The King's Talisman — page 31: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

—- 22 THE KING’S TALISMAN. ‘‘Then your majesty knows where my father lives?” “No.” ‘Then how will you send for me?” ‘«*Ah, it is not my pleasure that you should leave the palace. Rooms are prepared for you near at hand, and you shall have a sufficient equipment.” Noureddin knew not what to make of this; but as he often spent weeks together in the mountains with his pre- ceptor, he had no fear that his father would be uneasy at his absence, and, moreover, feeling a kind of love of adven- ture creeping over him, he readily assented to what was re- quired of him, determined, however, that in case he found the business such as accorded not with his honor, he would drop it. At asimple motion from the king, one of the mutes left his side, and soon returned with three black eunuchs, who conducted the youth from the imperial presence. Noured- din was led through long corridors and sum»tuous suites of apartments, displaying a scene of magnificence and grandeur such as he had never before seen or even conceived of, until at length he arrived at the place where he was to take up his quarters for the night. After conducting him into the apartment where a richly covered bed was spread for his use, the eunuchs left him to himself. One of them, how- ever, seemed to hang behind his companions, and betrayed an evident desire to stop, but as the eyes of the others were upon him, he hesitatingly followed them out. As soon as Noureddin was left alone, he began to reflect upon the strange circumstance that was now on the tapis; but his was a mind not given to fruitless conjecture, and after a little thought he dismissed the subject from his mind, save that, of course, the subject-matter formed the principal object of his thoughts; but he saw only the past and pres. ent—the future he left to the care of his God. Ten minutes might have passed since the door had closed Eomicboo <S (Eo)