Year: 1872

4


II will grant your request, ] say,
proceeded the Genie, " on condition that
you perpetrate some crime which may
diminish your overwhelming pride ol
conscious virtue. Do not interrupt ME,
or | will kill you upon the spot, but lis,
ten. give you your choice Of three of
the most heinous crimes which | can
imagine. You shall either violate the
law of the Prophet and drink your fill
of good wine, or you shall murder your
venerable old father, or you shall curse
the name Of that Deity whom you wor-
ship. Choose between these three
crimes.


Then Hamet was very sorrowful, and
he endeavored to melt the heart of the
evil Genie; but all his prayers and en-.
treaties were unavailing. He accord.
ingly went to reason within himself:


IF" said he, "I assassinate my
father no contrition can wipe away my
crime; and moreover, the law will over
take me with vengeance. If l curse
/ the name of the great Allah, l may sigh
in vain fer future happiness in the gar
dens of Paradise But if become inc.
briate with the juice of the grape
can expiate that fault by severe NORTH.
cation, penitence and renewed prayer.


Then turning his countenance upward
toward the Genie, he said: 20, fountain
of all evil, have made my choice, since
thou art determined upon this injury.
Name the object of that choice, said
the Genie.


l will get drunk with wine, as the
least of the crimes which you propose,
answered the dervise.


Be it SC" cried the Genie; this
evening, after the hour of prayer, thou
wilt find a jar Of Cyprus wine upon thy
table; when thy father has retired, fulfill
thy promise then. But woe unto thee if
thou deceiveth me.
| The Genie gradually became less pal
pable, as he spoke these words, and by
the time the concluding menace issued
from his lips he had vanished altogether
Hamet retraced his steps toward the
grotto with a sorrowful heart; but he
would not confde his anticipated dis
grace to the affectionate parent who vel
coined his return.


The day passed away rapidly, and in
the evening Hamet and his sire knelt
down as usual at the door of the grotto
with their voices in prayer. When their
vespers we're concluded the old man en-
braced his son tenderly, and retired to
to the inner 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 large ves-
sci Of wine standing upon the table.
The unhappy dervise raised it to his
lips and drank deeply of the intoxica-
ting draught. A glow of FIRE seemed
to electriiy his frame, and he laughed as
he sat the vessel down upon the table
Again he drank, and he felt reckless
and careless of the consequences. He
drank the 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 he saw his father
standing behind him. 0l


"Dyn," said the old man, |" the noise
Of revelry awoke me from my slumbers,
and | rise to find my beloved Hamet
drunken with winel Alas is this
merely one Of many night orgies2 and
have now awakened to the dreadful
truth of thine impiety for the first time? !?
Alas thou has 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
while his father slept. He felt suddenly
indignant at the language of his sire,
and cried: Return to your couch, old
dotard Thou knowest not what thou
sayestl"


And, as he uttered these words, he
pushed mis- father violently into the
grotto. The old man resisted, and again
demonstrated with Hamet The brain
of the son was confused with liquor,
and a 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 grotto
The old man fell with his temple against
q sharp flint--9ne groan emanated from
his bosom, and his spirit fed forever.


Suddenly conscious of the horrid
crime of which he had been guilty,
Hamet tore his hair beat his breast,
and raved like a maniac. And in the
midst of his rawlings he lifted up bis
voice against the majesty of heaven,
and cursed the Deity whom he had SO
long and fervently worshipped.


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


And the last words Of the Genie min
gled with the redoubled bowling Of the
sisym. as Hamet was borne down the
slope of tka mountain by the falling
masses, and dasheS to pieces at the
bottom. rr al


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