THE KING CLAIMS NARINA.

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valley, but that you have been her faithful protector from the hour that she was charmed away from her father's arms. It is, therefore, my determination, not only to carry her back to my own court, but also to make you the richest man in my kingdom, as a reward for the care and fidelity you have shown towards my daughter."

"Great prince," answered the good Ben Hafiz, “it is most true that I have been a father to a most beauteous child, whom, when an infant, I rescued from yonder sea, and to the best of my humble wit I have protected and educated her. She is dear to me as the precious gift of sight; and no less calamity, now in my old age, than the destruction of these eyes, would be the bereavement of my dearly beloved little Narina. And so tenderly do I hold her welfare, that, with all humility to the high mightiness in whose presence I now stand an humble shepherd, I would yet firmly declare, that I cannot forego the protection of my beloved babe without stronger proof of her parentage than that which has now been offered to me. Far be it from me to put my poor self in array against so great a monarch, and attended by so magnificent a train; but the word of a poor shepherd is his richest store, and I have made an oath in heaven to preserve-"

"Wretch!" said the prince, his eyes flashing fire as he spoke, " is it for one base-born, like thee, to presume to doubt the speech of a king who could command thee, and ten thousand thy fellows, to be hewn in pieces, and their morsels to be scattered to the vultures ?"

"My body may be destroyed," rejoined the steady Ben Hafiz, "and my precious treasure may be carried

238

BEN HAFIZ SLAYS HIM.

away, (mayhap for evil,) but my truth and fidelity to her, no prince, were he lord of the whole earth, can even bend, still less break asunder."

The fury of the king now passed beyond all bounds, so that in the violence of his transport the calm old shepherd recognised the same cruel face and gray eyes of the pedlar. At this moment he ordered his attendants to follow him into the cottage; and, springing from his horse, he seized the shepherd by the throat; but the old man's virtue was again rewarded; for the jewelled dagger, which had always lain in his bosom, ready, in case he had need of its service, darted forth of its own accord, and plunged to the hilt in the breast of the false king, who, with a loud curse and a deep groan, fell stone dead at the feet of the faithful Ben Hafiz. In horror and amaze he beheld the event, but before he could collect his senses, he saw the whole scene, horses and horsemen, vanish into a cloudy smoke, while the only remnant of the vision was a large shaggy beast, that scoured with a frightful noise across the plain. He looked again, and the valley had assumed its former peacefulness, with its silent sheep scattered over it, feeding as before.

The next act of Ben Hafiz was to search for the dagger, which he found safely restored to its former warm asylum, next his heart. He now applied to the ring; and no sooner had it encircled his finger, thạn his heavenly guardian stood before him in a different guise from any in which she had hitherto appeared. Her dress consisted of a silken robe of heavenly blue, sparkling with an amazing profusion of gems and other precious stones; her neck, bosom, and arms, too, were adorned with jewels of inestimable value; and on her head was a crown of gold, that darted forth rays

NARINA'S MOTHER APPEARS.

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of many-colored lights, which dazzled the eyes of the beholder.

"I am come before you, dear and faithful Ben Hafiz," said the mild voice of the heavenly one, "in my own character, that I formerly held when a dweller on earth." The gentle spirit now looked towards the little Narina, who had stepped forth from the cottage, and a yearning expression came across her face, which, had she been a mortal mother, might have been followed by tears.

"I was a queen," she continued, "but am now a happy angel. I was a queen, the daughter of a queen, and through your fidelity I shall be the mother of a queen. The man whom you have just slain was my lord's brother, and my most bitter foe. By his wicked machinations he turned from me the heart of the most generous and tender husband that ever blessed the days of mortal woman. This bitter change in the affections of one so loving, and who had been so beloved in return, preyed upon a slender frame, and brought me to the grave. A short time before I'left nim forever, I gave birth to yonder child; and, being warned by my godmother, who was a good fairy, of the evil intended her by her wicked uncle, an evil and powerful magician, and who sought to inherit the kingdom after the death of his brother, I caused her to be conveyed away from the palace, and committed in that black cedar chest to the mercy of the waves. My spirit had left its earthly dwelling before my little offspring had been many hours upon the waters. I need not bring to your recollection the vision of the silver dove hovering over the little ark, when you discovered it; and which contained all that bound me most strongly to earth.

Thus, accompanied only by the silver-feathered shoes, the ring, and the dagger, (gifts of my godmother,) and the tender blessings of a heart-broken mother, did my infant, my babe, my young first-born, leave her royal home on her perilous voyage for life. The good Spirit, whom now I adore in company with blessed angels, guided my precious burthen to your sheltering care, my good and faithful Ben Hafiz, and worthy instrument are you of his great goodness.

"And now, only one thing more have I to communicate. Should you hereafter be questioned by a tall and dark man, of melancholy but handsome aspect, concerning my child, observe him narrowly while you repeat to him my tale. Should he preserve a stern, unmoved countenance, then keep my child forever, and let her not depart from your protecting care; but if he betray emotion and sorrow for my fate-" here the spirit's voice trembled with a mortal tenderness and faltering" then surrender my child to his bosom, for he is her father."

With these words the form melted into air, and the shepherd, drawing a deep breath, turned towards his little charge, who was kneeling in the entrance of the porch: her hands were firmly clasped; her countenance was deadly pale, but a serene and happy smile played on her lips, as her eyes, beaming with affectionate devotion, were bent forwards towards the spot lately occupied by her angel-mother.

CHAP. V.

UPON her return one day from the market in the neighboring town, dame Sherzaran brought intelli

APPEARANCE OF A FLEET.

241

gence that some famous king from the other side of the sea was coming in great pomp to the Persian court. "And if he be a young king, and a handsome one," she added, "who knows but he may make our dear Narina his queen; for you know the good spirit told us she was the daughter of a queen, and would be a queen herself." "You women," said the old shepherd, "always have your heads running upon love and matrimony. So, forsooth, because you have found out that our little darling is a princess, and that a stranger king is coming among us to pay his court to our king, nothing less must come to pass but he must make a queen of her." Many greater wonders than that have happened;" said she, "but, queen or no queen, we will all go and see the show when he arrives."

Some days after the above announcement on the part of Sherzaran, as the little Narina was at her favorite play with her pretty four-footed companions, on the summit of a mountain that looked immediately over the sea, she suddenly ceased from her sport, and came tripping down towards the cottage, to inform her friends, that a long way off in the sea a number of beautiful ships were sailing along, and that they appeared to be coming to the part of the coast nearest to their habitation. Ben Hafiz set forth as fast as his old legs would carry him, to a pathway in the cliffs, that led straightway down to the beach; from whence he could catch a sight of the sea, and from which spot he first saw the chest that served the little Narina for her early cradle, and in which she was rocked by the

waves.

A gay scene was here presented to his view; for the time he had occupied in arriving at this place had