Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1900-04-28
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Il THE RIVAL y
[. MAGICIANS. y
\. By Clifford Michel White. ./
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You must know, oh, llustrious stran-
ger, that l was born in the city of Shir-
azan, my fathcr-peace be to his ashes
being merchant whose fair dealing
raised him to a position of high honor in
the eyes of the governor and esteem in
that of his fellow citizens.
Alas for my prospects, however, he
was gathered to the arms of the prophet
when | was but an infant, and l passed
under the guardianship of an unclc-a
sage magician of the name of HaSsan
ibn Afzul.
Now, it happened that in the same city
where we dwclt and where my uncle
practiccd his exalted profession there
lived another magician, called AfZul ibn
1asSan, between whom and my uncle
there existed rivalry so bitter and far
reaching in its consequences that the
fame of it extended to the borders of
Persia.
In my sixteenth year l fell passionate
ly in love with the most beautiful crca-
turc in all Persia, whose name vas AL
sura, wh3 fuily reciprocateG my scnti-
mcnt and who, strangely enough, was
the daughter of my uncle's bitter rival.
1t was then my uncle unravelcd the
grand secret Of night metamorphosation,
or the changing of the form of a crca-
ture ut shutdown, upon which both the
magicianS had assiduously labored for
years. So he commenced by transform
ing all Afzul ibn Hassan's chickens each
night into enormous frogs, that kept up
such lively crOaking under the lattcr'S
window. From this my uncle went on
I,l iSh NM
his rival to another until he conceived
the most villainous piece of mischief of
all.
One night | entered the rose garden
where it had been my wont to meet AL
zura. For awhile | paced back and
forth, momcntarily expecting her appear
ance, and then | ventured to call her by
name, softly at first and then a little
louder, "AlZura, AlZura, Alzura" but
the only response that came to me was
the plaintive meow of an i'll favored look
ing, hungry visaged yellow cat that per-
sistently followed up and down in my
footsteps until the conviction forced it
self upon my mind that my vndictive
uncle had changed the form of the beau
tiful AlZura into that hidcous, bone pro-
truding grimalkin. Taking the poor
creature into my arms, l careSscd and
SmoOthed my transformed Alzura, Strok-
ing her unkcmpt coat so that the fur
flew into my nostrils, permitting her
without n protest to sharpen her talonS
in my limbs.
In deep grief finally parted from my
enchanted lady, determined, however, to
lay the whole case before my uncle Oh
the morrow and entreat him to withdraw
the spell. But when | made known to
him n SSinn bic vi, PC do for
and that we had already exchanged vows
of fidelity his distress and subsequent
rage We're fearful to behold. He babe
me abandan her, saying:
81 will give thee until shutdown, when.
IL thou still persistest to thwart my
will. look to thy safety, boy, or | may
remember thee in manner of which
thou dost not even dream" Then, with
n motion of his hand, he waved me from
his presence.
Much depressed in spirits, left my
unclc'S house. determined, nevertheless.
that. come what i'll fate might. | would
remain faithful to Alzura. SO toward
evening took my way in the direction
of the rose garden; but, alas, no sooner
had | arrived mt our place of meeting
than | was welcomed by the same plain
tive meow. and, with tail erect. Al
Zura trotted out from under bush.
And at that moment l became conscious
of curious shrinking sensation through
out my limbs Smaller and smaller
seemed to become, while each instant
Alzura appeared to grow larger and
larger.
An awful terror seized my bones, and.
making one desperate spring, scuttlcd
away on four small little legs to n small
crnN-irn in fbn unrIop y-on u-ho I
deavored to hide myself in its farthest
recess from the pursuing AlZura.
Such was my possession for seven I'M
ending hours-hours that seemed like
seven decades. Toward morning my
senses must have become so stupefed
with terror that | lost consciousness
until | suddenly found that daylight had
come, that | had resumed my original
form and that AlZura was nowhere to be
seen.
Now, it happened that Afzul ibn Has
san, working upon the same problem
which my uncle had solved. himself that
day discovered the secret of night metal
morphoSis and resolved to change my I'M
Gle into II rat Mt the same time that my
uncle determined to transform his rival
into an animal of the same species, so
that when night fell both ma&icians
found themselves suddenly confronting
each other in the shapes of two vermin,
with all their hatred retained.
Apparently n mutual recognition took
place simultaneously, and, their brute in
stncts gaining the mastery over their
cunning and discretion. they Mt once set
upon each other with fury born of
years of jealousy and rccriminataion.
All. Allah. how those beasts fought!
With their sharp teeth they tore the
flesh from each others bones. they
squcalcd in their rage and fixed their
jaws in each others throat, until. in
short space. the lives of both were eX-
terminated.
Why dlatc further? The story is fin
ishcd. Alzura. when her grief for her
fathers death had subsidized and the re-
Quircd mourning had been undergone,
yielded to my entreaties to permit me to
fill his place as her protector. ] estab-
lishcd myself in business in the prin-
cipal bazaar of Shirazan, where we to-
gether enjoyed many years OF great hap
piness and prosperity.-New York Even
ing Post
A Rare Souvenir.
curinuc SOuynnir iS nrnsarvn6 in tho