Part 24 (1/2)

”Am I a fool,” answered the old man, ”that I should dislike it? Say what it is”

”Softly, o on slow and sure

Will you suffer yourself to be led blindfolded at ht wherever I choose to take you, for a job?”

”That's another question,” said Babadul; ”times are critical, heads fly in abundance, and a poor tailor's o as well as a vizier's or a capitan pacha's But pay me well, and I believe I would make a suit of clothes for Eblis, the foul fiend, hiree to my proposal?” said the eunuch, who at the saold in his hand

”Yes, ree Tell me what I aly they settled between theht, and lead hi left alone, continued his work, wondering what could be the job upon which he was to be so mysteriously employed; and, anxious to ood luck, he shut up his stall earlier than usual, and went to his house, that was situated not far from the little mosque in the fish-market, of which he was the muezzin

Old Dilferib, his wife, was almost as much bent double as her husband; and in consequence of the two gold pieces, and contemplation of more which they expected to receive, they treated therapes, and sweetmeats, after which they consoled themselves with some of the hottest and most bitter coffee which the old woman could make

True to his appointht, where he was as punctually met by Mansouri Without any words, the former permitted himself to be blindfolded, whilst the latter led hi lio; there, stopping only to open the private iron gate, Mansouri introduced the tailor into the very heart of the sultan's private aparte over his eyes was taken off in a dark chahted up only by a s the top of the room, but which was splendidly furnished by sofas of the richest brocade, and by carpets of the most costly manufacture Here Babadul was commanded to sit, until Mansouri returned with a bundle, wrapped in a large shawl handkerchief: this being opened, a sort of dervish's dress was displayed to the tailor, and he was requested to look at it, to consider how long he would be ain, duly folded up, to its shawl covering In the meanwhile, Mansouri told hiain, and then left hiain, calculated each stitch, and, come to his proper conclusions, packed it up in the handkerchief, as he had been commanded; but no sooner had he done this than a man of lofty demeanour and appearance, whose look made the poor tailor shrink within himself, came into the room, took up the bundle, and walked aith it, without uttering a single word

A few eness of his situation, and just recovering from the effects of this apparition, a door opened in another part of the aparture, richly dressed, ca a bundle, equally covered with a shawl, about the size of that which had just been taken away; and reat apparent trepidation, approached hiround, and retreated without saying a word, or even looking up

”Well,” said Babadul to hi very fine, and I ht I know; but this is very certain, that I had rather be patching rand and lucrative it ht here for? These co people, apparently without tongues in their heads, do not argue well I wish they would give ht learn what I a been sewn up in sacks and thrown into the sea Who knows? perhaps I am destined to be the tailor on such an occasion”

He had scarcely got thus far in his soliloquy when the slave Mansouri re-entered the room and told hi done, his eyes were again blindfolded, and he was led to the spot froreereed with the slave that in three days the dress should be ready for delivery at his stall for which he was to receive ten ot rid of his companion, he proceeded with all haste to his house, where he knew his ould be i his return; and as he walked onwards he congratulated hi indeed a job worth the having, and that his fate had finally turned up soe It was about two o'clock in thewhen he reached the door of his house He was received by his ith expressions of great i absence; but when he held up the bundle to her face, as she held up the laood news:--see, I have got et when it is finished,” she was all set up, and let us go to bed now,” said the tailor

”No, no,” said the wife, ”I ot before I retire, or I shall not be able to sleep”: upon which, whilst he held up the lauess at the astonish a suit of clothes, they discovered, wrapped in a napkin, in its hastly state, a human head!

It fell from the old woman's hands and rolled away some paces, whilst the horror-struck couple first hid their faces with their hands, and then looked at each other with countenances which nothing can describe

”Work!” cried the wife, ”work, indeed! pretty work you have o so far, and to take such precautions, to bring thishome this dead man's head to make a suit of clothes of?”

”_Anna senna! Baba senna!_ Curses be on his mother! Perdition seize his father!” exclaiof a eunuch talked of blindfolding and silence to ht, as true as I a a suit of clothes; and sure enough this dog's son has tacked a head to it Allah! Allah! what am I to do now? I know not the way to his home, or else I would take it back to him imi bashi+ and a hundred other bashi+s here in a minute, and we shall be ed, or drowned, or impaled! What shall we do, eh, Dilferib, et rid of the head, to be sure: we have no ht to have it palmed upon us than anybody else”

”But the day will soon dawn,” said the tailor, ”and then it will be too late Let us be doing soht has struck hbour, the baker, Hassan, heats his oven at this hour, and begins soon after to bake his bread for his 's custos to bake fro houses, which are placed near the oven's ht: suppose I put this head into one of our earthen pots and send it to be baked; no body will find it out until it is done, and then we need not send for it, so it will remain on the baker's hands”

Babadul adacity, and forthwith she put her plan into execution When the head had been placed in a baking-pan, she watched a round, in the same roith the other articles that were to be inserted in Hassan's oven

The old couple then double-barred the door of their house, and retired to rest, co themselves with the acquisition of the fine shawl and napkin in which the head had been wrapped

The baker Hassan and his son Mah therein thorns, chips, and old rubbish at a great rate, when their attention was arrested by the extraordinary whinings and barking of a dog, that was a constant customer at the oven for stray bits of bread, and much befriended by Hassan and his son, ere noted for being conscientious Mussulmans

”Look, Mahmud,” said the father to the son, ”see what is theextraordinary is in the wind”

The son did what his father bade hi's noises, said, ”_Bir chey yok_, there is nothing,” and drove hi, Hassan went hi and pointing at the tailor's pipkin

He juain, until the baker no longer doubted that the beast took great interest in its contents He therefore gently drew off the lid, when need Ihim in the face?

”Allah! Allah!” cried the baker; but being ait fall, as ain, and called his son to him