The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-12-26

i father of Solomon the Wise found in the 1 society of Abishag. the shunammite." l In short the two old graybeards wran- | gled over the damsel in most unseerniy | manner before the whole court until Ibra- ! him went off in huff and shut himself 1 up in his cave to brood over his disap- | pointment, giving the king parting warning to beware of his captive lest she work him ill., But Aben Habuz was an l old man and an old man in love, and warnings were thrown away on him. He now devoted his whole time to devislng ways in which to make himself agree 1 able to the Gothic princess. He had not | youth, to be sure, but he had wealth | and power and sometimes these have been as potent recommendation in the | eyes of young ladies as youth. The Za- cath of Granada was ransacked to pro- vide the most precious merchandise of the East-silks, jewels. precious gems. exquisite perfumes, all that Asia and Africa yielded of rich and rare were lay- ished on the princess, who received every thing as a matter of course and neither
 expressed gratitude nor surprise at any luxury bestowed upon her.
 In fact she seemed to take secret pleasure in exciting the monarch to ex- penses that made his treasury shrink and | then accepting his efforts ss something /, due her rank. All kinds of festivals were
 devised for her entertainment, bullfights | ninstrelsy, dancing tournaments, and ! Granada was for time a scene of per
 petual pageant and festivity. But in spite
 of all his exertions the venerable lover i could not hatter himself that he made
 any impression on the heart of his charm CT. She never drowned on him and she never smiled on him. And worse than all
 whenever the susceptible old fellow began
 to make love the princess struck few
 chords upon her silver Tyre and instant ly the monarch began to nod.
 There was some magic in the sound of
 that Tyre. Try as he would Aben could ! nothelp but nod at the first note and went gently to sleep with his words of love still
 upon his lips. From these sleeps he would awake wonderfully refesned but for the
 time being entirely cured Of his infafu-
 ation The cure was not permanent,
 however, for his passion swiftly returned and then the princess struck her Tyre again. What could be more discoursging to any lover than to have some neatly prepared speech cut short off at the very beginning by an irresistible im- , pulse to go to sleep. If magic had made war exceedingly easy for Aben Habuz, magic had made lovemaklng exceedingly difficult.
 This sort of thing went on until all ,, Granada scoffed at his infatuation, his treasurer cried aloud in agony of spirit
 and the business of state went to the dogs At length peril burst upon the head of Aben against which his talis- man gave him no warning. rebellion broke out in the city and an armed rab- be surrounded the palace threatening his life and the life of the Gottic princess. A spark of his old spirit was awakened in the breast of the monarch At the 1 head of his guards he salied forth from
 ahe palace, put the rebels to flight and
 crushed the insurrection. Meantime old
 Dr. Ibrahim had kept in the seclusion ! of his hermit caves employing himself
 with such simple delights as the bounty | of the monarch had enabled him to com
 mand. When quiet had been restored l Aben decided that he would go and call i upon his old friend. see how he was get i ting along and patch up their little diff | ferences.
 i The fact was that Aben needed Ibrahim ! in his business He was tired of wars ! even mimic ones fought on chessboards.
 Of revolutions he desired to see no more e I, oic : Some simple. little, quiet retreat where he
 could live unmolested and absolutely at ease with his beloved captive was all that
 he now desired. "Oh, wise son of Abu 1 Ayub," said the King after he had ob- l tained admittance into the frugal her mitage of the sage, well didst thou pre- dict the dangers to me from this cap
 etiv beauty. rsll me then you who are
 so quick to foresse peril, what shall do
 to avert it?' Put from thee the infidel
 maiden who is the cause" replied lbra-
 him piousy. Sooner would I part with 1 my kingdom" cried the monarch obsti- natey. Thou are in danger of losing 1 both" retorted Ibrahim cooliy.
 Aben, seeing that he had taken the
 wrong tack with the wise man, now at tempted to concliate him by alluding to his growing years and desire for repose, peace and love in some quiet corner of the
 earth He appealed to his sympathies. and
 asked abruptly: What wouldst thou give
 # could provide thee with such re-
 treat as thou speakest of?'' Name your
 own reward" replied the now hopeful ] monarch; 'whatevsr 1t 10, if 1t bs within
 the scope of my power, it is thine" Hast