no obstacle in the way of his son’s happiness, and paying a visit to the house of the philosopher he formally demanded for his son the hand of this sage’s daughter. After a brief courtship the marriage was celebrated with much splendour, and several weeks passed in an extreme of happiness. Abdul-Hassan presently noted that his wife, Nadilla, would never partake of an evening meal, for which singularity she excused herself on account of the somewhat frugal and severe regimen she had always followed under her father’s roof. One night, however, after but a few weeks had passed, Abdul-Hassan, awakening from a deep sleep found that he was alone in the bed. At first he took no heed, but he grew anxious as the hours wore away, and his bride did not return until shortly before dawn. Resolved to fathom the mystery he still feigned to be fast in slumber, but on the following night when he had pretended to close his eyes he carefully watched the actions of his wife. After a little while, no sooner did she deem herself unobserved than throwing over her a long dark cloak she silently slipped away. He rose, hastily dressed himself, and followed her at some little distance. To his surprise she soon left the main streets of the town and made her way to a remote cemetery which had a very ill repute as being darkly haunted. Tracking her very carefully he perceived that she entered a large vault, into which with the utmost caution he ventured to steal a glance. It was dimly lighted by three funerary lamps, and what was his horror to behold his young and beautiful wife seated with a party of hideous ghouls, about to partake of their loathsome feast. One of these monsters brought in a corpse which had been buried that day, and which was quickly torn to pieces by the company, who devoured the reeking gobbets with every evidence of satisfaction, recreating themselves meanwhile with mutual embraces and the drone of a mocking dirge. Fearing that he might be caught and even destroyed, as soon as possible the youth escaped back to his home, and when his wife returned he appeared deep in unbroken sleep until the morning. Throughout the whole of that day he gave no sign of what he had discovered, but in the evening as Nadilla was excusing herself from joining him at supper, according to her custom, he insisted that she should eat with him. None the less she steadfastly declined, and at last filled with anger and
