Ah! if I had increased my He took out

self with having idled away his past time. worked hard,' said he, I might have fortune, and might now have been happy!' his money, and counted it several times, but he could not thus make it more than it was- -2000 piastres. He lay down on his bed, and tried to sleep, but his mind was too much occupied with projects for procuring the required dowry to permit him to rest. At last, he bethought him of a maternal uncle at Tantah, whom he had not seen for eighteen years, and who was said to be rich. Rajeb had no sooner thought of this person than he resolved to visit him. He would borrow the 3000 piastres: a rich relation could not refuse such a sum. The young man longed for the coming of day to set out on this hopeful errand.

Morning at length dawned, and Rajeb started on his journey. In order to save money, he went on foot, hoping also to interest his uncle the more by this economy. When he reached the first houses of Tantah, he inquired for his uncle Jousoff, 'the rich Jousoff,' of several boys whom he met.

The rich Jousoff!' cried they; 'say rather the old beggarly miser Jousoff, who regrets to throw away a bone when he has picked it white !'

One of the boys, however, conducted Rajeb to his uncle's house. The young man entered it trembling, for the description which he had heard was by no means encouraging. When his uncle came to him, Rajeb saw an old, withered, ragged, dirty being, who cried: 'What do you want?' in a rough voice.

Ah, my dear uncle!' cried Rajeb, throwing his arms about the old man, 'do you not remember me? I am Rajeb, the son of your sister-little Rajeb, whom you loved when a boy. I am come, dear uncle, to see if you are well.'

'Very well,' said Jousoff; 'I am very well, but very poor. I shall not be able to shew you very splendid hospitality? 'What then?' said Rajeb cheerfully: 'riches and poverty come from God.'

At these words, they entered the old man's apartment, dark and dingy, without any other furniture than an old mat and a jar of water; neither pipes nor coffee was to be seen. Rajeb, however, was patient, and shewed no ill-humour. That evening they feasted upon a crust of wretched cheese, and some crumbs of black, detestable bread. The cheese, such as it was, was a novelty in that place, and the neighbours, who saw the old man buy it, could scarcely believe their eyes.

Rajeb was not accustomed to rich fare; but after his journey, he stood really in need of soup and roast, or something else that was good. But he ate the bread and cheese, and said nothing. When they had done, he tried to lead the conversation by degrees to the object of his journey. The old man, however, anticipated his purpose, and cried: 'I am poor, a beggar: no dervish is poorer than I am: I am ruined: all the world robs me. I have spent my last para upon a dinner for you.'

Rajeb perceived that he had to deal with a heart of marble; so, after trying in vain to soften the old man by descriptions of his mistress's beauty and his own passion, the youth rose, and, under pretence of taking the air, went out to conceal his bitter disappointment and vexation.

Troubled as he was with his own matters, Rajeb could not look without pity on a poor ass which he saw on going out of doors, and which was lying in a little shed, munching some morsels of straw that lay within its reach. Rajeb, who loved animals, approached to caress the poor, lean, starved creature, which was all hide-sore; and the ass seemed sensible of the affection shewn to it. Prompted by his natural benevolence, Rajeb then went away, and bought a measure of barley, and almost forgot his own griefs in the pleasure of seeing the ass fall to its food with the liveliest marks of joy. After bringing it water to complete its meal, the youth went back to his uncle. It is needless to say that Rajeb passed an unhappy night: he lay on the floor, and the vermin infesting the place were sufficient of themselves to banish

sleep. In the morning, the two relations breakfasted on the relics of yesterday's meal, and then the nephew was about to take his leave. But his uncle stopped him, and said: 'I have an ass which is of no use to me. It is all that remains to me of my substance, and if you wish'Rajeb thought his uncle was about to make him a present of the ass, but he was in error, for the old man proceeded -'if you wish, you may go with me to the market, and see me sell him.'

Rajeb consented, and when they went to the stall of the ass, the young man again caressed the poor animal. In return, it looked at him with eyes full of intelligence, and struck the ground several times with its foot. Rajeb even thought he heard it say: 'Buy me. Its looks at least, he thought, said so.

On the way to the market, Rajeb reflected on the subject, and felt himself impelled to purchase the ass by some involuntary feeling, which most people would have been disposed merely to call good-nature or pity. As the ass was young, and had no faults but those arising from starvation, several purchasers came forward. One offered 200 piastres, another 300, and at last the price mounted to 500. When Rajeb saw that his uncle was willing to take this, he offered a few piastres more, assured that he would get the ass. 'What do you want with the ass?' said the old man.

'I am resolved upon having it,' was all that the nephew answered.

'Ah, well,' said Jousoff, with a smile of greedy pleasure, 'you must give me 1000 piastres, and then it shall be yours.'

Rajeb was shocked at the miser's demand; but the old man, seeing his nephew's anxiety, would not bate of his exorbitant request; and the youth at last agreed, and a bargain was struck.

As Rajeb had left all his money at Cairo, it was agreed that Jousoff should go back with his nephew to that city, and there receive the purchase-money. Accordingly, they set out, and the ass with them. By the way, the creature

seemed to be inspired with fresh life, and gamboled and danced, as if to please its new master. Arrived at Cairo, Rajeb gave his uncle the promised sum, and entertained him handsomely. After a few days, Jousoff departed, and left his nephew alone. The latter occupied himself in making a good stall for his ass, and in tending and cleaning it, by which means it soon became quite a new creature. As for the mistress of his heart, Rajeb had almost given up all hope of her. The interval allowed him by the parents had expired, and the youth, now poorer than before, did not dare to present himself before them. Whilst matters stood thus, information was brought to him that his uncle had been found dead by the road-side, having been plundered and killed by robbers. The young man shed a tear for the sudden end of the miser, and then made preparations to go to Tantah, to take up the deceased's inheritance, though there seemed little hope of its proving great, notwithstanding the reputation which Jousoff had once acquired for being rich.

Mounting his ass, Rajeb proceeded to Tantah. He put up the ass in its old stall, and went into the house to search it. As he had almost expected, not a para was to be found: not a vestige of anything valuable was visible in any corner of the wretched abode. While Rajeb was prosecuting his examination, he was surprised by the continued whining and braying of his ass. Thinking he had neglected its wants, he went out several times, and put barley, straw, and water before it; but the animal would not touch them, and continued to stamp on the floor of its stall with its foot. Rajeb's attention was at length attracted to this movement, and the ass, seeing this, repeated it with increased vehemence. Its master, seizing a bar of rusty iron which stood by, then commenced to turn up the ground where the ass struck. As he did this, the animal looked on with eyes glistening with eager pleasure, and seemed as if it would fain say: 'Go on, go on it is there!' At last, Rajeb came to a coffer. He turned it out, and, behold! it was filled to overflowing with doubloons, sequins, and all sorts of precious coins.

The youth hugged his treasure, but the ass would not yet let him rest. It struck the ground in another spot with his feet; and Rajeb, on digging anew, found a second coffer, filled with pearls, rubies, emeralds, and other valuable gems.

The ass stamped no more, and Rajeb hastened to secure his treasures, and to get them transported to Cairo. He put them into two panniers, and although they were very heavy, the ass never slackened its speed, nor gave any signs of weariness, until it brought its burden to its master's door. On the night of his arrival, Rajeb hastened to the house of his mistress. He was just in the nick of time, for an old Turk had seen her, and offered the 5000 piastres to the parents. Rajeb, however, took the father home with him, and shewed a part of his treasures, when the marriage was at once agreed on. The young bride proved to be really as virtuous as she was beautiful, and made Rajeb happy. He gave large donations to the poor on the occasion of his wedding. As for the ass, it had the place of honour, during its life, in the stable, and was never doomed to any other toil than that of bearing its mistress and her children. Its master visited the stable every day, and spoke with it as with an old friend.

Behold, in this story, a lesson never to despise animals, but always to be gentle and compassionate to them, for they may often repay a hundredfold the little kindnesses which we do to them.

SLEEP-WALKING.

No phenomenon in the human economy is calculated to excite so much surprise as that called Somnambulism, or Sleep-Walking. If sleep be the intermediate state betwixt wakeful life and death, somnambulism is a condition intermediate betwixt sleep and wakefulness. In perfect sleep, all the organs or faculties composing the mind,