confront ed him. whilst in dismay he regarded her. unused to having his slightest wish brooked even by the Sultana of his ha- rem Her painted lips quiveringly parted, and in soft Arabic she tremulously pro- tested:
 But sire it is my marriage ring! Sire dost thou not remember the legend of this priceless pink pear1?"
 He nodded mechanically and, with brows knitting in choler,he repeated with cruel emphasis;
 Aye aye! That do l remember, In I thy pink pearl to the white woman; let it be the charm, blessed by Allah, to bring her serenity back safely to us from ous cutthroat subjects"
 He rose with determination, extended toward Aznida his upturned hand to re- ceive the priceless pearl ring. still she demurred and slowly coursed down her cheeks two crystal drops that far out rivaled in purity the orient of the pink pearl.
 "Come. Come! Give it. Aznida,o or by AL lah Zelika whom thou hatest in the bottom of thy heart, shalt henceforth receive my particular favors, and the meanest woman of the Zinani wilt mock at thy loss of prestige"
 This cruel threat was all sufficient to command compliance from the dis traught sultana. Forthwith she drew the ring from her finger, pressed it fer vently to her lips, touched it to her fore head then to her knee, and with sup pressed sob dropped it into the sultan's hands.
 He smiled triumphantly, cast a signif- icant glance toward one of the Malay eunuchs, who guarded the portal and signed the tongueless, mutilated creature by the laws of the country made a parody of a man-to his side A word the royal master whispered into the slaves bent ear, who, with sign Of obeisance, made a profound salaam, backed out of the apartment, evidently to execute some command.
 The moments swiftly flew. Meanwhile, the sultan held a confidential conversa- tion with the aggrieved sultana, who seemed quite nconsolabe over the en- forced bestowal of her precious jewel upon the stranger With brusque move ment the arras parted, and the eunuch reappeared bearing on a golden saiVer a curiously designed gold casket, which the sultan received and presented with the pink pearl ring most ceremonlusiy to the white woman, who found herself keenly embarrassed by the prolonged au- dience, as well, perchance, as by the ex- tremely delicate personal phase 1t had as sumed yet she was silent. Her attl- tude there was unique for she and she only, had ever been thus privileged to glance even behind the securely locked and barred doors of the interior apart ments of the sultan's harem; and she felt, although the honor might be deemed by the unknowing, somewhat dubious yet, from another broader point of view, 1t afforded her opportunity not to be spurned through petty conventions to witness these scenes and hear the strange stories only to be heard in these prohib- ited precincts
 Suffice 1t the casket held a golden case, which in turn contained an almost endless silken scroll on which was set forth in dainty melliferous Arabic the legend of the sultanas pink pearl she had so tenaciously clug to, and only In obedience to the sultans command, backed by his cruel threat of her dis placement by her rival had she re- luctantly surrendered.
 Your majesty" half-interrogatingly spoke the white woman, "the revelation this scroll carries without doubt must remain a mystery, unless your illustrlous majesty will graciously summon his scribe to interpret it for me"
 NO! No Not scribe, lady. That would twist the dagger already in my heart, No! No! Let 1t be me. Aznida who tells thee." burst out passionateIy. in English, the sultana whose disdainful resentment had been swallowed suddenly mn in inc stronger emotion of pride and unwilingness to permit scullion, a paidling, to know this precious legend The English words falling from the sul- tanas lips had fascinating infection ~apd were embellished With pit.er ac- ce1t~that reminded the listener of ml- nor strain of music, of weird moonlight of the spicy, subtle perfume of swing ing censer, of luscious pomegranates-in good truth. the commingling Of strange things of the orient and or the occioeh' in an unaccuStomed way.
 Evidently the sultan deferentially awaited the white woman's evinced de- sire to hear the story from the sultana's own lips before giving his acqu1escence for no sooner had she bowed her heao in answer to the Sultana'S entreaty than did the sultan, by an imperious wave of the hand, dismiss the eunuchs in attend ance. and after tremendously seating the white woman and himself he pointed to a pile of silken cushions, upon which the sultana flung herself, her oriental beauty indeed enhanced by the brilliant silk coverings of the cushions puffed irregu- larly in broken lines all about her as a bewitching backbround
 With unwonted courtesy,in the absence of all servitors, the sultan rose, took from the comfortable a couple of glasses brmming with sherbert, handed one to the white woman, quaffed half the contents of the other then handed it to the sul- tana. who touched her forehead with the tips of the fingers of her left hand and with a graceful swing as she bowed her head touched first her knee, then her bare toes as they peeped naked through the jeweled strap of her sandal. paused