Page:Voyages and travels of Sindbad the sailor (1).pdf/16

16 The king one day said to me Sindbad, I love thee, and my subjcctssubjects [sic] follow my example, and value thee according  thy merits. I wish to make thee one of my subjects. must marry, and settle in my dominions.

He gave me one of his ladies of the court, who was young, noble, rich, beautiful, and virtuous. The marriage being over, we retired to a place belonging to my wife,  we lived in great harmony and eontentmentcontentment [sic].

Yet notwithstanding the happiness I enjoyed, I could forbear to think of my native country, and to wish I  behold it once more.

I had contracted a strict intimacy with one of my neighbours and one day as I was sitting down to dinner I was informed wife had just died. I immediately hastened to afford him consolation under his misfortune. "Alas!" said he "What comfort can I take who have not above an hour to live? is thothe [sic] established laws of this country, that the living  shall be interred with the dead wife, and the living wife   the dead husband. Nothing therefore can save me: every  must submit to this law."

I went home, deeply affected, and day and night I of nothing but how to effect my escape. But while I forming a thousand projects to escape this evil, my worst fears were verified—my wife fell sick and died. You may easily judge of my sorrow when I beheld the preparations for my funeral, at which the king and his whole court, to show  regard for me, intended to assist.

The corpse, in her most magnificent apparel, was put into her coffin, and the eavalcadecavalcade [sic] began. I went next the corpse with my eyes full of tears and my heart bursting with despair. When we arrived at the mountain I could no longer contain my anguish, and throwing myself at the feet of the king, I besought him in the most moving terms, to have compassion on me and spare my life. But all I said was to no effect, no one moved by it; they only made the greater haste to let my  into the pit, and the next moment I was put down after her in an open eoffincoffin [sic], with a vessel of water and seven loaves. They then covered up the pit, in despite of my grief and cries.

It was a long cave, many fathoms deep. I immediately smelt an insufferable stench from thothe [sic] multitude of dead bodies I saw on the right and left; nay, I fancied I heard some of them sigh and groan. I lived for some days upon my bread and water, which being all spent, I prepared for death.

Having wandered very far into the eavecave [sic], I lay down on the ground, wishing only for a speedy end to my misery. On a sudden I heard something walking and panting very hard, close beside