Page:Rambles and Researches in Thuringian Saxony.djvu/239

Rh world, and the brightest jewel of the East, thy fortune is secured,’ &c.”***

[Here the chronicler relates at length the astonishment of the Count at this address, knowing nothing of gardening, but how he concealed his surprise, and demanded fifty slaves to be placed at his disposal, and at their head the trusty Kurt, in order that he might execute the Sultan’s wishes, which, after considerable difficulty and many consultations with Kurt, were at length accomplished.]

“This garden was destined for Melechsala, the only child spared to the Sultan of a numerous progeny. She was beautiful as the morning, and was the idol of his soul. It was to surprise her on her natal day that the Frankish garden was prepared, for Melechsala had amongst her slaves a Christian girl, to whom she was much attached, and from whose descriptions she had imbibed a taste for foreign fashions. In this alone she was faithful to the customs of the East: she had loved flowers from earliest childhood, and twisted graceful garlands full of poetry and meaning. The birth-day of Melechsala approached, and the Sultan resolved to visit the garden. Full of anxiety, expecting to lose his head, or at least to resume bis chains, the Count awaited the mighty Sultan’s coming; but,