The Arabian nights - 1896 Author:Edward Everett Hale Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: STORY OF THE PORTER AND THE LADIES OF BAGDAD, AND OF THE THREE ROYAL MENDICANTS, Etc. THERE was a man of the city of Bagdad, who was unmarried, and he w... more »as a porter; and one day, as he sat in the market, reclining against his crate, there accosted him a lady wrapped in an izar, of the manufacture of Mosul.1 It was made of silk, embroidered with gold, with a border of gold at each end. She raised her face-veil and, showing two black eyes fringed with jetty lashes, whose glances were soft and languishing, and whose perfect beauty was ever blandishing, she accosted the porter, and said in the suavest tones and choicest language, Take up thy crate and follow me. The porter was so dazzled that he could hardly believe he heard her aright, but he shouldered his basket in hot haste, saying to himself, O day of good luck! O day of Allah's grace! and walked after her till she stopped at the door of a house. There she rapped, and presently came out to her -an old man, a Christian, to whom she gave a gold piece, receiving from him in return what she required of strained wine, clear as olive oil; and she set it safely in the hamper, saying, Lift and follow. Quoth the porter, This, by Allah, is indeed an auspicious day, a day propitious for the granting of all a man wisheth. He again hoisted up the crate and followed her; till she stopped at a fruiterer's shop and bought of him Shami apples and Osmani quinces and Oman! peaches, and cucumbers of Nile growth, and Egyptian limes, and Sultani oranges and citrons; besides Aleppine jasmine, scented myrtle berries, Damascene nenuphars, flower of privet and camomile, blood-red anemones, violets and pomegranate blooms, eglantine and narcissus, and set the whole in the porter's crate, saying, Up with it. So he lifted, and followed her till she...« less