42 their principal chiefs, the inferior are not allowed to partake of the meat prepared on this occasion. When engaged in the act of killing him, it is singular enough to hear them all applauding the brute, and crying, Don't kill us, captain!-Don't kick us, great chief! Don't trample us in the dust, mighty king! While between every entreaty of this kind, they throw a shower of darts into his tortured body; and when he falls, they raise as loud a shout as their exhausted strength is capable of. The bushy part of the tail is then cut off, and taken to the Chief, who hangs it up at the entrance of his cattle-fold, as one of the ensigns of his royalty and power, and as a token of the victory and triumph of his people. The extremities of the ear and trunk are also cut off, and with much ceremony deposited in secret place. The carcase is afterwards left to be devoured by wolves, dogs, and vultures. They consider the sagacity and dignity of the elephant as rendering him too much like man to be made the food of human beings.'Wes. Mag. some In a future Number we shall give some curious anecdotes of this sagacious animal. Eastern Tales. THE HISTORY OF (Continued from page 39.) Dakianos chose out the most warlike men in all the cities through which he passed, equip ped them at his own expence, and as he gave them whatever pay they demanded, his army was in a short time increased to three hundred thousand men. had not time to recover itself, and it was almost as soon defeated as attacked. Dakianos ordered the Grecian emperor whom he had taken prisoner, to be beheaded, and caused himself to be acknowledged sovereign. The first business of this new monarch was to write the following letter to the king of Persia: "I have defeated and overcome Cæsar,* I have conquered his dominions, I have mounted his throne, and have been acknowledged the sovereign of his whole empire. As soon as this letter is delivered to you, defer not a moment to send me the tribute due for seven years. If you make the least difficulty to pay it me, you must submit to the same fate as Cæsar." This letter provoked the king of Persia beyond all the bounds of moderation. Without loss of time he assembled his troops, and put himself at their head to march towards the confines of Greece: of which Dakianos no sooner heard than he formed a detachment of two hundred thousand men from his army, to advance and give, battle to the king of Persia. The troops met, and after a bloody and obstinate conflict, the king of Persia was defeated, taken prisoner, and conducted to Daki anos. When that prince was in his presence, Wretch, said he to him, how canst thou bear my sight, thou most ungrateful of mankind! I ungrateful! returned Dakianos, I have levied troops at my own expense, I have spent the greatest part of my immense treasures, I have therefore bought this con The emperor of Greece advanced to meet Dakianos with seven hundred thousand men. As soon as he perceived the enemy, he divided his army into two bodies, and gave the signal for battle. The troops of Dakianos acted with so much valour, and their first onset was so terrible, The oriental nations always gave that the army of the Grecians that name to the emperors of Greece. quest; I have done more, I have fought, I have revenged thy quarrel. What canst thou reproach me with? I have loved thee, returned the king. It is hard for those in power to bear a well-founded reproach; the only answer of Dakianos was to command his head to be struck off, and immediately to send troops to seize upon his dominions. He chose Ephesus for his residence; but not thinking that city magnificent enough, he caused it to be rebuilt with the utmost elegance, and gave all his care to the erecting of a palace which was unparalleled for its solidity, its extent, and its magnificence, He erected in the centre of it a kiosch, the walls of which were six hundred feet long, and the cement and all the jointings of it were of silver. This kiosch contained a thousand chambers, each of which enclosed a throne of gold; he caused three hundred and sixty-five gates of crystal to be made, which he placed in such a manner that every day throughout the year the rising sun shone upon one of them. His palace had seven hundred porters; sixty viziers were occupied in his affairs; there were always in the hall of audience sixty thrones, upon which were seated those who had signalized themselves in war; he had seven thousand astrologers, who assembled every day, and continually declared to him the different influences of the stars; he was always surrounded by ten thousand ichoglans, who wore girdles and crowns of solid gold, and were most magnificently clad; they had no other employment but that of being always ready to receive his orders. He appointed sixty bachas, each of whom had under his command two thousand wellmade and valiant young men, who each in particular commanded two thousand soldiers. One day when Dakianos was in the height of his splendour, an old man arose from beneath the throne upon which he was seated. The king, amazed, asked him who he was? But he, who was an unbelieving genie, far from confessing it, said, I am the prophet of God, I obey his orders by coming to you; know, therefore, that he has made me the god of the heavens, and that he ordains that you should be the god of the earth? Dakianos answered him, Who will believe that I am so? and the genie immediately disappeared. Some time after, Dakianos had again the same apparition, and the genie repeated to him the same things; but he answered him, You deceive me: How can I be the god of the earth? Your power, your great actions, and the care that God has taken of you, ought to persuade you; but if you will not believe me, pursued the old man, do what I shall tell thee, and you will soon be convinced. Dakianos, whose pride this flattered, and who had nothing more to desire of human greatness, promised him to consent to every thing. Let your throne be placed upon the shore of the sea, pursued the old man. What he desired was executed; and when Dakianos was placed there, Prince, said the genie to him, there is at the bottom of the sea a fish, the bigness of which is known only to God, and which every day comes to land; it remains there till noon to adore the Almighty; no person interrupts its prayers; when they are finished, it plunges again to the bot tom of the sea. The fish appeared as usual, and the genie said to Dakianos, Though the fish will not believe your power, it has, however, declared to all the fishes of the sea, that you are the god of the earth; it fears nothing, and comes now to inform itself. You will know the truth of what I have declared to you, continued he, if you will only condescend to say to him, I am the god of the earth; your voice will freeze him with terror, he cannot hear it without surprise, and will certainly take his flight. This proposition pleased Dakianos, and he called the fish and said to it, I am the god of the earth. These words of infidelity made the fish immediately plunge to the bottom of the sea, in the fear he was under lest the Almighty power should dart his thunder to punish the impostor. Dakianos easily persuaded himself that the fish was an infidel, and that his presence had made him take his flight. From that moment he believed all the deluding words of the genie, and soon had no doubt left of his divinity. Not only his subjects adored him, but people came from all corners of the world to give him those marks of adoration which he exacted; and he caused all those to be thrown into a burning furnace who refused to worship him. In the number of the ten thousand slaves who stood always be.fore him with their hands crossed upon their breast, there were six Greeks, who possessed his confidence, and who approached the "nearest to his person. They were named, Jemlikha, Mekchiliana, Mechlima, Merlima, Debermouch, and Charnouch. Of these, Jemlikha was the most favoured, on account of his superior talents. One day, as Dakianos was at table, Jemlikha held a fan to drive away the flies that might incommode him. However, there came one which settled itself with so much obstinacy upon the dish that he was eating off, that he was obliged to give over. Jemlikha struck with this slight event, thought it ridiculous that a man, who could not drive away even a fly that troubled him, should pretend to divinity; sure, continued he, I ought to have no regard for such a god. Some time after, Dakianos entered into one of his apartments to repose himself for some hours, and Jemlikha still waited by him with the fan. The same fly came again, and at this time she placed herself upon the face of the monarch. Jemlikha would have driven her away, but his pains were in vain; she awakened Dakianos, and threw him into the greatest impatience. Jemlikha, already touched by his first reflections, said within himself, This man is certainly no more a god than I am; there can be but one God and it is he who has created the sun that gives us light. From that time, Jemlikha used the custom of saying every night when he lay down, The true God is he who created the heavens, and fixed them in the air without a pillar. It is difficult to make a serious reflection, and not to communicate it to a friend. Jemlikha declared all his doubts to his companions. A man, says he, who cannot disengage himself from a fly, can he have a power over the works of nature? Then he related the adventure of the fly. But if our king is not a god, said they to him, who then are we to adore? Jemlikha told them what he thought, and they were so far persuaded of it that from that day they joined with him every night in prayer. Their assembling themselves together in private places, soon became the subject of conversa tion. Dakianos being informed of it, sent for them into his pre sence, and said to them, Do you adore another God beside me? They contented themselves with answering him, We adore the sovereign master of the world. The king, who took that answer to mean himself, loaded them with caresses, and bestowed upon each of them a robe of honour. Jemlikha afterwards said to them, If there should be again such information given to the king as has now put us into such imminent danger, we can hope for no further mercy from him. I think, therefore, the only resolution we can take, is to quit our country, and to seek another, where we may adore God without constraint. But how can we take our flight? replied his companions; we know no other country but this. Let us put our trust in God, resumed Jemlikha, and make use of any favourable circumstance; we are not to follow Dakianos, when he goes his magnificent chase for six days, at the head of his army. What hinders us taking that time for our departure? We will demand permission of the eunuchs that guard us to play at feheukian;* we will go out of the square, throw the ball at a great distance, and take our flight upon those swift horses which are usually given us for that exercise. They approved of this project, and the day after the king's departure they put it into execution. The eunuchs pursued them and would have forced them to return back to the palace; but the young men had already drawn their sabres, and in a moment they put the eunuchs out of a condition to follow them. They immediately put their horses upon full speed, and having exhausted them, continued their journey on foot; but being tired, and faint with thirst and hunger, they stopped on the side of the road, and prayed to heaven for relief. Some faithful genii heard them, and, touched with their situation, inspired Jemlikha with the thought of ascending a mountain, at the foot of which they were. It was not without pain that he arrived at the summit; but at length he perceived a spring, and a shepherd sitting by it, who sung whilst his flock was feeding. Jemlikha, calling to his companions, the few words he could make them hear augmented their strength, and gave them courage to ascend the mountain. The shepherd, whose name was Keschetiouch, gave them some provisions, and they drank of the water of this delightful fountain. This refreshment ré-established their strength, and their first care was to return their thanks to heaven for it. Then Keschetiouch said to them, How have you found the way to a place where I never yet saw any mortal? If I am not mistaken, you are fugitives; trust me with your misfortunes; I may perhaps be of some service to you. Jemlikha related to him all that had happened to them, and his discourse so struck the shepherd, that he soon learned and repeated with them their prayers. After • The match performed on horseback. wards he told them, Ephesus is so near to this place, that you will still be in some danger; doubt not but Dakianos will use his utmost efforts to have you seized, I know a cavern not far from hence, which perhaps in a forty years' search could not be found. I will conduct you there. They accepted his offer and followed him. The shepherd had a little dog which he called Catnier that followed them. They did not care to take him with them, and using all their skill to drive him away, they threw a stone at him, which broke his leg; but he still followed them limping; they threw a second at him which did not turn him back, though it broke his other fore leg, so that he walked only upon his two hind feet. The third stone having broke one more, he was no longer in a condition to stand. But to their amazement, the dog said to them, Alas! you go to seek after God, and you have deprived me of all hope of going with you! Am not I also the creature of God? Are you alone obliged to acknowledge him? They were so astonished at this wonderful miracle, and moved with the condition to which they had reduced him, that they carried him by turns, and went on begging the protection of heaven. They were not long before they arrived at the cavern; and finding themselves fatigued, they laid down to sleep; but they slept with their eyes open, in such a manner, that no one could suspect that they tasted any real repose. In the mean time those eunuchs who had escaped the sabres of the young slaves, gave an account of what had passed to Dakianos. He was enraged at their flight; and while accusing them of the highest ingratitude, the same unfaithful genie, who had so often appeared to him, presented himself before him, and said, Your slaves have quitted you, only that they might worship another god, in whom they place all their trust. This so heightened the anger of Dakianos, that he conjured the genie to let him know the place of their retreat. I alone can bring you to it, returned the genie; all mankind would search for it in vain, but I will conduct you to it at the head of your army. They immediately departed, and were not long before they arrived at the mouth of the cavern. The genie then said to Dakianos, 'Tis here they are retired. Dakianos would have entered it; but at that moment there burst out from it a dreadful vapour, which was followed by a furious wind, and a darkness that spread over all that part of the world. The army gave back with horror; but anger redoubling the courage of Dakianos, he advanced to the entrance of the cavern: but in spite of all his efforts, it was absolutely impossible for him to enter it, the air being so impenetrable. He perceived Catnier, who slept with his head resting on his paw, and distinguished plainly the six young Greeks and the shepherd, who were all in a profound sleep, though he was far from suspecting that, as their eyes were open.. (To be concluded in our next.) THE ALARMED CENTINEL. During the siege of Gibraltar, in the absence of the fleet, and when an attack was daily expected, one dark night a sentry, |