Year: 1868

worship. Choose between these
three crimes"


Then Hamet was very sorrowful,
and he endeavered to melt the heart
of the evil Genie; but all his prayers
aud entreaties were unavailing. He
accordingly began to reason within
himself.


eff" said he, 81 assassinate my
father, no contrition can wipe away
my crime, and moreover the law
will svertake me with its vengeance.
If / curse the name of the great
Allah, may sigh in vain for future
happiness in the gardens of Paradise.
But if become lnebriate with the
juice of the grape, 1 can expiate that
fault by severe modification, peni-
tence, and renewed prayer"
Then, turning his countenance up
wards toward the Genie, he said, go
fountain Of all evil! have made my
choice, since thou art determined
upon this injury"


"Name the object Of that choice, "
said the Genie.


81 will get drunken with wine, as
the least of the crimes which you
PROPOSE" answered the dervise.


"Be it so," cried the Genie: "this
evening, after the hour of prayer,
thou wilt find jar of Cyprus-wine
upon thy table, when thy father has
returned to rest in his own CELL
Thou mayest fulfil thy promise then;
but woe unto thee if thou decelvest
mew


The Genie gradually became less
palpable as he spoke these words;
and, by the time the concluding men,
ace issued from his lips, he had van
ished altogether. Hamet retraced
his steps towards the grotto, with a
sorrowful heart; but he would not
confide his anticipated disgrace to
the affectionate parent who welcomed
his return.


The day passed rapidly away; and
in the evening, Hanet and his sire
knelt down as usual at the door of
the grotto, with their faces towards
the south, to raise their voices in
prayer. When their vespers were
concluded, the old man embraced his
son tenderly, and retired to the in
ner part of the grotto.


AS soon as Hamet knew that his
father slept, he lighted lamp; and,
as the Genie had told him, he saw a
large measure of wine standing upon
the table. The unhappy dervise
raised it to his lips, and drank deep
ly of the Intoxicating draught. A
glow of fire seemed to electrify his
frame, and he laughed as he set the
vessel down upon the table. Again
he drank; and he felt reckless and
careless of the consequences. He
drank third time; and when he had
emptied the measure, he ran out to
the door of the grotto, and threw it
down the slope of the mountain;
then, as he heard it bounding along,
he laughed with indescribable mirth.
AS he turned to enter the grotto,
be saw his father standing behind
him.


Son." said the old man, "the
noise Of revelry awoke me from my
slumbers, and l rise to find my we'll
beloved Hamet drunken with wlnel
Alas! is this one of many nights
orgies; and have 1 now awakened to
the dread truth of thine impiety,
for the first timer Alas! thou hast
cast ashes upon the gray head of
thy father!"


Hamet could not brook this accusa-
ton, and the implied suspicion that
he was accustomed to indulge in wine
whilst his father slept. He felt sud
denly indignant at the language Of
his sire, and cried, "Return to your
couch, old dotard! Thou knowest
not what thou sayest!'


And, as he uttered these words,
he pushed his father violently into
the grotto. The old man resisted,
and again demonstrated with Hamet.
The brain of the son was confused
with liquor; and, sudden dread Of
exposure to the world entered his
mind. With the rage Of demon he
rushed upon his hoary-headed sire,
and dashed him furiously against the
stone walls of the grotte. The old
man fell with his temple against q
sharp fint--one groan emanated
from his bosom--and his spirit fed
for ever.


Suddenly conscious of the horrid
crime of which he had been guilty,
Hamet tore his hair, beat his breast,
and raved like q maniac. And, in
the midst of his rawlings, he lifted up
his voice against the majesty of
heaven, and cursed the Deity whom
he had so long and fervently wor-
shipped!


At that instant terrible din echoed
round about-the thunder rolled
the tall trees shook with an earth
quake-and, amidst the roar of the
conflicting elements, were heard
shouts of internal laughter. All hell
seemed to rejoice at the fall of a
coed man, whom no other vice had
ever tempted away from the paths of
virtue, until drunkenness presented
itself. The rage of the storm in
creased--the trees were torn up by
their roots--and fragments of the
rocky parts Of Olympus rolled down
the hill with the fury of an Alpine
Avalanche. Then suddenly the
Genie appeared before the wretched
Hamet, and exclaimed, "Fool! by
choosing to commit the crime which
seemed to thee the least, thou hast
committed the other two likewise!-
For there is more danger in the wine
cup than in any other means Of temp
tation presented by Satan to man
kind!"


And the last words Of the Genie
mingled with the redoubled bowling
of the storm, as Hamet was borne
down the slope of the mountain by