Page:The Harvard Classics Vol. 16.djvu/310

he hath related, and the proof of his veracity is the saying of the Wise, the First, [thus versified]—

And [consider] Suleyman, when the Deity said to him, Perform the office of Khalifeh, and govern with diligence;

And whoso obeyeth thee, honour him for doing so; and whoso disobeyeth thee, imprison him forever.

He used to put them into bottles of brass, and to cast them into the sea—And the Prince of the Faithful approved of these words, and said, By Allah, I desire to see some of these bottles! So Talib the son of Sahl replied, O Prince of the Faithful, thou art able to do so, and yet remain in thy country. Send to thy brother 'Abd-El-'Aziz, the son of Marwan, desiring him to bring them to thee from the Western country,^[1] that he may write orders to Musa^[2] to journey from the Western Country to this mountain which we have mentioned, and to bring thee what thou desirest of these bottles; for the furthest tract of his province is adjacent to this mountain—And the Prince of the Faithful approved of his advice, and said, O Talib, thou hast spoken truth in that which thou hast said, and I desire that thou be my messenger to Musa the son of Nuseyr for this purpose, and thou shalt have a white ensign, together with what thou shalt desire of wealth or dignity or other things, and I will be thy substitute to take care of thy family. To this, Talib replied, Most willingly, O Prince of the Faithful. And the Khalifeh said to him, Go in dependence on the blessing of God, and his aid. Then he gave orders that they should write for him a letter to his brother 'Abd-El-'Aziz, his viceroy in Egypt, and another letter to Musa, his viceroy in the Western Country, commanding him to journey, himself, in search of the bottles of Suleyman, to leave his son to govern the country in his stead, and to take with him guides, to expand wealth, and to collect a large number of men, and not to be remiss in accomplishing that object, nor to use any pretext to excuse himself. He sealed the two letters, and delivered them to Talib the son of Sahl, commanding him to hasten, and to elevate the ensigns over his head; and he gave him riches and riders and footmen to aid him

1. El-Maghrib, North Africa.
2. [The Arab general who conquered North Africa and Spain.]