The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-01-05

one glance at it put me out OF sorts.
What's the matter?' l asked him. Mat
ter enough, he replied, surily. Can / see
private interview, and he at once started
in on a long prose poem beginning: Lo,
how wretched am II This was in accord
ance with one of our Arabian customs,
but as it was a custom that never
thought much of anyway, and as the din
ner was getting cold, / interrupted him
at the end of the first line, saying: Cut
it short, Hindbad, and get down to bust
ness. What can do for your 'Sindbad,
he said, taken aback by my abruptness,
has it never struck you that hundred
sequlms is pretty slim fee for listen
ing to the story of one of your voyages%
Well, my boy / was never so astoniShed
in my life. What do you mean?' gasped.
have hundred and fifty sequims after
this, and the yarns must be cut down
one-halD Does that go?' Now said
Sindbad, relighting his cigar, which IN
his excitement he had allowed to go out,
did you every hear of anything like that?'
Tom murmured that he never had, and
asked his companion what reply he made
to the ungrateful Hindbad.
Il simply told him." replied Sindbad,
that | could not for a moment entertain
his proposal; that l considered a hundred
get dozens of the best people in Bagdad
to listen to my story of my voyages for
then was his reply. All right; / will,
l said Then he began to weaken. Well
he said maybe we can come to terms
Sndbad 1t isn't that l don't like your
ing the fact that he had gone to sleep on
the previous evening at the most Interest,"
ing place in my seventh voyage-where
the elephant tore up by the roots the
tree upon which L was roasted; you re-
member thatY'
Eyes. indeed?' said Tom, breathlessly.
''Well, that's just the point at which
that clod fell asleep, and it took me five
minutes to awaken him. But as 1 was
saying, he insisted he was so fond of my
stories that if he could have his way
he'd give up his business as porter and
listen to my account of my voyage all
day, at the uniform rate of one hundred
think of my family he said; and for
their sake 1 am compelled to insist upon
a hundred and fifty. You see how l am
placed, don't you? Well, absolutely re-
rate. Then he said: 1--WE won't quar-
rel about a trifle, Sindbad, old man. Make
it a hundred sequins, and I'll be here reg
ularly every evening. / don't feel as If
/ could get along without your deeply in
teresting Stories This might have melt-s
ed me If l hadn't happened to catch him
in the act of winking at a black slave
of mine who was standing at the other
end of the room. That settled IL; r had
him elected from the house at once, and
rye never been able to bear the sight
Did he ever come back, sir?" asked
Tom.
'Oh, yes, several times; but [ wouldn't
see him. The last time he called he sent
up a note, in which he stated that OH ac-
count of the hard times and the fierce
competition against which he had TO
contend he was willing to give me three
evenings week for fifty sequins; or the
whole seven, and a matinee Of l insisted,
for a hundred. But l paid no attention
to his communication, and that was the
last l heard of him for a number of years;
in fact, 1 had forgotten all about him
when the Arabian Nights came out
and, to my amazement, / found my first
seven voyages among the contents. The
book was edited, compiled and partly
written by an enterprising, though I'M
at least, we'd cali him Journalist in
these days-and he had bought Hindbad's
garbled story of my voyages for five Sc
quins. Think of that Now do you Won
der that the very mention of that man
Hindbad's name engages me-"