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fell into a raging fever. The king was informed of her condition by thofe that faw her. Helim finding no other means of extricating her from the difficulties the was in, after having compofed her mind, and made her acquainted with his intentions, gave her a certain potion, which he knew would lay her afleep for many hours; and afterwards, in all the feeming diftrefs of a difconfolate father, informed the king he was dead. The king, who never let any fentiments of humanity come too near his heart, did not much trouble himself about the matter; however, for his own reputation, he told the father, that fince it was known through the empire that Balfora died at a time when he defigned her for his bride, it was his intention that the should be honoured as fuch after her death, that her body should be laid in the Black Palace, among those of his deceased queens.

In the mean time Abdallah, who had heard of the king's defign, was not lefs afflicted than his beloved Balfora. As for the feveral circumstances of his diftrefs, as also how the king was informed of an irrecoverable distemper into which he was fallen, they are to be found at length in the hiftory of Helim. It fhall fuffice to acquaint the reader, that Helim, fome days after the fuppofed death of his daughter, gave the prince a potion of the fame nature with that which had laid afleep Balfora.

It is the custom among the Perfians, to convey in a private manner the bodies of all the royal family, a little after their death, into the Black Palace; which is the repofitory of all who are defcended from the Caliphs, or any way allied to them. The chief phyfician is always governor of the Black Palace; it being his office to embalm and preferve the holy family after they are dead, as well as to take care of them while they are yet living. The Black Palace is fo called from the colour of the building, which is all of the fineft polished black marble. There are always burning in it five thousand everlasting lamps. It has alfo a hundred folding doors of ebony, which are each of them watched day and night by a

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Hundred negroes, who are to take care that no body enters, befides the governor.

Helim, after having conveyed the body of his daughter into this repofitory, and at the appointed time received her out of the fleep into which she was fallen, took care fome time after to bring that of Abdallah into the fame place. Balfora watched over him till fuch time as the dofe he had taken loft its effect. Abdallah was not acquainted with Helim's defign when he gave him this fleepy potion. It is impoffible to defcribe the furprife, the joy, the tranfport he was in at his first awaking. He fancied himself in the retirements of the bleft, and that the fpirit of his dear Balfora, who he thought was just gone before him, was the first who came to congratulate his arrival. She foon informed him of the place he was in, which notwithstanding all its horrors, appeared to him more sweet than the bower of Mahomet,. in the company of his Balfora.

Helim, who was fuppofed to be taken up in the embalming of the bodies, vifited the place very frequently. His greateft perplexity was how to get the lovers out of it, the gates being watched in fuch a manner as I have before related. This confideration did not a little dif- turb the two interred lovers. At length Helim bethought himself, that the first day of the full moon of the month Tizpah was near at hand. Now it is a received tradition among the Perfians, that the fouls of thofe of the royal family, who are in a state of blifs, do, on the first full: moon after their deceafe, pafs through the eastern gate of the Black Palace, which is therefore called the gate of Paradife, in order to take their flight for that happy place. Helim therefore having made due preparation for this night, dreffed each of the lovers in a robe of azure filk, wrought in the finest looms of Perfia, with a long train of linen whiter than fnow, that floated on the ground behind them. Upon Abdallah's head he fixed a wreath of the greeneft myrtle, and on Balfora's a garland of the fresheft rofes. Their garments were fcented with the richeft perfumes of Arabia. Having thus prepared every thing, the full moon was no fooner up, and fhining in all its brightnefs, but he privately opened

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opened the gate of paradife, and fhut it after the fame manner, as foon as they had paffed through it. The band of negroes who were pofted at a little distance from the gate, feeing two fuch beautiful apparitions, that fhowed themselves to advantage by the light of the full moon, and being ravished with the odour that flowed from their garments, immediately concluded them to be the ghofts of the two perfons lately deceafed. They fell upon their faces as they paffed through the midst of them, and continued proftrate on the earth till fuch time as they were out of fight. They reported the next day what they had feen, but this was looked upon by the king himself, and moít others, as the compliment that was ufually paid to any of the deceased of his family. Helim had placed two of his own mules at about a mile's distance from the Black Temple, on the pot which they had agreed upon for their rendezvous. Here he met them, and conducted them to one of his own houfes, which was fituated on mount Khacan. The air of this mountain was fo very healthful, that Helim had formerly tranfported the king thither, in order to recover him out of a long fit of fickness; which fucceeded fo well that the king made him a prefent of the whole mountain, with a beautiful house and gardens that were on the top of it. In this retirement lived Abdallah and Balfora. They were both fo fraught with all kinds of knowledge, and poffeft with fo conftant and mutual a paffion for each other, that their folitude never lay heavy on them. Abdallah applied himself to those arts which were agreeable to his manner of living, and the fituation of the place; infomuch that in a few years he converted the whole mountain into a kind of garden, and covered every part of it with plantations or fpots of flowers. Helim was too good a father to let him want any thing, that might conduce to make his retirement pleafant.

In about ten years after their abode in this place the old king died, and was fucceeded by his fon Ibrahim, who, upon the fuppofed death of his brother, had been called to court, and entertained there as heir to the Perfian empire. Though he was fome years inconfolable for the death of his brother, Helim durft not truft him

with the fecret, which he knew would have fatal confequences, fhould it by any means come to the knowledge of the old king. Ibrahim was no fooner mounted to the throne, but Helim fought after a proper opportunity of making a difcovery to him, which he knew would be very agreeable to fo good natured and generous a prince. It fo happened, that before Helim found fuch an opportunity as he defired, the new king Ibrahim, having been feparated from his company in a chace, and almost fainting with heat and thirst, faw himself at the foot of mount Khacan. He immediately afcended the hill, and coming to Helim's house demanded fome refreshments. Helim was very luckily there at that time; and after having fet before the king the choiceft of wines and fruits, finding him wonderfully pleased with so seasonable a treat, told him that the best part of his entertainment was to come. Upon which he opened to him the whole hiftory of what had paffed. The king was at once aftonished and transported at so strange a relation, and feeing his brother enter the room with Balfora in his hand, he leaped off from the fopha, on which he fat, and cried out, "It is he! it is my Ab"dallah!"-Having faid this, he fell upon his neck, and wept. The whole company, for fome time, remained filent, and fhedding tears of joy. The king at length, having kindly reproached Helim for depriving him fo long of fuch a brother, embraced Balfora with the greatest tenderness, and told her that the fhould now be a queen indeed, for that he would immediately make his brother king of all the conquered nations on the other fide the Tigris. He eafily difcovered in the eyes of our two lovers, that inftead of being transported with the offer, they preferred their prefent retirement to empire. At their request therefore he changed his intentions, and made them a prefent of all the open country as far as they could fee from the top of mount Khacan. Abdallah continuing to extend his former improvements, beautified this whole prospect with groves and fountains, gardens and feats of pleafure, till it became the most delicious fpot of ground within the empire, and is therefore called the g arden of Perfia. This Caliph,, Ibrahim,

Ibrahim, after a long and happy reign, died without children, and was fucceeded by Abdallah, a fon of Abdallah and Balfora. This was that king Abdallah,who afterwards fixed the imperial refidence upon mount Khacan, which continues at this time to be the favourite palace of the Perfian empire.

The Adventures of Theodofius and Conftantia.

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[Spectator, No. 164.] .

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YONSTANTIA was a woman of extraordinary wit and beauty, but very unhappy in a father, who having arrived at great riches by his own industry, took delight in nothing but his money. Theodofius was the younger fon of a decayed family, of great parts and learning, improved by a genteel and virtuous education. When he was in the twentieth year of his age, he became acquainted with Conftantia, who had not then paffed her fifteenth. As he lived but a few miles distant from her father's houfe, he had frequent opportunities of feeing her; and by the advantages of a good perfon and a pleafing converfation, made fuch an impreffion in : her heart as it was impoffible for time to efface: he was himself no lefs fmitten with Conftantia. A long acquaintance made them ftill difcover new beauties in each other, and by degrees raifed in them that mutual paffion which had an influence on their following lives. It unfortunately happened, that in the midst of this intercourfe of love and friendship between Theodofius and Conftantia, there broke out an irreparable quarrel between their parents, the one valuing himfelf too much pon his birth, and the other upon his poffeflions. The ather of Conftantia was, fo incenfed at the father of Theodofius, that he contracted an unreasonable averfion towards his fon, infomuch that he forbad him his houfe, and charged his daughter upon her duty never to fee him more. In the mean time, to break off all communication between the two lovers, whom he knew entertained fecret hopes of fome favourable opportunity

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