wasevengivenwine。Kindhandstendedmeandledmefromplacetoplace。Ilackednothingexceptfreedomandthetruth。DoubtandfearpreyeduponmyhearttillatlengthIfellillandscarcelycaredtowalkinthegarden。OnedaywhenYusufvisitedmeItoldhimthathewouldnotneedtocomemanymoretimes，sinceIfeltthatIwasgoingtodie。
“Donotdie，“heanswered，“sincethenperchanceyouwillfindyouhavedonesoinvain，“andheleftme。
Onthefollowingeveninghereturnedandtoldmethathehadbroughtaphysiciantoseeme，acertainMahommed，whowasstandingbeforeme。
AlthoughIhadnohopefromanyphysician，IprayedthisMahommedtobeseated，whereonYusufleftus，closingthedoorbehindhim。
“Bepleasedtosetoutyourcase，GeneralOlaf，“saidMahommedinagrave，quietvoice，“forknowthatIamsentbytheCaliphhimselftoministertoyou。“
“Howcanthatbe，seeingthatheisinBaghdad？“Ianswered。Still，I
toldhimmyailments。
WhenIhadfinishedhesaid:
“Iperceivethatyousuffermorefromyourmindthanfromyourbody。
Besogood，now，astorepeattomethetaleofyourlife，ofwhichI
havealreadyheardsomething。TellmeespeciallyofthosepartsofitwhichhavetodowiththeladyHeliodore，daughterofMagas，ofyourblindingbyIreneforhersake，andofyourdiscoveryofherinEgypt，whereyousoughtherdisguisedasabeggar。“
“WhyshouldItellyouallmystory，sir？“
“ThatImayknowhowtohealyouofyoursickness。Also，GeneralOlaf，Iwillbefrankwithyou。Iammorethanamerephysician；IhavecertainpowersundertheCaliph’sseal，anditwillbewiseonyourparttoopenallyourhearttome。“
NowIreflectedthattherecouldbelittleharminrepeatingtothisstrangedoctorwhatsomanyalreadyknew。SoItoldhimeverything，andthetalewaslong。
“Wondrous！Mostwondrous！“saidthegrave-voicedphysicianwhenIhadfinished。“YettomethestrangestpartofyourhistoryisthatplayedthereinbytheladyMartina。Hadshebeenyourlover，now，onemighthaveunderstood——perhaps，“andhepaused。
“SirPhysician，“Ianswered，“theladyMartinahasbeenandisnomorethanmyfriend。“
“Ah！NowIseenewvirtuesinyourreligion，sinceweMoslemsdonotfindsuchfriendsamongthosewomenwhoareneitherourmothersnoroursisters。EvidentlytheChristianfaithmusthavepowertochangethenatureofwomen，whichIthoughttobeimpossible。Well，GeneralOlaf，Iwillconsiderofyourcase，andImaytellyouthatIhavegoodhopesoffindingamedicinebywhichitcanbecured，allsaveyoursight，whichinthisworldGodHimselfcannotgivebacktoyou。
NowIhaveafavourtoask。Iseethatinthisroomofyoursthereisacurtainhidingthebedoftheservantwhosleepswithyou。Idesiretoseeanotherpatienthere，andthatthispatientshouldnotseeyou。
Ofyourgoodnesswillyousituponthebedbehindthatcurtain，andwillyousweartomeonyourhonourasasoldierthatwhateveryoumayhearyouwillinnowayrevealyourself？“
“Surely，thatisifitisnothingwhichwillbringdisgraceuponmyheadorname。“
“Itwillbenothingtobringdisgraceonyourheadorname，GeneralOlaf，thoughperhapsitmaybringsomesorrowtoyourheart。AsyetI
cannotsay。“
“Myheartistoofullofsorrowtoholdmore，“Ianswered。
Thenheledmedowntotheguard’sbed，onwhichIsatmyselfdown，beingstrangelyinterestedinthisplay。Hedrewthecurtaininfrontofme，andIheardhimreturntothecentreoftheroomandclaphishands。Someoneentered，saying，“HighLord，yourwill？“
“Silence！“heexclaimed，andbegantowhisperorders，whileIwonderedwhatkindofaphysicianthismightbewhowasaddressedas“HighLord。“
Theservantwent，and，afterawhileofwaitingthatseemedlong，oncemorethedoorwasopened，andIheardthesweepofawoman’sdressuponthecarpet。
“Beseated，Lady，“saidthegravevoiceofthephysician，“forIhavewordstosaytoyou。“
“Sir，Iobey，“answeredanothervoice，atthesoundofwhichmyheartstoodstill。ItwasthatofHeliodore。
“Lady，“wentonthephysician，“asmyrobewilltellyou，Iamadoctorofmedicine。Also，asitchances，Iamsomethingmore，namely，anenvoyappointedbytheCaliphHarun-al-Rashid，havingfullpowerstodealwithyourcase。Herearemycredentialsifyoucaretoreadthem，“andIheardacracklingasofparchmentbeingunfolded。
“Sir，“answeredHeliodore，“Iwillreadtheletterslater。ForthepresentIacceptyourword。OnlyIwouldaskonequestion，ifitpleasesyoutoanswer。WhyhavenotIandtheGeneralOlafbeenconveyedtothepresenceoftheCaliphhimself，aswascommandedbytheEmirObaidallah？“
“Lady，becauseitwasnotconvenienttotheCaliphtoreceiveyou，sinceasitchancesatpresentheismovingfromplacetoplaceuponthebusinessoftheState。Therefore，asyouwillfindinthewriting，hehasappointedmetodealwithyourmatter。Now，Lady，theCaliphandIhisservantknowallyourstoryfromlipswhichevenyouwouldtrust。Youarebetrothedtoacertainenemyofhis，aNorthmannamedOlafRed-SwordorMichael，whowasblindedbytheEmpressIreneforsomeoffenceagainsther，butwasafterwardsappointedbyhersonConstantinetobegovernoroftheIsleofLesbos。ThisOlaf，bythewillofGod，inflictedaheavydefeatupontheforcesoftheCaliphwhichhehadsenttotakeLesbos。Then，bythegoodnessofGod，hewanderedtoEgyptinsearchofyou，withtheresultthatbothofyouweretakenprisoner。Lady，itwillbecleartoyouthat，havingthiswildhawkOlafinhishands，theCaliphwouldscarcelylethimgoagaintopreyupontheMoslems，thoughwhetherhewillkillhimormakeofhimaslaveasyetIdonotknow。Nay，hearmeoutbeforeyouspeak。TheCaliphhasbeentoldofyourwondrousbeauty，andasIseeevenlessthanthetruth。AlsohehasheardofthehighspiritwhichyoushowedintheCopticrising，whenyourfather，thePrinceMagas，wasslain，andofhowyouescapedoutofthehandoftheEmirMusatheFat，andwerenotafraidtodwellformonthsaloneinthetombsoftheancientdead。NowtheCaliph，beingmovedinhisheartbyyoursadplightandallthathehasheardconcerningyou，commandsmetomakeyouanoffer。
“TheofferisthatyoushouldcometohisCourt，andtherebeinstructedforawhilebyhislearnedmeninthetruthsofreligion。
Then，ifitpleasesyoutoadoptIslam，hewilltakeyouasoneofhiswives，andifitdoesnotpleaseyou，willaddyoutohisharem，sinceitisnotlawfulforhimtomarryawomanwhoremainsaChristian。Ineithercasehewillmakeonyouasettlementofpropertytothevalueofthatwhichbelongedtoyourfather，thePrinceMagas。Reflectwellbeforeyouanswer。Yourchoiceliesbetweenthememoryofablindman，whomIthinkyouwillneverseeagain，andthehighplaceofoneofthewivesofthegreatestsovereignoftheearth。“
“Sir，beforeIanswerIwouldputaquestiontoyou。Whydoyousay’thememoryofablindman’？“
“Because，Lady，arumourhasreachedmewhichIdesiredtoholdbackfromyou，butwhichnowyouforcemetorepeat。ItisthatthisGeneralOlafhasintruthalreadypassedthegateofdeath。“
“Then，sir，“sheanswered，withalittlesob，“itbehovesmetofollowhimthroughthatgate。“
“ThatwillhappenwhenitpleasesGod。Meanwhile，whatisyouranswer？“
“Sir，myansweristhatI，apoorChristianprisoner，avictimofwarandfate，thanktheCaliphHarun-al-Rashidforthehonoursandthebenefitshewouldshoweronme，andwithhumilitydeclinethem。“
“Sobeit，Lady。TheCaliphisnotamanwhowouldwishtoforceyourinclination。Still，thisbeingso，IamchargedtosayhebidsyourememberthatyouweretakenprisonerinwarbytheEmirMusa。Heholdsthat，subjecttohisownpriorright，whichhewaives，youarethepropertyoftheEmirMusaunderajustinterpretationofthelaw。
YethewouldbemercifulasGodismerciful，andthereforehegivesyouthechoiceofthreethings。ThefirstoftheseisthatyouadoptIslamwithafaithfulheartandgofree。“
“ThatIrefuse，asIhaverefuseditbefore，“saidHeliodore。
“Thesecondis，“hecontinued，“thatyouentertheharemoftheEmirMusa。“
“ThatIrefusealso。“
“Andthethirdandlastisthat，havingthrustasidehismercy，yousufferthecommonfateofacapturedChristianwhopersistsinerror，anddie。“
“ThatIaccept，“saidHeliodore。
“Youacceptdeath。Inthesplendourofyouryouthandbeauty，youacceptdeath，“hesaid，withanoteofwonderinhisvoice。“Truly，youaregreat-hearted，andtheCaliphwillgrievewhenhelearnshisloss，asIdonow。YetIhavemyorders，forwhichmyheadmustanswer。Lady，ifyoudie，itmustbehereandnow。Doyoustillchoosedeath？“
“Yes，“shesaidinalowvoice。
“Beholdthiscup，“hewenton，“andthisdraughtwhichIpourintoit，“andIheardthesoundofliquidflowing。“PresentlyIshallaskyoutodrinkofit，andthen，afteralittlewhile，saythehalfofanhour，youwillfallasleep，towakeinwhateverworldGodhasappointedtotheidolworshippersoftheCross。Youwillsuffernopainandnofear；indeed，maybethedraughtwillbringyoujoy。“