THE original of the following story, with some others of a similar kind,collected in the east by a man of letters, was communicated to the editorabove three years ago. The pleasure he received from the perusal of itinduced him at that time to transcribe, and since to translate it. Howfar the copy may be a just representation it becomes not him todetermine. He presumes however to hope that if the difficulty ofaccommodating our English idioms to the Arabic, preserving thecorrespondent tones of a diversified narration, and discriminating thenicer touches of character through the shades of foreign manners be dulyconsidered, a failure in some points will not preclude him from all claimto indulgence; especially if those images, sentiments, and passions,which being independent of local peculiarities, may be expressed in everylanguage, shall be found to retain their native energy in our own.