Mullahs, and the Imams, and the Cadis, and the principal personages of the city were in

consternation. They immediately consulted together, and, after much disputation, agreed
that before they proceeded to extremities, it was expedient to prove what the prisoner
would not confess. A venerable Sheikh, clothed in flowing robes of green, with a long white
beard, and a turban like the tower of Babel, then rose. His sacred reputation procured
silence while he himself delivered a long prayer, supplicating Allah and the Prophet to
confound all blaspheming Jews and Giaours, and to pour forth words of truth from the
mouths of religious men. And then the venerable Sheikh summoned all witnesses against
David Alroy. Immediately advanced Kisloch the Kourd, to whom, being placed in an eminent
position, the Cadi of Bagdad drawing forth a scroll from his valvet bag, read a deposition,
wherein the worthy Kisloch stated that he first became acquainted with the prisoner, David
Alroy, in some ruins in the desert, the haunt of banditti, of whom Alroy was the chief: that
he, Kisloch, was a reputable merchant, and that his caravan had been plundered by these
robbers and he himself captured; that, on the second night of his imprisonment, Alroy
appeared to him in the likeness of a lion, and on the third, of a bull with fiery eyes; that he
was in the habit of constantly transforming himself: that he frequently raised spirits: that, at
length, on one terrible night. Eblis himself came in great procession, and presented Alroy
with the sceptre of Solomon Ben Daoud; and that the next day Alroy raised his standard,
and soon after massacred Hassan Sabah and his Seljuks, by the visible aid of many terrible
demons. Calidas the India, the Guebre, and the Negro, and a few congenial spirits, were not
eclipsed in the satisfactory character of their evidence by the luminous testimony of Kisloch
the Kourd. The irresistible career of the Hebrew conqueror was undeniably accounted for,
and the honour of Moslem arms and the purity of Moslem faith were established in their
pristine glory and all their unsullied reputation. David Alroy was proved to be a child of Eblis,
a sorcerer, and a dealer in charms and magical poisons. The people listened with horror and
with indignation. They would have burst through the guards and torn him in pieces, had not
they been afraid of the Karasmian battle-axes. So they consoled themselves with the
prospect of his approaching tortures. The Cadi of Bagdad bowed himself before the King of
Karasme, and whispered at a respectful distance in the royal ear. The trumpets sounded, the
criers enjoined silence, and the royal lips again moved. Hear , O ye people, and be wise.
The chief Cadi is about to read the deposition of the royal Princess Schierene, chief victim of
the sorcerer. And the deposition was read, which stated that David Alroy possessed, and
wore next to his heart, a talisman, given him by Eblis, the virtue of which was so great that,
if once it were pressed to the heart of nay woman, she was no longer mistress of her will.
Such had been the unhappy fate of the daughter of the Commander of the Faithful. is it so
written? enquired the captive. It is so written, replied the Cadi, and bears the imperial
signature of the Princess. It is a forgery. The king of Karasme started from his throne, and
in his rage nearly descended it s steps. His face was like scarlet, his beard was like a flame.
A favourite minister ventured gentle to restrain the royal robe. Kill the dog on the spot,
muttered the King of Karasme. The Princess is herself here, said the Cadi, to bear witness
to the spells of which she was a victim, but from which by the power of Allah and the
Prophet, she is now released. Alroy started! Advanced, royal Princess, said the Cadi, and if
the deposition thou hast heard be indeed true, condescend to hold up the imperial hand that
adorned it with thy signature. A band of eunuchs near the throne gave way; a female figure
veiled to her feet appeared. She held up her hand amid the breathless agitation of the howl
assembly; the ranks of the eunuchs again closed; a shriek was heard, and the veiled figure
disappeared. I am ready for thy tortures, King, said Alroy, in a tone of deep depression. His
firmness appeared to have deserted him. His eyes were cast upon the