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from under the trees in the garden of Eden-Scheherazade, I say, finally
triumphed, and the tariff upon beauty was repealed.
Now, this conclusion (which is that of the story as we have it upon
record) is, no doubt, excessively proper and pleasant--but alas! like
a great many pleasant things, is more pleasant than true, and I am
indebted altogether to the "Isitsoornot" for the means of correcting the
error. "Le mieux," says a French proverb, "est l'ennemi du bien," and,
in mentioning that Scheherazade had inherited the seven baskets of talk,
I should have added that she put them out at compound interest until
they amounted to seventy-seven.
"
My dear sister," said she, on the thousand-and-second night, (I quote
the language of the "Isitsoornot" at this point, verbatim) "my dear
sister," said she, "now that all this little difficulty about the
bowstring has blown over, and that this odious tax is so happily
repealed, I feel that I have been guilty of great indiscretion in
withholding from you and the king (who I am sorry to say, snores--a
thing no gentleman would do) the full conclusion of Sinbad the sailor.
This person went through numerous other and more interesting adventures
than those which I related; but the truth is, I felt sleepy on the
particular night of their narration, and so was seduced into cutting
them short--a grievous piece of misconduct, for which I only trust that
Allah will forgive me. But even yet it is not too late to remedy my
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