raged Etchi-bashi, enter with another murderous saucepan to scald me to death; but, luckily, the recollection of the stewpan he had left on the fire called him back to the kitchen, and while he was occupied there, I contrived to slip out of the harem and make my way to the outer door. When I crossed the threshold, I considered myself the most fortunate of women; I immediately returned to my old habitation, where I found my mother in the hands of a barber, who was pouring linseed-oil over her scorched features. She was not so bad, however, but that she was able to lay all her misfortunes to my account, and I, in return, all mine to hers; in short, my amiable mother and myself did nothing for three whole days but quarrel. The fourth we were fatigued :-my mother had lost the skin of her nose-I had lost my husband; we condoled with one another, and became, as affectionately attached as ever.

"In the mean time an unfortunate circumstance arose which drove us from Stamboul. A servant of the late Janissary Aga's called one day at our house, and asked to have a private conversation with my mother. I stationed my

self at the door of the adjoining room, and, to my utter astonishment, heard the menial demand ten purses of my mother as the price of his silence touching the murder of his deceased master. It was in vain my mother protested that the Aga died a natural death, that the physic she had administered might have been given with impunity to a new-born infant; but it was all to no purpose, the wretch would have it that my mother had murdered the Aga, and he only gave her one week to prepare the money or to abide the disclosure.

"At his departure, my poor mother of course protested her innocence of the foul deed; but such was the terror the bare accusation had caused her, that she made up her mind to leave Stamboul before three days. All my endeavours to dissuade her were ineffectual; she had a sister settled in Bournarbashi, and there she would go to see her, whether I accompanied her

or not.

"My amiable mother always kept the money; duty and affection bade me not suffer her to go alone. In three days time we were on the high road to Bournarbashi, where we arrived in

safety, and ultimately fixed our abode; my poor mother, an eternal one; she died in a fit of passion, induced by a charge brought against her of interfering in the domestic concerns of a neighbour's harem.

"I gave my revered parent the finest funeral that was ever seen in Bournarbashi. She has been now ten years in Paradise, and in that space of time I have had five offers of marriage, but I have refused them all. I have been only married to four men, and three of them are living. With all, save one, I might have been happy, had it pleased Allah to have called my amiable mother to his bosom a few years earlier; but I do not repine at my fate. I have lost four husbands' affections, and gained four wives' experience; and the result of all that experience is the conviction that no worse enemies to the peace of a husband can abide in his harem, than the female relatives of his wife."

The old lady terminated her story amidst a thousand Mashallahs; every body praised Allah for her experience.

The guests began getting their veils in order,

the sun was setting, and no ladies' party ever breaks up much later. The ceremony of salaaming was gone through for a good half hour, and at length the last visitor was past the threshold of Suleiman.

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CHAPTER XXVI.

I doubt some danger does approach you nearly :
If you would take a homely man's advice,
Be not found here.

MACBETH.

MOURAD was now busily employed in arranging his plans. Suleiman had not yet arrived, and ere another day he hoped to be far beyond his reach. The deed he had just committed left him little inclination to pursue his vengeance any farther for the present. The possession of Zuleika and his own safety now engrossed his sole attention. But the day, he endeavoured to persuade himself, would come, when the supernatural warning he had received at Chiblak, should not be thrown away. In the mean time he visited the harem, put Zuleika in possession of all his plans for their escape, obviated every